About Learning Magic Tricks

Magic, in entertainment, the seeming manipulation and supernatural control of the natural world for the amusement and amazement of an audience. Entertainment magic can be divided into four main categories: sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation or close-up magic, consisting of tricks done close to the spectators in which the eye is deceived by the fast and skillful manipulation of the hands; club or platform acts, in which various apparatuses are employed to create illusions of seemingly impossible events; escape magic, involving complicated breakouts from apparently inescapable situations; and mentalism or mind reading.

The earliest recorded example of magic as performance is thought to be a painted Egyptian papyrus dated c.1700 B.C. that pictures Dedi of Dedsnefu performing tricks for a pharoah; one of the illusions shown is the cup-and-balls trick (balls seem to jump invisibly from beneath upended cups), still a staple in contemporary magic. The performance of magic was mingled with religion in ancient Greek and Roman culture as priests performed a number of “miraculous” effects through devices built into temples (e.g., spontaneously or thunderously opening doors) or implanted in statues of the gods (e.g., they appeared to speak or wine flowed from their mouths).

The late 1880s to the 1930s are widely considered the Golden Age of magic; the form was a favorite on the vaudeville circuit and in theaters specifically devoted to conjuring. The great Harry Kellar (1849–1922), an American conjurer and successor to Herrmann whose celebrity reached its height in the 1880s, included among his many illusions the well-known Levitation of Princess Karnak. Among the era's other magicians were London-based John Nevil Maskelyne (1839–1917), inventor of the magic play and the box escape, and his partner, David Devant (1868–1941), creator of the disappearing moth-woman; T. Nelson Downs (1867–1938), renowned for his coin tricks; Ching Ling Soo, pseud. of William Robinson (1854–1922), who waved shawls and produced goldfish-filled globes; Charles Morritt (1861–1936), master of the Disappearing Donkey, hypnotist, and mind reader; Howard Thurston (1869–1936), Kellar's celebrated American successor, noted for his dismemberment illusions and card tricks; Horace Goldin (1873–1939), practitioner of strings of rapid-fire effects; society entertainer Max Malini (1873–1942); P. T. Selbit (1881–1938), probably the first (1921) to “saw” a woman in half; world-famous escape artist Harry Houdini ; mentalist Joseph Dunninger (1896–1975); and master illusionist Harry Blackstone (1885–1965).

Magic blossomed again after World War II as professionals and amateurs proliferated. It flourished on stage and in nightclubs (e.g., the Las Vegas acts of Siegfried and Roy and Melinda Saxe), became a staple of television variety shows in the 1960s, and reached Broadway with Doug Henning's The Magic Show (1974). Other noted magicians of the late 20th cent. included Harry Blackstone, Jr., David Copperfield, James Griffin, James (“the Amazing”) Randi, and Dorothy Dietrich. By the turn of the century magic continued to expand in concept, propelled by the spectacular illusions of Lance Burton, the extravagant stunts and levitations of David Blaine, the superb card handling and wry humor of Ricky Jay, the quirky trickery of Penn and Teller, and the work of many others.

You don't need a white tiger, expensive props, or hours of preparation to do magic. With a little practice, some clever misdirection (which lays at the heart of all magic tricks), and showmanship, you can surprise family, friends, and coworkers using a few everyday items!