Albo 01 - The Ori by Robert J. Albo, Eric C. Lewis, David Bamberg

The first of the Dr. Albo Books #583 of 1000 copies issued.

Details: There are 11 books in this series which all adorn red hard bound covers and clear plastic mylar jackets (except for volume 8 which was a binder supplement). These books all feature a color section which shows the beautiful magic apparatus, posters, and illusions of the past. There are also a number of supplemental books including 2 bound supplements which are part of Volume 8 and Laboratories of Legerdemain, which were later republished with added material as Volume 11.

These books serve to provide information to collectors, builders, and historians of magic. The books have all been issued individually with the exception of volumes 6,7, and 8 which were issued as a set which included a box for all 8 volumes. It is apparent that at the time these were intended to be the final volumes, however, volumes 9 through 11 have been subsequently issued as well. A smaller, sturdier box was issued to house Volumes 9 and 10 and supplements. I suppose one could conclude that the Classic Magic with Apparatus is complete as the newer projects Ultimate Okito, Ultimate Okito Addendum, and Ultimate Thayer are being issued in a distinctly different green cloth.

These books have a wealth of information including the classics of magic apparatus with line drawings and color photographs showing different versions of the effects produced by various magic companies world-wide.

This is the 228 page book that started the important series of apparatus books and yet it is not clear it was intended to be the first of series as it dons no volume number. The first section is biographical detailing the Bamberg and Okito history which has many photographs of the Bamberg family. The apparatus sections follow which include descriptions of the magic apparatus and historical references to performance of the effect and each is well illustrated. The first 3 apparatus sections are organized by the time period in which from early 1900's in New York to 1940's working with Joe Berg and the 1950's where Okito team up to make apparatus with Don Redmon. The book also covers productions, the Okito floating ball, and Illusions of Fu-Manchu. 1000 copies printed.

Contents:

Foreword xi
Introduction xiii
Acknowledgements xv

Chapter One THE BAMBERGS AND OKITO 1

Chapter Two OKITO MAGIC: 1900, NEW YORK 29

• The Great Angling Trick 31
• The Riddle of the Rabbit 34
• Water Bowl Production 37
• The Okito Card Frame 40
• Transposition Extraordinary 49
• The Restless Spheres 53
• The Butterfly Trick 55
• Mysterious Dove 56
• Okito Bird Cage 58
• The Hindoo Inkwell 59
• Nest of Boxes 61
• Handkerchief Gun
• Mandarin Jewel Caskets 65

Chapter Three OKITO "BERG": 1940, CHICAGO

• Okito Card Star 71
• Cut and Restored Ribbon 73
• Color Changing Candle 76
• Matter Thru Matter 79
• "The Box" 84
• The "Barn-Berg" Zombie Cabinet 87
• The Tea Canister Mystery 89
• Flip-Over Vanish 92
• Sleeve Production 95
• Magical Incubator 96
• Mignon 98
• Ring On Wand 100
• Visible Block Penetration 103
• Fu-Manchu Hand Chopper 104
• The Substitution Principle 107
• The Confetti Trick 108
• Gobi Bowl 110
• Jewel Chest Mystery 112
• The Linking Chain Links 115

Chapter Four OKITO REDMON: 1950 117

• "Where Did The Ducks Go?" 119
• The Alphabet Block 125
• Checker Cabinet 127
• The Scare Mask and Dove 132
• Multum in Parvo 136
• Color Changing Wand 141
• Crystal Casket 145
• Okito's Miraculous Production 147

Intermission THE BAMBERG "GERUNTE" 149

Chapter Five MIRACULOUS PRODUCTIONS 151

• Okito Mat Trick 153
• The Triple Production 160
• Fu-Manchu Super Production 166
• 160 Eight Glasses Production 172

Chapter Six OKITO'S FAMOUS FLOATING BALL 175

Chapter Seven FU-MANCHU SECTION 189

• Fu-Manchu History and Show 191
• Stage Magic Technique 198
• The Magic Book 206
• Flash Appearances 212
• The Girl from the Light 215
• The Cremation Illusion 219
• The Pendulum Illusion 224

A color photographic section will he found after page 143