Albert A. Hopkins, Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography (London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company, 1897). Among the 550 pages of this encyclopedic history of magic, we find tricks that might be familiar to modern-day audiences: conjuring tricks (“The Disappearing Lady”, “The Appearing Lady”, “Decapitation”); optical tricks such as the infinity mirror or “mystic maze”; so-called “theater secrets” (“Siegfried’s Anvil”, “The Skirt Dance”); ventriloquism; and tips for eating fire. More unexpected are performances from the annals of illusion, such as the extended section on chapeaugraphy (the manipulation of hats). See https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/magic-stage-illusions-and-scientific-diversions-including-trick-photography-1897/
