Does anyone know the title of one of the first magic books that still exists? Someone told me about it a few months ago, but I can't remember the title, but I'm pretty sure it contained the word "witchcraft". I was told that only a couple remain and that my university's library has one. I wanted to look it up, but now I forget what the book is called.

I know this isn't much information, and maybe the fact is that nobody actually knows what the "first" one was, but if anybody has any idea what book I was told about, please let me know.

Discoverie of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot.

Ah, that was it! And we do have a copy. I'll have to go check that out this weekend. Thanks!

Do you mean printed on a press or copied by scribes?

J.T.: Your question raises an interesting issue regarding the meaning of the word "published."

But instead of boring folks to death with a discussion of that highly technical point, it would probably be much more interesting to hear your list of candidates if the question is deemed to include manuscripts.

CHS

I suspect there are plenty of pieces of ancient books used in magic and also the first book printed for distribution to show off the press has plenty of magic in it even if it contains admonishments against the practice of the craft.

Reginald Scot
The Discovery of Witchcraft
London, 1584

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Scot

Owned by David Copperfield

That's the first in the English language. Does that mean there were others in other languages before this, and if so, are they well-known titles?

Prior to being edited, the Wikipedia entry for Scot stated that The Discoverie is considered a "bible" to magicians. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. If someone tells me that a book is the "bible" for a particular subject, I take it to mean that such book is as relevant today as it was when it was published, and that it remains a primary resource on the subject in question. Although it has priceless historical value, I doubt that any modern-day magicians consult Scot's book when they want to learn how to perform.

The Wikipedia entry also stated that Scot's book "helped to lift the ban on 'entertaining' magic that was imposed by the Catholic Church." That's an interesting observation, but I tend to doubt that it's correct. Has anyone read this theory somewhere other than Wikipedia?

Clay

P.S. Jonathan: regarding your comment, "the first book printed for distribution to show off the press has plenty of magic in it even if it contains admonishments against the practice of the craft," what's the title of this book?

Just found this article will searching around on the topic of oldest maic books.

"De viribus quantitatis (On The Powers Of Numbers) was penned by Luca Pacioli, a Franciscan monk who shared lodgings with Da Vinci and is believed to have helped the artist with The Last Supper.

It was written in Italian by Pacioli between 1496 and 1508 and contains the first ever reference to card tricks as well as guidance on how to juggle, eat fire and make coins dance. It is also the first work to note that Da Vinci was left-handed"


http://mathforum.org/library/view/70045.html

The first book solely devoted to the craft of conjuring is believed to be Prevost's Clever and Pleasant Inventions published in France in 1584. There are other books containing sections on conjuring that predate Prevost, but his tome is the first completely dedicated to the craft.
It was recently translated into English and published by the Hermetic Press.

One could make a very good argument that Prevost's book was not solely devoted to magic, but that would distract from the key point: Prevost's book is an important early work which discusses conjuring as we know it today.

Early dishes of Criss Angel and David Blaine?

Who know what specific card tricks was on "De viribus quantitatis"?
Same question about Prevost book.

Maybe William Kalush (a magician and the founder of the Conjuring Arts Research Centre in New York) can give us more insight into this book since he funded the project to have it translated. Anyone know him by chance?

this is what I could gather so far:

"Tricks in the magic text include how to write a sentence on the petals of a rose, wash your hands in molten lead, and make an egg walk across a table ("commoners will consider it a miracle"). The book contains some of the first known European examples of numerical puzzles, which are similar to those printed in today's newspapers, such as Sudoku.

There is also a diagram of a moving piece puzzle which was the medieval version of the Rubik's cube."

The link for more info:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/forgott......entSwap1