Water Wizardry

WATER WIZARDRY BY ARTHUR AINSLIE

First published in 1922, Water Wizardry is Arthur Ainslie’s collection of magic tricks and experiments in which water is the chief agent.

The book begins with a series of smaller tricks suitable for informal performance, using familiar objects such as glasses, coins, cards, corks, paper and, of course, water. Ainslie explains not only the methods but how the tricks can be presented effectively, often turning a simple experiment or puzzle into a piece of entertainment. His opening trick, The Impossible, is a good example: the method itself is simple, but Ainslie devotes considerable attention to how it should be presented to an audience.

The book then moves on to more substantial pieces of conjuring, including The Hydrostatic Tube, The Passe-Passe Trick, The Rice Bowls, The Indian Sands and The Dissolved Card. A final collection of miscellaneous water magic includes vanishing water effects, the Milk Cans, Water from Waste Paper, Cotton Wool to Water and Silk from Water.

Among the material is The Hydrostatic Tube, a routine associated with David Devant, one of Ainslie’s great influences. The collection combines practical magic, physical principles, apparatus and presentation, providing an interesting picture of the type of conjuring being performed and taught in Britain during the early twentieth century. The original 1922 contents independently confirm the Devant attribution and the major routines.

ABOUT ARTHUR AINSLIE

Arthur Ainslie was the stage name of British magician and author Arthur Wellesley Odell Pain. He appeared at Maskelyne’s Theatre of Mysteries in London and was particularly known for family entertainment. He was also a writer and ghost writer, contributing material under the name F. M. Archer.

Ainslie published Water Wizardry in 1922 and retired from performing in 1926. The Hey Presto edition includes further notes on his life and work.

THE HEY PRESTO EDITION

This expanded Hey Presto edition presents the original 1922 publication complete and unabridged. The original diagrams have been carefully remastered, with additional woodcut illustrations in keeping with the period and amendments to the text for clarity. It also includes a biography of Arthur Ainslie.