You hear this set talked about often, and it’s one you should own. But in the interest of honesty, let us tell you WHY you should own it, which may not be the reason you’re thinking of.
There’s very little in Tarbell you can read and perform AS IS. It was written long ago, and the style is quite brief in most cases, covering a huge amount of material and not leaving a lot of space for each item. Tarbell is also not a series of books you can read cover to cover, page by page.
But, they are CLASSICS for this reason: you can grab any Tarbell book, open to ANY page, and find absolute GOLD, absolute cleverness, and an idea you will have never heard of. Here, I’ll do it right now: I just opened to a page with THREE VERSIONS of a liquid production. That’s a trick I’ve always liked, and here are three ways to do it.
If you can, get the whole set: that’s where the value is. You’ll have the most valuable reference tools in magic (and they look GREAT on a shelf).
If you can only get one, get Tarbell 7. Here’s why: Tarbell was written by Harlan Tarbell, but Harry Lorayne “guest” authored # 7, and it came at a time when Lorayne was really connected to the New York magic scene. He put some MARVELOUS stuff in this volume, and this is the one volume I do read cover to cover because it’s so good. Lorayne’s writing is thorough here, and I find it easier to read than the other volumes.
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The most respected course in magic! The classic volumes cover every aspect and interest in the art of magic performance. A must have for every magic library!
8 hardcover volumes in all. More than 100 detailed lessons in all aspects of magic and magic performance. Totaling more than 3370 pages!
