Baker, Al, Todd Karr (Editor): The Secret Ways of Al Baker
©2003, The Miracle Factory, Edited by Todd Karr
Hardback, 912p
Abebooks price range 125.00 - 295.00
Comments: Out of Print (as of Oct 2006). Includes many of Al Baker's works: Magical Ways and Means, Pet Secrets, Al Baker's Book, Al Baker's Second Book, Cardially Yours, and Mental Magic, plus over 200 additional effects from manuscripts, instructions, notes, and so forth.
Comment (Jake Austin): Out of Print (as of Oct 2006). Incredible compliation of Al Baker's works, including : Magical Ways and Means, Pet Secrets, Al Baker's Book, Al Baker's Second Book, Cardially Yours, and Mental Magic, plus over 200 additional effects from manuscripts, instructions, notes, and so forth. Published by http://www.miraclefactory.net.
Contents:
21 Credits
25 A Teacher I Never Met (Eugene Burger)
29 Al Baker and the Magical Ideal (John Carney)
33 The Recipe (Teller)
41 Editor's Note (Todd Karr)
53 The Cat Kept Walking (Jay Marshall)
55 Conversations With Jay Marshall
65 Al Baker and Dennis (Jay Marshall)
67 Sketch of My Life (Al Baker)
AL BAKER'S BOOK (1933)
71 To My Friends, Magic Lovers Al Baker
73 The Pack that Cuts Itself
75 The One Man "Lights Up" Séance
76 A Card and a Number
77 Al Baker's Pet Hat Trick
78 Al Baker's Rising Cards
80 Feel My Pulse!
81 The Al Baker Wrist Tie
83 The Impossible Card Discovery
84 Cards of Thought
86 Al Baker's Addition Trick
87 Another Rope is Cut and Restored!
88 The Finger Points
89 The Matchmakers
91 "Say When!"
92 Al Baker's Billet Mystery
96 The Self-Unknotting Handkerchief
AL BAKER'S SECOND BOOK (1935)
99 To My Friends, Professional and Amateur: Al Baker
101 A Glass Vanish
103 Gee!!
105 Undercover
106 Another 4-Ace Trick!
108 Your Pulse Tells
109 A Card and a Number
110 Baker's Bill Switch
110 Unsight and Unseen
113 Sex Appeal
114 Come Seven
114 Lost and Found
115 Something from Nothing
116 Pass the Salt!
117 Button Button!
118 The Name Is - !
119 Me and the Missus
120 A Novel Escape
122 The Milky Way
MAGICAL WAYS AND MEANS (1941)
129 Foreword Elmer P. Ransom
131 Introduction
Chapter 1: Cards
141 A Lesson in Magic
147 The Magician at Home
149 Red-Black Transposition
151 One Deck Do As I Do
153 The Half Card and Cigarette Trick
156 The Ambitious Card
157 Herrmann's Vanish of a Fan of Cards
158 "Roughing" It
159 Outguessing the Spectator
161 Improved Card Code for Two Persons
162 The Walking and Jumping Card
164 The Flapless Envelope Switch
166 The Knife Dial
167 Slipping the Cut
168 The Swinging Rising Cards
171 Poker Face
172 Miniature Card in Balloon
Chapter 2: Coins and Bills
175 The Magical Filtration of Four Half Dollars
178 The Stack of Quarters
180 The Rising Coin
181 A Dinner Table Trick
182 Bending a Half Dollar
183 A Knotty Problem
184 Dollar Bill and Cigarette
188 The Erectile Dollar Bill
189 The Dollar Bill Switch
191 Envelopes and Coin
Chapter 3: Silks
193 The Twentieth Century Silk Trick
196 Phantom Tube
197 Spirits at Work
199 A Silk Force
200 The Knot That Just Won't
201 The Sympathetic Silks
Chapter 4: Ropes
207 Give a Magician Enough Rope
209 A Rope Interlude
Chapter 5: Mindreading
211 Cooperative Conjuring
212 Acme Mindreading Effect
214 Seeing Through Solid Matter
216 A Super-Superprediction
219 Concentration
220 Al Baker Number Force
221 The Baker Slate Easel
223 Any Telephone Book Test
224 The Number and Book Test
Chapter Six: Mnemonics
227 The Saturday Evening Post Feat
231 Phenomenal Memory
233 An Impossible Count
234 The Celebrity Feat
125 The Polish Psychic
236 Living and Dead Test Plus
238 A Miracle of Memory
240 The Pairs Repaired
242 The Nikola Card System
Chapter 7: The Linking Rings
243 Linking Rings Opening
244 The Linking Rings
Chapter 8: Specialties
253 The Levitation of a Glass of Liquid
255 The Naomi Goldfish Bowl Production
257 Ink Filtration
260 Welded Flash Paper
261 Glass Penetration
262 The Flying Match Head
262 Kiddie Party Slate
264 The Torn and Restored Paper Napkin
265 The Quick and the Dead
267 The Cut and Restored Necktie
Appendix: Manuscript Materials
269 A Lesson in Magic
270 The Knife Dial
270 The Linking Rings
MENTAL MAGIC (1949)
275 Foreword
Chapter 1
279 First Lesson in Mind-Reading Technique
280 The Baker Switch
283 Bill-epathy
Chapter 2
287 New Light on the Center Tear
288 The Baker Method of Reading the Center Tear
291 Co-Incidentally
Chapter 3: Telephone Mysteries
293 A Telemirakel
297 Over the Phone
299 Telephony
Chapter 4: Mental Magic Effects
301 No-Nomonics
302 Baker's Eight Card Trick
304 Thought Transmission
306 Al Baker's Envelope Switch
310 Envelope as an Accessory
311 Chicken-Feed
313 Parlor Telepathy
315 Impossible! An Experiment in Clairvoyance
316 Pellet Reading
320 Out of the Air
325 Baker Switch Number 2
326 Secret Reading of Billets
329 Pseudo-Fortune Telling Séance
332 The Dead Man's Name
334 Mental Card Tricks
334 The Pulse of the People
337 The Stethoscope
339 Telepathy for Two
341 Unconscious Clairvoyance
343 The Magic Bell
Appendices
345 Adrian Plate's System of Mnemonics
349 Cartomancy, or the Meaning of the Cards in a Deck
350 Recapitulation of Al Baker's Rules
PET SECRETS (1951)
355 Foreword Dai Vernon
356 Introduction Jean Hugard
Chapter 1: Hair Magic
357 Hair Secrets
359 The Baker General Utility Hook-up
360 The Double-Ended Hook-up
360 Double-Breasted Hook-up
361 The Balancing Card
362 The Card From the Hat
365 The Deck That Cuts Itself
367 The Simplex Rising Cards
369 The Rising Ring
370 The Grandfather Clock Trick
371 Miscellaneous Hair Tricks
Chapter 2: Thread Magic
373 The Al Baker Arabian Beads
377 Floating Glass of Milk
378 The Hindu Thread Trick
382 Coin Production
Chapter 3: Rope Magic
385 The Instantaneous Visible Restoration
386 The Al Baker Lightning Pull
388 The Doctor Cuts a Rope
388 Ring and Tape Penetration
389 Variation on Stretching a Rope
Chapter 4: Card Magic
391 The Jet-Propelled Card
396 Double Impossibility
398 Color Flight
400 The Spectator Does the Trick
402 The Impossible Force
404 The Baker "Readers"
405 Mental Discernment
406 The Lie Detector
406 Long-Distance Telepathy
406 The Clairvoyant Spectator
407 How to Force a Card
407 The Card Between Glass Plates (Baker Improvement)
408 Jumbo Switch
409 Giant Gambling
Chapter 5: Mental Magic
411 Double Thought
413 One-Man Billet Reading
413 The Baker Billet Switch
415 Center Tear Tip
415 Mental Masterpiece
419 The Telepathic Miracle
Chapter 6: Money Magic
423 The Baker Bill Tear
426 The Stack of Quarters
428 The Vanishing Quarter
429 Fun with the Money-Making Machine
430 Dime and Penny Gag
431 The Bill in the Borrowed Lemon
Chapter 7: Magic from Another World
433 The Baker Spirit Photo
438 Magnetisn't
Chapter 8: Various Magic
439 The Baker Chewing Gum Trick
444 Finesse with the Dye Tube
448 The Vanishing Glass of Water
450 Salt Flight
451 Silk Transportation
452 Sugar Cube Vanish
453 Goldfish Production
455 Bar Trick Fooler
456 Egg Finale
456 Rabbit Production
458 The Obedient Snake
459 The Short Highball
MANUSCRIPTS
THE TWENTY-FIVE DOLLAR MANUSCRIPT (1920s)
463 Billet Reading Extraordinary
465 Two-Person Slate Test
466 My Method of Getting Rid of Flap While in Audience
467 How to Exchange a Pack of Cards for a Prearranged Pack
467 The Billet Test
470 The Pack That Cuts Itself
471 Living and Dead Test
474 Al Baker's Deck of Cards
474 Mind Reading Card Trick
476 Two Souls with but a Single Thought
AL BAKER'S PACK (1932)
481 The Card Counting Mystery
481 The Two Card Location
483 Mind Reading Trick
484 Al Baker's Wonderful Prediction
485 Al Baker's Famous Two Souls Trick
486 Poker Face
CARDIALLY YOURS (1934)
487 Color Flight
489 Out On Location
490 Eyes All Around
492 The Fall of the Wise
493 A Dirty Trick
493 Al Baker's Stacked Deck
495 The One I Like
EFFECTS 1, 2, AND 3 (1939)
497 Effect 1
498 Effect 2
499 Effect 3
CARD TRIO (1948)
501 Prediction Trick
502 Cards Across
504 The Pack That Cuts Itself
CONTRIBUTIONS
507 A Prediction
508 Cherchez La Femme
509 Eye Witnesses
511 The Finger Knows and Tells
513 The Magic Thrust
514 The Migrating Cards
515 Mysterious Divination
516 A Problem in Plumbago
527 Red-Black Detection
518 Snappy Number
519 Switching the Deck
519 Think "Stop"
520 Twin Souls
INSTRUCTIONS
523 Al - N - Dai
526 "Al" Producto
527 Albaka
529 Albakerdabra
531 Al 'N' Nate
533 Bakerise
535 Bakerscope
537 Ball and Glass Trick
538 Bead Trick
539 Cut and Restrung Bead Trick
540 Bak-Had Bead Trick
541 Best Card Trick
543 A Borrowed Cigarette Remade
544 Card and Envelope
545 Card in Pocketbook
547 Checking the Dead Name
548 Cutting a Card
549 Dictionary Trick
551 Diminishing Cards
554 Dyeing Tube Method
555 The Great Purse Game
557 Improved Swami
558 Jo-Baka
560 Living and Dead Problem
562 Magnetisn't
562 Mindreading Trick
564 Monte Surprise
565 My Pet Card Trick
565 Newspaper Trick
568 Number, Please
570 Oh Bunk
571 Plate-Biting Stunt
571 Ribbon Trick
573 Rice Bowls
575 Ring Around Rosie
575 Rope Routine
577 Salt Trick
578 Spirit Slates
578 Master Addition Slate
579 Lock Spirit Slate
582 Tea Table Telepathy
584 Telepathic Selection
585 Thought Transmission
587 Torn and Restored Paper Strip
589 Tri-Coin
589 Photographic Coins
590 Copper or Silver: Which?
591 Cards and Coins
592 Vanishing Lead Pencil
593 Vanishing Wand
593 Vocalepathy
595 With Any Telephone Book Test
597 Leon Maguire Magazine Test
MAGAZINES
Brotherhood Secrets
601 A Letter
Genii
603 Strip Tease
605 Two Ideas of Al Baker
Hugard's Magical Monthly
609 Change for a Dollar
The Jinx
611 Numero!
613 Nufind
The Phoenix
615 Climax
The Sphinx
617 Card Rising Wand
617 Some Useful Hints for the Young Magician
618 More Hints
618 Limerick
618 If the Editor Printed the Things He Would Like to Say
619 Al Baker Says
620 Burlesques by Al Baker
621 Al Baker's Reflections
622 Al Baker's Philosophy
623 Al Baker's Phantasies
624 Wisdom and Wizardry
626 More Tricks and Wisdom (July 1930)
628 More Wisdom and Tricks
630 More Tricks and Wisdom (September 1930)
632 More Tricks and Wisdom (October 1930)
633 Al Baker Goes Visiting
634 My Way of Doing Two Tricks
636 Tricks and Likes and Dislikes
638 Another Trick and Letter
640 Those Were the Happy Days
642 Presto! Blooey!
644 Magic Around Times Square
645 Al Baker's Magic News (October 1932)
646 Al Baker's Magic News (November 1932)
647 A Letter to Harold (December 1932)
648 A Letter to Harold (February 1933)
648 A Letter to Harold (March 1933)
649 A Letter to Harold (April 1933)
650 A Letter to Harold (May 1933)
650 Cards from Hat
651 Another Luncheon Conversation
653 A Real Magician
654 Message from Beyond
654 Al Baker's Method
656 A Vanishing Glass of Milk
657 Dematerializing Coins
659 Trilby, Jr.
661 The Weigh of All Flesh
662 What Makes a Trick
664 Catching Coins
665 Magician's Nightmare
667 Those wer the Happy Days: The Boy, the Bottle, and Guinea Pig
669 A New Letter
669 "Here's Another One Here, Doctor"
671 Dollar 'n' Blitzen
673 A Letter to Harold (January 1948)
674 A Letter to Harold (March 1948)
674 Tricks I Like
676 A Letter to Harold (December 1949)
676 A Letter to Harold (October 1950)
677 Bottoms Down
NOTEBOOKS
681 Another Card-Finding Stunt
682 Another Subtle Mystery
682 Attaching Hairs
683 Best Card Trick
684 Second Method
684 For Two Persons
685 Bill Trick
686 Burned Ribbon Trick
686 Card and Safety Match Trick
686 Card Change
687 Card Force
688 Card Force Using Short Card
688 Card Found at Chosen Number
689 Card from the Hat
689 Finger Tip Method
690 Clockwork Method
690 New Improved Rising Card from Hat
691 Card in Wallet
692 New Method
692 Cards and Dice Trick
693 Cards Up the Sleeve
694 Cigar Band Trick
695 Cigarette Paper Trick
696 Cigarette Trick
697 Coin in Envelope
697 Coin in the Ball of Wool
699 Color-Changing Handkerchief Through Fist
700 Cornucopia
701 Crimp
701 Cups and Balls
706 Cutting a Card in Half
707 Cutting the Same Number of Cards Counted
707 Deck and Envelopes
708 Developing Messages Before the Audience
709 Dice Trick
709 Dictionary and Postal Card
710 Dollar Bill Trick
711 Dollar Bill Vanish
711 Dyeing Handkerchief Trick
712 Eyesight Trick
713 Five Nickels
713 Four Ace Tricks Using Envelopes
714 Giant Memory Card Trick
715 Glass of Water and Coin
715 Harmonica Trick
716 Hooked Coins
716 Knockout
717 Latest Rope Effect: The Sliding Knots
718 Living and Dead Trick
718 Improved Living and Dead Trick
719 Impromptu Living and Dead Trick
719 Mathematical Number Trick
721 Mental Force
721 Mental Trick
722 Mind-Reading Card Trick
722 Mind Reading with a Pack of Cards
723 Improved Version
724 Miracle Man's Penny Trick
724 Name and Calling Card Trick
725 Old Coin Game
726 Pack That Cuts Itself
727 Pellets and Cards Trick
728 Penetrating Coins
728 Pretty Paper Trick
730 Psychic Ball and Card Trick
730 Psychic Photography
730 Psychic Photography Improved
731 Latest Psychic Photography
732 Ribbon Laundry
732 Ring Trick
733 Roterberg Card Box Trick
734 Simplified Roterberg Card Box Trick
735 Selected Card Found
736 Sense of Touch Card Trick
737 Slate Trick
737 Spelling Trick
738 To Spell Chosen Card
738 Spirit Dollar Bill
739 Stabbing Card Trick
739 Improved Stabbing Card Trick
740 Stack of Coins Through the Hand
740 Stop Trick
741 Strange Coincidence
742 Stretched Bill
742 Super Cut and Restored Rope
743 Sympathetic Cards
744 Sympathetic Coins
744 Ten Cards and Envelope Trick
746 Thirty Card Trick
746 Latest Thirty Card Trick
746 Method 2
747 Method 3
748 Method 4
749 Method 5
749 Thought Foretold
751 Thread Trick
751 Three Card Trick
752 Thumb Tip Preparation
753 To Name Any Card Drawn
753 To Perform with a Borrowed, Shuffled Pack
754 To Tell the Name of Any Card in a Borrowed, Shuffled Pack
754 To Tell the Number of Cards after the Pack has been Cut
755 Torn and Restored Strip of Paper
756 Tube and Rings Trick
757 Twentieth Century Handkerchief Trick
758 Two-Person Mental Card Trick
758 Two-Person Mind-Reading
759 Ubiquitous Card
760 Vanishing Coin from Handkerchief
760 Weight Trick
760 Wonderful Four Card and Pellets Mystery
763 Yale Lock Key Trick
764 You Do As I Do With One Pack
767 THE ART OF VENTRILOQUISM LETTERS
783 December 6, 1923: To Bernard M. L. Ernst
785 May 13, 1929: To T. Nelson Downs
785 September 13, 1936: To Tom Bowyer
786 July 20, 1938: To Eugene Laurant
786 August 22, 1938: To Stanley Collins
787 Undated 1: To Gordon Peck
789 Undated 2: To Gordon Peck
795 CHAUTAUQUA, 1927
ANNEMANN AND BAKER
809 Introduction to The Book Without a Name
810 Greta Annemann: Al Baker
811 Al Baker's Torn and Restored Magazine Page
813 Editrivia: Baker in The Jinx
819 The Accidental Mentor: Introduction (Max Maven)
823 The Accidental Mentor: Letters from Annemann
PROFILES
857 Mr. Al Baker
857 The Sphinx (1925) A.M. Wilson
858 A Visit with Al Baker John Braun
859 Al Baker, Comedian C. T. (Cliff) Green
860 The Sphinx (1929) A.M. Wilson
860 Al Baker's Psychology Harlan Tarbell
862 Al Baker Programme
862 The Sphinx (1937) John Mulholland
863 Al Baker: A Great Guy Dorny
865 The Sphinx (1944) John Mulhollond
868 The Al Baker Playgrounds William W. Larsen Senior
869 Hunches Howard Melson
870 Fiftieth Anniversary Testimonial Bruce Reynolds
875 Recollections of Al Baker Walter B. Gibson
879 Obituaries
APPENDICES
883 Card from the hat (Eugene Burger)
BILLETS DEUX (Phil Goldstein)
887 Baker's Doesn't
889 Revers-Al
AL BAKER'S HUMOR
891 The Magic Funnel
892 Egg Bag
892 Wrist Tie
893 Jokes
893 Magic Shop Gags
895 Baker's Catalog
895 INDEX
| Owner | Bryan-Keith Taylor |
|---|---|
| Location | Magic Library (Home) |
| Index | 3833 |
| Added Date | Jul 01, 2017 03:06:50 |
| Modified Date | Apr 06, 2026 14:21:06 |
| Book Condition | Mint |
|---|
Secret Ways of Al Baker
by Al Baker
"For me, Al Baker has been a source of deep magical inspiration. I consider Al Baker to be one of the giants of twentieth-century magic." - Eugene Burger
Al Baker was one of the most creative figures in magic, a master of close-up, stage magic and mentalism. Now ALL his legendary works are back in print in this volume, plus unpublished effects and more.
Complete versions of Baker's books Magical Ways and Means, Pet Secrets, Al Baker's Book, Al Baker's Second Book, Cardially Yours, and Mental Magic Over 200 additional Baker effects from notes, instructions and journals A dazzling array of never-before-seen Baker photos and rare memorabilia Numerous added illustrations by Katlyn Breene Plus profiles and essays by Eugene Burger, John Carney, Jay Marshall, Max Maven and Teller. This massive work contains 912 large-format, acid-free, satin-finish pages, hardbound with beautiful full-color dustjacket by artist Katlyn Breene.
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OUR MYSTERIES by Al Baker, Roy Benson, Al Flosso, Robert Harbin, Leo Hartz, 'Think a Drink' Hoffman, Eugene Laurant, Miaco Magini, Russel Swan, illustrated by Harlan Tarbell. Published by Sphinx Publishing Corporation, New York City, 1941. Book is hardback, with a dust jacket, 63 pages, illustrated. Very good condition, please see photo.
Contents include an amazing mental card trick by Al Baker, coin work by Al Flosso, a fishbowl production by Magini, and much more. This book would make a sterling addition to any magician's library.
Another fine volume from the personal library of magician and bibliophile, Jay Marshall.
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Baker,Al
(1874-1951)
Legendary magician and magical inventor. He began his career in a medicine show, then later became renowned for his clever routines and ingenious magic ideas, especially in the area of mentalism. Inventor of the Al Baker Slates. Many of his silk magic effects are included in Rice's Encyclopedia of Silk Magic.
Roy Benson
(Jan 17, 1914 - Dec 6, 1977)
was born Edward Emerson Ford McQuaid in Courbevoie, France. His mother was Dora Ford of the Four Fords and The Ford Sisters of Vaudeville fame. His father was Edward Emerson McQuaid of Vaudeville's Juggling team, Emerson and Baldwin.
Roy was a proficient musician, a professor. He was both a close-up magician and magical stage comedian. He built the monster for the movie "The Flesh Eaters" in 1964, directed by his cousin Jack Curtis.
Roy was a student of Nate Leipzig. He originated the long pour finish for the salt trick and well known for his creation of the ball and bowl routine.
Roy made many contributions to the Phoenix magazine.
He struggled with alcoholism and eventually died of emphysema.
Roy performing many routines, including his salt pour, on TV in 1955.
Al Flosso
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flosso's souvenir advertising card. Collection Chadbourne Thaumaturgium.American magician and entertainer. Born Albert Levinson in Brooklyn (or perhaps on New York City's lower east side) in 1895.
Died in in New York City, 1976.
His stage name was taken from a vernacular name for cotton-candy "floss"
Harbin, Robert
(1909 - 1978 )
Robert Harbin (born Edward "Ned" Williams in South Africa), magician, developed illusions of his own such as the "Neon Light Illusion" and is generally regarded as the man who made the transition from the great illusionists of the past to the modern magicians we know today. He was the first person to make a success of magic on TV in Britain starting in 1940 when he was able for the first time to bring magic to people's homes and entertain huge audiences, establishing his name as one of the pioneers of television magic. He was particularly remembered on TV for his presentations of paper folding (origami) items.
Invented: The Vanishing Radio, Four of a Kind, Topsy-Turvey, Zig-Zag (1965), Fade Away, Aztec Lady.
Hartz
(1836 -1903 )
Joseph Michael Hartz was born on the 10th of August 1836, at Liverpool, where his father, who was of Dutch descent, carried on business as a watchmaker under the name of Hart, the original family name having been anglicised by the dropping of the final “ z ” . When Hartz was about twelve years old, he saw one of Robert-Houdin's performances, convincing him to become a magician. In 1859, he performed professionally at the Adelaide Gallery in London under the name of Hartz with an act consisting of apparatus made entirely of glass, or as he called it, crystal. In 1867, Hartz and his younger brother, Augustus (Gus), traveled to New York where in 1870 they established the first magic shop in America, the Hartz Magic Repository located on Broadway. In 1887, Hartz transformed a popular trick of the day, The Inexhaustible Hat, into his own version called "Devil of a Hat." Many of Hartz's contributions are as an originator, rather than as an inventor. He improved upon many standard tricks of his day and was considered by many of his peers to be a "magician's magician.".
Also invented: The Inexhaustible Handkerchief, The Improved Money Column, a Production Bird Cage, Dematerialised Glass of Water, The Automatic Rising Cards, The Hartz Hook, The Floating Head, Crystal Pillar and Glove, Aerial Bell
Wrote: Hartz's New Book of Magic (1866)
There is a biography of Hartz included in Hoffmann's "Magical Tidbits" and sometimes included with 1911 publications of Hoffmann's "Later Day Magic." Additional material is from The Linking Ring (June 1927, Vol. VI, No. 4); The Linking Ring (May 1931, Vol. XI, No. 3); The Linking Ring (June 1997).
Special thanks to Mark Damon for his Linking Ring research and contribuitions to this article.
----------------------------------------
(1874-1951)
Legendary magician and magical inventor. He began his career in a medicine show, then later became renowned for his clever routines and ingenious magic ideas, especially in the area of mentalism. Inventor of the Al Baker Slates. Many of his silk magic effects are included in Rice's Encyclopedia of Silk Magic.
-----------------------------
Al Baker
Born: Albert Baker
September 04, 1874
Poughkeepsie, New York
Died: October 24, 1951 (age 77)
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Al Baker (b.1874-d.1951) was a professional magician born in Poughkeepsie, New York. Baker was known by most of his magical contemporaries as an outstanding M.C., author, and inventor.
Contents
1 Biography
2 Honors and Awards
3 Bibliography
3.1 Books
3.2 Manuscripts
3.3 Contributions
3.4 Compilations
4 Quotes
5 References
Biography
By the time Baker was 21, he was already working in Vaudeville as magician and ventriloquist. Later he was performer at Coney Island as a Chautauqua & Lyceum headliner, where he also had a photo studio.
Al Baker was one of the greatest entertainers in magic and combined original effects with a natural sense of humor. His stage act consisted of the following: Cake in the hat, Card from the hat, dyeling silks, Knot in the silk, The Pack that cuts itself, thirty card trick, & torn and restored paper napkin.
Baker was an inventor of many tricks that he marketed including his Dictionary Test, Al Baker Slates and his version of the Rice bowls. Many of his silk magic effects were included in Rice's Encyclopedia of Silk Magic. One of his creations was the Purse Frame.
Baker opened a magic shop with Martin Sunshine in Times Square.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Honors and Awards
Dean of the Society of American Magicians from 1941-1951.
Bibliography
Books
Al Baker's Book One (1933)
Al Baker's Book Two (1935)
Magical Ways and Means (1941)
Mental Magic (1949)
Pet Secrets (1951)
Manuscripts
The Twenty-Five Dollar Manuscript (Ca. 1923) (A mimeographed pirated version titled "This will open your eyes: Al Baker's Exclusive Twenty-five dollar Manuscript" was released around 1951)
Al Baker's Pack (1932)
Cardially Yours (1934)
Effects 1, 2, 3 (Ca. 1939)
Card Trio (1948)
Contributions
Baker regularly contributed to The Sphinx and other magic magazines.
Compilations
The Secret Ways of Al Baker by The Miracle Factory (2003), Todd Karr, CONVERSATIONS WITH JAY MARSHALL, page 55
Quotes
"No matter how bad the show, or how little the kids, or how hard it is to get their attention, take a live rabbit and coil of paper out of your hat and you're safe." The Secret Ways of Al Baker, page 135
" "We must never forget that the details of presentation are what make a trick. And study and thought brings us those details. If you have a trick you like but never do because of some weak or unnatural or illogical part, don't lay it aside—just begin thinking. What I mean is thinking about that part. You will be surprised how a brilliant idea will crop up and you will be surprised even more that you hadn't thought of it before. The usual trouble is that we don't bother to think long enough or hard enough" - "What Makes a Trick" by Al Baker, The Sphinx, Vol.40, No.1 (March 1941)." (Which is usually paraphrased as "Magicians stop thinking too soon!”)
References
↑ The Sphinx, Vol. L, No. Four, June 1951, OFFICIAL MEMBERSHIP LIST OF SAM JUNE, 1951, page 140
↑ http://www.compumagic.com/sam35/al_baker.html
↑ http://www.nysun.com/new-york/coney-island-love-and-magic/37515/
↑ M-U-M, Vol. 72, No. 4, September 1982, The Incomparible Al Baker, Magician of the Month, page 7
↑ Genii Forum Book of the Month
↑ archive.denisbehr.de
↑ Cover Genii, Vol. 12, No. 7, March 1948
Wikipedia-logo.png This page incorporated content from Al Baker (magic),
a page hosted on Wikipedia. Please consult the history of the original page to see a list of its authors. Therefor, this article is also available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
The Sphinx, Vol. 31, No. 4, June 1932, Who's Who in Magic, page 156
Cover, The Sphinx, Vol. 43, No. 2, April 1944, Al Baker, page 32
Cover, Linking Ring, Vol. 25, No. 4, June 1945, Al Baker, Great Magician, Humorist and Dean of the S.A.M. by John Braun, page 15
Cover, The Sphinx, Vol. 47, No. 1, March 1948, The Cover, page 4
Cover, Tops Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 4, April 1948, Al Baker – His Golden Anniversary Year, page 4
Goodliffe's Abracadabra, Vol. 7, No. 167, April 1949, American Profiles, by Robert Lund - Al Baker, page 166
The Linking Ring, Vol. 31, No. 2, April 1951, The New York Mid-Century Parade, by Eddie Clever, Al Baker, page 51
The Linking Ring, Vol. 31, No. 9, November 1951, AL BAKER September 4, 1874 - October 24, 1951, page 12
M-U-M, Vol. 41, No. 7, December 1951, Al Baker 1874-1951, page 181
The Sphinx, Vol. 50, No. 6, December 1951, In Memoriam, AL BAKER September 4, 1874 – October 24, 1951, page 255
Tops Magazine, Vol. 16, No. 12, December 1951, MORE ABOUT AL BAKER, page 21
M-U-M, Vol. 59, No. 5, October 1969, Al Baker (Dean of Society of American Magicians), by Tom Hawbecker (Past National President), page 36
M-U-M, Vol. 91, No. 12, May 2002, The Deeans of the S.A.M. - Al Baker September 4,1874 - October 31,1951, Dean: 1941-1951, page 21
Cover, Genii Magazine, Vol. 66, No. 2, February 2003, FEATURES
The Secret Ways of Al Baker, by Todd Karr (2003)
Bio-bibliographisches Lexikon der Zauberkünstler Edition Volker Huber, April 2002, Baker, Al USA Zauberkünstler; Zauberkunst-Fachschriftsteller (*04.09.1874 Pougheepsie, New York; †31.10.1951 [24.10.1951?] New York), page 29
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