The Ramsay Legend by Andrew Galloway

This is the first of the great books on the works of John Ramsay by Andrew Galloway.  His use of misdirection was so good that he often badly fooled his fellow magicians. Ramsay was a sleight-of-hand master with coins and thimbles, but worked essentially with all objects including cards, ropes and cups and balls. Lots of clear line drawings by Ralph O. Evans.