Robert Harbin (born Ned Williams in South Africa) (1908-1978) was a British magician and writer.
Career
Harbin was the first British illusionist to move from stage performing to television, with his own show which began in 1940. He developed a number of new tricks, including the "Neon Light" and the now ubiquitous "Zig-Zag Girl" (1953) illusions.
In about 1952 Harbin appeared in a minor part as a magician in the film
The Limping Man, produced by Cy Enfield. In 1953, Harbin and a friend of Enfield, Gershon Legman (1917-1999), discovered a common interest in the Japanese art of paper-folding. Harbin wrote many books on the subject, beginning with Paper Magic in 1965, and was the first President of the British Origami Society. He was the first Westerner to use the word origami for this art-form. He also presented a series of origami programmes for Independent Television in its "Look-In" shows for children in the 1970s.
His grave is in Golders Green Crematorium in London.
Bibliography
On origami
- Have Fun with Origami, Severn Ho., 1977, ISBN 0727802259
- Have Fun with Origami, Independent Television, 1975, ISBN 0900727268
- More Origami, Hodder, 1971, ISBN 0340153849
- New Adventures in Origami, 1982, Harper & Row, ISBN 0064635554
- Origami: Art of Paper Folding, Coronet, 1969, ISBN 0340109025
- Origami: Art of Paper Folding, Coronet Books/Hodder, 1972, ISBN 034016655X
- Origami: The Art of Paperfolding, HarperPerennial, 1992, ISBN 0060922699
- Origami: Art of Paper Folding (Illustrated Teach Yourself), Picture Knight, 1975, ISBN 0340193816
- Origami: Art of Paper Folding (Coronet Books), Hodder Headline Australia, 1977, ISBN 0340218223
- Origami Step by Step, Hamlyn, 1974, ISBN 0600381099
- Origami (Teach Yourself), NTC Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0844239356
- Origami A/H, Hodder Arnold, 1976, ISBN 0340279508
- Secrets of Origami: The Japanese Art of Paper Folding, Dover, 1997, ISBN 0486297071
- Secrets of Origami, old and new: The Japanese art of paper-folding, Oldbourne, 1964, ISBN B0000CM4YW
- Teach Yourself Origami, Teach Yourself Books, 2003, ISBN 0071419799
- Teach Yourself Origami, Hodder, 1968, ISBN 0340059729; 1992 reprint ISBN 0340565276; 2003 reprint ISBN 0340860081
- Origami: Art of Paper Folding (Teach Yourself), Hodder, 1973, ISBN 0340166460
- Paper Folding Fun, Oldbourne, 1960, ISBN B0000CKUYQ
- Paper Magic, Oldbourne, ISBN 0356010139
- Paper Magic: The art of paper folding, Oldbourne, 1956, ISBN B0000CJG8R
- Secrets of Origami, Octopus, 1972, ISBN 0706400054
On magic
- How to Be a Wizard, Oldbourne, 1957, ISBN B0000CJUT3
- How to Be a Conjuror, Sphere, 1968, ISBN 0722143222
- Magic (Illustrated Teach yourself), Treasure, 1983, ISBN 0907812392
- Magic (Illustrated Teach Yourself), Knight, 1976, ISBN 0340205024
- The Harbin Book, M. Breese, 1983, ISBN 0947533001
Other subjects
- Waddington's Family Card Games, Elm Tree, 1972, ISBN 0241021111
- Waddington's Family Card Games, Pan, 1974, ISBN 0330238922
- Party Lines, Oldbourne, 1963, ISBN B0000CLQIH
- Instant Memory: The Way to Success, Corgi, 1968, ISBN 0552060917
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