Original mail-order course

The History of the Course

Publishers T. Grant Cooke and Walter A. Jordan developed an interest in producing a correspondence course in magic in the mid-1920s. Cook and Jordan hired Tarbell and Walter Baker, another Chicago-area magician, to work on the project, but Baker dropped out of the project in its early stages to concentrate on his performances. A few months before his death, Harry Houdini was approached to author the course, but Houdini declined but recommended Tarbell. The publishers agreed, allotting Tarbell $50,000 for the course. Tarbell finished the course in 1928, producing 60 correspondence lessons with at least 3,100 illustrations.

Tarbell later discussed the philosophy behind his course: "There is a big difference between a magician and a man who does tricks...Fundamentally, the making of a magician is no different than the making of other professional people. One must be trained in the mechanics, the alternate methods and be skilled in the presentation in order to meet any conditions which may arise." Unlike other magic courses which placed a greater emphasis on self-working illusions, Tarbell began with fundamental drills and practice sessions involving body position, movement, and sleight-of-hand techniques which were to be incorporated into actual tricks in future lessons.

After selling 10,000 complete courses, Cooke and Jordan discontinued marketing the Tarbell Course in Magic in 1931, blaming the Great Depression for slumping sales. In 1941, however, magician Louis Tannen purchased the rights to the course, working with Tarbell and Ralph W. Read (of Read and Covert) to convert the correspondence lessons into book form.

Original Lessons (1926 - 1929)

The original lessons are not identical to the later published books (volumes 1-8) of which only 1 through 5 were actually written by Tarbell himself. Most of the original lessons can be found under different lesson numbers and sometimes different headings in the books. The post graduate lesson was reprinted in book volume 8. There are some parts from the original 60 lessons that were dropped.

Lessons 1 to 15 - 1926

Lessons 16 to 40 - 1927

Lessons 41 to 56 - 1928

Lessons 57 to 60 - 1929

Lessons:

The History of Magic

The History of Sleight-of-Hand

Necromancy & Divination

Development of Superstitions

Magic & Religion

Magic & the Science of Medicine

The Rope & Tape Principle

The Relations of Magic to Other Sciences

The Principles of Card Effects

Confidence & Enthusiasm

The Penetrating Ring, The Jumping Rubber Band, Thumb Tie with Rubber Band, The Japanese Thumb Tie

Cards That Pass in the Night, The Cars up the Sleeve

The Regular Pass, The Card Stab, The Extremist-Ray Knife, The Magnetic Knife

The Force, Producing a Card from a Whole Orange, The Card & the Banana

Guide to Card Positions, Various Principles of Palming & Shifts, The Conjurer's Touch, A Mysterious Discovery, "Marvello," Cards, Envelope & Hat

"Tack It", New Era Version of card Through Handkerchief, Three Cards Through the Handkerchief, Rising Cards Through Handkerchief

"Snap It", Flash Card Production, Mystery of the Glass House

Rising Cards

The Enchanted Cards & Envelope, Bewitched Rising Cards & Envelope, Rising Cards from Book, A Book & a card, Rising Cards Through Hat, Rising Cards out of a Hat

How to Please Your Audience, Keeping up with the Times, Making an Impression, Maintain a Healthy Attitude Toward Magic, The Vanishing Wand, King Solomon's Marriage Bands, Arrangement of Programs

Sleight-of-Hand with Coins

The Homing Coins, Invisible Money Transit, The Coin in the Magical Envelopes

The Miser's Dream, The Coin, Envelope & Handkerchief, The Passe Coins & Glasses, The Passe Coins from Hand-to-Hand, the Phantom Coin

Humpty Dumpty Outdone, The Egg Bag

I am Saving You Money, Effects with Rabbits

Simplicity is the Key-Note of the Tarbell System of Magic, The Cut & Restored Ribbon, A card & Ribbon Mystery Ribbon, A Spirit Communication, A Wandering Ribbon

The Famous Needle Trick, A Thimble Act

Silks, The Egg, the Glass, & the Handkerchief, The Wandering Handkerchief, The Silk & the Flame, The Candle, the Silk, & the Paper Tube, The Educated Knot

Divisions of Modern Magic, Unlimited Opportunities in Magic, Specialization, Presentation, Creating of Effects, Experiments of Super Mentality, The Chess Knight's Tour, A Mind Reading Act, The Yogi's Prediction, The X-Ray Cards, Telepathic Pictures

Making Money with Magic, Wand from Pocketbook, Cigar from Pocketbook, Wand from Card Case, Silk Production from Hat, A Rabbit Traveling Bag, Deluxe Silk Production from Hat, Production of Rabbit from Silks, Chinese Box Vanish for Rabbit

A Modern Crystal Gazing Act, Rapid Mental Transference, A Good "One Man" Mind Reading Act, Distant Mental Communication, Blindfold Card Reading, A Mystic Discovery

Your Relation to Other Magicians, Ethics at a Magic Performance, Silk Handkerchief Magic, Mystic Knots, The Dissolving Single Knot, The Speedy Single Knot, The Fade-Away Double Knot, Quick Release Double Knot, Leg Tie & Release with Handkerchief, The Magical Bow Knot, Repeat Handkerchief Vanish, AN Eggs-traordinary Eggs-Planation, A "Sucker" Handkerchief Vanish, A One-Man Handkerchief Vanish, The Sympathetic Silks, Elusive Silks

Cigarette Magic, The Burning Cigarette & Silk Handkerchief, The Phantom Cigarette, The Vanishing Cigarette, The Dollar Bill in the Cigarette, Catching Cigarettes in the Air, An Odd Cigarette Vanish, Cardini's Floating Cigarette, to Produce Lighted Cigarette from Box

Twelve Impromptu Effects with Cards: Back and Front Hand Palming, Color Changes with Cards, Top Card Change, Flourishes.

Sleight-of-Hand with Cards

More Card Magic, Production of Cards from the Mouth, Cascade Production from Boy's Nose, Easy Methods for Forcing Cards, The Circus Trick, Flase Counting, Four Ace Effects, Card Fountains

Oriental Magic, Chinese Color-Changing Coins, Chink-a-Chink, The Phantom Knot, The Mystic Knots, Chefalo's Knot, Mysterious Japanese Tie, The Chinese Burning Tapes, Hindu Cut & Restored Turban

Oriental Magic, Japan-O-Tie, The Mystic Smoke, The Chinese Sticks, The Climbing Balls, The Disappearing Grain, The Hindu Jar of Grain, The Productive Japanese Lantern

More Handkerchief Magic, The Handkerchief Ball, The Soup Plate & Handkerchiefs, Two Soup Plates & Handkerchiefs, The Twentieth Century Silks, Tarbell's Color Changing Handkerchief, Double Handkerchief Color Change, The Dyeing Handkerchiefs, The Birth of Old Glory

Character Analysis Related to Magic

Billiard Ball Manipulation

The "Clean Cut" Color Changing Handkerchief, The "Vice-Versa" Color Changing Handkerchiefs, Handkerchief to Billiard Ball, The Elusive Rainbow, Spot the Red, Watch the Lemon, The Magic Chocolates, Popping Corn in a Hat, Nursing Bottle from the Hat

Coat & Hat Productions, Comedy Egg Production, A Master Hat Production, Rabbit Productions, An Unexpected Rabbit Production, Rapid Production of Rabbit from Hat, Silks & the Rabbit, Rabbit Production from Paper Ribbon, Rabbit Production from Gentleman's Coat, A Chicken Produced from Gentleman's Coat, Production of Bottle of Milk or Liquor from Gentleman's Hip Pocket, Changing Rabbit to Box of Candy, Sausages from Boy's Coat

Chemical & Mechanical Magic, A Novel Transmission of Smoke, Wine & Water, The Wandering Glass & Bottle, A Magical Transformation, A Cooking Lesson, The Welsh Rarebit

Spiritualistic Magic, The Living & the Dead, Spirit Photography, The Psychic Paper, Spirit Slate Writing, A Parlor Seance

More Spiritualistic Magic, The Dark Seance at the Table, The Dark Circle, Gysel's Mysterious Lights, Dr. Bridge's Thought Projection, The Siberian Chain Escape, The Cabinet Seance, Another Good Tie, The Throw-Away Coat Tie

Chinese Linking Rings, Weber's Emergency Routine

More Oriental Magic, Tarbell's Mysterious Firecrackers, Kolar's Balloon & Silks, Ching-A-Ling Chinese Lantern Production, The Hindu Mango Tree Growth, Tarbell's Hindu Plant Growth, Comedy Flower Growth

Specialty Chinese Magic, Production of a Large Bowl of Water, Production of Stack of Four Bowls of Water, Chinese Production of the Four Bowls, Production of a Child, Modern Production of Bowl of Water on Table, Chinese Production of Doves, The Mysterious Self-Filling Lota, Ching Ling Foo's Magic Water Can, Mystery of the Paper Ball, Egg, Frog, & Baby Chicken

The Tarbell Rope Mystery

Illusions, The Mystery of King Tut, Who & Which

Building Illusions, Black Art Illusions, The Elusive Hindu, A Daughter of the Sun, The Mystery of the Girl in the Trunk, The Phantom Flight

Escape & Substitution Illusions, The Substitution Trunk Mystery, The Canvas Box Mystery, The Packing Box Escape, The Paper Bag Escape

The Black Art Table, The Treasure Chest, The Chinese Pigeon Production, Thayer's Super-Vanish of Doves

The Egyptian Mummy, The Mystery of the Dancing Girls, The Doll House Illusion

The Sward Box, The Penetrative Steel Bars, The Indestructible Girl, Sawing a Woman in Half

The Chinaman, The Ghost & the Cat, The Mystery of The Three Ghosts

The Phantom of the Circus

Making the Box Office Pay

Advertising & Publicity