Stanley Collins-Conjurer, Collector and Iconoclast

Master historian and author Edwin A. Dawes leads you through the life of happiness and heartbreak of this brilliant magician and collector. A great character of British magic during the first half of the 20th century, Stanley Collins was unique in that his tremendous conjuring skills were allied to high intelligence, musical talent and rapier-like wit. Moreover, in his own elegant style, Collins made important and long-lasting contributions to the literature of conjuring and provided interesting, amusing and frequently hostile views concerning figures and institutions of the magical establishment. He personally knew many of the "greats" of this period, and his views of them make fascinationg reading. In particular, Stanley Collins' conjuring with cards is acknowledged to have been well ahead of his time by some of today's expert cardicians. His "The Collins Aces" routine is still being performed by today's top cardmen. Each volume also contains two never-before-published books by Collins: Wizardry on a Winter Evening (17 pages) and his final opus Gems of Personal Prestidigation (78 pages) which contains his ultimate version of "The Collins Aces." Also included with each copy is a CD-Rom with a 1922 Pathe Pictorial film of Collins performing flourishes. Hardbound with dust jacket, 352 pages.