I'll buy this book! If you need any photos of slightly rarer stuff, I have a boxed Sutekina, and an unopened floating lady if you don't already have them.

...or pictures of the original 1991/1993 retail boxes full of Mindscanner resp. Fantastica.

When planning a book like this, the economics of it are always part of the initial scenario.

There are about 240 T-numbered items. Adding in the specials, promotional items, some of the other Tenyo items like the McD's and Pokemon stuff, if I give just one page to each item, that's already a 300 page book. Now say I give two pages to each item and we're at 600 pages. You can see that the size of the book can become a problem very quickly. Now let's include all the Tenyo ads that have run for the items (certainly an important part of the story), as well as the two big Tenyo stories (Genii and Magic Manuscript) and you're at another 75 pages at least. Plus all the new material, interviews, comments from the originators, and so on.

The book could easily be 1000 pages. But the book CANNOT be 1000 pages--TOO expensive. And here is where what I've learned from being a writer and publisher of magic books since 1977 comes in. I have to make choices. Hopefully the right choices so you guys get what you want. That's why it's a complex project--there's a lot of stuff to deal with and a limited number of pages.

I'm still negotiating certain points with Tenyo, but things will get clearer in the coming months.

My point in this somewhat long-winded post is that photos of boxes full of items as Nicolino has suggested probably won't make the cut.

If you list 300 items it take 150 pages for 1 page per trick ( recto / verso ).
It's for that I say that 2 or 3 volumes would be a good choice, but it makes more works BUT we can be pretty sure that almost all the people who buy the first volume will buy the second also if they are happy and if the book have interesting informations.

I completely disagree with those who think that few people will buy this book. But, all depends on its whole design, its interest and how it will be presented to buyers. I never see any book published by Richard, so I don't know his style and way of doing. There is a book you have publish that might look something like you want to do with Tenyo Book ? How many copies you consider selling regarding your experience in the past ?

Look again to the photo of the History of Nintendo I post before. I think ideally it should look like this. Visually appealing.
I can not wait to see the artistic direction that will take things.

It's a very exciting project.

Publishers don't count pages by the number of sheets of paper in a book, but by the number of sides printed. So a 300-page book is not a 150-page book just because it has 150 sheets of paper.

I don't like books that are designed to look "busy." I favor a clean look, so I'm afraid you might find my book boring to look at. At the moment I have no idea who will design and layout the book, but it might end up being me.

Multiple volumes are rarely a good idea. You never sell as many of the second as the first, and you never sell as many of the third as the second. Diminishing returns. I usually go for one BIG book.

Stereo what you are talking about is a leaf. A page is only 1 side.

If I was doing the book, I would organize it by decade and weave stories with information on the significant tricks of that time.

For sure I would not try and include every trick. To me that is a reference guide. I was hoping for a book more story driven.

Just my opinion. ;–)

It has to include every trick since it will be a reference work.

Richard the book will be absolutely fantastic and I for one have every faith in you,as you have proven yourself time and time again.

I've put out some good books, some very good books, but also a few crappy ones. But that was a long time ago. I've learned a lot in doing Genii for the last 15 years. Hopefully this will be one of the very good books.

I agree, I also like the simple design (like the photos on my blog), and I will love too a book like a old book in a very classic class style. I like both colorfull and classic retro epurated style.
But sometimes we must not think that we love but do something that buyers will love and want to buy. Not easy to find the middle.

Since I usually make little money on my books (certainly never enough to justify the amount of time it takes to create them), I always please myself first. That has worked out pretty well.

It's very sad that books not selling well. For me, the books are something that I adore, I respect, I find beautiful and offers a mode of transmition of information unsurpassed.
People often say that now with the internet, books are no longer useful. This is completely false, internet often offers very superficial things and nothing worth a real book or even a magazine. I do not really like the dematerialized versions too. Books are really special objects for me, who remain through time, leave a trace and can be transmitted. I find it unfortunate that books do not sell well, and even worse they are hacked. It is an art and a way to transmit Culture very important that must be respected and cherished.

Fortunately there are still people like you who continue to publish books by passion.

Thanks.

...the smell of ink and texture of paper is irreplaceable.

A book has so much more to offer than a digitalized version. You can smell the scent of a new or an old book, you can feel the texture of the letters and the pictures with your skin, coming close to the end of a page makes you eagerly want to turn it and continue, and many many more things....We can all be lucky there are people like Richard who still want to do that, it's a gigantic amount of work...

Hahaha... exactly the same timing it seems magic patagonia

This is great news Richard. I was impresses with the Addams book a few year ago. A similiar task which might inspire as to what works (and dosn't) for something of this size. Glad it's in your cabable hands, as stereo mentioned... us book buyers appreciate what you give back to the art by theses works of love.

The SS Adams book was done for the public, and it included only a tiny amount of SS Adams output (if it's the book I'm thinking of). The Tenyo book aims to be comprehensive, and is geared entirely toward magicians, things which make it much larger and more complex.

Would be nice if interviews with some of the non-Japanese creators were included as well. Such as Angelo Carbone and Lubor Fiedler. It makes sense since they are such brilliant creators.

Also - at a Lubor Fiedler/Mark Steduccati lecture I attended. Mark mentioned that Lubor Fiedler used to be a kid's show magician (doing very inventive and original tricks). And Mark thought it was a shame that Lubor couldn't devote more time to inventing and less to performing (Fiedler did hundreds of shows a year). I believe it was Mark who helped set up contact between Tenyo and Lubor. It sounds like an interesting story since it touches on the stuggles to make a living that a genius like Fiedler experienced. Since his genius is in a narrow and relatively uncommercial field. And also due to his being isolated in Austria away from the mainstream of the magic community. I think the Tenyo/Fiedler relationship is a fascinating one.

Anyway - I thought this could be an interesting story since it seems Tenyo has helped Lubor Fiedler to devote more time to invention. Which is a great boon for the rest of us and indeed for the future of magic as well.

And to dig up an earlier request. I would love to see some of the unreleased effects from Fiedler. And the early prototypes. Would be interested in hearing more about the weird (and sadly unreleased) prototype that Angelo Carbone invented which was featured in the GENII issue (which had Angelo on the cover) as well. I have no idea how the trick Angelo developed could be done!

There will be a cover story on Lubor coming up in Genii later this year.