House of Mystery: The Magic Science of David P. Abbott, Volume One and Two

First and only edition, now highly sought after by students and collectors alike. Black cloth with gilt stamping on front cover and spine, pictorial dust jacket. Illustrated. A few page corners of the volume one bent, else in near fine condition. A note from Teller: "This two-volume set includes Abbott's Book of Mysteries, a collection of super-mysteries which, so far as I know, has never been surpassed. Abbott was a genius who built his work on the devious principles he learned from spirit mediums, who could not afford to get caught. With these miracles, Abbott fooled Houdini, Kellar, Okito, Ching Ling Foo, and all the greatest minds in magic, and recorded his secrets in step-by-step detail in two of the most delightful and detailed books ever written on the art of magic. This edition's annotations and the newly-rediscovered articles and letters, including seven original hand-illustrated Kellar letters, make this set as essential for the history buff as it is for the professional performer." House of Mystery includes fifty essays by Teller on technique, magic psychology, and presentation, plus his own top-secret billet-switch method. The two volumes also feature over 100 diabolically clever close-up, stage, and mental effects, as well as the complete writings of David P. Abbott, including the legendary Book of Mysteries, Behind the Scenes with the Mediums, and previously unpublished material. To top off the book, Abbott's essays on the life and mysteries of illusion genius Joseffy have been supplemented with biographies by Jim Steinmeyer and poet Carl Sandburg.