Most Melburnians are fondly familiar with State Library Victoria's iconic domed reading room, where students study in creaky wooden chairs under green bankers' lamps and tourists circle in the galleries above.

But hidden in the maze of corridors, electronic security doors, and tunnels below is an unexpected archive of magical treasures.

The WG Alma Conjuring Collection is home to thousands of books, magazines, posters, memorabilia, scale models and photographs — all about magic and magicians.

"It is a bit different to our normal library collections," says librarian Jodi Kok.

"It has books, journals, stuff that you'd expect to find here. But it also has things like posters, tricks, scale models, and [prop] skulls."

The Conjuring Collection contains about 2,000 books on magic, 1,500 pho

See Full Page