If you knew life prior to youtube, then you remember magic was taught and learned through print media. My first book on card magic was Card Tricks by Jean Hugard which I purchased with newspaper route earnings. A fascination with pasteboards was born. My enthusiasm to learn close-up magic, particularly card tricks, made Christmas shopping for me rather easy.
As a left-handed person, the challenge for me was to read the instructions, switch hands and invert directions. Reading, interpreting, reversing and simply understanding what was being described is what made “the puzzle” a fun feat to achieve. There wasn’t a better sense of self satisfaction than seeing an accomplished result in the mirror.
Written instruction also allows for personal interpretation on how an effect should appear to an audience. The learning of a trick via text is a very personal experience. This is not to say that video instruction does not have merit. On the contrary, I believe that the availability of video tutorials have increased the interest in magic to all levels of enthusiasts.
Let not magic become a vanishing art!
