NEW BOOK: MAGIC TOKENS

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V24 2021 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 24, Number 18, May 2, 2021, Article 4

We recently discussed an unusual Whitehead & Hoag token that some speculated was a magician's piece. John Mutch recently learned about a recent book on the topic from a Facebook post. I don't believe we've discussed this one before. First here's the background from the FB Topmagician1 feed (September 14, 2018). -Editor

This note is being sent out to all collectors of magic, and specifically magic tokens, that we know about. Over the past few years, Paul Courville has been working with Robert A. Olson on an update of the noted book Magic Tokens and Related Items, by F. William Kuethe. This was published by the Token and Medal Society in 1978 and listed over 400 tokens (now simply called Magic Tokens). Today, that number of known tokens has more than doubled. When Robert A. Olson told Kuethe about it, and shared Courville's website with him, Kuethe's response was, "If there is anything that I can do to help, please let me know". The book will be available on line by going to http://www.magictoken.org/ (then click on THE MAGIC TOKEN GUIDE button).

By sharing this knowledge with all, freely and willingly, It will become a clearing house of knowledge on magic tokens, as collectors can send in new tokens to be listed and researched. It will be updated quarterly to keep it current. There is no charge to use this book. Kuethe shared his knowledge on magic and tokens with all. We will do the same. For those who would like printed copies, they will be made available on Amazon. Please share this posting with fellow collectors.

Additionally, Magic Tokens is now released for purchase in physical book format for those interested in adding it to their own personal reference books collection.

Here's some information from the Amazon product page. There are several sample pages available, and the work looks well organized and professionally done, with color photos throughout. -Editor

One of the areas of magic history is in the advertising coins, or magic tokens, used by magicians. From long ago to the present day, magicians have been using these in their shows, and to advertise their performances. The book that you will now read will help document these tokens. The documentation of Magic Tokens was begun in the United States by John Mulholland, and Edgar Heyl, and then formalized in 1978 by F. William Kuethe, Jr., when the Token and Medal Society published his Magic Tokens and Related Items. The documentation now continues, based on the work of Kuethe. It continues here.

About the Author
Born in Jonesboro Arkansas on April 16th, 1959. I joined the United States Army at the age of 17 and retired from military service 24 years and 13 days later. I'm now working as a Network Administrator and have a lovely wife named Lisa. We now live in Greenwood Indiana.

Product details
Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (September 12, 2018)
Language : English
Paperback : 169 pages
ISBN-10 : 1727158539
ISBN-13 : 978-1727158533
Item Weight : 1.04 pounds
Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches

The Magictoken.org site also mentions a periodical I'd never heard of - The Journal of Necromantic Numismatics published by Frederick Kuethe, Jr., issued from 1966-1978. Has anyone seen this? Does a library somewhere have a run of them? -Editor