Just a question, partially for curiosity sake, and partially a bit of research on our part.

For those of you who recommend the Tarbell Course, may I ask why and how YOU use it best?

I first got Vol. Four at a magic camp in 1979, and promtly dismissed it as babyish - I mean, a Course in Magic?!? So I didn't look at it for 20 years. Then I realized a few years ago what a treasure trove this course was and went to work obtiaining all 8 volumes plus the Study Guide and Tarbell Companion. Once I "got" what was so special about it, the fact that a great number of old and new effects on the market can be found in the pages of Tarbell, I began to look at magic in a whole new way. I sought out the volumes that had routines for 1) Sucker Egg to Silk and 2) the Egg Bag and went from there. I use the Vanishing Wand in Vol. Two all the time, Clippo is in one of the books, and when I noticed an old ad for Grant's illusion, "The Farmer & The Witch" decided on a hunch to check Tarbell, and there it was in Volume Three. Also, the sections on showmanship and the history of magic are fascinating reading and it seems like one can find something new every time they open any of the books, no matter how long they've had them on the shelf. You'd have to pay thousands of dollars to buy just a few of the single effects and routines in Tarbell.

(The Rice Encyclopedia of Silk Magic group of books is also one of those sets that has routines that'd cost you easily $150 today right there within the pages.)

As Denny Haney often says when asked about a "new" effect, "It's In Tarbell".

It's loaded with effects and ideas and is an excellent research source.

This is a bit like asking "Why do you like a dictionary, or an encyclopedia." I fell in love with volume 1 as a kid (back when the thought of buying the complete set was tantamount to the thought of buying a house -- expense-wise) but after working my way through it I new that purchasing the additional 6 volumes (this was long before the release of volume eight, which I now own, as well) was not as much of an option as it was a necessity. What I love most about Tarbell is this... in addition to whatever book or magazine I happen to have at any given time on my bedside table, I also have two constants: there is one of the 4 volumes of the collected Apocalypse, and one of the 8 volumes of Tarbell. Together, these two series provide one of the most comprehensive references I will ever need regardless of the main selection I happen to be reading at any given time.

Are you asking because you are considering the purchase?

If you don't have a copy you should get one. Along with Rice's Encyclopedia of Silk Magic, the Tarbell Course is a must-have if you are serious about magic, IMO.

I am asking as a bit of market research regarding a new book we are releasing-

It is a great resource that I turn to again and again. Many modern DVD's credit Tarbell in many effects. I always carry one random volume with me whenever I travel and read through it in my spare time time. I pick up soemthing new every time I read through it.

I also highly recommend Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. It is the best single book on the subject.

I believe that it was Jay Marshall that said, "If you could perform ten percent of the material contained in the Tarbell Course, you would be the greatest magicial entertainer in the world!"

FWIW

Cheers!

I agree wholeheartedly!

If you want a free sneak peak at what we've done... you can read it here:

http://www.leapinglizardsmagic.com/DustinSample.pdf

Dean & Julie (Lizards),
There are some nice ideas here. Thanks for the peak!

And thank YOU for the encouraging words!

Just the sheer scope of these books should make this a must have.Everytime I go through them I see something new.The cigarette/thimbles/billiard ball are just brilliant(and I'm actually interested in close-up).Doesn't anyone want to make volume9 please!
AJ

Not so sure our new book would be considered a volume 9- but it might make you think of the other 8 books as having 50 times MORE material in them than they did before- enough for several lifetimes!

Its been around a very very long time.
even my dad has kept an entire set even
tho he doesn't read 'em anymore.

even though I am not a magician, I know
about them and every magician I know has
a set.

that tells you something.

I have a complete course for the collection aspect of it. although I only read it for reading's sake, I have learned a lot in the field of maturity. i.e when to talk during an effect and when to shut up. not that I am the greatest in the world and I am aware that sometimes my effects were EXCESSIVELY wordy in patter,but I learned probably the greatest thing ever...LET THE AUDIENCE TELL THE STORY. I'm sure that anyone could tell you that, but the fact that I learned it from tarbell makes the value far outweigh the monetary cost.

Very nice!

Thanks for everyone's two cents so far, as well as for those of you who wrote kind words to me and Julie about our book, Dustin It Off which really is a tribute to Tarbell and the wealth of information there!

It is a shame MORE people don't take the time to really discover the kind of quality that is in the Tarbell books.

BTW, the book is great! There's more than just what's in the book in the original Tarbell Treasures column. Go to the Genii Archive and search for "Tarbell Treasures" to see more.

(including some very familiar names )

Yes indeed Mister Scott Cram! Great things from you then AND now!

There's stuff in the book that was never in the column as well.... So, lots of good stuff to be had all the way around.

I will be teaching a course online based on the original Tarbell mail course.

The bennefit is thet each trick and lesson can be discussed, propose alternate methods, find suppliers, even upload videos of the tricks being performed

Are you gonna get your students to acquire a set of course material?

ie original books or the lybrary.com ebook version