Tarbell Course in Magic
The Tarbell Course in Magic is an important, English-language reference work on magic in eight volumes, which emerged from an international correspondence course in magic. The Tarbell Course in Magic represents the most extensive knowledge of magic internationally. With this magic course, a large number of professional magicians laid the foundation for a professional career. The work is now also available in German (at least in part).
the authors
Harlan Eugene Tarbell
Harlan Tarbell was born on February 23, 1890 in Delavan / Illinois (USA). In his youth he drew cartoons for a newspaper and discovered his interest in the art of magic in a magic show by the artist Dante (August Harry Jansen). In 1911 Harlan Tarbell went to Chicago, and worked until 1941 for the company "Read & Covert" as an illustrator of their catalog for magical devices. Harlan Tarbell died of cardiac arrest in Elmhurst on June 16, 1960, at the age of 70 .
Harry Lorayne
Harry Lorayne was born on May 4th, 1926 in New York (USA). He is a memory trainer and magician (especially card magic). He owed his fame to his memory shows and stunts and his appearance on the "Tonight Show with Jonny Carson" and published various books.
The Tarbell Course in Magic
Emergence
Publishers T. Grant Cooke and Walter A. Jordan intended to create a correspondence course in magic in the mid-1920s. After initial difficulties in finding a suitable author for the course, Harlan Tarbell was awarded the contract on the recommendation of the well-known magician Harry Houdini . Tarbell finished the course in 1928 after 60 lessons, for which he created around 3,100 illustrations. Publishers T. Grant Cooke and Walter A. Jordan discontinued the course in 1931 after sales collapsed due to the economic crisis. Around 10,000 courses had been sold by this time. But in 1941 the magician Louis Tannen bought the rights to the correspondence course that had been discontinued. In collaboration with Harlan Tarbell and Ralph W. Read (partners of Read & Covert, dealer of magic devices) the correspondence course was revised and republished in book form in 5 volumes. By 1993 the work had grown to its current number of eight volumes.
structure
Volumes 1 through 5 consist of the original correspondence course lessons and were compiled in 1928 by their author, Harlan Tarbell. Volume 6 was also written by Harlan Tarbell. Volume 7 was compiled by Harry Lorayne from contributions from various magicians and is particularly valued for its detailed table of contents in volumes 1 to 7. Volume 8 was intended as an advanced course and ultimately consists of Harlan Tarbell's publications that were originally published in books and magazines rather than as part of the correspondence course. The material was researched and compiled by the American publisher and magician Richard Kaufman . This volume has its own index; its content is not included in the general index of volume 7.
concept
The learning magician should be introduced step by step to the mechanisms and most effective forms of the presentation of magic tricks. Other magic courses at the beginning of the 20th century focused on illusions that were supposed to work on their own without requiring special manual dexterity. In contrast, Harlan Tarbell began with basic exercises for correct body position, movement and dexterity, which were then incorporated into the tricks in the following lessons.
Content
The complete work contains more than 100 lessons covering every aspect of magic. In addition to all branches of the art of magic, topics are also addressed which the profession of magician brings with it (e.g. marketing, drama or the history of magic).
expenditure
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume I , Tannen, Louis New York, 1941, 408 pages
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume II , Tannen, Louis New York, 1942, 407 pages
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume III , Tannen, Louis New York, 1943, 416 pages
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume IV , Tannen, Louis New York, 1954, 416 pages
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume V , Tannen, Louis New York, 1948, 417 pages
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume VI , Tannen, Louis New York, 1954, 409 pages
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume VII , Harry Lorayne, Tannen, Louis New York, 1972, 490 pages
- Tarbell Course in Magic Volume VIII , Harlan Tarbell, D. Robins, 1993, 426 pages
German translations of the original Tarbell course have been published by the magic dealer Magic Center Harri since 2012 .
literature
- Salute to Harlan Tarbell, The Story of the Tarbell Course in Magic in Tarbell, in: Tarbell Course in Magic in Tarbell, Volume 7
Web links
- Tarbell Course in Magic , article in "Magicpedia".
- The Tarbell Course in Magic in the German Zauber-Pedia