Selbit, Percy Thomas (P.T.): The Magician's Handbook ©1901 Marshall & Brookes, London, 1st Edition Hardcover, no dj, 188 pages

Image from Lybrary.com

Comments (lybrary.com): The inventor of "sawing a lady in half" has written quite an interesting book. It covers a good range of topics. Particularly the inclusion of fringe fields to magic, such as juggling and black art, makes this book unique. Certainly this is mainly a magic book, so tricks with handkerchiefs, and balls are many to be found as well as several interesting illusions. Available as an e-Book from Lybrary.com

Contents: (note: original contents listing was in alphabetical order)

8 The Art of Juggling
9 The Balanced Coins
10 A Marvelous Egg Balance
10 Centre of Gravity
11 Stick Breaking
12 Remarkable Swordsmanship
13 The Balancing Billiard Balls and Cue
15 Blindfold Jugglery
15 Egg Spinning Extraordinary
17 The Spinning Hat
18 An Egg and Stick Balance
18 Ball Spinning
18 The Sword and Coin
19 The Spinning Handkerchief
19 The Whirling Hoop and Glass of Water
20 The Traveling Billiard Balls
21 Novel Hat Manipulation
23 A Complicated Balance
24 The Card Candlestick and Cigar Balance

25 New Miscellaneous Magical Effects
26 New Colour Changes
29 The Great Slate and Photograph Trick
30 New Handkerchief Sleights
32 New Coin Catching
33 The Latest Cigarette Vanish
34 The Enchanted Flag and Ring
35 Ventriloquism
39 New Billiard Ball Production, The
41 The Chinese Bat
42 New Vanishes
44 The Balanced Handkerchief
46 The Cross of the Orient
47 Sword Swallowing
50 Sleights with Match Boxes
52 New Billiard Ball Moves
55 Mahatma's Torn Card Trick
57 Watch It
60 Novel Billiard Ball Manipulation
63 New Watch Trick, A
65 Trooping the Colours

70 Tricks and Illusions
71 Downs, T. Nelson
73 Modern Cigar Manipulation
77 Garland, Maurice
78 Caught by the Finger Tips
78 For the Tambourine Trick
79 New Handkerchief Production
80 The Great Change Trick
81 A New Handkerchief Vanish
83 Macaire, Sid
84 New Century Bottle, Egg, Orange, and Bird Trick
87 Another Man Cut Up To-night
93 Evans, Henry Ridgely
95 Trewey
99 Chung Ling Soo (Wm. E. Robinson)
100 Coin Handkerchief and Ring Trick
102 The Rice Bowls and Mystic Coin
103 The Magic Coin Box, The
104 Gold or Silver
105 Chinese Miser's Dream
105 The Floating Coin
107 Pickering, Rowland N.
108 Photographic Deceptions
116 Thurston, Howard
117 A History of Playing Cards and Their Manipulation
122 Fields, Wm. C.
123 A New Hat and Cigar Effect
125 The Great Cigar Box Trick
128 Valadon, Herr
129 A New Rising Card
131 Useful Accessory
133 From Water to Wine - Then Back Again

135 New Illusions and Black Magic
136 The Mystic Flight
139 The New Half Lady Illusion
142 Oh! Where Am I?
144 Death, Decapitation, and Resurrection
147 The New Vanishing Lady
150 Gravity Defied
152 The Mysterious Production
155 Black Art Up-to-Date

172 Advice to the Reader