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So Robert-Houdin began taking lessons from a local amateur magician.

He found that learning from the books available in those days was very difficult due to the lack of detailed explanations, but the books piqued his interest in the art. He was upset that the books he got only revealed how the secrets were done but did not show how to do them. He practiced at all hours of the day.From that point on, he became very interested in the art. From those crude volumes, he learned the rudiments of magic.

Instead of returning the books, his curiosity got the better of him.

He would go on to pursue the craft of clockmaking for the rest of his life, and is widely credited with inventing the mystery clock.When he got home and opened the wrapping, instead of the Berthoud books, what appeared before his eyes was a two-volume set on magic called Scientific Amusements. He transformed magic from a pastime for the lower classes, seen at fairs, to an entertainment for the wealthy, which he offered in a theatre opened in Paris, a legacy preserved by the tradition of modern magicians performing in tails.In the mid-1820s, he saved up to buy a copy of a two-volume set of books on clockmaking called Traité de l'horlogerie ("Treatise on Clockmaking"), written by Ferdinand Berthoud. (Magicpedia) Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805 1871) was a French watchmaker, magician and illusionist, widely recognized as the father of the modern style of conjuring. He never gave professional performances but did helped many professional magicians improve their apparatus mechanically. Known as "Bill" to his friends, Ransom began his interest in magic when, as a small boy, he saw a performance by Signor Blitz. Ransom (1860-1941), an Executive Secretary to railroad businessmen and later became head of a big department for one of the railways, was president of The Society of American Magicians in 1909. Best wishes and regards from Harry Houdini. A wonderful volume, and even more so as this copy is inscribed in ink by Harry Houdini: "With compliments of the author to *William A. With 6 pages of illustrations and the index bound in at the end of the book. Printed on heavy stock with crisp lettering and numerous illustrations in fine register. With bumping to the bottom right hand corner of the front boards and the bottom of the spine. Lettered in bright white type on the front boards and on the spine. Handsomely bound in beige cloth with a statue of magician Robert-Houdin having a mask removed from his face.