A briefcase lies open on the desk in Michael King’s study. It is the kind of sturdy black case a city gent would carry on his commute home. But a fleeting glimpse at its contents reveals a startling collection of objects that suggest a rather unconventional nine-to-five: silk handkerchiefs, foam balls and playing cards.

Seeing the tricks of his trade on display, professional magician Michael swiftly clicks the case shut – but not before producing a bag of furled up magic wands made of foil that snap into shape at the flick of the wrist.

Behind him, a glass-fronted cabinet is overflowing with coins, feather bouquets, a jar of different sized wands, dozens of decks of cards, more foam balls and strange contraptions for sawing ladies in half or severing the limbs of glamorous assistants.

The study is a shrine to magic, complete with posters of Houdini and David Copperfield and a signed photograph of Paul Daniels.

Next door, a second cabinet is filled with a vast collection of antique and new magic tricks, childhood magic sets and step-by-step guides to performing various mind boggling tricks. Before the interview begins in earnest, Michael has already seemingly passed a cigarette through a playing card, vanished a silk handkerchief and performed an impressive card trick.

Later – using unfathomable sleight of hand – he makes my engagement ring disappear before my eyes then retrieves it from a key ring in his pocket.

Michael, from Abbotts Ann near Andover, is a master of close-up magic.

His interactive style of table top or “mix and mingle” magic is in demand at dinner parties and functions across Europe and he is often booked to perform at top notch venues from The Dorchester to Hampshire’s own Chewton Glen, Lainston House and Hotel Du Vin.

As a result, he inevitably finds himself mixing in high-profile circles and once performed for Prince William.

But, he says, he never lets celebrity phase him.

“A client is a client, whether they’re a prince or Mrs Brown from Andover,” he says in just the kind of smooth voice you might hope a magician would have.

“My passion for magic began as a boy.

I was about five or six and one of my uncles used to do magic for the family. It became a hobby.

“When I was 16, people started inviting me to do tricks at different events and then people started asking how much I charged.

“I hadn’t even considered I could make a living from it until that point.”

As he poured over magic books in his local library, Michael’s repertoire of tricks began to grow.

“People gave me books on magic and I began collecting in the same way people collect stamps. Now, of course, people can learn from the Internet. There’s a lot of magic on YouTube. It’s the fastest medium for seeing and buying magic.”

After working for the family building firm in Abbotts Ann and a spell in hotel management at the Savoy group in London, Michael turned professional.

Today, he says, he buys in a lot of his tricks from America.

“There are catalogues for magicians and specialist magic shops in London – shades of Harry Potter!

“You have to be careful when choosing a trick. Just because it reads well doesn’t mean it will necessarily work for your act. When you buy a trick you are buying a secret but they won’t tell you what that secret is until you’ve bought it.”

Michael describes his style as “lighthearted”.

“It’s nothing too heavy or dark. There’s no mind reading or anything that might frighten people or make them uncomfortable.

“I use magic as a vehicle to entertain.

I also like to involve people – it’s tactile and interactive but fun. It’s not magic terrorism.”

I wonder what he thinks of newer magicians on the block like David Blaine and Derren Brown.

“That type of magic has always been around but it’s not what producers have chosen as commercially viable for television,” he says.

“David Blaine took street magic and made it very viable and Derren Brown has taken mind magic – which can be very slow – and made it entertaining. I think it’s great.

“I admire magicians like David Blaine, Derren Brown, David Copperfield and Paul Daniels. Whether you like these people or not is immaterial. They have pushed the profile of magic up and that creates ripples throughout the profession.

“They deserve respect.

“I met Paul and Debbie at a function at the Cliveden House hotel in Buckinghamshire. He was extraordinarily nice to talk to and generous with his knowledge. I was nervous to perform for him – it was like taking painting by numbers to Picasso.

“I’ve also bent a spoon for Uri Geller and he asked how I did it. I didn’t tell him because he’s not in the Magic Circle. He maintains that he does what he does through the power of the mind rather than magic.”

I ask Michael whether he would ever reveal his methods.

“It’s a great shame that those TV shows have been made, revealing tricks. It’s like going to see a comedian and being handed a programme of all his jokes before you watch him. Magic by its nature has to have an element of secrecy. That’s what makes it fun. Some magicians have copyright on their tricks now. If somebody wants to buy a trick that’s different – they are buying the secret and they are unlikely to pass it on because they want to perform it themselves.

“But when you start showing it on television that’s not fair.”

The enduring appeal of magic, he continues, is escapism.

“Magic can be a real boost to cheer people up, even in times of recession.

“The best thing about it for me is seeing the look of wonder on someone’s face.

“A lot of us think we have left that wonder behind in childhood but I’ve seen it on the faces of people aged three years to 103.”

Tel: 01264 710368 Web: michaelkingmagic.com