Hugard’s Annual of Magic 1937: What’s Inside the Classic Book
⚡ TL;DR: Hugard’s Annual of Magic 1937: What’s Inside the Classic also sold as The Magic Annual for 1937: Magic and Illusions, is a roughly 140-page collection by Jean Hugard, published by Max Holden and illustrated by Nelson Hahne. It gathers the popular effects of its year, from cigarette manipulation and billiard balls to stage illusions such as the floating ball and the bullet catch. It is a working snapshot of 1930s professional magic.
📋 What You’ll Learn
In this comprehensive guide about Hugard’s Annual of Magic 1937: What’s Inside the Classic we’ve compiled everything you need to know. Here’s what this covers:
- Learn about Jean Hugard – Remembered as one of magic’s great writers and editors.
- Discover what’s inside the book – Organized into nine sections across most common magic foundations.
- Understand the Dangerous Effects – Explains fire eating and a bullet catch as they were performed in 1937.
Who Was Jean Hugard
Jean Hugard was born John Gerard Rodney Boyce on December 4, 1871, in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He turned professional in 1896, worked in American vaudeville, and from 1919 to 1929 ran a magic theater at Luna Park on Coney Island.
He is best remembered as one of magic’s great writers and editors. His books include the Card Manipulations series (1933–1936), the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (1937), Greater Magic (1938), and, with Frederick Braue, Expert Card Technique (1940) and The Royal Road to Card Magic (1948). From 1943 he edited Hugard’s Magic Monthly. He kept working from his Brooklyn home even after losing his sight late in life, and he died on August 14, 1959.
The 1937 Annual comes from the same productive stretch that produced the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks.
About the Annual of Magic Book
- Author: Jean Hugard
- Publisher: Max Holden, 1937
- Illustrator: Nelson Hahne
- Length: about 140 pages
- First edition binding: maroon fabrikoid stamped in gold
- Series: each Annual collected the best and most popular effects of a single year. A companion volume covers 1938 and 1939.
Hahne’s line drawings explain the moves step by step. The book also includes six “Blurbo” magic cartoons, a light touch that sets it apart from drier technical texts of the period.
What’s Inside Annual of Magic 1937
The book is organized into nine sections.
| Section | Highlights |
|---|---|
| Cigar and Cigarette Manipulation | Cigar manipulation, the torn and restored cigarette paper, multiplying cigarettes, and Max Holden’s routine with the Diestel cigarette dropper |
| Miscellaneous | The bill in the envelope, two “Ashes” methods, and impromptu newspaper tearing |
| Coins | The Flying Coins and a coin vanish from the trouser fold |
| Cards | “Touch,” Magician vs. Gambler, the Knock-Out Card Trick, Leon Maguire’s card force, and G. W. Hunter’s Twelve Card Transposition |
| Silks | Silks and Soup Plates, the Knot in the Silk, and G. W. Hunter’s silk routine |
| Billiard Balls | Changeovers, multiplying balls, a production of four solid balls without a shell, and an egg production climax |
| Some Useful Gimmicks | A silk gimmick, a card holder, a ball shell with tongue, and a new card index |
| Impromptu Trickster | Impromptu linking rings, wand through hat, a rising card, and a match divination |
| Stage Tricks and Illusions | Hugard’s floating ball, fire eating, the art of smoke pictures, a spirit séance, producing cannonballs, walking through a string of beads, and Hugard’s bullet catch |
The Standout Effects from Annual of Magic
- The Hugard Method Floating Ball. Hugard’s own handling of a classic stage levitation, given a full illustrated explanation.
- The Whole Art of Smoke Pictures. A detailed treatment of creating images with smoke, including an original double-picture effect.
- G. W. Hunter’s Twelve Card Transposition. A card routine by a contributor of the era, credited by name.
- Walking Through a String of Beads. A visual stage penetration.
- The Billiard Ball chapter. A compact course in moves and routines that still reward study.
A Note on the Dangerous Effects
The book explains fire eating and a bullet catch as they were performed in 1937. Read these as history, not instructions. The bullet catch has killed performers, most famously Chung Ling Soo, who was fatally shot on stage in London in 1918. Fire eating causes serious burns and lung injuries. Neither should be attempted without professional training and safety support.
Who This Book Is For
- Close-up and parlor performers looking for classic cigarette, coin, card, and billiard ball material.
- Magic historians who want a snapshot of what working professionals performed in the late 1930s.
- Collectors building a Hugard library alongside Greater Magic and the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks.
- Beginners will find the impromptu chapter the easiest place to start. The stage illusions assume more experience and apparatus.
Get Hugard’s Magic Annual for 1937: Magic and Illusions as a digital download. For another classic of the same era, see The Expert at the Card Table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Hugard’s Annual of Magic 1937?
Jean Hugard, the Australian-born magician and author. It was published by Max Holden and illustrated by Nelson Hahne.
Sources
By Steven Warburton. Last reviewed: November 2026.
