"England's finest sleight-of-hand performer."
- Dai Vernon
The 1930s and 1940s were exciting times for card magicians, and while many magicians actively performing during those times have become lasting names, Edward George Brown was sadly not one of them. Luminaries from John Ramsay, Dai Vernon, and Charlie Miller wrote that Edward G. Brown was one of the finest sleight-of-hand artists of all time, yet his presence is all but forgotten, almost certainly due to the scarcity of his astounding book, The Card Magic of Edward G. Brown.
Working with The Magic Circle, Andi Gladwin has reproduced this rare book, and combined it with a thorough analysis of Brown's life's work in a separate "study guide." The two books come packaged in a beautiful collector's slipcase, raising the standards of how a magic book should be produced.
Brown's book is a view to card magic of a different era. The book contains an equal mixture of parlor and close-up card magic: some easy, and some difficult. Brown was one of the earliest proponents of "naturalness" and "uniformity of action," and much of the material is as relevant and interesting today as it ever was. Amongst the many treasures created by Brown, you'll learn the trick that Andi Gladwin believes is one of the best-constructed card tricks of all time; the transposition of a genuinely freely thought-of card from one spectator to another. As you read each trick, you can use Andi's study guide to learn more details about the method. On occasion, you'll even learn extra handlings (including a previously-unpublished Dai Vernon effect).
Books like this come along all too rarely; a sought-after text, analyzed by an expert in that area. If you appreciate fine card magic, this two-book set deserves a place on your shelf.