Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Victorian Stage Magic, Scientific Amusements, and Early Trick PhotographyBy Albert A. Hopkins
Length13h 14m
About this audiobook
Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography is an encyclopedic treasury of late nineteenth-century wonder: conjuring apparatus, theatrical illusions, automata, optical effects, electrical marvels, and photographic deceptions are described with the precision of popular science. Its style is expository, richly practical, and occasionally theatrical, translating mysteries of the stage into mechanisms, diagrams, and experiments. Situated at the intersection of Victorian scientific recreation, mechanical ingenuity, and popular entertainment, the book demystifies illusion without diminishing its imaginative force. Albert A. Hopkins was an American editor, inventor, and prolific writer associated with the culture of practical science, especially through Scientific American circles. His interest in technology, experiment, and public instruction shaped a work that treats magic not as supernatural display but as applied physics, optics, chemistry, mechanics, and stagecraft. Hopkins's editorial temperament is evident in the volume's breadth: it gathers diverse techniques into an ordered survey of modern marvels. This book is highly recommended for readers interested in magic history, theatre technology, photography, and the popularization of science. Scholars, magicians, and historically minded general readers will find it invaluable as a document of how an age of invention transformed wonder into knowledge while preserving the pleasures of astonishment.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreOther
Length13 hrs 14 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 26, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2PREFACE.
3INTRODUCTION. THE MYSTERIES OF MODERN MAGIC.
4I.
5II.
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6III.
7IV.
8V.
9VI.
10BOOK I. CONJURERS’ TRICKS AND STAGE ILLUSIONS.
11CHAPTER I. MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES.
12CHAPTER II. OPTICAL TRICKS.
13CHAPTER III. MISCELLANEOUS STAGE TRICKS.
14CHAPTER IV. CONJURING TRICKS.
15CHAPTER V. JUGGLERS AND ACROBATIC PERFORMANCES.
16CHAPTER VI. FIRE EATERS AND SWORD TRICKS.
17CHAPTER VII. VENTRILOQUISM AND ANIMATED PUPPETS.
18CHAPTER VIII. SHADOWGRAPHY.
19CHAPTER IX. MENTAL MAGIC.
20BOOK II. ANCIENT MAGIC.
21CHAPTER I. TEMPLE TRICKS OF THE GREEKS.
22CHAPTER II. MIRACULOUS VESSELS OF THE GREEKS.
23CHAPTER III. THE ORIGIN OF THE STEAM ENGINE.
24CHAPTER IV. GREEK LAMPS, TOYS, ETC.
25BOOK III. SCIENCE IN THE THEATER.
26CHAPTER I. BEHIND THE SCENES OF AN OPERA HOUSE.
27CHAPTER II. SOME REMARKABLE STAGES, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
28CHAPTER III. STAGE EFFECTS.
29CHAPTER IV. THEATER SECRETS.
30CHAPTER V. THE NAUTICAL ARENA.
31CHAPTER VI. A TRIP TO THE MOON.
32CHAPTER VII. CYCLORAMAS.
33CHAPTER VIII. FIREWORKS WITH DRAMATIC ACCESSORIES.
34BOOK IV. AUTOMATA AND CURIOUS TOYS.
35CHAPTER I. AUTOMATA.
36CHAPTER II. CURIOUS TOYS.
37CHAPTER III. MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS OF AN AMUSING NATURE.
38BOOK V. PHOTOGRAPHIC DIVERSIONS.
39CHAPTER I. TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY.
40CHAPTER II. CHRONOPHOTOGRAPHY.
41CHAPTER III. THE PROJECTION OF MOVING PICTURES.
42APPENDIX.
43ADDITIONAL TRICKS.
44I. ENGLISH.
45II. FRENCH.
46III. GERMAN.
47IV. SPANISH.
48V. ITALIAN.
49VI. LATIN.
50INDEX.
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