Volumes 1
Hull, Burling: The New Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mentalism Volume 1
©1972 Bulring Hull, Micky Hades Enterprises, Canada
Hardcover, ring-bound, 10"x11.5", 208 pages
Comments: "Revised, enlarged, and illustrated edition. A Gigantic collection of complete Mentalism methods, secrets, instructions, routines, acts, programs, shows." Part one of three volumes. This is an expanded version of the earlier "Dictionary of Mentalism" released in 1960. From the Foreword, "The original edition of the "Dictionary" contained
a rather large amount of personal editorial comment which, though of sincere concern to Mr. Hull, provided no pertinent information and distracted from the real value of the book. This material has been deleted to make room for additional content, enabling us to supplement this work with more great mental effects and routines. More than 100 line drawings have been added to this work to help you understand and enjoy the material herein."
Contents (from book):
3 Foreword
4 Air Tight Prediction
5 The Men-Tal-O Mystery Act
9 The All Fair Want Ad Test (Burling Hull)
13 The Volta Master Slate Writing
16 The Mysterious Dr. C. Slate Mystery (Hereward Carrington)
18 Volta Blindfold Street Drive
21 Improved Question Reading (Ed Mellon, J.G. Thompson, Jr.)
26 The "Imperator" Mental Test (Bryce Chambers)
29 Telediction (U.F. Grant)
30 Zenith Master Mental Act (U.F. Grant)
34 Television Thought Transcription (U.F. Grant)
35 Tell-A-Thought (Micky Hades)
36 "No Assistant" Crystal Gazing Act
38 Lecture for the Sale of Horoscopes
39 Perfect Spirit Rope Tie
41 Psychological Reading (Nelson)
46 Zella Mind Reading Act (U.F. Grant)
48 Phantom Orchestra
48 Resista-Secret
49 99 Hints, Tips and Wrinkles for the Crystal Gazing Act (U.F. Grant)
53 Silent Thought Transmission Act (Jordan)
58 The Psychic Pianist (Nelmar)
64 Perfection One Man Mind Reading Act
68 The Phantom Telephone Operator (U.F. Grant)
71 Quantimental (Ed Mellon)
75 Ecklund's Superior Perception
81 Khan Slate Test (Corinda)
83 Mentapad (Ed Mishell)
85 Any Magazine (Abbott's)
86 The Best Book Test (Volta)
88 Any Cards Slate of Mind (Aldini, U.F. Grant)
89 Ultissimo (Merv Taylor)
90 Ed Mellon's Son of a Switch
94 The Elder Super-Sensitive Blindfold (Ed Mellon)
97 Astro-Question Chart (Ed Mellon, Gerald Kosky)
99 Aladdin's Video
100 "Magitronics" Radio
101 - Secret Operation of the Transmitter
102 - Application for Little Bird in Hair
103 Directions for "The Beacon"
104 - The Eight Transistor Body Contact Receiver
105 - Placement of Little Bird in Blindfold
105 - Turban Application
105 The President Calls
106 Long Distance Mindreading (Kanter's)
107 Dual Thought (Sid Marshall)
111 Una-Minds (U.F. Grant)
112 Himber's "Marvelous Gimmick"
113 Miracles with a Clip Board (U.F. Grant)
115 - $500.00 Name Challenge
115 - Memory Expert
116 - Magazine & Book Test
116 - Miracle Think-A-Card
116 - Living and Dead Test
116 - Telephone Card Trick
116 - Another Telephone Trick
117 - Envelope Prediction
117 - Private Office Test
118 - Advance Dope
119 - Medium Test
119 - One Man Publicity
119 - Slate Addition
119 The 30th Century Clip Board (Senator Crandall)
123 Billet Reading for Home Program
124 Acme Sealed Billet Test
125 The Knock-Out Single Sitting Test for Expose Show
127 Gysel's Real Slate Gag
127 Your Thoughts (Al O'Hagan, Stuart Judah)
131 Thornton's "Mental Heat"
132 Leon Maguire's Tell-It-Test
136 Mellon's Synonymental
137 $1,000.00 Challenge Mindreading Act (U.F. Grant)
141 The Miracle Prediction
143 The Spirit Pendulum
143 The Spirit Whistle
144 $35.00 Dictionary Test
144 Developing a Wax Impression (Larry the Magician)
145 Decision Control (Bergson, Nelson)
146 Piano Mind Reading Act
147 Merlinic Master Music Mystery
151 Tele-Pix (Syd Bergson)
152 Orson Welles' 3500 Mile Range Election Prediction (Amazing Maurice)
153 Maurice's Fifth Sense
153 The Keys of Judah (Stuart Judah, Al O'Hagan)
157 Once in a Million (Harold D. Nichols)
159 ESPecially Mental (Dr. Norman Vincent Pangloss)
160 Z-Ray (Frank Kelley)
162 Add-A-No (Vermyden)
166 The Khan Envelope Test (Corinda)
169 Thornton's Ultra Prediction
172 Other Ultra Effects by Thornton
172 - My Next Volunteer
173 - Direct Mind Reading
173 - Mental Influence
174 The Coronet Trick (Richard Himber)
175 Himber's Best
177 Abbott's Improved Version "The Last Card"
178 Tel-A-Color Cards (Robert Fillman)
178 The Vampire's Heart (Larry Becker)
180 Psycho (Larry Becker)
182 Thompson's Third Eye (Ed Mellon J.G. Thompson, Dr. Jaks)
183 The Phantom Dictionary (Harry C. Bjorklund)
185 Para Mental (Ken Allen)
188 Thought Control (Richard Himber)
189 Richard Himber's Thousand Dollar Challenge
192 The Perception Deck (Dr. Thornton)
193 Tips on Nail Writers (C.H. Haden)
195 Your Psycho-Character Reading and Personal Analysis
198 Tele-Trickery
199 The Brain Wave Deck
201 Dr. Stanley Jaks Prediction
201 Bron's Thought Coincidence (Bron's Magic Company)
202 A Possible Impossibility (Delmas W. Jenkins)
204 Sight Unseen (Jenkins)
205 A Peculiar Perception (Jenkins)
207 The Flawless Spirit Answers (Ladson Butler)
All are in good condition, with some underlining and hand written notes throughout.
Burling "Volta" Hull was an all round magician, mentalist, escape artist, performer, TV star, and promoter. These books have a huge assortment of his most powerful mentalism effects that created awe for years, with his huge audiences. Anyone can perform these effects. These books are extremely rare, especially as a set. Many of these effects could easily sell for $100 or more for each effect. If you had to buy each of these effects individually, you would probably be looking at tens of thousands of dollars. These books are for professionals, or aspiring professionals.
These 3 volumes were the largest compilation of Mentalism sleights, gimmicks, effects, patter, and illusions in one collection up to that date. Many, many illustrations to make the effects easy to understand. Also includes mentalism effects of other professional mentalist performers from around the world. Also, plenty of information for showmanship for sensational presentations. Full details or effects as seen by the audience and secrets on how they are done. There is more than enough information in these volumes for a professional lifetime mental magic career on stage and television.
Volume 1: Over 100 mentalism routines, effects. Including: Billets, Add-A-No., Predictions, Book Tests, Blindfold Street Drive, Spirit effects, Slate effects, Memory Expert, Nail Writers, Crystal Gazing, Thornton Effects, Psychological Reading, etc.
Volume 2: Over 90 mentalism routines, effects. Including: Predictions, Book Tests, Ghost effects, Dr. Q's Hypnotic Act, Dr. Q's Sight Unseen, Lecture for X-Ray Act, Supernormal Vision, "Ultra Question Answering Act" with no questions written, Robert Nelson's Miracle Prediction of the Age (Nelson's Miracle Newspaper Headline Prediction in a loaf of bread publicity stunt), Billet Reading, Gilbert Bonus Section, Giant Memory, Slate Writing, Yogi Eyes, etc.
Volume 3: Over 120 mentalism routines, effects. Including: Abnormal lift and Resistance Secrets, Predictions, Blindfold acts, Billet acts, Calendar Feat, Dante's Life Span Readings, Clipboards, Automatic Writing, Slates, Great Hypnotic Blood Test, Book Tests, Instantaneous Card Memory, Post Hypnotic Suggestion, Psychic Touch, Raja Yoga, Dr. A's Secrets and Demonstrations, 16 Magic Square Acts, Tell any single number thought of, Sensitized Touch, Thought Pictures, etc.
Some Interesting facts about Burling Hull:
52 published books to his name in the field of Magic and Mentalism
Sensational showman
Brilliant marketer
Recipient of many awards in the Magical profession
Creator of 100's of original magical effects
He appeared for record breaking runs for months in various venues throughout the world
Known professionally as "Volta", The Man with the Radar Mind
| Owner | Bryan-Keith Taylor |
|---|---|
| Location | Magic Library (Home) |
| Index | 4724 |
| Added Date | Jul 01, 2017 03:06:55 |
| Modified Date | Apr 06, 2026 14:22:44 |
| Book Condition | Fine |
|---|
Burling Hull
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burling Hull
Born September 9, 1889
Died November 1982 (aged 93)
Occupation Magician
Burling Hull (September 9, 1889 – November 1982) was an inventive magician, self-styled "the Edison of magic," specializing in mentalism and sleight of hand effects. During the greater part of his life he lived in DeLand, Florida. His aliases and stage names included: "Volta the Great", "The Man with the Radar Mind", "The White Wizard," and "Gideon ('Gid') Dayn."
Career
Hull claimed to be — and is generally credited as — the inventor of the Svengali deck of cards, which he patented in 1909. He claimed to have invented more than 500 magical effects and he was a prolific writer, with 52 published books to his name, including Sealed Mysteries and Sleights, The Encyclopedia of Stage Illusions, Sealed Mysteries, and How to Answer Questions for Crystal Gazing and Mind Reading Acts. He wrote on a wide variety of magical subjects, including card tricks, mentalism, escapes, razor blade swallowing, sightless vision, billiard ball manipulation, silk magic, second sight acts, publicity, and showmanship.
Hull not only produced many titles about magical effects, he also performed and taught magic for more than 80 years. In his earlier "White Wizard" years, he performed an act dressed entirely in white in which he made billiard balls and silks vanish, multiply, and reappear.[1] In later years he gave talks to magic conventions on business methods for entertainers.
Hull was active in the movement to recognize that there are intellectual rights to magic methods and he was a strong advocate for the protection of magic trade secrets by both patents on the gimmicks and copyright on the texts, as applicable. However, he undercut his own ethical stance against plagiarism by publishing secret material from other magicians who had stolen ideas from him, in order to get revenge for having been plagiarized.[2]
In the late 1950s, Hull published a newsletter, The G_d D__n Truth About Magic, mainly for the purpose of criticizing the equally famous mentalist Robert A. Nelson, known on stage as "Korda RaMayne." Hull used the pseudonym Gideon ("Gid") Dayn to expose Nelson's effects under the pretense of "reviewing" them.[1]
Hull's weighty three-volume Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mentalism, published in 1961, was the largest compilation of mentalism sleights, gimmicks, effects, patter, and illusions in one collection up to that date. This work was also notable as the venue in which Hull continued to carry out his excoriating feud with Robert Nelson, whom Hull accused in print of teaching mentalism to gamblers and racketeers in order that they might commit what Hull called "thievery of the public." He also criticised Nelson for selling hoodoo folk magic curios that Hull said were used in rituals of "black magic and Devil worship".[2]
In his final years, Hull lost his eyesight, a loss he never learned to accept. He died at the age of 93 in a nursing home.[1] Hull's life and his impact upon the world of stage magic were described in a 1977 biography, The Edison of Magic and His Incredible Creations, written by Samuel Patrick Smith. Both his Svengali Deck of 1909 and his 33 Rope Ties and Chain Releases, written in 1915, are still popular today. While living in DeLand, the same town as Herbert L Becker, Burling and Becker worked together on illusions for Becker’s tour with Alice Cooper
Correspondence with Harry Houdini
Hull was the author of 33 Rope Ties and Chain Releases (1915). It was alleged that the magician Harry Houdini had borrowed information for his own Magical Rope Ties and Escapes (1921). However, a 1947 edition of Hull's book has an introduction titled "Houdini Did Not Steal This Book".[3] According to Hull:
"It is true that a book DID appear with the name of Houdini listed as the 'author', which did steal the entire contents of my original book. It purloined the original 'Patter" and the original presentations for the tricks and even reproduced exactly several of the illustrations. In addition this counterfeit book deliberately changed the names of the original tricks bearing my name and avoided giving any credit to the original author and inventor ... But Houdini explained away the matter [and] paid me a fair but moderate sum ... I accepted his explanation as plausible and ... we remained good friends."[4]
Similar to Houdini, exposing the tricks of spiritualist mediums interested Hull. His writings on this subject were collected and published in 1977 under the title The Billion Dollar Bait.
Publications
Expert Billiard Ball Manipulation (1910)
Sealed Mysteries (1911)
A Modern Handkerchief Act (1914)
Bulletin Of Latest Sleights And Tricks (1914)
Great East Indian Rope Trick (1914)
Master Sleights With Billiard Balls (1914)
The Art of the Stage (1914)
Sleights (1914)
33 Rope Ties and Chain Releases (1915)
The Challenge Handcuff Act (1916)
The Real Secret of the Stage Second Sight Act (1916)
How to Answer Questions for Crystal Gazing and Mind Reading Acts (1927)
The World's Cut and Restored Rope Tricks (1927)
Expert Manipulation (1928)
Sealed Message Reading Acts (1929)
The Volta System For The Feat Of Reading Sealed Messages (1929)
The Miracle of Floating Light (1931)
The Last Word Blindfold Methods (1932)
Thirty One Man Mind Reading (1935)
Burling Hull's Three Wow Card Hits (1939)
Annemann's Card Miracles And Annemann's Mental Mysteries (1940)
The Dictionary of Mentalism (1961)
The Billion Dollar Bait (1977)
The Edison of Magic and His Incredible Creations (1977)
References
Francis Marshall in the introduction to a reprint of The G_d D__n Truth About Magic.
Hull, Burling. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mentalism. 1961.
"33 Rope Ties and Chain Releases". Retrieved 30 May 2016.
"A Selected Bibliography on Escapology". Retrieved 30 May 2016.
vte
Academy of Magical Arts Creative Fellowship
vte
Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
Hull's weighty three-volume Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mentalism, published in 1961, was the largest compilation of mentalism sleights, gimmicks, effects, patter, and illusions in one collection up to that date. This work was also notable as the venue in which Hull carried out his excoriating feud with the equally famous mentalist Robert A. Nelson, whom he accused in print of teaching mentalism to gamblers and racketeers in order that they might commit what Hull called "thievery of the public", and whom he criticised for selling hoodoo folk magic curios that Hull said were used in rituals of "black magic and Devil worship". [2]
In the late 1950s he published a sort of newsletter called The G_d D__n Truth About Magic, mainly for the purpose of criticizing Nelson and supposedly written by one Gideon ("Gid") Dayn, but it didn't take much imagination to know what the first words actually stood for. [1]
In his final years he lost his eyesight, a loss he never learned to accept, and he died at the age of 93 in a nursing home. [1]
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