Drawing Room Deceptions did not become the publisher's fastest selling book ever just by chance. It was the direct result of a series of specific events. The first ingredient was a young English schoolboy willing to invest a full decade of his young life in the study and practice of close-up card magic. He was not satisfied to mimic the tricks of others so he created a repertoire that was totally original. Along the way, he developed a distinct performing style that was gentlemanly yet steeped in sophisticated humor. Following graduation from university, Guy spent a couple of years traveling around the world performing and lecturing for club meetings and convention audiences. Add to this, television appearances around the world such as The World's Greatest Magic in America. This exposure to thousands of magicians established Guy's reputation for possessing impeccable skill along with an arsenal of original material. And one miracle that stood out among all others was his not-to-be-believed, piece-by-piece card restoration, now known to the magic world at large as The Reformation. The final piece of the puzzle was putting all of this knowledge into a single book, Drawing Room Deceptions. The added fact that this entire book was written, illustrated and designed by young Mr. Hollingworth simply makes this story that much more amazing.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the magic world was desperate for the release of this book and when it finally did appear, the response was overwhelming. The presses had barely stopped spinning when it went to a second printing and it is now in its fifth edition.
Customers knew they would be thrilled with the sleights, theories and routines that fill the 320 pages of Drawing Room Deceptions but they were surprised and delighted with the book's physical appearance. The two-color stamping on the cover, a frontispiece featuring a formal portrait of the author, marbled end-sheets and distinctive typography and artwork give this book the appearance of a classic, nineteenth century magic textbook.
Pages: 311 - 6" x 9" - Hardbound with 2-color stamping on cover and spine. Marbled endsheets.
Here is a peek inside Drawing Room Deceptions
EPILOGUE during which a method for tearing and restoring a card is discussed.
I have always had something of a love-hate relationship with magic; I certainly feel passionate about it much of the time, but I have a tremendous need of completely dissociating myself from it on regular occasions, or I tend to find it incredibly tedious. Magic incorporates elements which I love, and those which I cannot stand. Amongst the latter are the mass of marketed tricks and dealer halls at conventions; that is not through any snobbery or dislike for those who make their living out of producing and selling such items, but rather out of a complete lack of interest. I am aware that by ignoring this side of conjuring I am denying myself many fine effects that I will never otherwise come across, that could make valuable additions to my repertoire, but nonetheless, I have never understood the fascination with the dealer items. For some reason I vividly remember mentioning this incredulity to a colleague at an early convention that I attended, and being met with his philosophical answer that "they are all looking for the one trick in amongst all the others that will make them famous."
Despite being impressed at my relatively early age by the profundity of this statement of an older and wiser performer, I always had my doubts about the validity of what he had said; apart from feeling that it was unlikely that such a thought had ever crossed the minds of most of the people who were present, surely there could be no trick that could actually make your name, nor even distinguish you particularly from other fellows in the field.
