Thomas Harper

Hocus Pocus Junior was the psuedonym of the unknown author of this volume, the first illustrated book of magic tricks in the English language. The title of the book was The Anatomie of Legerdemain or The Art of Iugling. However, because the psuedonym appeared above the title in larger type than the title itself, the book is popularly known today as Hocus Pocus Junior.

Hocus Pocus Junior explains magic tricks with patter as they were performed in the early seventeenth century. The book covers such matters as sleight-of-hand, special props, and the use of confederates, all of these being practices still in use today.

In the opening paragraphs of his book, Hocus Pocus Junior both defines the art of magic and reveals the artifice of the seventeenth century magician.

For example, here is how Hocus Pocus Junior defined the art of performing magic tricks: "Legerdemain is an operation, whereby one may seem to work wonderful, impossible, and incredible things by agility, nimbleness, and slightness of hand. The parts of this Art are principally two. The first is the conveyance of Balls, Cards, Dice, Money, &c. The second is in Confederacy."

And here is how Hocus Pocus Junior delineated the artifice of the magician: "First, he must be one of a bold, and audacious spirit, so that he may set a good face upon the matter. Secondly, he must have a nimble, and cleanly conveyance. Thirdly, he must have strange terms, and emphatical words, to grace, and adorn his actions, and the more to astonish the beholders. Fourthly, and lastly, such gesture of body as may lead away the spectators eyes from a strict and diligent beholding his manner of conveyance."

About the Author

The Transcriber's Notes at Project Gutenberg had this to say about the author: "The Library of Congress Online Catalog lists Harper as author of this work, however WorldCat lists the book as printed by Thomas Harper for Ralph Mab. It seems that Mab was a stationer (arguably the publisher) and Harper the printer, not the author." Project Gutenberg identifies the author as "Unknown."

Michael Quinion, who writes about international English from a British viewpoint, said that Philip Butterworth identified William Vincent as the author: "In his book Magic on the Early English Stage of 2005, Philip Butterworth identifies the previously unknown author of this little book as William Vincent, a famous conjuror of his time, who was appointed as juggler to King James in 1619 and who used the stage name Hocus-Pocus."… (més)