Sharps and Flats. A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill.
London: Longmans, Green and Co, 1894. First Edition. Hardcover. Small octavo. xiv + 335 + 24pp publisher's catalog, b&w frontis, plates and in-text illustrations. Red cloth lettered and illustrated in black and white. The first edition of this work by John Nevil Maskelyne (1839 - 1917) the first in a well-known family of conjurers who also gained fame for publicly exposing the fraudulent feats of the sham-spiritualists, the Davenport Brothers. He subsequently became fascinated with the mechanics of trickery and illusion, and became well known as a stage magician (he was also the inventor of the pay toilet). At quick glance this work seems to be entirely devoted to cheating in games of chance: how to "mark cards" etc. etc. Cloth a bit rubbed & darkened overall with a few light marks from handling, spine darkened, corners and spine ends bumped and chafed, pages edges darkened, pages toned with light scattered foxing, text unmarked. Overall a solid VG copy (no dust jacket). Item #58018
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