# Illusion Library

> Illusion Library is a home for the classic books of magic whose copyright has lapsed: Tarbell, Hoffmann, Erdnase, Bobo, Annemann and more, newly set for reading on any screen, with every drawing in its place. Each trick links to the sleights it needs, and the sleights to the tricks they open, so a beginner can learn in short sittings and a performer can go straight to the method. For people who want to learn magic, launching in 2027.

Our purpose: to make the original foundational documents of magic accessible and bring them to life in an accessible way that has not been done before.

Who it is for: people learning magic, from first tricks to working performers, and anyone curious about the history of the art. The books are in the public domain; what Illusion Library adds is the edition: clean text, the drawings in their places, the links between tricks and the sleights they need, and paths through it in short sittings.

Status: in preparation, launching in 2027. Pre-launch access is by invitation code.

Contact: hello@illusionlibrary.org

## The shelf

- The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), Reginald Scot
- Beiträge zur Nationalbühne (Leipzig) (1781)
- Modern Magic (1876), Professor Hoffmann
- Sharps and Flats (1894), J. N. Maskelyne
- Conjuring for Amateurs (1897), Ellis Stanyon
- Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions (1897), Albert A. Hopkins
- New Era Card Tricks (1897), August Roterberg
- Conjuring with Cards (1898), Ellis Stanyon
- Magic (1900), Ellis Stanyon
- The Expert at the Card Table (1902), S. W. Erdnase
- Conjurers’ Monthly Magazine (1906), Harry Houdini
- Behind the Scenes with the Mediums (1907), David P. Abbott
- The Original Tarbell Course in Magic (1926), Harlan Tarbell
- 202 Methods of Forcing (1933), Theodore Annemann
- The Jinx, October 1934 – November 1938 (1934), Theodore Annemann
- Jinx Programs 1–5 (1935), Theodore Annemann
- The Sign of Exceptional Magic, Nos. 1–6 (1936), Charles T. Jordan
- The Jinx, December 1938 – July 1940 (1938), Theodore Annemann
- The Jinx, July 1940 – December 1941 (1940), Theodore Annemann
- Tarbell Course in Magic, volume 2 (1942), Harlan Tarbell
- Practical Mental Effects (1944), Theodore Annemann
- The Sphinx Golden Jubilee Book of Magic (1951), Milbourne Christopher
- Modern Coin Magic (1952), J. B. Bobo

## Using this site

- [Terms](https://www.illusionlibrary.org/terms.html): you may describe and link to Illusion Library freely. The library itself is behind a door for people who have come in to learn; please do not collect its pages. Text and data mining of the library is reserved (EU Directive 2019/790, Article 4(3)).