Magic and Its Professors by Henry Ridgely Evans

Many conjurers are adverse to exposes and fight shy of works on legerdemain. Books on magic, however, do not injure the profession of the prestidigitator, because only interested amateurs buy them and study them. The average reader would not take the time to wade through explanations of sleight-of-hand tricks. The danger to magic really lies in the exposes made by performers on the stage, when an unsuspecting general public is initiated into the secrets of the art. I could name a score of magicians who are guilty of this reprehensible practice, killing, as it were, the goose that lays the golden eggs— and all for what, to gain a cheap laugh from people who would rather be mystified than have tricks explained to them. A magician should not have a contempt for his calling, but always remember that he is an actor playing the part of a sorcerer. The slightest expose spoils the illusion which his dexterity has conjured up. Two young men are now touring the country performing tricks and exposing the majority of them. On one occasion when they were exhibiting in New York City, my friend, Mr. Francois De Villiers, a clever illusionist, was in the theatre. He said to me afterwards: "After having exposed some excellent tricks, one of the young men did the fishing-rod feat, but received no applause. 'What,' he exclaimed peevishly to the audience, 'did you not like that trick?' The trick was all right, but he had explained the modus operandi of so many illusions and exhibited their simplicity, that the spectators had grown apathetic. Their interest and enthusiasm had waned."