But in addition, you may have to haul out one or two more volumes til you find the one with the page number you're looking for. "Hmm that's a relatively high page number so it must be in volume 4....oops, no...must be in volume 3 then, let me get that one now..."


We'll have to agree to disagree here. Let's just say that, in the absence of a comprehensive index, neither scheme is ideal.


Upon consideration, I'm not sure now whether it's the paper that smells funny or the ink. I may have to leave my books in a cage with some white mice and see whether any of them go belly up in a few weeks. I can always say I killed them psychokinetically. Hmm I shouldn't have said that. The publisher may now increase the price and add a "BONUS EFFECT!" blurb to the ad.

My file of Trapdoor magazines has the indexes following every 26 issues or so. It is a pain to try to find the indexes (should you keep them all in situ). I see nothing wrong with having all the indexes in one book. I agree a cumulative index would be better - but the issue here is having the information in a convenient and accessible location. Spread throughout the text is neither convenient nor accessible. When I pull out my Albo's I know exactly where to turn for the index. When I pull out Tarbell, I know exactly where to go. Of course I will then have to locate the information in the correct volume. That's the way the world works.

And yes, in regard to the subscription information, you are grasping at straws. I am sure whomever lives in Bascom's old residence appreciates the fact that this information was removed. Heck, I can think of dozens of times I have seen magazines donated to waiting rooms only to find the delivery information removed. Unless you were planning on sending in a subscription to Bascom I cannot fathom how this omission is relevant or meaningful to the ad copy. I am pretty sure many issues mailed arrived with creases or tears. Are you upset these were omitted as well? You are grasping at straws here.

Is there anyone else out there who thinks these books smell toxic or did I just get stuck with a bad batch?

You know, just for fun, I looked at my hardbound collection of Seance. Oh No! complete subscription info is still on the reprints! Ads too! I hope I don't get confused and send some money to a defunct address. I'm afraid to look at my hardbound Syzygy.

s

Let's talk about the MATERIAL. I was fortunate enough to obtain a collection of the originals. I am going to buy the Viking Reprint as well and if I have to I will wear that stuff that coroners use for autopsies

Anyhow, MAGICK is a STUNNING collection of S U P E R L A T I V E mentalism. Sure dust jackets can be nice, but, do they have any bearing on the MATERIAL? Nope. Apocalypse has no dust jackets, nor does Pallbearer's, Chronicles, Epilogue, The Jinx, The Phoenix, Pentagram, and MANY others.

Okay, so the reprint might be missing the fabled blank issue 497. So what? I do not know George Robinson except for a few phone calls. BUT, I DO know that the man is honest almost to a FAULT and I DO hope the person who implied false advertising was being facetious. Viking has been the victim of MANY inferior knock offs - no need to mention particular companies - yet Viking soldiers on.


Ahimsa,
Vlad

I m very happy with the quality of this reprint.

The material has a lot of early work from some of today's greats. Historical in some ways and definitely a lot of offbreat ideas that otherwise would have fallen through the cracks.

I own the Originals, and the wonderful reprints.
I am THRILLED with both..
I'd buy them again.
FWIW....
Ted L

So if you're buying these books expecting to get historically correct reproductions, you're up the creek. Let's not presume everyone is buying this set of books for the same reasons.

This thread is hilarious, in a _1984_ doublespeak sort of way, but it's also useful. I, for one, am grateful to learn that the claim of "nothing left out" is incorrect. I can (and will) decide for myself if what was left out is important to me, but knowing that it's not completely true makes for a more informed decision. Thanks.

It was the publishers who made an issue over it being unabridged and nothing left out. They put it among the few words in the advertising copy.

Now, I don't care about that, and I suspect it isn't an issue for mind guerilla. But it might be for some potential buyers. So - the copy was misleading, and mind guerilla was right to draw attention to it being misleading.
It really is as simple as that.

As for the index; yes it is complete, but it is a pity there isn't a combined one. One was produced for the Castle Notebooks, and I've found it really useful. It would have been a useful addition here.

I never got around to commenting on the "gold endpapers". I guess, technically, a faded mustard color can be called "gold" but this wasn't what I was expecting.

I also neglected to mention that there is no ribbon to hold your place in any of these volumes.

I almost feel guilty continuing to beat up on this set of books. Then again, I paid $800



FYI
From the "FOREWARD" (Yes, that's how they spelled it) to volume 1 of this set:
"So, it was decided that we would produce five bound editions of the original, exactly as Bascom published them."

In Bascom Jones' "The Mystic Word" in Issue #290 of this set, he talks about three books by T.A. Waters, saying "see insert". Problem: there is no insert. So folks like me, who didn't read MAGICK back in the day, may be confused, especially in light of the publisher's (now debunked) claim that nothing has been left out.

The mystery was cleared up for me by a member of the Café. As I suspected, Mr. Jones was referring to an advertising insert that was included with the issue.

This is corroborated by Masklyn Ye Mage's column, "The Shuttered Room", in issue #9 of THE NEW INVOCATION (April 1982), which discusses MAGICK #290 and describes the insert as "A flyer announcing the release of the final three publications of T.A. Waters' writings on mentalism, i.e., Deckalogue, Grymwyr, and Octasm."

Returning to the topic of the missing subscription information in each issue: These omissions seem all the more baffling when one sees that other people's addresses (and even phone numbers) appeared in "The Mystic Word" quite often and have not been redacted as Mr. Jones' address has been.

I was surprised to see an ad for these books in the latest issue of Genii(pg. 27).

I don't know if this is a new batch or if Collectors Workshop has produced 500 more "limited" sets.

CW still claims the collection to be "complete", "unabridged", "exactly as originally issued by Bascom Jones" with "nothing left out".

Unless this is a revised version of the set issued earlier this year, buyers should be wary, especially those who think they will be getting historically accurate reproductions for their archives. As stated earlier on this thread, the sets issued earlier this year eradicated the subcription information blurb that appeared on page 4 of every issue of MAGICK, therefore, not one issue in this set appears "exactly as originally issued."

The ad refers to the color of the books as "cranberry". I guess that's a bit more genteel than my "pukey purple" description.

The ad also says, "complete with indexes" so, at least they are not claiming to have one comprehensive index.

Forgive me, for I am thinking of buying The Compleat MAGICK" by Collectors' Workshop or buying the older set I have a few questions I can buy the first set I believe it is four books where as the first set has 4 books? and the collectors set is it One Big book or is it broken down would I have to lug the collector workshop around or would it be better to buy the original set that came in four books? and carry one book at a time? CAN ANYONE HELP ANSWER THIS ALSO IS THE MATERIAL THE SAME IN BOTH SETS? ITS A CHOICE OF $1000.00 VS 895.00 I AM THINKING IT WOULD BE EASIER TO JUST TAKE ONE BOOK AT A TIME VS CARRYING THE NEW SET THAT CAME OUT CAN SOME ONE HELP THAT HAS SEEN BOTH SETS! If you had the money what would you get? would the original set be worth more in value later on? Need Advice! Thanks_Gary. Jardinimagic last question is are there supposed to be 4 books in the original printing or 5!

The first bound printing was four seperate books with the fifth supposedly being available at a later time and available sometimes to purchase seperately. The five volume set contains five seperate books and sold as a set of five only. I am still planning on buying the five volume set published by Collector's Workshop. I don't see the point of paying more for less.

As far as the previous posts on this thread I agree with Mind Guerilla on the aesthetics but I personally want to study the content. Fine leather bindings be ***ed

This set is expensive however when compared to a seldom used illusion or "box of tricks" the value of these books is superior. IMO.

Disclaimer: I've only salivated while looking at someone else's set and do not own them yet.

Ok. I have had the five volume reprint for a couple of weeks and while mind guerrilla is entitled to his opinion my experience is opposite. I bought these for the material contained within though.
The set is exactly as described in the ad copy. All bonus inserts ARE included as well as complete indexes for every issue.

They were shipped to me in a double box. Each volume was hand wrapped in paper inside the inner box.

This material is what everyone says it is (with the exception of mind guerrilla) lol

Way too much material to review right now. I will say that you can pick a volume, open any page and land on a real stunning worker. Not sure how many sets are left but it is worth every penny/dollar ha ha.

BTW - mine have absolutely no smell. At all.

JAlenS,

My qualm was not with the material but with the presentation...and the shoddy packing: one piece of corrugated cardboard served as the sole cushion.

And there is no sole comprehensive index.

I stand by my comments but I hope no one misunderstands: the material contained herein is GOLD. If I was forced to give up all but one of my mentalism resources, MAGICK is what I'd hold onto. I still maintain that the material deserved a more reverent treatment, with the issues left unedited. I know the subscription info is irrelevant now but without it, it is a false claim to say they are exact reproductions.

PS
Maybe mine smelled because they were fresher.

One famous (or infamous if you raise his ire) magic dealer once shared with me his host disgust and boredom at the constant quibbling surrounding magic products and books. Sometimes, though, he realized that many, many magicians do not realize they are not so much paying for the prop (or book) but for the intellectual property and secrets contained and reproduced.

The, James Riser, a well known manufacturer of fine magic of exceptionally high quality, shared some memories of his large illusion and cabaret performing days. He indicated that to him, a general rule is that no prop, illusion or book of tricks should ever be purchased and then expected to be used "as is." He never had an illusion he did not have to modify or correct from its one size fits all purchased state.

The many years that MAGICK was published contained, on the main pages, the main root secrets of mentalism and bizarre magic, and many variations on the basics. The small newsletter format was a love of Bascom Jones as part of his magical vitae. Many magicians did not subscribe regularly, some treated it as a newsletter and most lost the inserts that came with soooo many issues. When I got my set some years ago, I paid more than $800 for the complete, with inserts, set, bound into looseleaf binders and was happy to even find a complete set. When Collectors brought out their first volumes of the material from those newsletters, they were not complete, I believe edited and re-typeset. The very expensive project was never completed by the original publishers -- but the rights went to George at Viking with his purchase of Collectors Workshop as an ongoing business.

I talked with George several times as he prepared to issue the new comp[ilation -- and as he struggled to keep the project affordable for serious magicians and those who would value the ideas. I believe it was three or four years we chatted before he got the materials out to the printer who could do the massive job with reasonable binding and pricing. (He had to pay for EVERY printed volume up front.)

Since I had already 100 peer cent of the MATERIAL in my looseleaf binders -- I have not purchased the compilation -- but have spent some time going though it with friends who did, at shows and in correspondence on line. My conclusion (and I was a professional printer/publisher for a number of years) is that anyone who would quibble about the price and quality as I have seen above, is probably not a professional or creatively oriented serious magician who realizes that the compilation of the materials included could supply then very professional and salable new acts for their performance about once a month for a number of years with the potential of earning geometric multiples of the small investment involved.

As to printing quality, paper and binding, it is professional, not glossy, and made for USE, not sitting on a shelf. I cannot speak to delivery and boxing -- but books shipping at boo rates inside the US do not have to be wrapped like porcelain. The cost of the plastic and paper pre-made jackets might be all of $5 each volume for an individual to buy and install -- and the fact George did not put this on and mark it up to keep the books affordable, to me, is commendable, even if the recipients have to spend a little time and money buying slip jackets of their choice.

Then, please think of this -- how long is or will it take to sell all 500 complete sets =- and how long does the publisher have to sit on pre-paid inventory (of some size in the warehouse) before break-even 9s made as orders dribble in?

Price for quality, the MAGICK reprint is a bargain, if you use the values. If they are just for you to have a pretty shelf-full of magic books -- forget it, unless you love cloth bound purple.

Oh, yes -- my original collected, three hole punched originals in heir looseleaf bindings -- I would not sell them for double what George is getting for his publication set. That is because I use them.

I love this set and think it is extremely well done. So glad I bought it!