Our Magic by Nevil Maskelyne & David Devant

Two things are noteworthy. One, it is a must read book for magic theory interested. Two, it has a 20 page biographical index of card tricks. This includes sleights as well. Anybody doing research on card moves or routines should have this index. It makes searching a lot easier. And this index might point you to interesting books you have not heard about or which are not in your possession. This book was rated one of the ten basic books for a working library of conjuring by H. Adrian Smith, historian, collector and owner of the largest private magic library in his time. Other books in this top 10 list are

• The Art of Magic by T. Nelson Downs
• The Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase
• Magicians' Tricks by Henry Hatton and Adrian Plate
• Modern Magic by Prof. Hoffmann
• More Magic by Prof. Hoffmann
• Later Magic by Prof. Hoffmann
• The Modern Conjurer by C. Lang Neil
• Tarbell Course by Harlan Tarbell
• Greater Magic by John Northern Hilliard

1st edition, 1911, E. P. Dutton & Company; 2nd edition, 1946, Fleming; original 487 pages; PDF 265 pages.

1. PART I: THE ART IN MAGIC by Nevil Maskelyne
2. I: The Real Secrets of Magic
3. II: The Three Degrees in Art
4. III: Unity
5. IV: Consistency
6. V: Justification
7. VI: Surprise and Repetition
8. VII: Effects of Transition
9. VIII: Climax
10. IX: Presentation
11. X: Rehearsal
12. XI: Speed in Presentation
13. XII: Patter
14. XIII: Stage Manner and Personality
15. XIV: Mental Attitude
16. XV: The Importance of Artistic Principles

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    PART II: THE THEORY OF MAGIC by Nevil Maskelyne
17. I: Terminology
18. II: General Analysis
19. III: Misdirection
20. IV: Styles of Magic
21. V: Manipulative Principles
22. VI: Principles of Mental Magic
23. VII: Mechanical Principles
24. VIII: Optical Principles
25. IX: Acoustic Principles
26. X: Electrical Principles
27. XI: Chemical and Molecular Principles
28. XII: Magical Inventions

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    PART III: THE PRACTICE OF MAGIC by David Devant
29. I: With Playing Cards. The Triangle
30. Bibliographical Index of Card Tricks
31. II: With Billiard Balls. Multiplication
32. III: With Figures. Simple Addition
33. IV: With a Borrowed Watch. The Forgotten Guest
34. V: With a Borrowed Handkerchief. A Lesson in Magic
35. VI: With Bells. Homing Bells
36. VII: With Flags. The National Colours
37. VIII: With Liquids. The Three Vases
38. IX: With a Rabbit, a Ball and Two Hats. The Silver Ball
39. X: With Fish and Letters. The Educated Fish
40. XI: With Doves and Rats. The Point of View
41. XII: With a Canary and a Target. "The Phoenix"

word count: 112190 which is equivalent to 448 standard pages of text