(Magic, Periodicals, Conjuring) HUGGINS, Wilf., editor. THE MIDGET MAGICIAN. A NEAR COMPLETE RUN OF THE PERIODICAL: 37 ISSUES (OF THE 38 TOTAL ISSUED).
Hounslow, Middlesex, England: Wilf. Huggins, 1951-1960. FIRST EDITION; LIMITED TO 50 COPIES EACH ISSUE, SIGNED AND NUMBERED BY HUGGINS INSIDE FRONT WRAPPER OF EACH ISSUE; THIS SET "NO. 38." 48mo - 4" x 2-1/2". Original publisher's printed paper wrappers. 37 issues (of 38 issued), each 8 pp., numbered consecutively pp. 1-96 for Volumes 1 through 3, and pp. 1-8 for Volume 4. Complete with all published subscription supplements across the run: Vol. 1 No. 5 (photo plate "The House of the Magician"); Vol. 1 No. 9 (photo plate "Der Taschenspieler" and playing card with New Year message); Vol. 1 No. 12 (Index to Vol. 1); Vol. 2 No. 1 (photo plate "Egyptian Juggler"); Vol. 2 No. 5 (photo plate "The Street Conjurer"); Vol. 2 No. 9 (photo plate "Birthplace of Professor Hoffmann"); Vol. 3 No. 1 (Index to Vol. 2); Vol. 4 No. 1 (Index to Vol. 3 and Edgar Heyl playing card reproduction). Accompanied by two autograph letters signed (ALS) from editor Wilf. Huggins to subscriber Mr. Cutts on [1] p. sheets, dated February 10, 1951, and October 3, 1960. Lacking only the final issue (Vol. 4 No. 2).
The physical condition of the items is graded FINE (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). The paper wrappers remain exceptionally clean, vibrant, and structurally sound throughout. Extremely minor, superficial edge spotting is present to the extreme outer margins of Vol. 1 Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7; all remaining thirty-two issues, plates, and laid-in ephemera remain in pristine condition with tight, unblemished interiors.
Miniature Magic Periodicals and Mid-Twentieth-Century Conjuring Literature
Published quarterly between January 1951 and late 1960 in Hounslow, England, The Midget Magician represents one of the most distinctive and extraordinarily limited serial publishing ventures in the history of conjuring literature. Conceived, edited, printed, and distributed exclusively by British magic enthusiast Wilf. Huggins, the periodical was produced in a true miniature 48mo format measuring just four inches tall. Each quarterly issue was strictly capped at an edition of merely 50 numbered and hand-signed copies intended for a tiny circle of private subscribers. Despite its diminutive physical scale, the journal maintained a rigorous editorial standard, offering trick breakdowns, historical sleight-of-hand commentary, bibliographic notes, and meticulously reproduced archival photograph supplements highlighting historic conjurers, automations, and legendary figures such as Professor Hoffmann.
Series Bibliography, Census, and Market Scarcity
A current global sweep of the OCLC/WorldCat database locates 0 copies preserved in institutional special collections worldwide. Owing to its microscopic limitation of 50 signed copies per issue, its private subscriber distribution model, and its small physical format, complete or near-complete runs of The Midget Magician are virtually unrecorded in the trade and institutional records. Most subscriber copies were dispersed individually or lost over the intervening decades. The presence of all issued photographic plates, indexes, special playing card enclosures, and contemporary editorial correspondence from Huggins makes this 37-issue assembly an unparalleled primary reference set for mid-century magic publishing history.
AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND NEARLY COMPLETE SIGNED RUN OF ONE OF THE SMALLEST AND MOST RESTRICTED CONJURING PERIODICALS EVER PUBLISHED, REPRESENTING A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF MAGIC, MINIATURE BOOKS, OR TWENTIETH-CENTURY PERIODICAL PUBLISHING.
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