Goldston Reader by Will Goldston

Details: From the Introduction to the volume by George Daily: Bang went the gavel on Lot No.135 … Sold for $350.00 to bidder No 128, said the auctioneer, as the Neil See Collection went to auction at Swann Galleries in New York City on May 10, 1990.

Lot No.135 consisted of an incomplete series of THE MAGICIAN ANNUAL in only fair condition, nevertheless the selling price reinforced how highly regarded this lavishly produced series is held by today’s conjuring collector.

The Sphinx for February 1908 carried the following review by editor A.M. Wilson:

The MAGICIAN ANNUAL, edited by Will Goldston and published by A. W. Gamage of London, England, is a large quarto volume of 100 pages, each a little larger than the pages of The Sphinx. I hardly know how to describe this altogether unique and valuable work, it is so packed with good things from the opening article on Juggling by Paul Cinquevalli, to the closing one descriptive of the Bungalow Illusion, by Will Goldston. Between these two extremes are over ninety pages of portraits of noted magicians with descriptions of their best tricks and illusions all so clearly written and illustrated that the merest tyro in magic can understand them, and yet so valuable in character as to make them worthy for study by the oldest head in the business. Each picture has its place and adds to the value of the book….

Through the courtesy of the Burton S. Sperber collection, CW has obtained mint condition copies of the original six Goldston Annuals and reproduced them in one volume. Every page, (more than 565 pages, total), every article, every word has been meticulously reproduced, including the magnificent color plates. This, the third release of the Collectors’ Classics series, is a must addition to this Great Books collection.

Included:

• The MAGICIAN ANNUAL 1907-1908
• The MAGICIAN ANNUAL 1908-1909
• The MAGICIAN ANNUAL 1909-1910, suppressed edition, (cartoon caricature of the levitation of a heavy Mrs. Ernest E. Noakes on page 62).
• The MAGICIAN ANNUAL 1909-1910, (single pg. replacement halftone of Austen Temple on p. 62).
• The MAGICIAN ANNUAL 1910-1911
• The MAGICIAN ANNUAL 1911-1912,
• WILL GOLDSTON’S ANNUAL OF MAGIC 1915-1916

Without question, Will Goldston has given the twentieth century collector of conjuring literature a jewel in the richly produced series, The MAGICIAN ANNUAL. Long may it sparkle within our collections today, and in the centuries to follow.

• Publisher: Collector’s Workshop
• Pages: 562
• Location: McAllen, TX, USA
• Edited by: Will Goldston
• Dimensions: 9″x11″
• Date: 1907-1916, 1990
• Binding: hardbound

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