Albo 01 – The Ori by Robert J. Albo, Eric C. Lewis, David Bamberg

Description

The first of the Dr. Albo Books #583 of 1000 copies issued.

Details: There are 11 books in this series which all adorn red hard bound covers and clear plastic mylar jackets (except for volume 8 which was a binder supplement). These books all feature a color section which shows the beautiful magic apparatus, posters, and illusions of the past. There are also a number of supplemental books including 2 bound supplements which are part of Volume 8 and Laboratories of Legerdemain, which were later republished with added material as Volume 11.

These books serve to provide information to collectors, builders, and historians of magic. The books have all been issued individually with the exception of volumes 6,7, and 8 which were issued as a set which included a box for all 8 volumes. It is apparent that at the time these were intended to be the final volumes, however, volumes 9 through 11 have been subsequently issued as well. A smaller, sturdier box was issued to house Volumes 9 and 10 and supplements. I suppose one could conclude that the Classic Magic with Apparatus is complete as the newer projects Ultimate Okito, Ultimate Okito Addendum, and Ultimate Thayer are being issued in a distinctly different green cloth.

These books have a wealth of information including the classics of magic apparatus with line drawings and color photographs showing different versions of the effects produced by various magic companies world-wide.

This is the 228 page book that started the important series of apparatus books and yet it is not clear it was intended to be the first of series as it dons no volume number. The first section is biographical detailing the Bamberg and Okito history which has many photographs of the Bamberg family. The apparatus sections follow which include descriptions of the magic apparatus and historical references to performance of the effect and each is well illustrated. The first 3 apparatus sections are organized by the time period in which from early 1900’s in New York to 1940’s working with Joe Berg and the 1950’s where Okito team up to make apparatus with Don Redmon. The book also covers productions, the Okito floating ball, and Illusions of Fu-Manchu. 1000 copies printed.

Contents:

Foreword xi
Introduction xiii
Acknowledgements xv

Chapter One THE BAMBERGS AND OKITO 1

Chapter Two OKITO MAGIC: 1900, NEW YORK 29

The Great Angling Trick 31The Riddle of the Rabbit 34Water Bowl Production 37The Okito Card Frame 40Transposition Extraordinary 49The Restless Spheres 53The Butterfly Trick 55Mysterious Dove 56Okito Bird Cage 58The Hindoo Inkwell 59Nest of Boxes 61Handkerchief GunMandarin Jewel Caskets 65

Chapter Three OKITO “BERG”: 1940, CHICAGO

Okito Card Star 71Cut and Restored Ribbon 73Color Changing Candle 76Matter Thru Matter 79″The Box” 84The “Barn-Berg” Zombie Cabinet 87The Tea Canister Mystery 89Flip-Over Vanish 92Sleeve Production 95Magical Incubator 96Mignon 98Ring On Wand 100Visible Block Penetration 103Fu-Manchu Hand Chopper 104The Substitution Principle 107The Confetti Trick 108Gobi Bowl 110Jewel Chest Mystery 112The Linking Chain Links 115

Chapter Four OKITO REDMON: 1950 117

“Where Did The Ducks Go?” 119The Alphabet Block 125Checker Cabinet 127The Scare Mask and Dove 132Multum in Parvo 136Color Changing Wand 141Crystal Casket 145Okito’s Miraculous Production 147

Intermission THE BAMBERG “GERUNTE” 149

Chapter Five MIRACULOUS PRODUCTIONS 151

Okito Mat Trick 153The Triple Production 160Fu-Manchu Super Production 166160 Eight Glasses Production 172

Chapter Six OKITO’S FAMOUS FLOATING BALL 175

Chapter Seven FU-MANCHU SECTION 189

Fu-Manchu History and Show 191Stage Magic Technique 198The Magic Book 206Flash Appearances 212The Girl from the Light 215The Cremation Illusion 219The Pendulum Illusion 224

A color photographic section will he found after page 143