"Now, that's a major no-brainer."
That was the thought that immediately went through my mind when Larry Baukin asked me, "Do you think there would be any interest in a hard cover collector's edition of 'The Larry Baukin Anthology'?"
We had published "The Larry Baukin Anthology" as an e-book in 2010 and, at the time, it was well-received by the community of magicians, mentalists and bizarrists. Containing three of Larry's books plus various articles he had contributed to The New Invocation, MAGICK, Seance and The Altar Flame, the anthology was an incredible source book for bizarrists (and, in retrospect, ridiculously under-priced). Time marches on, however, and there are undoubtedly new members of that community who haven't seen the wealth of material contained in the original digital version of Larry's book -- hence, my reaction to his question.
While there is the possibility that some people might not be familiar with Larry Baukin or the ground-breaking nature of the publications his work appeared in during the 80s and 90s, I suspect that anyone interested in the field of Bizarre Magick has at least heard the name, and possibly read some of his highly intriguing contributions to the art.
Who IS Larry Baukin?
You may know Larry Baukin as the author of "The Unholy Grail" and the co-author (along with Ron Martin) of the essential Martin Baukin book, "Cold Reading -- The Classic Book of Techniques". I first encountered Larry many years ago through his numerous contributions to The New Invocation and MAGICK, and at the time I marveled at the way he was able to craft compelling presentations from a wide array of themes, ranging from voodoo and old-time medicine shows to witchcraft, seances, carnivals and the Bermuda Triangle.
It was obvious to me that Larry was greatly respected by the publishers of The New Invocation and MAGICK (and The Altar Flame and Seance, as well), if only by the sheer number of times he appeared in those pages. In particular, The New Invocation, originally published by Tony Andruzzi (and later by Docc Hilford), exhibited its high regard for Larry by publishing four special One-Man issues devoted to Larry's work alone.
In recent years, Larry has concentrated on creating innovative reading systems based on traditional oracles such as tea leaves, playing cards and wax drippings (!), all of which he uses in his professional practice. It is rare to find someone who is equally comfortable with both the Tarot and the thumbtip, but then it's equally challenging to find someone quite like Larry who can write about them in clear, concise and easy-to-understand language.
What's in Bizarre Magick: The Collector's Edition
At 264 pages, this book is one of the largest publications released by The Pro Shop, making it an incredible value for bizarrists and mentalists alike. It contains Dr. Fathom's Amusements, Laughing Souls and Other Bizarre Visitations, and The Book of Aleister Crowley (all three of which are now out of print), plus all of Larry's contributions to The New Invocation, MAGICK, Seance and The Altar Flame... a total of 71 original presentations, all within a single volume.
Here's a closer look at the contents...
Dr. Fathom's Amusements
It's hard for me to pick which of Larry's books is my favorite, but considering my love of the detective noir genre and my avid interest in the gritty and sometimes surreal world of the carnival, this one is a real contender. Written in a style that brings to mind Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Dr. Fathom's Amusements follows the investigation of a psychic detective as he tries to uncover the truth behind a woman's disappearance, with all clues pointing to a carnival run by the elusive Dr. Fathom.
Each of the chapters in the book is actually a self-contained Bizarre routine with a carnival theme, complete with presentation dialogue and full explanations. During the course of the investigation, the reader encounters pickled punks, a magical stripper, the Spider Lady, the Freak Mentalist, a Three-Shell Operator, Abdul the Card-Playing Turk, and other shifty characters. Although you probably wouldn't want to do all ten routines in one performance (unless you were doing a full evening show), you could easily modify the stories and present three or four of the routines as a suite.
Laughing Souls and Other Bizarre Visitations
Like the majority of Larry's material, the presentations in Laughing Souls and Other Bizarre Visitations are easy, practical and versatile. Themes covered in the thirteen routines in this book include Brazilian spirit mediumship, medieval mountebanks, a Salem witch seance, Civil War psychokinesis, a trio of Mexican mysteries, a 19th century medicine show, and three seances from Hitler's Germany. Be forewarned that most (if not all) of the stories in this collection are potentially quite disturbing and should only be presented to mature audiences -- and you should probably exercise discretion even then.
The Book of Aleister Crowley:
Nine Dreams in the Life
of
The Wickedest Man in the World
At the time of its original publication, this book marked the first time Aleister Crowley appeared in the literature of Bizarre Magick, which is in itself another proof of the ground-breaking nature of Larry's work. Having spent a fair amount of time myself researching the life of Aleister Crowley, I was very interested (and very pleased) to see how effectively Larry had incorporated Bizarre Magick into the Crowleyan mythos. While not a full biography of The Beast, The Book of Aleister Crowley succeeds in conveying a good understanding of the surreal life of one of the most notorious necromancers in history. Each of the nine routines contained in this book is based on actual events in Crowley's life, and can be staged as a separate presentation or, as Larry suggests, "combined to form an evening with the roguish mage."
Collected Writings
In addition to all of the routines contained in Larry's three books, there are an additional 38 presentations that ran in the now-legendary New Invocation, MAGICK, Seance and Altar Flame. Many of these routines are structured as seances, calling forth from the Other Side such luminaries as Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, ocean liner gamblers, 17th century witches, Mary Todd Lincoln, Roaring 20s gangsters, New Orleans psychics, 14th century magicians, Inquisition heretics, and (as you have already guessed) many more.
It's interesting to note how easily Larry was able to tailor his writing from one publication to another, perhaps most notably in the case of Bascom Jones' MAGICK, which tended to have a more contemporary focus. Within this context, presentations are more streamlined (but no less compelling), and explore topics such as crop circles, hypnosis, pendulums, ESP research and Einstein's universe.
Perfect For All Levels of Performers...
... who are into Bizarre Magick, of course. Even if you aren't, this anthology still makes for fascinating reading, and could very well be a textbook for a college-level course on how to craft a compelling presentation.
If you are into the spooky stuff, however, you'll surely appreciate these creations from the mind of one of the original pioneers of Bizarre Magick, regardless of your own performance level. Amateurs (and remember the literal Latin translation of that word is "lover") will not only learn new methods and techniques, but will invariably gain understanding of the dramatic and effective elements that go into successful story-based presentations.
Professionals, on the other hand, will find many of Larry's presentations to have a catalytic effect on their own creative efforts, making this collection the basis for a motherlode of new material with a bizarre theme. Both amateur and professional alike will certainly enjoy reading this anthology for the sheer entertainment value of it, since the majority of the entries read like a self-contained short story, and all of them deal with themes and topics that never fail to be thought-provoking.
I haven't checked eBay lately, but I imagine that to get all of the three out-of-print and hard-to-find books -- plus all of Larry's contributions to The New Invocation, MAGICK, Seance and The Altar Flame -- would prove to be difficult and run quite a bit more than the cost of this updated collector's edition.
What's New in The Collector's Edition?
Because Bizarre Magic: The Collector's Edition is essentially a hard cover version of "The Larry Baukin Anthology", you may be wondering what's so special about it. Here are some important points to keep in mind:
|
Special Bonus For Bizarre Magick: The Collector's Edition
As if all of that weren't enough, we've put together a special bonus -- an audio interview with Larry, in which he discusses, among other things, how he got his start in bizarre magick, his working relationship with the legendary Tony Andruzzi, how to present bizarre magick commercially, and the most important thing to consider when crafting and performing bizarre magick presentations. In addition, Larry talks about his critically-acclaimed book, "The Unholy Grail", and how he created the reading system that he's been using for years.
Larry has been a respected voice in the readings and bizarre magick worlds for over 30 years, and this one-hour phone conversation is a fascinating glimpse into his creative mind. The ideas and insights offered by Larry will be of interest to amateurs and professionals alike, and is only available with Bizarre Magick: The Collector's Edition.
Please Read: A Note About ShippingProperly packed in a padded envelope, Bizarre Magick: The Collector's Edition is a fairly large package, which means it's expensive to ship. Unless you contact us and make special arrangements, domestic US orders will be shipped via Media Mail, and all others will be shipped First Class International Mail. While the US Post Office estimates that Media Mail packages will be delivered in 2 - 8 business days, First Class International Mail packages can take up to 4 weeks to arrive. |
THE BOTTOM LINE
If you're ready to order this highly-collectible book now, simply click on the Add To Cart button below.
Bizarre Magick: The Collector's Edition
Domestic US Customers
International Customers
ORDERING INFORMATION & FINE PRINT PLEASE NOTE: All Pro Shop orders are processed the old-fashioned way -- by a real live person -- and typically in the morning, Monday through Friday. If your order is placed Monday through Friday, it will most likely be processed within 24 hours. Orders placed on a weekend will be filled on Monday, unless that's a holiday. 1) To order this package of digital materials, simply click on the "Add To Cart" button for the item you want. |