This illustrated history of stage magic traces developments and transitions in the art of conjuring from the time of the Pharoahs up to the present, and presents this panorama through an array of photographs, lithographs, woodcuts, engravings, drawings, handbills, posters and copies of sketches from the walls of ancient buildings. These illustrations-taken from Christopher's private collection of magic memorabilia-are very rare and many are unavailable elsewhere.They offer a glimpse of costumes, stage settings, and apparatus used by performers at various times; advertisements that had been printed and distributed; portraits of the magicians by leading portraitists of the day; programs and decorative fans distributed as souvenirs during performances; and satirical broadsides that were passed around the streets. Some of the illustrations are paintings by artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, William Hogarth, and Peter Breughel.--Adapted from back cover.