Fun in the Archives

One of the perks of working at America's Largest Magic Manufacturer is the storied history of our company. Having been around for soooo long, we've accumulated a vast archive of old magic books. Every so often I like to check one out, take it home, and absorb the information.

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend time with our old friend Dr. Tarbell. There is so much information in that set of books, it would be possible to own the set, nothing else, and still have an excellent career as a professional magician. Sure, the patter is pretty dated, but the effects remain solid as ever.

For those of you who are into this new-fangled Internet technology, I suggest checking out the audio archives of The Magic Lantern. They do interviews with magic celebrities like Marc DeSouza, Al Cohen, and Bill Palmer. But my favorite interview was the one they did with Denny Haney. In fact, they wanted to cram all of Denny's wisdom in, so they split the episode into a 2-parter!

In those interviews, Denny discusses his first brush with the Tarbell series as a teenager, and how he advocates it to all the budding magicians that wander into his shop. As he says, "We consider it a good day in the magic shop, anytime I sell a Tarbell Volume 1. When I sell two, it's a great day."

So, take a moment to go back into your archives. Re-read Royal Road to Card Magic! It's amazing the insight you find when you re-read those books that got you started in magic. Remind yourself why those books got you started. You'll be glad you did.