$1,500
Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Des Amusemens des Sciences, Mathematiques et Physiques… . Paris, 1742. Two volumes bound in contemporary calf. Volume two contains over 100 engravings. 4to. Wear and chips to bindings of both volumes, but contents sound. Good condition. According to Robert-Houdin's memoirs, this encyclopedic two-volume set of nearly 900 pages was the work he was mistakenly given by a bookseller in Blois instead of Berthoud's two-volume treatise on clock making. In studying the Dictionnaire, Robert-Houdin fell victim to the siren song of magic tricks and automatons. Houdin's personal copy of this set, bearing his inscription noting their significance in his life, is on display at the Robert-Houdin museum in Blois. The Dictionnaire explains in both text and through finely-rendered engravings, many classic conjuring tricks, among them Cups and Balls, Cut and Restored Rope, the Bonus Genius, and numerous card effects, as well as the mechanisms behind basic automatons, mysterious clocks, magic lanterns and other incredible devices. It is no wonder that this work, a seemingly endless font of information regarding tricks, commonly known in France as "La Magie Blanche," changed the course of Robert-Houdin's life, and consequently, the course of magic history.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2011-01-29
