A pocketable book on aesthetics and practice in card magic.
The early version of Mainspring was published in 2017 as an edition of 100 copies, for sale at lectures by Alex Hansford. For this 2022 version, every section has been rewritten, updated and expanded, with new chapters added.
Conversations from a series of lectures given in Australia, Beirut, Vienna, London and Spain formed the foundations for this book. This edition is the result of countless conversations with magicians, painters, cinematographers, skateboarders, musicians, theatre directors and the like over the past five years.
The contents spread outside of magic and speak to the permeability of the creative worlds. We start out with magic, but soon see that the motivators that drive us lie at the core of all arts. State of mind, our relationship to our audiences and to our material, battling nerves and the opinions of our peers, our work ethic. There are no magic tricks inside Mainspring.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
2022 Preface
Objectively Cool
Whiplash
Sprezzatura
Flow
Softness
Pace
Gravity and Momentum
Cardistry
Guilt
Mind your Head
Bigger Picture
It is Not a Move
Respect
Nervousness
Conversational Magic
'Performance Mode'
Genuine Interaction
Look How Clever I Am
Just for Fun
The Better We Want To Be
Social Intelligence
Diminishing Returns
Expectations
For the Art
Negativity
The Importance of Doing your Own Work
Flush cut metallic block softcover with screen-printed vellum dust jacket.
Lithographic process, section sewn bound.
Mainspring is a pocketable book on aesthetics and practice in card magic. This is a handbook of handling adjustments, exercises, essays and stories, assessing how to remove tension from sleight-of-hand, communicate presence, and get out of your head.
When Dai Vernon said “Be Natural,” what does that really mean? This book attempts an answer.
Conversations from a series of lectures given in Australia, Beirut, Vienna, London and Spain formed the foundations for this book. This edition is the result of countless conversations with magicians, painters, cinematographers, skateboarders, musicians, theatre directors and the like over the past five years.
Details
Lithographic process, section sewn bound.
- 01 Introduction
- 02 2022 Preface
- 03 Objectively Cool
- 04 Whiplash
- 05 Sprezzatura
- 06 Flow
- 07 Softness
- 08 Pace
- 09 Gravity & Momentum
- 10 Cardistry
- 11 Guilt
- 12 Mind your Head
- 13 Bigger Picture
- 14 It is Not a Move
- 15 Respect
- 16 Nervousness
- 17 Conversational Magic
- 18 'Performance Mode'
- 19 Genuine Interaction
- 20 Look How Clever I Am
- 21 Just for Fun
- 22 The Better We Want To Be
- 23 Social Intelligence
- 24 Diminishing Returns
- 25 Expectations
- 26 For the Art
- 27 Negativity
- 28 The Importance of Doing your Own Work
Alexander Hansford
Alexander Hansford founded THE NEAT REVIEW in 2019, after printing a string of limited-run artist books to accompany talks he was giving to magicians worldwide. Across a 14-country lecture tour, from Vienna & Sydney to Beirut & Los Angeles, his books were met with a unique reverence by the magic community. Alexander's long-running collaboration with Derren Brown spans Derren's live theatre shows, including Olivier Award-winning “Underground,” “Secret” and “Showman,” to consulting on the card magic pieces for Derren's “Only Human,” which comes to London’s West-End in late-2026.
Kez Dearmer
Kez Dearmer is a painter, illustrator and 3D visualisation artist living and working in London. His writing, photography and illustrations feature heavily throughout the REVIEW and our books, and he co-created the DEARMERS playing cards with Alexander Hansford. Kez has been chief illustrator at THE NEAT REVIEW since its inception, and he is to thank for why any of the publications even exist.