Showmanship for Magicians

First published in the US in 1943. Showmanship for Magicians is a work by semi-professional magician and author Dariel Fitzkee. It is the first in the Fitzkee Trilogy, a classic collection that is still read widely by magicians, conjurors and illusionists alike.

Fitzkee’s early books were shorter works focused on specific magic tricks. Books like Cut and Restored Rope and Manipulation (1929) and Linking Ring Manipulation (1930) described multiple variations of these classic tricks.

But his most enduring written works were the Fitzkee Trilogy, starting with Showmanship for Magicians. Many magicians throughout the second half of the 20th century have considered it to be a cornerstone work in the field, including the actor Steve Martin who was fanatical about magic as a young man. He described the book as “…more important to me than The Catcher in the Rye.”