Tony Slydini

Slydini (1901, Foggia, Italy – 1991) was a world renowned magician.

Tony Slydini was born as Quintino Marucci in Foggia, Italy. Best known as a master of close-up artistry, he served as inspiration to a generation of magicians, including Doug Henning.

Slydini was the son of an amateur magician who encouraged him to pursue sleight of hand at an early age. Slydini was attracted to the psychological aspects of the art, which would later show itself in his magic in the form of precise and expert use of misdirection. He was also inspired by the relationship between the magician and his audience, which fueled his desire to be a close-up artist. While still young, Slydini and his family left Italy to live in Argentina. It was there that Slydini began to experiment more seriously with magic. He worked in South America's version of vaudeville for a time, but soon the Great Depression hit and work became scarce. In 1930, he moved to New York City, landing a job in a museum on Forty-second Street. From there, Slydini found work in carnivals and sideshows. On a visit with his sister in Boston, Slydini attracted the attention of an agent there, landing a job for $15 a day for a three-day show. His skill was apparent to those who saw him on those three days, including another agent who offered him another contract. This streak continued for some time: Slydini ended up performing in Boston for seven years.

In 1945 in New Orleans Slydini showed his own special brand of magic. His style of close-up was something that had never been seen before: he was one of the first to show close-up magic as an art in itself rather than as a lead-in to bigger and grander illusions. Slydini's magic was impromptu: rather than follow a set sequence of tricks, he allowed his audience and the situation to dictate his show. Reportedly, Dick Cavett once asked Dai Vernon who could still fool him. His answer: Nobody but Slydini.

Slydini died in 1991.

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Author of hundreds of books on magic, both for the expert and beginner. Inventor of the Self-Correcting Setup, amongst thousands of other things.

Karl Fulves

Karl Fulves
Born New Jersey, U.S.
Nationality American
Occupation magician, author, publisher
Known for card magic, self-working tricks
Karl Fulves is an author of hundreds of books on magic.

Karl Fulves lives in Fairlawn, New Jersey, and is a private person who has repeatedly turned down all requests for interviews. There is not much known about him other than his incredible output of magic literature. He has taught thousands of beginners, young and old, to perform remarkable feats of sleight of hand through the books he has published.

Fulves is most well-known for his "Self-Working" book series from Dover.

Periodicals
Karl Fulves took over The New Phoenix magazine from Don Tanner. He published three more issues and then at issue 400 in October 1965 stated "The bird will be fondly laid to rest." He then started a new magazine called The Pallbearers Review which continued until 1975.

He also started another periodical called Epilogue from 1967 until 1976.

In 1970, Joseph K. Schmidt submitted Fulves a coin flourish complete with illustrations. The contribution was published in Volume 5, Issue #10 of Pallbearers. Fulves was very impressed with Schmidt's artistic abilities and, coincidentally, was looking for an artist to illustrate some of the lengthier routines. He asked Schmidt to illustrate an effect called Canterbury Cups and Schmidt agreed. Fulves and Schmidt's relationship grew. Fulves was the first person to refer to Schmidt as an "artist". Schmidt has illustrated over 75 books, manuscripts and booklets for Fulves, including Swindle Sheet, Cheat Sheet, Rigmarole, and Verbatim.

Shortly after concluding Pallbearers and Epilogue he announced the birth of a new periodical, The Chronicles Limited to 36 issues, The Chronicles took from 1978 to 1988 to complete, and during those ten years, some of the finest close-up magic of the period was explained in its pages.

Fulves published many more periodicals over the years including CHARLATAN, UNDERWORLD accompanied by FINE PRINT, INTERLOCUTOR, and MIDNIGHT MAGIC MONTHLY (13 issues, a complete file of which is virtually unobtainable).

List of periodicals published by Karl Fulves:

Alfredson/Daily - Fernandes numbers, titles, year of publication and number of issues in a complete file:

15505..Charlatan 1999 - in progress
15550..Cheat Sheet 1990-1992 10 issues
1580...Chronicles 1978-1988 36 issues
19657..Discoverie 1999 - in progress
2130...Epilogue 1967-1975 25 issues
22102..Fine Print, The 1995-1999 10 issues
2955...Interlocutor 1975-1988 52 issues
29505..Interim Report 1993 1 issue
3262...Lamplighter (with Jim Sarles) 1963-1964(?) 7(?) issues
32627..Latter Day Secrets 1999 - in progress
4850...Midnight Magic Monthly 1959-1960 12+3 issues
5180...New Phoenix 1965 4 issues 397-400
5335...Notebooks no information available
5510...Pallbearers Review original series ?-1965 22 issues
5515...Pallbearers Review 1965-1975 120 issues
58955..Rigmarole 1993-1994 10 issues
6055...S-C 1985 7 issues
65703..Swindle Sheet 1990-1992 10 issues
69206..Underworld 1995-1999 10 issues
69800..Verbatim 1993-1994 10 issues
Karl Fulves current publications, started in 1999, are Discoverie, Charlatan and Latter Day Secrets.


Published works
Most of the titles are published by Karl Fulves himself, under his own name or Gutenberg Press.

Title Date
13 Prophets 1996
28 Card Tricks 1991
A History of the Brainwave Principle 1983
Ace Machine 1963
After Jordan 1983
And a Packet of Cards 1989
Animation 1979
Big Book of Magic Tricks 1994
Binary Count Notes 1969
Blocking Off ?
Bob Hummer's Collected Secrets 1980
Bob Ostin's New Submarine Card 1983
Calculator Tricks 1998
Card Counting 1982
Card Under Glass 1979
Cards #1 Four-card Brainwave 1978
Cards #2 51 Faces North 1978
Cards #3 Interlock 1980
Cards #4 Side Steal 1981
Cards #5 The Multiple Shift 1989
Charles Jordan's Best Card Tricks 1992
Charles T Jordan collected tricks 1975
Clockwork: Approaches to Card Counting ?
Close-up Mental Magic 1974
Color Capture 1986
Color Quick 1980
Combo 1998
Combo II ?
Command Colors 1997
Contemporary Handkerchief Magic, part 1 1987
Contemporary Handkerchief Magic, part 2 1987
Contemporary Rope Magic, part 1 1986
Contemporary Rope Magic, part 2 1986
Contemporary Rope Magic, part 3 1986
Covenant 1987
Crooked Tales 1994
Cryptology 1979
Curioser 1980
Deceptive Practices 1992
Deceptive Practices, Supplement 1992
Downs on Malini ?
NSOM : Dr Ken Krenzel's Incredible Card Tunnel 1975
Easy to do card tricks for children 1989
Easy to do magic tricks for children 1974
Epilogue 1993
Faro and riffle technique 1976
Faro and riffle techniques 1969
Faro and riffle technique; Supplement 1 1970
Faro and riffle technique; Supplement 2 1970
Faro and riffle technique; Supplement 3 1970
Faro possibilities 1967
Faro possibilities 1979
Four color problems 1979
Fourcast 1981
Fr Cyprian's TV card rise 1982
Gambler's third lesson 1979
Gene Finnell's card magic 1973
Hardcore aces 1983
History of the brainwave principle 1983
Hocus Poker Fulves 1982
Hofzinser's Card Tricks ?
Hofzinser Notebook 2003
Impromptu holdouts 1977
Impromptu openers 1979
Inner sanctum 1979
Jack in the Box 1979
Jacob Daley's Notebooks (transcr. Csuri) 1975
Kaleidoscope Rope 1989
Kannibal Kards 1975
NSOM : Karl Fulves Technicolor Cards 1974
Magic Book 1977
Methods with Cards, part 1 1975
Methods with Cards, part 2 1975
Methods with Cards, part 3 1975
Mexican Monte 1972
Milennium Aces 1981
Money Moves 1989
More Self-working Card Tricks 1984
Mutus Nomen 1988
Neale's Trapdoor Card 1983
New Card Rises 1996
Notes from the Underground 1973
Nyria Effect 1979
Octet 1981
Origins 1981
Packet Switches (part I) 1976
Packet Switches (part II) 1973
Packet Switches (part III, Harvey Rosenthal) 1977
Packet Switches (part IV Gene Maze) 1977
Packet Switches (part V Gene Maze) 1977
Pallbearers Review volume 1-4 1993
Pallbearers Review volume 5-8 1993
Pallbearers Review volume 9-12 1993
Parallel Lines 1980
Principles of Riffle Shuffle Set-ups 1968
Prolix
Prototype 1989
Punch out Puzzle Kit 1982
Quick Card Tricks 1989
Riffle Shuffle Control 1979
Riffle Shuffle Methods 1987
Riffle Shuffle Set-ups 1973
Riffle Shuffle Set-ups 1976
Riffle Shuffle Technique Preliminaries, Notes, Problems 1971
Riffle Shuffle Technique Preliminary Notes, part 1 1972
Riffle Shuffle Technique, part 1 1975
Riffle Shuffle Technique Preliminary Notes, part 2 1973
Riffle Shuffle Technique, part 2 1975
Riffle Shuffle Technique, part 3 1984
S-C contemporary money magic no 1, Robert E Neale's short change wallet 1985
S-C contemporary money magic no 2, Max Londono's After max 1985
S-C contemporary money magic no 3, Harvey Rosenthal's two and two 1985
S-C contemporary money magic no 4, Howard Wurst's paper money 1985
S-C contemporary money magic no 5, Robert E Neale's bill tube 1985
S-C contemporary money magic no 6, Howard Wurst's simplex switch 1985
S-C contemporary money magic no 7, Nick van Selter's one hand turnover 1985
Secret Ssession, part one 1987
Secret Session, part two 1987
Secret Session, part three 1987
Self-working Card Tricks 1976
Self-working Close-up Card Magic 1995
Self-working Coin Magic 1989
Self-working Handkerchief Magic 1989
Self-working Mental Magic 1979
Self-working Number Magic 1982
Self-working Paper Magic 1985
Self-working Rope Magic 1990
Self-working Table Magic 1981
Setting up Exercises 1995
Shape Changers 1979
Shuffle off 1983
Six Impromptu Card Tricks 1982
Swindle & Cheat - a collection of nontransitive games 1991
Teleportation Notes 1969
Teleportation Notes 1979
The Best of Slydini and More, vol 1 (text) 1976
The Best of Slydini and More, vol 2 (photos) 1976
The Book of Numbers 1971
The Book of Numbers, Supplementary Notes 1971
The Children's Magic Kit 1980
The Magic of Slydini and More, vol 1 (text) 1976
The Magic of Slydini and More, vol 2 (photos) 1976
The Magical World of Slydini, vol 1 (text) 1979
The Magical World of Slydini, vol 2 (photos) 1979
The Return Trip 1986
The Shamrock Code & the Parallel Principle 1979
Topological False Count 1979
Transpo Trix 1978
Trick with Dice 1970
Vampire Chronicles 1997
Vampire Papers 1997
When Psychics Play Poker ?
Wireless II 1982
Word Play ?
Worknotes on Brainwave 1983

Fulves also wrote the text for a number of the Stars of Magic manuscripts, including Chris Capehart's 3-Ring Routine, Joe de Stefano's Chinatown Poker, Max Londono's Eternal String, Metalogic (Fred Baumann) and David Roth Okito Box routine.


Awards and honors
The Academy of Magical Arts awarded Karl Fulves the Literary Fellowship.