Rare second edition from 1684 of a very popular Dutch magic book, first published (also by Jan ten Hoorn in Amsterdam) in 1679 with the title: "Het Natuurlyk Tover-Boek, of 't Nieuw Speel-Toneel Der Konsten: Treating Five Hundreds of Natural Magic Arts, so Out of the Gogel-Bag, as Card-Games, Mathematical Arts, and More Other Similar Aeds, Providing for Amusement and Shortening of Time: together with a Tractate of Blanket-Work, to Several Well-Treating Waters, Powders and Embalms: as also precious bereydfelen, to make the Aensicht, Hals and Hands, white and sagt," written by Simon Witgeest (presumably a pseudonym) and published in Amsterdam by Jan ten Hoorn in 1684. Note: It went through many further editions, sometimes supplemented, well into the 18th century. The 1698 edition lists 1600 magic tricks (magician's tricks), instead of the 500 in the current edition. It was also translated into German. "Simon Witgeest," from Middelburg, is almost certainly a pseudonym. The surname does not appear in the database www.wiewaswie.nl until 1818. Witgeest literally means "white spirit" in Dutch, and it probably served to suggest that the recipes were harmless, "white" rather than black magic. Willem Goeree (1635-1711), a Dutch bookseller first in Middelburg and after 1677 in Amsterdam, mentioned above as one of the book's sources, is often mentioned as the possible author, but his well-known publications, 203-Books and Manuscripts on Art Theory and Art Practices, and (Jewish) Religion and History-are aimed at a more high-end audience. The author states in the preface that the book was intended to "shorten winter nights," and gradually the sections on glass, drawing and etching were omitted in favor of more magic tricks, practical jokes, riddles and entertainment with mathematical and astronomical brainteasers, as well as small chemical and physics experiments "for fun." John Landwehr, "Simon Witgeest's Natural Magic Book et alia," in: Folklore, 68 (1967), pp. 67-82: Hoogendoorn, op. 992, STCN (2 copies)": for more on the text: www.dbnl.org/nieuws/nieuws.php?l=2020_01_09.