Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomy of Legerdemain (1658)
Anonymous · 1658
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Description
Hocus Pocus Junior calls itself the anatomy of legerdemain, the art of sleight of hand. First printed in 1634, it appears here in its fifth edition of 1658. It is the first English book of conjuring tricks, and it gave the world the phrase hocus pocus, taken from the patter of stage jugglers.
The book explains cups and balls, card tricks, and feats with string and coin. Its aim is exposure as much as teaching: readers learn how the wonders are done. That honesty made it a landmark in the history of stage magic. Generations of conjurers learned their first tricks from its pages. A working manual and a small delight, it still performs its tricks on readers.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Anonymous |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1658 |
| COLLECTION | BOOKS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 81 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | Public Domain |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | Internet Archive |