![]() ![]() “They played the room.”Ī number of factors fueled the rise of superstar magicians in the late 19th century, including the burgeoning popularity of vaudeville in the late 1800s. “These guys were broad,” he says, puffing out his chest. Looking around at the posters that line the AGO exhibition space, Ben admires his predecessors’ boldness. He began studying the lives and careers of the performers who came before him, and today publishes a magic history journal. Ben first became enthralled with magic when he was 12 years old, after his father gave him a magic handbook. ![]() “Imagine these on billboards when you're walking in your town,” says David Ben, guest curator of the exhibition and a magician who performs on both stage and screen. Purchase, funds graciously donated by La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso. ![]() Thurston the Great Magician – Do the Spirits Come Back?, 1915. “The wonder show of the universe!” cries a poster flaunting a performance by Howard Thurston, who could seemingly make a car vanish into thin air. “The greatest sensational mystery ever attempted in this or any other age!” declares an ad for Houdini’s Chinese water torture cell act. Colorful and alluring, the posters are rife with headless figures, floating cards, crystal balls and big promises. The show explores the fantastic feats and sensational showmanship of performers during magic’s “Golden Age”-a period that spanned roughly from the 1880s to the 1930s and saw magicians soar to unprecedented heights of international celebrity. Purchase, funds graciously donated by La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso.Ī selection of Kellar’s ads are among 58 historic magic posters on display at “ Illusions: The Art of Magic,” a new exhibition at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario. Thurston's Greatest Mystery – The Vanishing Whippet Willys- Overland Car, 1929. Posters were key to enticing audiences to his productions they often show the magician conversing with devilish figures, as if in league with them-a promotional ploy that proved irresistible to Victorian audiences. He staged big, lavish shows, during which fans might see him make live canaries disappear, or even decapitate himself. Though his name has been all but forgotten, Kellar was once a pioneering showman and global star. Two rows of little red devils bow at the magician’s feet, as though supplicating a supreme figure of dark and mysterious powers. The illustrated poster depicts Kellar dressed in a stiff tuxedo with his hands held above a floating, raven-haired woman. Ave.At the turn of the 20th century, magician Harry Kellar commissioned a poster to advertise one of his most famous tricks, “The Levitation of Princess Karnac,” in which he appeared to make a hypnotized woman-whom he claimed was a Hindu princess-hover in mid-air. Headquartered on the North side of Chicago, Potter & Potter is a full-service auction firm specializing in the sale of collectibles, rare books, and magic memorabilia.įor additional information, images, and details, contact:ģ759 N. In all, the two auctions from Nielsen’s collection totaled of over $1,400,000.00. The first sale from Nielsen’s collection was conducted in June of 2016. Offered for sale on February 4th, 2017 as part of an auction entitled The Golden Age of Magic Posters, Part II, the posters were collected of the course of 25 years. The posters were two of some 1000 vintage lithographs from the collection of professional magician Norm Nielsen. The previous record for the image was $20,400.00. The poster was printed in 1898 in Chicago, several years before Houdini became a star. We’re glad they were right!”Īnother Houdini poster, Houdini - King of Cards also set a record in the auction, bringing in $24,000.00. “Several outlets wondered if we’d set a new world record. “Chatter on social media included considerable speculation about just how high the price would go,” he added. “Advance buzz for the auction was high, and especially for the Houdini posters,” said Gabe Fajuri, President of Potter & Potter. The poster was produced one year after the trick’s invention. Printed in London in 1912, the poster depicts Houdini locked upside down and underwater in the Torture Cell, perhaps the most famous escape the magician ever invented and performed. The anonymous winning bidder participated by phone. That price now stands as the most expensive magic poster ever sold at public auction. February 2017-CHICAGO-A rare poster depicting Harry Houdini performing his famous Water Torture Cell escape has sold for a world record price of $114,000.00 at Potter & Potter Auctions in Chicago. ![]()
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