The Book of Magic from 1908 / original antique edition, collector's rarity

The book of witchcraft / willmann, hermann, becker, vegini, etc. After ed. Simon of Tolna (1868-1944). Publisher: Hungarian commercial newspaper newspaper and book publishing company, 1908. Printer: Jókai Institute of Printing, Budapest. 174 Page, vi. Extended edition with hundreds of illustrations. This edition was published in a reprint version in 1986 by the state book distribution company.

"The book of magic is a thick volume of 174 pages, with 4-500 drawings and more than 100 stunts. It is extremely easy to perform the stunts by making the drawings precisely. In fact, to make the stunts easier, each difficult stunt is explained in 4-5 drawings. All the mysterious miracles produced by Indus fakirs, Persian magicians and famous European magicians, such as teacher Hermann, Bergher, Fox, l'honte masque, Marian Belluccini, etc., are explained in this book and can be performed by anyone."

Simon Tolnai (1868, Nagyvárad - 1944, Mauthausen), the famous printing press and newspaper owner, book publisher, edited and published the first modern domestic magic book in 1898, which reached seven or eight editions already in the year of publication. In his book, Tolnai summarized the knowledge of the time and thereby defined the path of Hungarian magic for decades.

Simon Tolnai was a good magician, he brought many props and knowledge from abroad, he also taught magic. He was the first to wear a top hat and a tailcoat for his stunts, following the French model. At that time, magic moved from the fairs to the salons of noblemen.