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Phoenix 251 - 300
Walter B. Gibson
Louis Tannen Inc.
In Collection
#4037
10*
Conjuring
Magic tricks
Hardcover 
USA  English
Gibson Walter B. & Elliott, Bruce: Phoenix 251 - 300
©? Louis Tannen Inc.
Hardbound, 207 pages

The Phoenix 5 Volumes - A Rare Collector's Package - Lots of Magic!

Hardbound - Dark Red Volumes (no phoenix picture on book, photo just for show) - Louis Tannen with Rabbit in hat on spine! Excellent condition

The Phoenix Vol 1 - 50
The Phoenix Vol 51 - 100
The Phoenix Vol 101-150
The Phoenix Vol 201 - 250
The Phoenix Vol 251 - 300

The Phoenix brought 3 to 5 well versed, practical tricks on a biweekly basis from 1942 to 1954. The most talented magicians of the time contributed their best ideas to The Phoenix; effects that fooled magicians and lay people alike.

Each volume contains 50 issues! Each 4 page issue brought 3 to 5 well versed, practical tricks on a biweekly basis and never accepted advertising. In January of 1942, Walter B. Gibson and Assistant Editor Bruce Elliott launched the periodical that became lovingly referred to as “The Bird.” Gibson and Elliott shared the editorial duties of The Phoenix until December 1944. Gibson's name vanished from the masthead with issue 74, and from issue 75 through 300, Feb. 19, 1954, a period of nearly a decade, Bruce Elliott served as sole editor of one of magic's greatest publications.

It is in Elliott's piece in The Phoenix called “The Back Room” that we learned about all his goings on. His jottings in “The Back Room” were as varied as his other works; he never followed a pattern. Elliott shared his personal news (and plugs), magic news, reviews, newspaper clippings, tips on tricks, even complete tricks were described. Sometimes he would publish a letter he received, or he would regale his readers with the events of the latest “Friday Night Sodality” that usually took place at his home. The list of attendees to those events usually read like a “who's who of magic,” but sometimes a “who's that?” And his occasional jabs taken at Frank Joglar (usually return volleys) – a columnist (and trivia question) in Hugard's Magic Monthly – were always fun to read; right up to issue 300. At least one time there was only a cartoon, but usually it was an odd mix of any of these and other tidbits. “The Back Room” was masterful writing by a master of the typewriter. There is little question that The Phoenix is Bruce Elliott's legacy.

The issues cover a wide range of conjuring subjects that encompass a whole variety of the illusionist's techniques, card tricks, mind tricks, rope tricks, number tricks, mental tricks, tricks with props and much more. Includes reviews and press releases. Black & white text illustrations throughout. The most talented magicians of the time specializing in different fields of magic contributed their best ideas to The Phoenix; effects that fooled magicians and lay people alike.

Gibson, Walter and Bruce Elliott, eds.The Phoenix.
Louis Tannen 1942-1954
New York
11.00 x 8.5 inches approx.
Product Details
No. of Pages 207
Personal Details
Read It Yes
Location Magic Library (Home) Shelf J
Condition Very Fine
Owner Bryan-Keith Taylor
Notes
Gibson, Walter Brown
(1897-1985)
Gibson, already interested in magic as a child, joined the Society of American Magicians at the age of 22. He knew a great many celebrated magicians personally,such as Thurston, Houdini, Blackstone, Dunninger, and Kreskin for whom he worked as a Ghost writer. He also wrote: The Complete Illustrated Book of Card Magic (1969), Popular Card Tricks (1972), Secrets of Magic (1973), New Magician's Manual (1975), The Book of Magic (1978), Walter Gibson's Big Book of Magic (1980), The Complete Illustrated Book of Divination and Prophecy.
More than just a magic writer, Gibson authored hundreds of other types of books and novels, including "The Shadow" (both in book form and in comic book form), novellettes about "Norgil the Magician," true crime stores for mystery and detective magazines.
Invented: Thumb Cuffs,
In 1971 The Academy of Magical Arts awarded Walter a Literary Fellowship. In 1979 he was awarded the Masters Fellowship.