Spins & Needles

Allan Slaight has made an enormous contribution to magic and we are pleased to be able to tell his story and consolidate a portion of this creative output for future reference.

Magicana’s mandate is to promote the study and performance of magic as a performing art. We have produced exhibitions and publications that have examined the creative contributions of many of the world’s most influential magicians. As this work illustrates, Allan has made an enormous contribution to magic and we are pleased to be able to tell his story and consolidate a portion of this creative output for future reference. Spins & Needles was a surprise for Allan Slaight, presented to him on August 17, 2008 at the closing dinner of 31 Faces North, the conference he co-produces with Magicana in Toronto.

This is a limited-print publication. 500 were printed, less than 350 are available for sale. Beautifully designed by Michael Albright, the book contains sixty-two intriguing tricks (and a trick chronology) by Allan Slaight. The foil-stamped, cloth-backed, hardcover 189-paged book is of a unique 10″ x 10″ format. This extraordinary volume contains an introduction by Patrick Watson, forward by Max Maven and a biographical profile of Allan Slaight by David Ben. And, as an added bonus, the book also contains a brilliant satirical piece by Mike Close, “Unmasking Stewart James”, along with Allan’s convocation address to the Graduating Class of Ryerson University in 2000. Spins & Needles is in limited supply and now sold out at Magicana.