One of these days, I’m going to write a novel about David Abbott and early 20th century Omaha, NE (my hometown). Or maybe a book about Joseffy and his travels with the Lyceum. Maybe both. Who knows? I don’t.
Related tags: Abbott Project, magic
Read
Magic and Related Subjects, Non-Fiction
- Abbott, David P. – Behind the Scenes with the Mediums
- Abbott, David P. w/ Teller & Todd Karr – House of Mystery
- Abbott, David P. – The History of a Strange Case
- Abbott, David P. – The Marvelous Creations of Joseffy
- Abbott, David P. – The Spirit Portrait Mystery: Its Final Solution
- Brown, Derren, – Tricks of the Mind
- Browne, Sylvia – Adventures of a Psychic
- Cai, Ning – Who is Magic Babe Ning?
- Dunninger, Joseph – Magic and Mystery
- Farrington, Elijah – Revelations of a Spirit Medium
- Goldston, Will – Exclusive Magical Secrets
- Herrmann, Adelaide & Margaret B. Steele – Adelaide Herrmann: Queen of Magic
- Higher Read – Houdini: A Life Worth Reading
- Houdini, Harry – Miracle Mongers and their Methods
- Houdini, Harry – The Right Way to Do Wrong
- Jaher, David – The Witch of Lime Street
- Jay, Ricky – Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women
- Jarrow, Gail – The Amazing Harry Kellar
- Johnson, Karl – The Magician and the Cardsharp: The Search for America’s Greatest Sleight-of-Hand Artist
- Kreskin, T. A. & Michael McCarty – Conversations with Kreskin
- Lamont, Peter & Richard Wiseman – Magic in Theory
- Lamont, Peter – The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick
- Macknik, Stephen L.& Susana Martinez-Conde, Sandra Blakeslee – Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions
- Penn & Teller’s How to Play in Traffic
- Penn & Teller’s How to Play with Your Food
- Penn & Teller’s Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends
- Robinson, William E. – Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena
- Spill, Steve – I Lie for Money
- Standage, Tom – The Turk
- Steinmeyer, Jim – The Glorious Deception
- Steinmeyer, Jim – Hiding the Elephant
- Steinmeyer, Jim – The Last Greatest Magician in the World
- Steinmeyer, Jim – “The Spider in the Flies”
- Stone, Alex – Fooling Houdini
- Thomas, Frankin A. – How to Hold Circles for the Developing Mediumship at Home
- Thomas, Frankin A. – Philosophy and Phenomena of Spiritualism
Magic and Related Subjects, Fiction
- Armstrong, Jon – Smoke & Mirrors
- Chabon, Michael – The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
- Copperfield, David ed. – David Copperfield’s Beyond Imagination
- Copperfield, David ed. – David Copperfield’s Tales of the Impossible
- Gaspard, John – The Ambitious Card
- Gaspard, John – The Bullet Catch
- Gaspard, John – Miser’s Dream
- Gaspard, John – “The Invisible Assistant”
- Gold, Glen David – Carter Beats the Devil
- Goldman, William – Magic
- Lawrence, Iain – The Séance
- Lutes, Jason (writer) & Nick Bertozzi (Illustrator) – Houdini: The Handcuff King
- Kelly, Victoria – Mrs. Houdini
- Mason, Lisa – “Every Mystery Unexplained”
- Matheson, Richard – Now You See It . . .
- Millhauser, Steven – “Eisenheim the Illusionist”
- Prasil, Tim – Help for the Haunted
- Priest, Christopher – The Prestige
- Rawson, Clayton – Death from a Top Hat
- Selznick, Brian – The Houdini Box
- Stashower, Daniel – The Adventure of the Ectoplasmic Man
- Stern, Steve – “Hyman the Magnificent”
General History, Omaha, and the Midwest
- Bristow, David L. – A Dirty, Wicked Town: Tales of 19th Century Omaha
- Menard, Orville D. – River City Empire: Tom Dennison’s Omaha
- Sandburg, Carl – Smoke and Steel & Slabs of the Sunburnt West
- Wheeler, Theodore – On the River, Down Where They Found Willy Brown
Unread*
Magic and Related Subjects, Non-Fiction
- Dunningers Complete Encyclopedia Of Magic by Joseph Dunninger
- Houdini on Magic by Harry Houdini
- The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini by Ruth Brandon
- World’s Best Card Tricks by Bob Longe
- The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation by S.W. Erdnase
- Linking Rings: William W. Durbin and the Magic and Mystery of America by James David Robenalt
- Facts, Frauds, & Phantasms: A Survey of the Spiritualist Movement by Georgess McHargue
- The Great Illusionists by Edwin A Dawses
- …Memoirs and Confessions of a Stage Magician by Don & Joyce Brandon
- The Science of Illusions by Jacques Ninio
- Houdini and Conan Doyle by Christopher Sandford
Magic and Related Subjects, Fiction
- The Spirit Cabinet by Paul Quarrington
- The Magician by Sol Stein
- The Final Confession of Mabel Stark by Robert Hough
- Eyeing the Flash: The Making of a Carnival Con Artist by Peter Fenton
- Inamorata by Jospeh Gangemi
- The Great Balsamo by Maurice Zolotow
General History, Omaha, and the Midwest
- Barrelhouse Boys by Joel Williamson
- Kings of Broken Things by Theodore Wheeler
* List does not include ebooks. A more complete list of what I own and what I want to read exists at Goodreads.
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Abbott and Joseffy are both such fascinating characters. I’d love to see what you do with either or both of them.
I recreated the Mystic Oracle of the Swinging Pendulums from the Abbott book and presented it to Psychic Entertainers Association meeting in Portland last year.
How neat! I’m in the midst of putting together collection of the articles that Abbott wrote for The Open Court magazine. I believe he touches on the pendulums briefly in one of the articles. It would be great to see any of his works performed.