8vo. xx, 394pp, [2]. With half-title, engraved frontispiece, and numerous in-text illustrations. Original publisher's pictorial red cloth boards, lettered in gilt to spine. Rubbed and marked, with damp-staining to lower board, spine dulled and bumped. Merchant's ticket of Hamley's Magical Saloons and Magical Palace pasted over imprint to title. Later inked gift inscription dated 20 Jan 1960 to FFEP. Scattered spotting.

A late work on puzzles by 'Professor Hoffmann', the pseudonym of Angelo John Lewis (1839–1919), English illusionist and magic-writer. Described as 'the most prolific and influential magic author and translator until modern times.' (Lybrary), Lewis first achieved fame as an amateur magician through his regular articles in Routledge's Every Boy's Annual, going on to publish the instructional Modern Magic (1876) a few years later. This volume, complete with thorough solutions, contains 200 pages of arithmetical, word, 'dissected', dexterity, and trick-based puzzles, accompanied by detailed instructional diagrams.