Celebrations of Curious Characters
Language: English
Published by McSweeney's Publishing, 2011
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: MERS Goodwill, Saint Louis, MO, U.S.A.MERS Goodwill
AbeBooks seller since March 13, 2026
Condition: Used - Fair
£ 25.71
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, but the text cannot be obscured or unreadable. Any access codes or passwords originally included with the book may be expired, used or no longer valid. Image is stock photo and cover art edition may be different than pictured.
Seller Inventory # MERV.1936365030.A
- Title
- Celebrations of Curious Characters
- Author
- Jay, Ricky
- Publisher
- McSweeney's Publishing
- Publication year
- 2011
- Condition
- acceptable
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1936365030
- ISBN 13
- 9781936365036
Celebrations of Curious Characters cracks open the personal vaults of Ricky Jay?raconteur, historian, and one of the worlds great sleight-of-hand artists?exposing a wonderful world of amusing and arcane knowledge. Adapted from his popular radio series ?Jays Journal of the Air, Celebrations of Curious Characters features one-page anecdotes of mind-bending performers (limbless jugglers, banjo-picking birds, Anglo-Texan saxophone-playing siamese twins) paired with engravings, mezzotints, and broadsheets from the authors remarkable collection. Youll find engaging vignettes on a daunting variety of topics: musical prodigies, cannon-ball catchers, conmen, card cheats, and performing politicians. Plus, a man who made a model of Lincoln Cathedral out of 1,000,800 bottle corks; a woman continuously pregnant for six-and-a-half years; a theatrical strong man who became the worlds leading Egyptologist; and a healthy number of digressions on time, money, and the argot of thieves.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Acknowledged as one of the worlds great sleight-of-hand artists, Ricky Jay has received accolades as a performer, actor, and author. His heralded one-man shows Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants; Ricky Jay: On the Stem; and Ricky Jay: A Rogues Gallery were all directed by David Mamet. As an actor Mr. Jay has been seen in many films, including House of Games, Things Change, Heist, Red Belt, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Last Days, The Prestige, The Great Buck Howard, and Tomorrow Never Dies. He appeared regularly in the television series Deadwood, The Unit, and Flash Forward and has written and hosted his own specials for CBS, HBO, A&E, and the BBC. His consulting company, Deceptive Practices (with partner Michael Weber), has supplied ?Arcane Knowledge on a Need to Know Basis for theater, television, and more than a score of films, including Forrest Gump, The Illusionist, and Oceans 13. He is the former curator of the Mulholland Library of Conjuring and the Allied Arts and has defined the terms of his profession for the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Cambridge Guide to American Theater. More information is available at rickyjay.com.
Acknowledged as one of the worlds great sleight-of-hand artists, Ricky Jay has received accolades as a performer, actor, and author. His heralded one-man shows Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants; Ricky Jay: On the Stem; and Ricky Jay: A Rogues Gallery were all directed by David Mamet. As an actor Mr. Jay has been seen in many films, including House of Games, Things Change, Heist, Red Belt, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Last Days, The Prestige, The Great Buck Howard, and Tomorrow Never Dies. He appeared regularly in the television series Deadwood, The Unit, and Flash Forward and has written and hosted his own specials for CBS, HBO, A&E, and the BBC. His consulting company, Deceptive Practices (with partner Michael Weber), has supplied Arcane Knowledge on a Need to Know Basis for theater, television, and more than a score of films, including Forrest Gump, The Illusionist, and Oceans 13. He is the former curator of the Mulholland Library of Conjuring and the Allied Arts and has defined the terms of his profession for the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Cambridge Guide to American Theater. More information is available at rickyjay.com.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
MERS Goodwill
Saint Louis, MO, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since March 13, 2026
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 3.03 | £ 5.30 |
Payment methods
Store description
Changing lives through the power of work MERS Goodwill provides a variety of programs and services to help support this mission. Some of the many programs and services offered are career counseling, skills training, education and literacy programs, employment services, and more. Our organization also provides job opportunities through the Custodial and Business Contracts Division. Those who are hired through the MERS Goodwill Custodial and Business Contracts Division become well-trained and reliable workers. MERS Goodwill is then able to better serve local businesses with services like office cleaning, snow removal, paper processing, and more. The revenue from these services then goes back into more training and education programs, so that we can continue to provide reliable, quality contracted business services.…
Specialty
UsedSeller's business information
MERS Goodwill
8007 West Florissant Avenue
Jennings, MO U.S.A. 63136
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to MERS Goodwill, Jennings, Missouri, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.