World of Magic – Vol. 1 by Jack Hughes, Derek Lever

The legendary British Inventor, Craftsman, and Dealer, Jack Hughes, invented many staples in magic that we take for granted today (including: TV Card Frame (1936), Coins in Glass (before Copenetro) (1939), Attaboy (early 1930s), Clatter Box (1951) and many more.

I grew up in the UK dreaming of owning some Jack Hughes effects. It was clear that the House of Hughes was producing some of the best magic around. I was able to buy a few of his items, but for the most part his effects were too expensive for my pocket.

Thirty years on, it is a wonderful pleasure to look through these impressive volumes to relive so much of Jack’s magic. These books are beautifully produced and give very detailed instructions on how to build nearly all of the House of Hughes magic.

Details: (Derek Lever) My interest in magic began in 1948 and it did not take me long as a young school boy to discover the Jack Hughes quality apparatus. Every penny earned from shows was saved up until I could afford items such as “Coins In Glass” etc.

By the time I was a teenager I was able to afford more expensive items and ‘Coin Cascade’, ‘Dippy Duck’, ‘Dagger Chest’ and ‘Three Sword Suspension’ became regular features in my act. I well remember my excitement at receiving by mail the ‘Jack Hughes Snake Basket’ and marvelling at the mechanical ingenuity of the apparatus, not to mention the craftsmanship which had gone into its manufacture.

During my years as a working professional there are very few items in the Jack Hughes range which I have not used at some time or other and apart from the sheer quality of the equipment, every item was 100% PRACTICAL and represented excellent value for money … which probably explains why he never became a millionaire.

It never crossed my mind all those years ago that I would one day be editing all the material for the ‘Jack Hughes World of Magic’ and to be concerned in the publishing of this valuable work. When I first saw the abundance of material available for the book I realised that it would be impossible to present it all in one volume, particularly since Jack wanted to have the original routines and instructions included in the text wherever possible.

Working with Jack on this project it became immediately apparent to me that here was a gifted man of great talent and knowledge who had a desire to offer to the fraternity a really outstanding book. He rightly believed that ‘one picture is worth a thousand words’ and consequently each effect throughout the book is fully illustrated, with what I personally believe are some of the finest line drawings ever to grace a magical publication – most of them hand drawn by Jack himself. The drawings alone represent months of labour and when you consider that many of the items he had not seen or handled for over 30 years or more, you can imagine how difficult the task was.

As a Magical Dealer myself, I am perhaps in a better position than most magicians, to appreciate the wealth of material which Jack has invented and manufactured throughout the last 50 years and the dedication required to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep up with orders. For contrary to popular belief, the life of a Dealer who MANUFACTURES his own effects is not an easy one. How many times Jack’s wife Marie must have cursed his chosen profession when he was unable to go shopping with her or take a holiday, because of the demand for his wares.

Some of the items in this first volume will probably never have been seen by many magicians – for example the ‘Human Where The Rainbow Ends’ – only three of these were manufactured and I was fortunate enough to have owned one of these for a time after purchasing the collection of the late Frank Baumforth, (who is seen performing the effect in the photographs accompanying the details of the illusion in this book). To see this illusion performed is the thrill of a lifetime since there can be few effects which finish with such a spectacle of colour and glamour. Even the small size ‘Where the Rainbow Ends’ brings smiles of enchantment onto so many children’s faces not to mention their parents.

Perhaps the most acclaimed book of this decade has been the ‘Robert Harbin Book’ and this certainly contained some fine material, however I honestly believe that in this first volume of ‘The Jack Hughes World of Magic’ there is far more PRACTICAL and COMMERCIAL magic than was contained in the ‘Harbin Book’. Remember, that EVERY ITEM in this book was manufactured and sold COMMERCIALLY …. there is no padding …. no pipe dreams …. this is the material which enabled Jack to earn a living for over 50 years and that type of material has NEVER been published before.

We at Taurus Magic Supply are proud and privileged to present what we believe to be the magical publication of the decade.

Contents of Volume 1:

INTRODUCTION 8
JACK HUGHES … THIS IS YOUR LIFE 10
ROPE WELLS 13
DOVE IN BALLOON [Long Balloon Model] 15
DOVE IN BALLOON [Round Balloon Model] 17
THE FRENCH GUILLOTINE 18
SUCKER BEAKER VANISH 21
BACK STAGE BEAKER VANISH 23
TANTALISING TASSELS 24
TOTEM POLE 26
THREE SWORD SUSPENSION 28
THE SCIMITAR SUSPENSION 31
THE GOSPEL SUSPENSION 32
THREE AXES SUSPENSION 34
THE MASTER DOVE IN BALLOON TABLE 37
DOVE CAROUSEL VANISH 40
CAGE VANISH 46
ATTABOY 50
COINS IN GLASS [ Tray Method] 56
VISIBLE COINS IN GLASS 62
TEN SECOND REMOTE CONTROL VISIBLE COINS IN GLASS 65
ROLL ON TABLE 66
CAN AND BALL 68
LOCKING JAP BOXES 70
GHOST GLASS 73
A STAR PRODUCTION 75
NEW GIANT RISING CARD TRICK 78
VANISHING TELEPHONE 80
SNAKE BASKET 82
THE GOLDEN SHOT JOKER 90
HOW TO MAKE A SPRING HINGE 92
SAMMY THE SWEEP 93
THE ILLUSIVE STOP by Will Blyth 97
IMPROVED TELEVISION CARD FRAME 101
DOUBLE TELEVISION FRAME 106
BRIEF CASE TO TABLE 108
PENETRA-SPHERES 109
THE CAGEY BUDGIES 111
DICKORY CLOCK 113
GIRL TO PONY 116
WHIRLING MICROPHONE SUSPENSION 119
TRIPLE TRAY TRUNK 121
ONE MINUTE PUNCH & JUDY BOOTH 123
COIN CASCADE 124
CARD GO 130
CASTLE ILLUSION 133
VENTRILOQUISTS MOP NOVELTY 136
THE HUMAN WHERE THE RAINBOW ENDS 139
DIPPY DUCK 144
THREE BLADES AND SPEAR ILLUSION 148
LIQUID MONTE 152
DOVE THROUGH GLASS 154
M’LADY STEPS OUT 158
ALARM CLOCK STAND 160
PHEOBE THE FAN DANCER 162
HAT BOX SUBSTITUTION 165
RADIO VANISH 169
DOVE CATCHING NET AND DOVE PRODUCTION BASKET 172
SU-TABLE 175
THE HOMICIDE ILLUSION 178
BLOCK OFF RIBBON 183
WHERE THE RAINBOW ENDS 186
THE RAINBOW DOLL 192
RIBBONS TO BOTANIA 197
SPACIOUS PRODUCTION BOX 200
THE CHAIR SUSPENSION 204
NEW ELECTRIC SAWING IN HALF 208
HEAD ZOPPER 214
DOVE NEST OF BOXES 216
DIE BALL 219
DAGGER CHEST 222
TELEVISION HEAD CHEST 226
PEA COCK PRODUCTION 227
HAND IN HAND WRIST GUILLOTINE 230
HEAD CHOPPER 234
CUBAN RELEASE 237
TWO ROPE METHOD OF CUBAN RELEASE 239
THE NEST OF BOXES 240
THE UGLY DUCKLING 243
FIFI – THE CARD PECKER 247

Simply beautiful!

• Publisher: Taurus Magic Supply
• Pages: 196
• Location: Lancashire, England
• Edited by: Derek Lever
• Dimensions: 8″x12″
• Date: 1981
• Binding: hardbound

Text Source: Derek Lever – Introduction

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