Dressing to impress has a whole new meaning . . . Spirited silk, crafty crepe, lively lace, tricky taffetas and enchanting empire lines . . . How powerful is the perfect dress? Find out in Sally Anne Morris's spellbinding romance. Her love life in tatters, Rose Taylor decides its time to run away from London and open a vintage dress shop near her sister in Bath. If anyone is able to fully appreciate the life-enhancing power of finding and wearing that one very special dress, it's Rose. But it seems the tea dresses, ball-gowns and lace in Vintage Magic really do have a life of their own... As she uncovers the secret of the shop's magical powers, Rose realises that she can be transformed into a bewitching goddess, one with not only the power to get back the man she lost but to reach out and grab the life she's always wanted. Dressing to impress is about to take on a whole new meaning... What readers are saying about VINTAGE MAGIC: 'Another excellently woven tale with real touches of 'magic'. It takes you from the real world to some fantastical places, but ends up bringing you home with a very satisfying and unforeseen ending' 'Entertaining and quirky. The believable characters draw you in to this very British story of magic, clothes and relationships' 'Such a kooky, cute little book! There were so many funny moments throughout'
When Madiera Cutler returns home to Mystick Falls, Connecticut, for her sister's wedding, she must magically unravel the secrets that an antique wedding dress holds to bring the real killer of her sister's arch enemy to justice before everything falls apart at the seams. Original.
There's nothing Maddie loves more than fabulous vintage clothes, but the visions she gets while touching them are starting to wear her down. Even so, when a beautifully dressed girl comes to Vintage Magic in search of her past, Maddie isn't about to turn her away, especially since she bears a striking resemblance to her good friend Dolly Sweet. When Maddie touches Paisley Skye's exquisitely crafted child's cloak, the vision she receives is of the ugliest sort: a decades-old case of kidnapping and murder. To give herself more time to investigate, Maddie enlists the help of her FBI Agent boyfriend Nick and takes Paisley into her home. But when Dolly suddenly skips town, Maddie realizes that uncovering the folds of Paisley's past will reveal more than one vintage crime...
Books like this contain what may be called the raw material of the art, the processes which the magician can employ at will in building up his larger experiments in magic, each of which should be a complete play in itself. Then, when the student has found out how tricks can be done, he would do well to turn his attention to Our Magic, by Mr. Maskelyne and his associate, Mr. David Devant. And from this logical treatise he can learn how experiments in magic ought to be composed. It is from this admirable discussion of the basic principles of modern magic that more than one of the points made in this paper have been borrowed. Mr. Devant calls attention to the fact that new tricks are common, new manipulative devices, new examples of dexterity and new applications of science, whereas new plots, new ideas for effective presentation, are rare. He describes a series of experiments of his own, some of which utilize again but in a novel manner devices long familiar, while others are new both in idea and in many of the subsidiary methods of execution. One of the most hackneyed and yet one of the most effective illusions in the repertory of the conjurer is that known as the Rising Cards. The performer brings forward a pack of cards, several of which are drawn by members of the audience and returned to the pack, whereupon at the command of the magician they rise out of the pack one after the other in the order in which they were drawn. In the oldest form in which this illusion is described in the books on the art, the pack is placed in a case supported by a rod standing on a base, and the secret of the trick lies on this rod and its base. The rod is really a hollow tube and the base is really an empty box. The tube is filled with sand, on the top of which rests a leaden weight, to which is attached a thread so arranged over and under certain cards as to cause the chosen cards to rise when it descends down the tube; and in putting the cards into the case the conjurer released a valve at the bottom of the tube, so that the sand might escape into the box, whereby the weight was lowered, the thread then doing its allotted work, and the cards ascending into view, no matter how far distant the performer might then be standing. It seems likely that the invention of this primitive apparatus may have been due to the fact that some eighteenth century conjurer happened to observe the sand running out of an hour-glass and set about to find some means whereby this escape of sand could be utilized in his art. The hollow rod, the escaping sand, and the descending weight have long since been discarded; but the illusion of the Rising Cards survives and is now performed in an unending variety of ways. The pack may be held in the hand of the performer, without the use of any case, or it may be placed in a glass goblet, or it may be tied together with a ribbon and thus suspended from cords that swing to and from almost over the heads of the spectators; and however they may be isolated the chosen cards rise obediently when they are bidden. The original effect subsists, even though the devices differ.... The Bookman: A Review of Books and Life, Volume 40
A collection of stories and poems, together with a puzzle and a Punch-and-Judy play, illustrated with movable pictures, by the artist niece of Sigmund Freud.
This early manual of tricks is an absorbing work which will prove of much interest to the enthusiast or historian of magic. Contents Include: The Origin and Entertainment Value of Conjuring; Some Simple Miscellaneous Effects; Easy Card Tricks; Paper Conjuring; Arranging a Small Show; More Advanced Card Tricks and Sleights; Card Farming; Manipulating Coins, Balls, etc.; Thimble and Cigarette Tricks; Silk Handkerchief Tricks; Vanishing and Producing; Misdirecting the Audience; The Spectator's Idea of "Magic"; Using an Assistant; The Stage Show; Some Effective Apparatus; Apparatus You Can Make; Pocket and Close-up Tricks; Entertaining Children; Some Children's Effects; The Little Things that Matter; and Joining a Magical Society. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
"High magic encompasses a wide array of doctrines and techniques, including the conjuring of spirits and nonhuman entities, ritual divination, the making and consecrating of magical tools and talismans, and the exploration of astrology. This practical guide describes the methods of self-initiation into a wide array of occult traditions... Discover the traditions of tarot, alchemy, talismans, tattwa magic, angelic magic, stars of the wise, and much more"--P. [4] of cover.
The first story in the Magic Faraway Tree series by one of the world's most popular children's authors, Enid Blyton.Joe, Beth and Frannie find the Enchanted Wood on the doorstep of their new home, and when they discover the Faraway Tree it is the start of a wonderful series of magical adventures.Join them and their friends Moonface, Saucepan Man and Silky the fairy as they discover which new land is at the top of the Faraway Tree. Will it be the Land of Spells, the Land of Treats, or the Land of Do-As-You-Please? This is the perfect story for bedtime and shared reading for young children. Discover the magic!
