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- The Complete Jarrett
The Complete Jarrett
This is a new, sealed copy in very good condition at a price that is significantly discounted from elsewhere. (Please note, while the volume is sealed, there are a handful of tears to the cellophane and it appears that there is a bump to the upper right corner).
The Complete Jarrett reproduces Guy Jarrett's controversial 1936 book Jarrett Magic in its entirety, with annotations by Jim Steinmeyer, who himself is a leading creator of illusions and other stage magic. Jarrett produced brilliant illusions for a wide range of popular magicians but also was critical of the general level of talent and skill in magic, including the ability of some of the performers who had hired him. The book provides insight into Jarrett's innovative thinking about illusions and also provides a cross section of magic history both in Jarrett's comments on the magicians with whom he worked as well as Steinmeyer's biographical depictions and other comments. The book includes more than 250 photos and drawings, with many illustrations added for this edition. Many magic book lovers cherish this volume.
By the way, The Complete Jarrett was reviewed glowingly in the August 2001 Genii magazine, and it is a volume that is cherished today by many magic book lovers. However, the 2001 review is appended with a reprint of the scathing Genii write-up of the original 1936 publication of Jarrett Magic, which reveals how perspectives can change over time and through a different lens. The original review is really worth a read if you have access to it. Here is a short excerpt from the end of the review where its authors, Caryl Fleming and William Larsen direct an unrestrained suggestion to Jarrett.
"And, by the way, if you do “write another book”— may we suggest that you take a few doses of soda bicarbonate and, if you don’t mind— when you belch, or otherwise relieve yourself of accumulations of the gas you seem to generate so prolifically, would you be kind enough to do it in some other manner than through the medium of your printed pages?" -- Genii, March, 1937