Professor Hoffmann (Angelo Lewis)

Professor Hoffmann was the pen name of Angelo John Lewis, a British lawyer and writer whose books defined the literature of Victorian magic. His Modern Magic (1876), the first in a celebrated trilogy, gave the public and aspiring magicians alike the first systematic English-language treatment of sleight of hand and stage illusion.

Lewis's clear, methodical writing made the techniques of conjuring accessible to a wide audience and served as the primary education for generations of magicians. He is widely regarded as the father of modern magic literature and technical documentation.