The Learned Pig: At last a magic resource that gives instead of takes

We've browsed the net and found plenty of piles of crap purporting to be magic resources. However, The Learned Pig is one of those that is actually a pile of gold. Marko the Magician is to be commended for hosting one of the finest online resources of free legal public domain magic material.

Many old fashioned magicians believe that it is not right to obtain magic unless you pay for it. What they don't realise is that after approx 50 years (the rules vary from country to country) copyright expires and that material becomes open source. It can be freely hosted and distributed. Now in the past, that would mean publishing companies would rehash it and charge you a fair whack to buy it, but the internet has changed all that. Hosting of this material for download can be done very cheaply and magic can be obtained for free.

What's more this material contains most of the classics which are the basis of today's marketed effects. Such books as Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, Hoffman's books, and many works by Hugard, Braue, Houdini, Anneman, or Erdnase, to name but a few. In fact many of today's magic creators simply take an old effect, add a presentation variation or a few patter bells and whistles, and promptly claim the effect as their own. This is the big con game of magic marketing, which many newcomers don't appreciate until they have blown a large wad of cash on stuff they could have got for free.

Moreover, by going through the thousands of ideas in the pdfs on the The Learned Pig, you can find particular ones to suit yourself, and your own skill level rather than relying on misleading dealer descriptions or camera cut strewn so called demo vids.

How do YOU obtain YOUR magical effects and ideas? Free, at sites like The Learned Pig, or slowly, one by one recycled effect at a time, at $30+ a throw. It's a no-brainer.

You may have noticed that you need to apply to the Learned Pig for a user/password. We're not going to give that out here, because you may not be a magician, but if you are serious about learning magic then go to Google and search for "learned pig password" You may find something to your advantage.

Also useful is Fizbin's Learned Pig Mirror Not everything is on there, but there is some other material, and you don't need a password.