Magic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility-whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games, and the Internet, the craft of magic was the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known. As the pioneers of special effects throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible. This book celebrates more than 500 years of the stunning visual culture of the world's greatest magicians. Featuring more than 750 rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings as well as paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and Bruegel among others, The Magic Book traces the history of magic as a performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with incisive text, the book explores the evolution of the magicians' craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century's golden age of magic to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century's vaudevillians.

From Snow White to Cinderella, Rapunzel to Rumpelstiltskin, the Brothers Grimm bequeathed a canon of stories which have become literary and childhood classics. The most widely read story collection after the Bible, their magical tales are stalwarts of early learning and imagination, listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register as a vital part of our history and culture. This new edition of The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm brings to life 14 of the most beloved Grimm stories, including classics such as Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Hansel and Gretel. In a unique design format, each featured tale is paired with a different illustrator, bringing special pictorial splendor to each story. Featured artists include such masters of pictorial invention as Kay Nielsen, Walter Crane, and Viktor Paul Mohn, as well as many new discoveries. Historic and contemporary silhouettes-many commissioned especially for this anthology-further animate the tales, dancing across the page like delicate black lace. The book also contains a foreword on the Grimms' legacy and brief introductions to each fairy tale. For adults and children alike, this beautiful compilation brings the eternal magic of the Grimms' stories to the heart of every home. The following fairy tales are featured in the book: The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Brave Little Tailor, Cinderella, Mother Holle, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, The Star Coins, Puss 'n Boots, The Golden Goose, The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

From Snow White to Cinderella, Rapunzel to Rumpelstiltskin, the Brothers Grimm bequeathed a canon of stories which have become literary and childhood classics. The most widely read story collection after the Bible, their magical tales are stalwarts of early learning and imagination, listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register as a vital part of our history and culture. This beautiful hardback anthology is based on the Grimm's popular 1857 edition and features 27 of their best-loved stories in a vibrant and meticulous new translation commissioned for this publication. The tales are accompanied by exquisite vintage illustrations from the past 200 years, including masterpieces from the legendary Kay Nielsen, British artists Walter Crane and Arthur Rackham, and giants of 19th-century German illustration Gustav Sus, Heinrich Leutemann, and Viktor Paul Mohn. Additional historic and contemporary silhouettes dance across the pages like delicate black paper lace. In addition to the tales and illustrations, the book contains a foreword on the Grimms' legacy, brief introductions to each fairy tale, and extended artists' biographies in the appendix. For adults and children alike, this precious edition brings the eternal magic of the Grimms' stories to the heart of every home. The following fairy tales are featured in the book: The Frog Prince, The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats, Little Brother and Little Sister, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Fisherman and His Wife, The Brave Little Tailor, Cinderella, Mother Holle, Little Red Riding Hood, The Bremen Town Musicians, The Devil with Three Golden Hairs, The Shoemaker and the Elves, Tom Thumb's Travels, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, The Three Feathers, The Golden Goose, Jorinde and Joringel, The Goose Girl, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Star Coins, Snow White and Red Nose, The Hare and the Hedgehog, Puss n' Boots, The Golden Key

As treasured today as they will undoubtedly be for generations to come, Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales are cornerstones of our collective consciousness as much as of the Western literary canon. From The Ugly Duckling to The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes, this beautifully presented collection shares the eternal magic of these stories with a selection of eight tales, each illustrated with sparkling vintage artwork from the 1890s to the 1980s. True to the international appeal of the stories, the featured artists hail from Scandinavia to Japan and include such greats as Kay Nielsen, Josef Palecek, Tom Seidmann-Freud (niece of Sigmund Freud), and the groundbreaking film animator Lotte Reiniger. The collection also features historic and contemporary silhouettes, a presentation of Andersen's immense legacy, brief historical introductions to each fairy tale, as well as a set of stickers of favorite motifs. A treasure for the whole family, this precious edition inspires and enchants as much as the mystical, magical worlds of Andersen's imagination. The following fairy tales are featured in the book: The Princess and the Pea, The Nightingale, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling, The Tinderbox.

In its heyday, the American circus was the largest showbiz industry the world had ever seen. From the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, traveling circuses performed for audiences of up to 14,000 per show, employed as many as 1,600 men and women, and crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season alone. The spectacle of death-defying daredevils, strapping superheroes and scantily clad starlets, fearless animal trainers, and startling "freaks" gripped the American imagination, outshining theater, vaudeville, comedy, and minstrel shows. This book sheds fresh light on the circus phenomenon. With photographic gems of early circus performers, as well as original posters, lithographs, sideshow banners and engravings from the 16th to 19th centuries illustrating the worldwide roots of the circus, readers are transported to a world of thrill and skill, grit and glamor. Highlights include iconic circus photographs by Mathew Brady, Cornell Capa, Walker Evans, Weegee, and Lisette Model, and little-known circus images by Stanley Kubrick and Charles and Ray Eames.

One part history book, one part art book, and one part fascinating memoir, this book is an overview of more than two centuries of tattoo history intermixed with an intimate look at the lives of tattoo artists, and the personal struggles and triumphs, occupational hazards, and artistic courage that have defined so much of this history. For the last forty years, Henk Schiffmacher has poured his heart and soul into his collection, amassing tattoo drawings, designs, photographs, and artifacts from around the world. Each of the book's five chapters features many never-before-seen highlights from this collection and includes lithographs, etchings, tattooing instruments, paintings, photographs, posters, shop signs, original drawings, and tattoo designs known in the business as flash, among them extremely rare vintage flash sheets from major players in early Western tattooing. The vastness and variety of tattooing around the world is chronicled in the book's 700+ images, including the indigenous tattooing of the Maori and South Pacific islanders, the ancient traditions of Asia, and the origins of old-school Western tattooing in Europe and the United States. The book also features a dozen original illustrations by Schiffmacher in his inimitable style, as well as a personal introduction describing Schiffmacher's own journey as both an artist and a collector that has shaped his view of the art's journey from the underground to the mainstream. Schiffmacher brings a fascinating perspective to tattoo history through his personal reflections and wild tales of adventure. In this book, we learn not only about the history of tattooing, but also about the adventures behind the making of one of the largest tattoo collections in the world, by a self-taught tattoo artist in love with the art and its innovators.

Magic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility-whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games, and the Internet, the craft of magic was the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known. As the pioneers of special effects throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible. This book celebrates more than 500 years of the stunning visual culture of the world's greatest magicians. Featuring more than 750 rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings as well as paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and Bruegel among others, Magic traces the history of magic as a performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with incisive text, the book explores the evolution of the magicians' craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century's golden age of magic to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century's vaudevillians.