Magically An Idea or Two

Quarto. 35cm. Publisher's maroon cloth boards titled in gilt to front board. 46pp. Internally clean, light spotting to prelims, fore-edge untrimmed; Light wear and bumping to extremities, dulling of the cheap gilt, and some darkening and soiling to the cloth; strong and solid, a very good copy. Internally clean with the bookplate of Jim Ellis to the front flyleaf and a florid inscription to the facing blank: "To Jim Ellis from his friend, Jack [G]etrich." A rather typically extravagant collection of stage magic tips, tricks and techniques from Larsen Sr., the father of the intensely prolific William "Bill" Larsen Jr. and the origin of much of his stagecraft and "Impresario to the rich and famous" persona. It's probably fair to say that the Larsen's were one of the USA's most influential and long standing magical dynasties. The recipient is easy enough to identify; Jimmie Ellis, one time President of the Kudner Advertising Agency in New York, single-handedly responsible for the rise of the Buick Automobile Co. and widely acclaimed as a major figure in the 1950's US advertising world. Kudner were solely responsible for Buick advertising throughout the heyday of the company, under Ellis's direction. A life long Republican, Ellis was also instrumental in securing the popular vote for Eisenhower.…