In 1885, Professor Hoffmann won a prize of $500 offered by the well-known Boston publication Youth's Companion for the best short story for boys. He also revised and edited several editions of Hoyle's Book on Games. While never a professional performer, Professor Hoffmann did give occasional magic performances, the proceeds always going to charity. Most of the effects in his repertoire were taken from the pages of Modern Magic and its sequels.

In 1903, Professor Hoffmann moved from London to Hastings to live in semi-retirement. There, presumably for financial reasons, he disposed of his original manuscripts and other magic belongings. In a rather pathetic letter to Dr. Samuel C. Hooker, a prominent New York amateur, in May 1913 he wrote: «My magical library was sold (for twenty-five pounds) before your letter came to hand, and I have long since parted with my collection of apparatus, which at one time was considerable.» A few years before his death, he wrote one last «sequel» to his masterpiece. It was titled Latest Magic, and was reportedly undertaken at the urging of Houdini. The book, badly written and with very little useful information, completely lacks the flowing, conversational style of his earlier books. Some magic historians believe it was, at least in part, written by someone else; in any case, it certainly did not add to his reputation as the greatest writer on magic of his time. Professor Hoffmann died at the age of eighty on December 23, 1919.

Even today, a century after its publication, Modern Magic holds untold riches for the magic enthusiast. Magic historian Henry Ridgely Evans, who once referred to it as «Ветхий Завет иллюзионного искусства» summed up well the feelings that many of us have about this charming Victorian textbook. He said, «I never tire of reading Modern Magic, though I know all the tricks by heart.»

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