Blow Book (4 results)

Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Alloca, Dave (jacket photograph); Jaramillo, Raquel (jacket design); Hartman, Victoria (book design) (illustrator). 1st Edition. As new condition black boards with gold spine lettering contained in a very good condition photographic dust jacket. Includes Author Dedication; Prologue; Epilogue; Author's Note and About the Author. A rear jacket publisher inflicted printing crease. All pages are in as new unmarked condition and the spine/binding is in exceedingly tight and square unread condition (see photographs). "The last, defining years in the life of John F. Kennedy, Jr., as seen by an editor who worked for him at George Magazine. At thirty-four, better known for his social life than his work as an assistant district attorney, John F. Kennedy, Jr., was still a man in search of his destiny. All that changed in 1995, when Kennedy launched George, a bold and irreverent magazine about American politics. Over the next four years, Kennedy's passionate commitment to the magazine - and to the ideals it stood for - transormed him. One witness to this transformation was Richard Blow, an editor and writer who joined George several months before the release of its first issue. During their four years together, Blow observed his boss rise to enormous challenges - starting a risky new business, managing the pressures that attend a high public profile, and beginning life as a married man. In American Son, with Blow as our guide, we see the many sides of Kennedy's personality: the rebel who fearlessly takes on politicians and pundits; the gentleman who sends gracious thank-you notes to his colleagues for their wedding gifts; the vulnerable son struggling under the weight of a mythic family legacy; the leader who stays true to his vision, no matter how difficult the circumstances. Simply and sympathetically, Richard Blow offers an affecting portrait of a complicated man at last coming into his own - sometimes gracefully, sometimes under siege, never without the burden of great expectations." - from the inner front jacket flap.

NO TITLE, PUBLISHING DETAILS or CAPTIONS UNDERNEATH THE PLATES, AN UNUSUALLY TALL EXAMPLE, circa 1830, approximately 215 x 130 mm, 8½ x 5 inches, 112 hand coloured wood engraved plates, 7 subjects, each with 16 illustrations, plus 16 blank pages as required, fore-edges stepped and notched as issued, full soft leather sheepskin on card, LACKS INSTRUCTION SLIP (probably many slips are missing, once the conjurer had mastered the trick he wanted to keep it secret). Binding rubbed, spine worn with some loss, hinges cracked, but still holding, pale age-browning throughout, small closed tear repaired to outer edge of first blank leaf, inner paper hinges cracked, stitching slightly loose in places, no loose pages, occasional small pale brown spot to blank margins, edges and a few corners of plates slightly dusty, small nicks to a few edges, a well used copy. The changes are: Harlequin; dancing girl with garland; prancing black American with paddle steam ship in background; clown; basket of flowers; horned satyr or demon; and grinning skeleton.The earliest description of the blow book appeared in Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1584, he emphasized that the blow book was not a common device among magicians, he included the tantalizing information that a certain Clarvis was the inventor of the blow book and most skilful at its display. The conjuror holds the book by its spine in his left hand so that it faces the audience and flips through it with the thumb and fore-fingers of his right hand. He first does this using the lowest tabs and the book appears to be entirely blank. He then magically changes it (perhaps by blowing on it, tapping it, or saying magic words) and flips through it using the next tab. Now every page shows a Skeleton, he continues with the next tabs to reveal Satyr etc., he then turns the book upside down and flips through in the same way. Again the book first appears to be blank, then shows Dancing Girl etc. See: Barbara Maria Stafford and Frances Terpak, Devices of Wonder, pages 252-255, for interesting information on the blow book; Gumuchian, Les Livres de L'Enfance, pages 276-277, No. 3843-3850. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.

NO TITLE or PUBLISHING DETAILS, PAPER HAS WATER MARKS, SEVERAL WITH "MONTG" on 1 PAGE and "LFIER" ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE ( Montg(o)lfier)? and several with a few capital letters not making any recognisable word, approximately 170 x 120 mm, 6½ x 4¾ inches, 84 hand coloured plates, some with French captions beneath, fore-edges stepped and notched as issued, original marbled wrappers. LACKS INSTRUCTION SLIP (probably many slips are missing, once the conjurer had mastered the trick, he wanted to keep the trick secret), small repair to bottom of spine, covers slightly worn at edges, corners worn with slight loss to tips (see attached images), occasional small pale brown spot to blank margins, edges and a few corners of plates slightly dusty, a few other tiny marks, otherwise a very good copy. Contents: 7 subjects, each with 12 plates, the changes are: Harlequin; Le Pere; L'Abbe; Soldat; Flowers; La Mere; Playing Cards. The earliest description of the blow book appeared in Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1584, he emphasized that the blow book was not a common device among magicians, Scot included the tantalizing information that a certain Clarvis was the inventor of the blow book and most skillful at its display. The conjuror holds the book by its spine in his left hand so that it faces the audience and flips through it with the thumb and fore-fingers of his right hand. He first does this using the lowest tabs and the book appears to be entirely blank. He then magically changes it (perhaps by blowing on it, tapping it, or saying magic words) and flips through it using the next tab. Now every page shows a Harlequin, he continues with the next tabs to reveal Playing Cards etc. He then turns the book upside down and flips through in the same way. Again the book first appears to be blank, then shows Soldat etc. See: Barbara Maria Stafford and Frances Terpak, Devices of Wonder, pages 252-255, for interesting information on the blow book; Gumuchian, Les Livres de L'Enfance du xv au xix Siecle, pages 276-277, No. 3843-3850. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.

Dos entoilé noir, couvertures chromolithographiées représentant un sorcier en noir, blanc et or sur fond rouge. Ensemble de 80 pages lithographiées divisées en 8 séries de dix pages représentant chacune une thématique différentes : motifs ornementaux, collections de timbres, animaux, silhouettes en ombre chinoise, caricatures, montage d'articles variés.Page d'explication en dix langues : livre de la magie graphique. Passe-temps et amusement pour chaque âge. "Le présent petit livre procure un amusement très original et intéressant aux sociétés joyeuses, car il change dans peu de minutes huit fois son contenu devant les spectateurs, sans que ceux-ci pressentent où disparaît ce qu'ils viennent de voir. D'abord, en le feuilletant il parait complètement vide, ensuite il se présente comme album de timbres-poste bien rempli, pour se montrer enfin comme livre d'images, ou pour se remplir avec silhouettes, caricatures, animaux, écritures ou d'autre contenu selon le désir de chacun".