David Mason Fine and Rare Books

ROBERT-HOUDIN.  Card-Sharping Exposed.  Translated and edited, with notes by Professor Hoffmann.  Cover-title: Card-Sharping Detected and Exposed.

London: George Routledge and Sons, 1882. 8vo., orig. pictorial green cloth, 316, (4)pp. ads. Library blind-stamp on title and half-title, bookplate, rear inner hinge cracked, wear to spine gutters, very good copy with an attractive cover design.

Robert-Houdin (born Jean-Eugene Robert), widely considered to be the father of modern magic, was a French watchmaker who parlayed a fascination with magic into a storied career as a magician and illusionist. Harry Houdini himself took his name from Robert-Houdin. “The present volume is a translation of Les Tricheries des Grecs of M. Robert-Houdin, one of the most valuable and interesting works of that ingenious author.”