Ralph W Read (54 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Good. Bill Hanna (illustrator). Reprint Edition. Good with toning to pale green front cover, particularly along spine. No prior owner markings. Lower corner bend to last few pages and rear cover. Reprint Edition. 58 page pamphlet, illustrated with drawings. Teaches the three shell game with walnut shells and a "pea" for entertainment purposes. Originally published by Kanter's Magic Shop in 1937.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Tarbell, Harlan (illustrator). 2nd Edition. Vol. 2 only. Revised 2nd Edition, 3rd Printing. Hardbound, no dust jacket. Previous owner's name in ink on front free end page, otherwise very good.

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. Hardcover. No DJ. Text unmarked. Covers show edge wear with rubbing and bumped corners. Rear hinge cracked, but binding still intact.; 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Ships same or next business day!

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Tarbell, Harlan (illustrator). 2nd Edition. Vol. 3 only. Revised 2nd Edition, 3rd Printing. Hardbound, no dust jacket. Previous owner's name in ink on front free end page, otherwise very good.

Original Wraps. Condition: Good +. No Jacket. Edw. E. Mishell (illustrator). (1951), 56pp, illus., rubbing & soiling to cover, staples are rusted, slight foxing throughout, 2 pgs w/ small piece (1/2" x 1/4") missing from center edge, 1st affects last paragraph of the book, second affect 1st pg of ads, contents unmarked.

Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Approx. 5" wide by 8". ; 87 pages.

Paperback. Condition: Poor. top of pages near spine has water stains and some torn pages, covers have minor wear, corners lightly bumped, stapled binding tight, no writing, 56 pages, how to perform stage magic using flash papers, cards, coins, silks and other props, bw illustrations Size: 6 x 9.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Includes dust jacket. Dust jacket shows minor shelf & handling wear. Pages are clean, text and pictures are intact and unmarred. Good reading copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First edition; stated first printing. Original blue cloth, 6x9 inches, illustrated with black and white drawings, 122 pp + ads. Very good, no dustjacket. Corners bumped, rubbed along edges, spine moderately faded, approximately 1x4 inch water (? ) stain on rear board, a few drop marks, old bookseller's price (in pencil) , otherwise tight, clean, paper crisp, unmarked and apparently never read. Stage magic; children's; entertainment.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Hardcover. No DJ. Text contains light underlining/marking. Covers show shelving wear with rubbing. Binding is tight, hinges strong. Spine creased. Previous owner's name/inscription on free end paper.; 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Ships same or next business day!

Softcover. Condition: Good. Not marked; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Soft cover. Condition: Good. 2nd Edition. Good with normal age-toning to covers No markings except erased pencil price. 25 pages.

Pictorial Stiff Paper Wrappers. Condition: Good. Revised Edition. Reprints the four booklets originally issued by the author between 1937 and 1944 in one 52 page pamphelt. Small skinned spot and tear on front cover, else good. Paper age-darkening as expected but not brittle.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Ed Mishell (illustrator). Revised Edition. Stiff pink paper covers. Later printing, circa mid-1960s to mid 70s. Very good with rubber stamped dealer address on title page and a few page with minor mis-trims of page edges. No markings. 51 page booklet incorporating material from two previous small booklets and adding additional material. NOTE: Sold for historical purposes only. Flash paper is a dangerous substance and its use is discouraged.

Stapled - Saddle Stapled. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Hanna, Bill (illustrator). 58 pages. Size: 5 x 8.5 Inches.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Harlan Tarbell (illustrator). Revised Edition. No dust jacket. 408pp.

Hardcover. Condition: VG Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. Revised Edition. Octavo, [23cm/9.25inches], full gilt-embossed crepuscular blue cloth sans dust jacket, pp. xvi, 407. Illustrated with pen & ink Sketches &tc. Please feel free to inquire as to particulars and/or additional photographs. . Publishers T. Grant Cooke and Walter A. Jordan developed an interest in producing a correspondence course in magic in the mid-1920s. A few months before his death, Harry Houdini was approached to author the course; Houdini declined but recommended Tarbell. Cook and Jordan hired Tarbell and Walter Baker, another Chicago-area magician, to work on the project, but Baker dropped out of the project in its early stages to concentrate on his performances. The publishers allotted Tarbell $50,000 for the course, which he finished in 1928, producing 60 correspondence lessons with at least 3,100 illustrations. Tarbell later discussed the philosophy behind his course: "There is a big difference between a magician and a man who does tricks.Fundamentally, the making of a magician is no different than the making of other professional people. One must be trained in the mechanics, the alternate methods and be skilled in the presentation in order to meet any conditions which may arise." Unlike other magic courses which placed a greater emphasis on self-working illusions, Tarbell began with fundamental drills and practice sessions involving body position, movement, and sleight-of-hand techniques which were to be incorporated into actual tricks in future lessons. After selling 10,000 complete courses, Cooke and Jordan discontinued marketing the Tarbell Course in Magic in 1931, blaming the Great Depression for slumping sales. In 1941, however, magician Louis Tannen purchased the rights to the course, working with Tarbell and Ralph W. Read (of Read and Covert) to convert the correspondence lessons into book form.

Hardcover. Condition: VG Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. Revised Edition. Octavo, [23cm/9.25inches], full gilt-embossed green cloth sans dust jacket, pp. xix, 416. Illustrated with pen & ink Sketches &tc. Please feel free to inquire as to particulars and/or additional photographs. . Publishers T. Grant Cooke and Walter A. Jordan developed an interest in producing a correspondence course in magic in the mid-1920s. A few months before his death, Harry Houdini was approached to author the course; Houdini declined but recommended Tarbell. Cook and Jordan hired Tarbell and Walter Baker, another Chicago-area magician, to work on the project, but Baker dropped out of the project in its early stages to concentrate on his performances. The publishers allotted Tarbell $50,000 for the course, which he finished in 1928, producing 60 correspondence lessons with at least 3,100 illustrations. Tarbell later discussed the philosophy behind his course: "There is a big difference between a magician and a man who does tricks.Fundamentally, the making of a magician is no different than the making of other professional people. One must be trained in the mechanics, the alternate methods and be skilled in the presentation in order to meet any conditions which may arise." Unlike other magic courses which placed a greater emphasis on self-working illusions, Tarbell began with fundamental drills and practice sessions involving body position, movement, and sleight-of-hand techniques which were to be incorporated into actual tricks in future lessons. After selling 10,000 complete courses, Cooke and Jordan discontinued marketing the Tarbell Course in Magic in 1931, blaming the Great Depression for slumping sales. In 1941, however, magician Louis Tannen purchased the rights to the course, working with Tarbell and Ralph W. Read (of Read and Covert) to convert the correspondence lessons into book form.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Prior owner ink name and date and rubber-stamped rabbit image on front flyleaf. No other markings. Original blue cloth. No jacket.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Ed Mishell (illustrator). Revised Edition. Very good. Original first printing of revised edition with these points: slick or coated paper stock and yellow covers with blue ink cover art. No markings. 51 page booklet incorporating material from two previous small booklets and adding additional material. NOTE: Sold for historical purposes only. Flash paper is a dangerous substance and its use is discouraged.

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. 1st Edition. Fair with worn cloth at spine ends and some discoloration to endpapers. Bookplate on flyleaf and usual amount of age-darkening to paper. No jacket.

Condition: Very Good. Blue pictorial wrappers, illustrated, 46 pages. Mild toning to covers, else in very good condition.

Soft cover. Condition: Good. Bill Hanna (illustrator). 1st Edition. Good with some staining to covers, front and back. Standard age-darkening to paper. 1st ed in stiff pictorial orange covers. 59 page pamphlet, illustrated with drawings. Teaches the three shell game with walnut shells and a "pea" for entertainment purposes.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Bill Hanna (illustrator). 1st Edition. 1st ed in stiff pictorial orange covers. Very good with minor age discoloration to covers and standard age-darkening to paper. 59 page pamphelt, illustrated with drawings. Teaches the three shell game with walnut shells and a "pea" for entertainment purposes.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Harlan Tarbell (illustrator). Revised Edition. Burgundy leatherette, lettered in gold foil. Revised ed., stated 10th ptg., with Nov. 1971 as most recent copyright date. Slightly rubbed extremities, a few minor soil marks to text block fore-edge and front flyleaf. xx,20-408,[6] pp., illus. w/ line drawings. Pictorial dust jacket shows mild toning spots to front panel, 1/4" chip at heel of front joint, small chip at heel of spine, mild rubbing along edges with 1" shallow loss along top rear edge, (2) short closed tears with associated crease along bottom rear edge, now in mylar. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Binding and pages are intact. All pages are free from any notations. Light scuffing and bumping visible to boards. This could have light cosmetic flaws, but remains in good condition. No dust jacket included with this book. This copy is the Revised Edition of the published work. Secure packaging for safe delivery.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Good with some markings or scuffing to blue cloth and some light fading to cloth. Bookplate on flyleaf and usual amount of age-darkening to paper. No jacket.

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. . . . . Revised edition. 8vo, paperback. Vg condition. 52 pages, illustrated, contents bright & clean, binding tight.

Soft cover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Good with light dust soiling, slight edgewear, some creasing and tiny corner chip out of stiff orange colored paper covers. Old price sticker on inside front cover. A thorough treatise on the subject with some historical background included.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good condition. Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket. NOT a library discard (illustrator). Revised Edition, 3rd printing. Tannen Publications, 1953. Revised Edition, edited by Ralph W. Read. Very Good condition. Unlike some other printings, this has lovely creamy white pages. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a library discard. NO highlighting. NO underlining. NO margin notes. Illustrations throughout. Revised Volume 2 (Lessons 20 - 33). Bound in the original gilt-stamped blue boards. Revised Edition, 3rd printing. Hardcover. Very Good condition/No dust jacket. Illus. by NOT a library discard. 8vo. 410pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.