In seeking out more books by the great magician and rationalist hoax-exposer, I came across a number of funky old books intended to draw back the veil and expose the craft to the general public. First, the Houdinis...
..and then some others.
Do children these days still want to learn magic tricks? I really wanted to when I was a child, but then back then we were also impressed by chroma key special effects. These days, who needs a magic slate when you can buy an iPad? In the old days, even hard-bitten soldiers wanted to learn magic tricks.
Probably the best modern use of vintage magical iconography on a book cover is the design by GTC Art & Design for the cover of Glen David Gold's novel, Carter Beats the Devil...
..Gold having written the introduction to this fine comic biography of Houdini, which has a great cover image (though less intrusive text in the white space would have worked better)...
..and, finally, there's this non-comic Houdini biography, which also has a great cover image (shame about the red update circle/sticker/blot).
