Principia

Principia

Harapan Ong, a magic sensation straight from Singapore, has continued to take his skill from video to print with his third publication: Principia. Highlighting his natural, unassuming, and soft style, the magical things that Harapan can perform with his hands are written in-depth throughout this magic book.

There are 60 effects described throughout Principia, each practical and fun to perform. The routines range from impromptu magic to gaffed card magic. Some tricks are easy enough to perform after minimal practice, others will take time to perfect.

Two editions of the book were first released, an orange hard-plush cover and a blue hardcover with a slipcase. The blue cover was limited edition and despite the high price ($150) sold out with ease.

Where to buy?

You should be able to find Principia at Vanishing Inc.. When I last checked, the price for this book was $64.95.

Buy at Vanishing Inc.

Contents of Principia

  • Foreword by Joshua Jay
  • Introduction
  • Thinking Like a Physicist

Classical Mechanics

  • Streamlined Pocket Transposition
  • The Card Across
  • On Producing a Four-of-a-Kind
  • Kaleidoscope Production
  • Straight Ace
  • Poker Player's Picnic Plus
  • Michalevator
  • Royal Explosions
  • Simple Bean Aces
  • Daley's Last Sandwiches
  • Extensions on the Aronson "Heads Over Heels" Move
  • Triumph Squared
  • Play It Crooked
  • Twisting Morph
  • Three Degrees of Separation
  • Direct Triple Prediction

Condensed Matter

  • Sandwich-ception
  • Oops
  • Three Chances
  • Bigger Transpo
  • Tiny Transpo
  • Perspective
  • Faro Pharaoh
  • Extensions to the Cheek to Cheek Deck
  • Followers of Christ
  • Countdown Packet
  • Routines with a Tabled False Cut

Particle Physics

  • Daley Express
  • Throwaway Tricks
  • King's Overture
  • On the Alfonso-Giobbi Twisting Sequence
  • Gag Packs
  • World's Smallest Colour Change
  • Direct Ambigrams
  • Checkmate
  • Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat
  • Flexacard

Optics

  • The Frog Prince
  • 2 + 2 = 4
  • 4, 3, 2, 1

Fluid Dynamics

  • On the Fundamental Structures of Routines
  • On Apophenia and Coincidence Effects
  • On Magic, Evolution and Bottom-Up Design
  • Thoughts on "The Trick That Cannot Be Explained"
  • Count or Spell
  • Twisted Choices
  • A Blind Mess
  • What Magicians Can Learn From Scientists
This book is written by and featuring the work of Harapan Ong. It includes illustrations by Harapan Ong too. Mine is a hardcover copy published in 2018 by Vanishing Inc, Magic, also printed in 2018 (1st edition) with a total of 253 pages. A small packet of gimmicked cards also come with some editions of the book, mine included.