Magicians are very interested in the history of their craft. More books about the history of magic have been published than about any other form of variety performance art. It is only recent, however, that academic historians started to cultivate an interest in magic.

A lot of work has been written on the early days of cinema, when magicians were instrumental in the development of special effects. One of the great pioneers was Georges Méliès from France. He invented many early techniques of special effects, such as the great little trick film, Les Cartes Vivantes from 1905.

The History of Magic

You can read more about the history of writing about the history of magic in my book Perspectives on Magic.

The history of magic is simply far to long and complex to even attempt to describe in one web page or chapter of a book. The video below is a play list with a series of videos on the history of magic. It discusses performances throughout the ages

If you are interested in reading more about the history of magic, go to the bibliography or buy Perspectives on Magic and other books on the history of magic from the bookshop.