The Secret History of Magic

Chapter 1

Origin Myths

A long time ago, in ancient Egypt, there was a magician whose name was Djedi. On one particular day, Djedi was summoned to appear before the Pharaoh. So he went to the palace and stood before the Pharaoh. And he performed a miraculous feat with a goose.

He severed the head of the goose from its body. He placed the head of the goose on one side of the great hall and the body of the goose on the other side of the hall. He then uttered some magic words, and the body of the goose stood up. It began to walk toward its own head. The head and the body became reconnected, and the goose stood up and cackled at the Pharaoh. Djedi then proceeded to do the same thing with a long-legged bird. Then with an ox.

"This," according to the historian of magic Sidney Clarke, "is the earliest conjuring performance of which any record has come down to us." Clarke wrote that in the 1920s, and since then, historians of magic have agreed. For almost a century, they (no, we, because we are historians of magic, too) have claimed that the first recorded magic trick was the decapitation and resurrection of a goose.

In fact, the story is a myth. It appears in the Westcar Papyrus, which was discovered in the 1820s. The story is one of a series of five tales that describe miraculous deeds. Djedi himself is described in mythical terms: it is said that he is 110 years old and is able to consume five hundred loaves of bread, half an ox, and one hundred jugs of beer. He also promises to make it rain and predicts the birth of future kings. Beyond this romantic tale, there is little reason to believe that Djedi even existed.

Nevertheless, if you read a standard history of magic, this is how it begins. Historians are not trying to deceive you. This is not an attempt to conceal reality in order to create an illusion. Historians of magic, in certain respects, have been more like a magic audience. Sometimes we have not looked closely enough, or we have looked in the

Peter Lamont is a historian and psychologist at the University of Edinburgh, and a specialist in the history and psychology of magic. His articles have appeared in many scholarly journals and national newspapers, and his critically acclaimed books include The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick (one of the New York Times' "books of the year" of 2005).

Jim Steinmeyer is a world-renowned magic designer and author, who has created many of the mysteries featured by professional magicians, and special effects featured in popular Broadway shows. His books include The Last Greatest Magician in the World, the Taschen coffee-table book, Magic, and the Los Angeles Times bestseller, Hiding the Elephant.

Advance Praise for The Secret History of Magic

I was the first in line for this book, I'm a big fan of the authors. The Secret History of Magic is an original look at a beloved art. It reveals how magicians did it, why magicians did it, and why we will always be amazed.
-Neil Patrick Harris
 
Jim Steinmeyer and Peter Lamont take the reader on a rollicking journey from the dawn of civilization to the present. This magnificent history of magic goes beyond all others in marrying the evolution of that ancient art to the evolution of science, technology, philosophy, and myth. It shows how magic has mirrored all of these, yet stayed a step ahead in its capacity to inspire wonder.
-John McLaughlin, Former Deputy Director and Acting Director of the CIA


Praise for Jim Steinmeyer and Peter Lamont

"Dr. Lamont is the perfect guide for this trip into the world of smoke and mirrors A riveting yarn, full of quirky stories and wisdom about our need for mystery"
-Sunday Express

"Steinmeyer's combination of enthusiasm and erudition is a joy."
-Neil Gaiman

"Steinmeyer writes about events a century ago as vividly as if he had been there."
-Teller, Penn and Teller, The New York Times Book Review

"Lamont s dry, irrepressible sense of humour suffuses and subverts this wonderfully entertaining book."
-The Times

"Steinmeyer is the ideal host, introducing us to a fascinating stranger, and sliding into the background...Here is a storyteller with a glint in his eye. Pull up a chair, you won't be disappointed."
-Mark Stafford, Times of London

"Peter Lamont has conjured up a magical read."
-The Observer
 
"Peter Lamont s shrewd and often very funny book distils the perplexities of an age this is a serious and thought-provoking book about how we witness and interpret the world."