Best products from r/Magic

Not in any particular order, but any of these would be perfect for your young 10 year old aspiring student of magic! None of these will break your bank! :


The Magic Digest by George B. Anderson I picked up a used copy of this book 5 years ago for around 2 dollars. In my opinion, you should acquire a copy for your son for cheap before the prices go up! Don't worry about getting a pristine/good copy, my copy is in "acceptable" condition, but that doesn't take away from the secrets and advice it holds. It's an old book, but it's excellent! It is filled with solid advice for magicians of any age and very solid magic all throughout. It still falls into the realm of a "beginners" book, but I'm definitely not a beginner in magic but was still blown away by its content! Most of the tricks are self working, some use very basic sleight of hand that is also expertly taught in this work. This is truly a book I wish I could have had earlier on in my study! I simply can't recommend this enough!


Big Magic for Little Hands: 25 Outstanding Illusions for Young Magicians by Joshua Jay Despite his young age, the author Joshua Jay is without a doubt one of the most knowledgeable and thoughtful students of magic that I've encountered over the years. This book is a fantastic example of why I have this opinion about him! I picked this up a year ago for one of my co-workers kids that loved watching some of the magic I do. I was humbled to have my co-worker tell me that because of me and some of the tricks I taught his father, that she too wanted to learn magic. I was so humbled that I wanted to do her father and her a solid and get them both a quality magic book that was suitable for a 7 year old. I got wind of this and ordered it. After reading half the book over the weekend before handing it to her father the following Monday, I was so inspired and blown away by the content in here that I ordered a copy for myself to study also. The magic and advice in here is that solid and it I don't care if it's targeted at young magicians! I still learned from it! Fantastic!


Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay There is a nice mix of basic sleight of hand and self working tricks in this big book for an outstanding price! The magic taught in here is top notch and this book encompasses many, many areas of magic! Heck, they even tip a way for an aspiring magician to make something like an Invisible Deck, which is considered by many top professionals to be one of the best "special decks", with a common household item. I've tried it myself and it works beautifully in a pinch! This book even comes with a DVD to accompany some of the amazing content in this work!


The Magic Handbook by Peter Eldin This holds a special place in my heart! I believe it was 1988 when my grandmother gifted me this very book when she thought I was "outgrowing" my Fischer Price magic set. This book is outstanding and it's easy to tell that Peter Eldin has a deep love and respect for magic as an artform. There is only a few basic sleights in here, but don't let that scare you or your son. I was 5 when I started learning a lot of this stuff and thanks to the clear illustrations and text, I had very little trouble learning basic card handling from this as well as ways to conceal a coin. One of the highlights for me in this was a very unique handling of a classic coin trick known as "The Miser's Dream". Your son will have the ability to seemingly and continuously produce coins out of thin air and get this...without sleight of hand technique....This version is still a "go to" for me...Need I say more? :D

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Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic This book truly lives up to what the title promises. I would be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive course in magic for 15 bucks! Sponge Balls, Cards, Coins, Mental Magic, Stage Illusions that can be made at home, solid advice from a legend, information that I haven't found elsewhere, among other things! This book will keep both and your son busy for a long, long time! Self Working tricks, basic sleights and tricks to accompany them, great methods, inspirational food thought. I simply wouldn't feel right not recommend this to anyone who loves magic!

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Karl Fulves "Self Working" Series: All of these are dirt cheap and worth any students time and study regardless of age or experience! Collect them all or simply pick a subject that your son favors! This series encompasses mental magic as well as magic with cards, coins, numbers, paper, rope, handkerchiefs, and household objects! Any one of these will serve your son well.

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Scarne on Card Tricks and Scarne's Magic Tricks I would recommend getting both of these together. There are hundreds upon hundreds of quality tricks from some of magic's legends including: Paul Rossini, Dai Vernon and Harry Blackstone to name a few! All these tricks were re-worked by those magicians with the help of John Scarne to eliminate most or all sleight of hand while not sacrificing the clarity of effect! These two books are classics for a reason! Highly recommended!


Lots of recommendations here for sure and yes these are all books, but I'll even recommend a fantastic and entertaining DVD for you and your son!


Amazing Magic and Mentalism Anyone Can Do by Jay Sankey 39 stellar tricks that are as fun to learn as they are to perform. Very basic sleight of hand tricks and even some self working ones taught by one of my favorite teachers, Jay Sankey!


TL;DR: Just click on the links provided. Hope you like what you see! :)

Scott's tome is an interesting historical event unto itself, but I don't think it's that instructive in any greater capacity. Milbourne Christopher's history is good for breadth, but not as much for depth. Everything by Jim Steinmeyer is probably a good idea.

If you're writing about women in magic, some more detailed biographical work is probably in order. Bill Kalush's Houdini book doesn't say much about Bess, but I think that a lot can be learned by reading between the lines. It's also very informative about the "Golden Age" boys club and the feud between magicians and spiritualists.

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Houdini-Americas-Superhero/dp/0743272080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313429451&sr=8-1

On the same subject, the David Abbott books by Todd Karr and Teller are amazing. Abbott's wife helped a lot with the act, and the first book gives a lot of details about the development of magic and spiritualism in the US:

http://miraclefactory.net/zenstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=75

The Karr/Teller Germain books are also good, but not as interesting with regard to women and apparently out of print.

Our Magic, by Maskelyne and Devant, is one of the most influential books ever written on the way that magicians see themselves. Like Scott it isn't a historical analysis or overview, it's a historical document. There will be a whole lot in here that will help you represent magicians convincingly. Lybrary.com has a cheap pdf version if you don't have a kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Magic-ebook/dp/B004Z8L26Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1313429822&sr=8-4

Houdin's instructional books and memoirs are also held in high regard by magicians, and also give a lot of information about their own particular historical context:

http://www.amazon.com/Conjurers-Confessions-M-Robert-Houdin/dp/1425017150/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313429966&sr=1-1

I think a lot of knowledge about magic history still hasn't really been culled out of the books of tricks. In particular, the recent history (say 1940 to present) hasn't seen much analysis in print. If you want a historical view on that timespan, it's probably more efficient to consult a magician– or a few.

If you have specific questions feel free to message me and I'll give you an email; women and magic is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. If not, I think that most of the books mentioned previously and all of the ones I've linked are very good. In particular, the Karr/Teller volumes are incredibly valuable for the depth of historical knowledge that they contain. The Kalush book is a no-brainer because of how easy it is to get and how rigorously researched it is.

Hopefully that helps somewhat.

So personally I think all patter for magic is boring. Literally all of it. Also, procedure is inherently boring. The points that are really important, in the mind of the spectator, are the initial conditions, (How the card was chosen and how the card was lost) and the final conditions, (how the card was found). Everything else is kinda in the background. If they wanted a good story, they'd be rewatching Bojack Horseman for the 20th time. They're watching a card trick, so the important parts they're paying attention to are those 3 things. When you start with a monologue, it's boring because we're waiting for the card trick to begin. We know it's coming so we're not really paying attention to the story. Then after the card is lost, we're kinda suspended between being curious about the previous moment (was the card really lost) and watching to see the final moment (how the card is found). This tension is what magic is better than any medium at.

So you're performing at a very even pace, and evenly emotive. Think of pacing as a push and pull. You can speed up or you can slow down. Speeding up can help cover boring, but necessary things, like patter and procedure, while slowing down can stretch the important moments to make those 'wow' moments the focus of the trick.

This trick relies on the building anticipation, but each reaction is the same. Your goal of this trick is to determine from the way they say, "that's it" whether it really is. You are a lie detector, but how are you figuring out s/he's lying? A mentalist would read body language, or read their mind, or whatever, a clown would use increasingly preposterous means like staring into someone else's eyes to read their mind or genuinely try and fail despite the method being obvious (jumbo card in a normal deck) and a gambler would look for tells, which I guess is pretty much just body language.

Anyways, these moments are great character moments. The way you choose to execute the trick is totally up to you. The trick itself is just a framework. I believe all art is just communication. What are you trying to communicate the audience? This is who you are, why you are here...let it be you. The more clearly you define the character you are trying to convey the easier it'll be to create material. The secret to defining your character isn't the costume you where or the props you use. It's the small moments surrounding the card trick. No one cares about the card trick, they care about you. How do you react to the card being wrong at the finale (before the big surprise)? That's the moment everything is building up to. You're the one on stage, so how do you choose to react? That's what's important in performing, and the more you focus on making that part interesting, the more fun you'll have performing and the more successful you'll be.

Screenwriting books can be helpful in understanding tension and storytelling. My favorite was Into the Woods. Acting books are great for performing in general. I'd really recommend taking acting classes, or improv is great too. Stella Adler's The Art of Acting was my favorite so far for acting.

Having a general knowledge of magic techniques is always useful. The techniques and theory you learn that largely apply to other branches(mentalism, coin magic, stage illusions, parlor shows) are almost always applicable to the others in some form or another.

Developing the skill in misdirection and timing necessary to make coin magic really have an impact will set you up to be a better, more competent magician overall. You'll quickly see how those lessons will shape and improve the magic you currently perform.

The coin magic I do is simple, as I think the best magic you can do is simple. I wouldn't advise doing extremely flashy coin magic with constant vanishes and reappearances, myself. I don't think it lends itself to anything other than a display of skill. Coin magic is difficult to make magical as it's either in the right hand, or the left hand; so it takes some effort to do something simple and make it hit hard. Ben Earl has just posted a short essay on his instagram concerning this very thing that I found encouraging.

What I'd recommend doing is learning a few vanishes and trying to master them. French drop, finger palm, classic palm, even a thumb palm. Executed well, those vanishes can look incredible. They don't look like a move, just the simple moving a coin from hand to hand.

Works I'd also recommend looking into:

Ben Earl's Real Coin Magic. Simple and effective, and he offers a lot of little tips and tricks to make them so.

A Firm Background in Remembering from The JAMM #2

Fading Coin from Tomoyuki Takahashi(in the book Japan Ingenious or Genii Magazine, May, 2000)

Change from The JAMM #12

Hypnotic Coin Bend from John Wilson

Slydini has some amazing work

Even Bobo's and some practice can be incredible

I hope it's enough to get you started, and I hope you can develop a love for the simplicity and beauty than can be found in coin magic.

I'm replying quite late, but I don't think you want to gift him bicycle decks. He's probably already got enough of those and would continue getting more. I think it wouldn't be special to him. He would really appreciate some fancier decks as a gift. Please take a look at www.theory11.com or www.ellusionist.com for some decks. Most of them are $10 so a fair bit more expensive than the regular bicycles. www.artofplay.com has some wonderful ones as well, broader range of prices. Multiple copies of whichever deck you select would be worth it, because he would never use a fancy deck if he had just one.

Its also worth checking with him on which books he has already. Royal Road is very popular and he might already have a copy.

An example gift I would set up, priced at around $30(not including shipping costs) :

3x Aviator Heritage Edition (Art of Play) [$21]

OR

2x Knights Playing Cards (Ellusionist) [$20]

+

1x Royal Road to Card Magic (Amazon US store) [$11]

switch diciplines. I am reading Annemann's book "Practical Mental Effects" and it is amazing and hilariously antiquated. "Bribe a switchboard operator... and be sure to have a small routine to occupy the 3-5 minutes it takes to place a long distance call..."

perform outside your comfort zone. Get booked somewhere or just go busk. Experience magic differently.

Watch jaw-dropping magic. Go to The Magic Castle or any theater/bar around you that has magic. Take a journey to LA, Japan, or London to see great magic. Remind yourself of why you fell in love.

teach. Pass on the magic and watch your passion flourish again in a different light.

give back. perform at children's hospitals or retirement homes. You'll find each performance carries much more value than getting a smile and a dollar.

invent. if you feel you've mastered all your stuff set a goal and invent something. Make a new card flourish, pass, or a coin sleight. Call it the "mostscreens pass" and be proud. I create full routines for people on /r/magic all the time.

Youtube. start a channel and entertain millions. find a unique hook. Don't just expose tricks with tutorials. Entertain the viewer.

It really depends on your skill level.

If you're more of a beginner, The Royal Road to Card Magic (mentioned elsewhere on this page) is a great introduction to the subject.

Card College is another great resource. This five-book series provides much more in-depth information on all aspects of sleight of hand, and as such is valuable regardless of whether you're a beginner or an advanced card handler.

Finally, if you already have a little skill, Expert Card Technique is a fantastic resource with tons of great tricks that will fit your criteria.

Hope that helps!

As well as the other excellent advice given on here, I'd really recommend Joshua Jay's Complete Course (book and DVD). It may look like a kids book but if you're just starting out it's just what the doctor ordered. Some stuff in there was new to me and I use it even though I've been doing this stuff for 30 years or so.

The 'classics' can be a little unwieldy to new-comers as so many of them were written 50 years ago. They have their place, sure, (they are staples for a reason) but they're not immediately accessible and if you're looking to get into magic it's important not to be immediately put off just because of the prose. By getting a contemporary book such as Joshua Jay it makes starting out a lot easier and more fun plus, as I've said, the material is actually very good.

Royal Road to Card Magic - http://amzn.com/0486408434

And a fresh deck of Bicycle cards (fancy decks are expensive and make people suspicious) - http://amzn.com/B010F6BXEA

I'd also recommend Modern Coin Magic - http://amzn.com/0486242587

If a coin book sounds good, get four kennedy half dollars (or similar sized coins if you're not in the states) from the bank, just ask a teller.

Reading books is way better than watching youtube, as most trick tutorials are by people who don't actually have a lot of experience or knowledge. If you read books, you also develop your own style instead of parroting whoever is on the video. Start with those two books, then practice a lot in front of a mirror. Think about presentation too- what will you say? When? Why? (a great resource, if you're interested, is Strong magic - http://amzn.com/B00534I956) Once you feel fairly confident, perform the trick(s) as often as you can for as many people as you can. At school, at home, on the street, wherever. Stick with it and do it a lot and you'll get the hang of it.

Break a leg!

While the Mark Wilson course that a few people have recommended is fabulous, it may feel a little dated for your group.

I would strongly recommend Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay. It covers a variety of easy but powerful tricks, includes a DVD for those visual learners, and can be gotten for under $20.

Magic: The Complete Course https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_X.X8ub133YA6B
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_X.X8ub133YA6B

Josh has also just released a new book geared towards kids called Big Magic for Little Hands, which runs the same price as the other book. I've not read this one, so can't personally say what it contains. Josh is a very talented performer and teacher though, and I've always been happy with the products of his that I've seen.

Instead of $10 for one effect, spend $10 to get this book that's loaded with great stuff or this book that's a little more advanced - and also loaded with great info. Or spend $30 to get this book that takes you step by step through a lot of basics, or this one that's a little more advanced. If you just really want to avoid books, try this DVD. But, really, books are going to give you the most bang for your buck by a lot. Give books a shot. Your local library might even have some good stuff for free. DVDs would be the next obvious step, since you're paying $25 for 9 powerful effects taught by a master. Even with tax and shipping, that's under $4 each. When you're looking at stuff that's $10 for a download for stuff that's generally unproven, you're usually wasting money.

Also, check the thread in the sidebar. There are a lot of good references in there.

The 16th century isn't really the "Birth of Magic", so much as it represents the first printed magic books in English.

With that in mind, any resource is going to be primarily based on "The Discoverie of Witchcraft", and therefore you may as well go to the source yourself:

http://www.amazon.com/Discoverie-Witchcraft-Reginald-Scot/dp/1153345269/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

There are plenty of magic history books out there. The majority in print are by Jim Steinmeyer, but his all cover a similar period - the "golden age" of around 1900-1940 or so. "Hiding the Elephant" is probably the most generic of his books, and gives an overview to the period with particular regards to optical effects:

http://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Elephant-Magicians-Impossible-Disappear/dp/0786714018/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313347852&sr=1-1

For a wider point of view:

http://www.amazon.com/Performing-Dark-Arts-Conjuring-Consciousness/dp/1841501492

is not a bad alternative. This book tries to place magic in an anthropological context. This will detail more of the period you are after, but again, the same sources will be referenced, and they're not hard to find.

The birth of magic is really with Robert-Houdin, and you can't get any better than his own memoirs:

http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Robert-Houdin-ambassador-author-conjuror/dp/1178024555/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313348089&sr=1-6

This is, of course, 19th century and not 16th. They are still a cracking read, and what he got up to in Algeria defies belief.

For "Women and Magic", by far the most interesting I feel is the influence of the Suffragette movement on stage magic - specifically P.T.Selbit's "Sawing a lady in two" which bucked the trend of using young male assistants, in favour of the now-cliche women-in-danger. To what extent this was a (violent!) reaction to the greater powers and control that feminism offered is highly debatable, but very interesting. Houdini also had some tussles with the Suffragettes, mainly as publicity. Again, this isn't 16th century.

I respectfully disagree. As /u/mattthegreat2008 suggests, it's all in the presentation. I don't think there's any such thing as kids magic. Or rather, I don't think that there's magic that is "meant for kids" that couldn't be presented to adults.

I've recommended this kit: https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-100-Trick-Spectacular-Magic-Suitcase/dp/B000PWNGV8 to adults when they've said that they want to "get into magic."

Is it geared towards kids? Sure, but there are versions of tricks in there that would cost 100's of dollars if you got "the good props" at Tannen's and you could probably pretty easily perform half of that kit for an adult audience and knock them out.

I seem to remember that when Shawn Farquhar was on Fool Us, he did a trick that looked like a variation of the coloring book. It turned out to not be the coloring book, he was just making it look that way to mis-sell it but until the end, I thought, "Oh....Coloring book. This is great. I know how it's done but it's still great."

The Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard & Braue

If you follow this book all the way through by the end you will have an amazing foundation in card magic.

Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo

This is a must read if you're interested in coin magic.

Have fun, enjoy the journey and welcome!

Also:

Books: Now You See It ... Now You Don't! by Bill Tarr is beautifully illustrated, teaches the basics, and has stuff that I'm still doing. Yeah, I know the blurb says age twelve and up ... but don't believe it. A younger person might need an adult to read the text to her, but, even then, the illustrations are very clear.

Apparatus: an inexpensive set of cups-and-balls, and a ball vase will get any six-year-old going. I don't think there's a professional magician on the planet who didn't start with cups-and-balls and a ball vase.

Also: six is the right age to start. (I say this because that's when I started.)

Videos: Grand Illusions: The Story of Magic (two volumes, DVD) has some wonderful performaces, is kid-friendly, and has an entire episode devoted to female magicians.

Sleight of hand with coins

Sleight of Hand

Sleight of Hand with Cards


Edit: there's my 3 suggestions that I've had great experience with. These are 3 staples in any magic collection in my opinion.


Ok! I need to clarify one thing. These books are very old. Don't get discouraged at the fact that the vernacular can be somewhat confusing. If you take the time to look up any words that might be hard to understand and just work trough the text, you will find timeless effects that you'll be able to show off for years to come! Don't dismiss a move because it seems so simple!

I would recommend Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. It's a tried and true classic that covers card tricks in great detail as well as coins, sponge balls, and larger illusions. In other words, it's well-rounded.

With the money you save, you could pick up a deck of cards, a few sponge balls, and maybe a few quarters/halves from the bank.

Local Magic shop will usually show you what they are selling and recommend some good starter material.

I started out with Royal Road then I moved onto whatever seemed interesting.

A lot of the stuff seems a lot harder than it is, and presentation is really key. That book with some gimmick coin sets will get you rolling.

For coin stuff there is no better start than Bobo's Book.

Your mileage will vary depending on how much you practice. I usually practice flourishes on the subway, and some simple moves there too. Luckily I have a job with long stretches of down time so I am always practicing there too.

Yes.

Some advice first; skip the pass for now, skip the flourishes (unless that's what you are interested in). As for books, this book was like my card magic Bible when growing up, you can get the PDF version for free this week only at the Conjuring Arts website:
Expert Card Technique

You can algo buy a softcover version of this book for cheap (and you should).

Read this and be depressed. But if you're just starting out, you should be glad to have actually read this first and won't be as despressed as some of us who read this after putting in effort for a while.

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Magic-Nevil-Maskelyne-ebook/dp/B004Z8L26Y

IIRC, should be royalty free by now. I think Conjuring Arts did offer them for free.

Also Expert Card Technique I think was free from Conjuring Arts for a while as well.

Joshua Jay has some great material for kids, some of which is DIY. Magic the complete course is great and has a kids section. He also has a book called Big Magic for Little Hands which has tricks for kids to learn how to do if you are maybe into teaching them something.

Magic: The Complete Course https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uNKtxbE5PTNRP

Big Magic for Little Hands: 25 Astounding Illusions for Young Magicians https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761180095/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7OKtxb1Q9HCK8

I feel like most people would be disappointed to learn the secret behind most magic tricks.

Camera tricks, like cutting to different angles to hide certain elements, are different because the magician doesn’t have that same luxury with the live audience and so what is shown on camera should reflect what is shown to the live audience.

I’m currently reading Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee and it has a really interesting point about how a person who hears music on a radio doesn’t consider it magical even though they don’t know how it works. They just assume the technology does work and move on. Similarly, if a magician is using a prop or piece of technology and it is clear that the trick is done using this technology, they will just assume that’s how it is done and will be less impressed. So in modern magic acts that use things like iPads, something needs to happen that makes the audience go, “Even though I get that the iPad is doing some of this, I don’t understand how they did THAT.”


Magic by Misdirection

Some excellent Books on the subject:

Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms

Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee (The entire Fitzkee Trilogy is great!)

Five Points of Magic by Juan Tamariz

Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz

Maximum Entertainment by Ken Webber

Books of Wonder by Tommy Wonder (I highly recommend these books for every magician - if you find them, get them!)

Six years old?

With respect to the earlier poster, I disagree: keep your son away from YouTube. If you don't want to go the traditional magic kit route, how about a book?

Check out Josh Jay's "Big Magic for Little Hands." (https://www.amazon.com/Big-Magic-Little-Hands-Astounding/dp/0761180095/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511750111&sr=8-1&keywords=big+magic+for+little+hands).

Good luck!

I loved Hiding the Elephant by Jim Steinmeyer. You'll likely get many recommendations for it here.

I also liked Fooling Houdini by Alex Stone.

This Book. Find one used. Work through it slowly. Page by page. Read every trick in it. Find your favorites and master them. A few tricks done really well are better than thousands done poorly.

Definitely books and instructional DVDs as opposed to gimmicks and one trick. This book is a great place to begin.

To the spirit of the question: Rising card decks, specifically the Devano style deck.

http://www.martinismagic.com/Products.html

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My favorite is the Nifty 56 deck - which is a pack of assorted bicycle gaffs.

https://www.amazon.com/Magic-More-Bicycle-Assortment-Available/dp/B01MZI692I

Improv and acting techniques and classes are helpful.

I just saw this these other day and was very impressed with them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyFAa15kDEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYcnA06-yVg

I also can't recommend highly enough Magic and Showmanship, by Henning Nelms. I sing that book's praises possibly too much, but it's an absolute Bible for conjuring presentation.

I'd also be remiss not to mention my upcoming podcast, which I just posted a preview of: The Magic Show

Get a good book like: Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic

Invisible Thread, thumb tip, variety of colored silks

First off, pick up Mark Wilson's Complete Course. It's cheap, TONS of info (Though maybe a little dated), and at least an introduction to almost every kind of magic out there. Play around, see what you like, then learn to specialize in that.

1. Johnny Thompson Commercial Classics of Magic - $140
   
   
2. Michael Ammar Complete Introduction to Coin Magic - $20
   
   
3. Amateur Magician's Handbook - $15
   
   
4. The Collected Almanac - $60, if available
   
   
5. Three Uses for a Knife - $11
   
   
6. Regular Decks Red and Blue - $4/Deck ~8
   
   
7. 6 Kennedy half dollars - $3
   
   
8. 1 Expanded Shell - $35
   
   
9. 1 set of 4 sponge balls - $5
   
   
10. Strong Magic - $35
    
    
11. Tarbell Course in Magic - $168
    
    At this point, total is $500..
    
    
12. Art of Astonishment vol 1-3 - $35/book = $105
    
    
13. Five Points in Magic - $35
    
    
14. Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic - $15
    
    
15. Greater Magic - $195
    
    
16. Conjurors Psychological Secrets - $50
    
    
17. Essential Dai Vernon - $98
    
    Instructions to student:
    
    Read and study Three Uses for a Knife and Strong Magic. Notice the theories at work in other forms of media beyond magic.
    
    Watch Johnny Thompson and Ammar vids and observe the theories in practice. Work through Amateur Magician’s Handbook and Ammar vid.
    
    Read Five Points in Magic.
    
    Read Essential Dai Vernon and note how the five points work with those effects.
    
    Read Conjurors Psychological Secrets.
    
    Learn and practice Thompson effects.
    
    Pick and choose through remaining books what you want to learn.
    
    Keep re-reading theory books and modifying your routines.

You might also want to check out the Illustrated History of Magic (Amazon) which is a pretty expansive historical review of the entire art of magic.

If you want specifically card magic, This book on Amazon is the Dover edition and highly recommended.

For DVD, get the one by R. Paul Wilson, titled 'Royal Road To Card Magic by R. Paul Wilson'.

If you want a more general magic kit, get Joshua Jay’s The Complete Magician Kit.

Any "starter pack" you end up getting is probably going to be cheap and not contain quality materials. You're much better off buying them separately as needed.

For example, some of the things I would personally buy if I wanted to do...

Card Magic: A deck of Tally-Ho playing cards and the holy bible of beginner card magic

Coins: go to your local bank and ask them to exchange a $5 bill for some half-dollars. They're not as rare as you think, and you can always ask them to order some in for you for no cost.


I specialize in cards, and I can very confidently say that any deck of cards you get in a "starter pack" is going to suck. Tally-Ho is my personal favorite, but standard Bicycles will get the job done and cost about $15/12pack at Costco (or $12 when they go on sale).

Big Magic for Little Hands by Joshua Jay is a fantastic book! Most public libraries have a copy but if not https://www.amazon.com/Big-Magic-Little-Hands-Astounding/dp/0761180095

Color Change Tutorial
I think you have to create an account for this one.

Royal Road to Card Magic

http://www.amazon.com/Card-College-Vol-Sleight-Hand/dp/0945296185

I second the recommendation on the book route, I personally think a lot of the kits on the market are geared for a younger age group.

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Complete-Course-Joshua-Jay/dp/0761149872

http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553

Been considering buying this for a few weeks. On sale? Absolutely!

The Royal Road to Card Magic.

http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347715705&sr=8-1&keywords=magic+course
This is all you need starting out for awhile.

Hard to say, depends on how far into magic you are, but here's a book that should be in every magician's library:

https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512052771&sr=8-1&keywords=mark+wilson%27s+complete+course+in+magic

If you are into cards specifically, and don't have them, here are three books you should own (and I would suggest reading them in this order):

https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Road-Card-Magic/dp/0486408434/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052913&sr=1-1&keywords=royal+road+to+card+magic

https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Table-Treatise-Manipulation/dp/0486285979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052934&sr=1-1&keywords=the+expert+at+the+card+table

https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Technique-Close-Up-Table/dp/0486217558/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052952&sr=1-1&keywords=expert+card+technique