Le Grand David Magic Memorabilia

I was going through my storage unit this past weekend looking for items to write about in this blog when I came upon a treasure trove of Le Grand David things. I honestly, don't even recall a lot of it and there is much more than I'm posting here. I found programs, flyers, postcards, saved envelopes, 8x10 photos, magazine articles and more. However, the items I'll share with you today are a little different.

First, we have the TIME Magazine article at the top of the page. This first appeared in TIME Magazine on May 12, 1980. It really shows that their show was something quite different from other magic shows. Full color photos of a MAGIC SHOW graced the paged of TIME Magazine. I can't help but think that was a first! This was the companies first National exposure and I'm not sure they were expecting the deluge that would follow. As soon as the article appeared, they began to get requests from all over, and I mean all over the world, for tickets. They would sell out that theatre on many occasions, even the balcony. In fact, according to the book Carteles de Magia, Cesareo commissioned a sign to be painted that said, SOLD OUT, that they could post in the lobby window. The magic world also sat up and took notice of the show. Even though they had started running 2 full page ads in Genii Magazine, the editor at the time Bill Larsen had yet to see the show. So in the summer of 1980, Bill and his wife Irene attended their first Le Grand David Magic Show. I know this for a fact because I was there. I met them during intermission at the show. It was a huge highlight for me. And then when the show was over, David Bull, who is Le Grand David, signed my copy of Genii Magazine, which I just so happened to carry with me to the show. The magic press would continue to write amazing articles as would magazines and newspapers of all kinds for the remainder of the shows run.

One interesting note, that now makes me a bit sad, is that after the TIME Magazine article came out, a number of Hollywood producers came to see the show. One of them even stayed for three days in the hopes of making a full length documentary on the magic show and it's company. How wonderful this might have been. But Cesareo turned them all down. I read this in Carteles de Magia, which added this quote by Cesareo, "Success and failure are two imposters." I remember him telling me about the Hollywood people and the Broadway visitors who wanted to get their hands on the show. But to quote Carteles de Magia, "Cesareo was highly unlikely to let our work diverge too far from it's original purpose." Still, the TIME article provided benefits right up until the end of the show's life. By the way, if you click the image of the article, a larger version should pop up that you can read.

The next item is a Le Grand David Baseball Hat. This was given to my by Cesareo on one of my visits to Beverly. He and Avrom and Ann picked me up at the airport. We drove back to Beverly and I remember Cesareo was filled with questions for me on that trip. He and all the company were always very generous. I think they tried to give me a stack of posters every time I came up there, and I know I was not the only one who received this treatment. The hat was an unexpected gift, and I only ever wore it on that trip. When I got back, I made sure to put it in storage for safe keeping. There were three different hats offered in one of the LGD Auctions. This red version was there as well as a black and a gray hat.

The very very first time I went to LGD as a kid, I remember that there were samples of the posters available for purchase behind the consession stand. But upon my visits years later, I never really noticed anything 'for sale' beyond the candy and popcorn. I do believe at the Larcom they did have a small display case however. AND Rick Heath did walk around the theatre before the show as Albert Ping Pong selling programs.

Next is a mini poster print. The 'Stage Magic Lives Again' poster. The actual painting for this poster was hung in the theatre for a long time. And I think it was given to Ray Goulet to  display in his Magic Museum. It's a beautiful poster, and it's concept and style comes from a Nicola poster. This was a wonderful way to connect Le Grand David to the magic shows of the past, but they would soon develop their own unique style of poster. It's funny to see this tiny version when the actual poster is enormous.

The poster depicts several scenes from the Cabot show. Upper left is the duck production. Upper right shows David and Marco presenting the Okito Production Screens. In the middle we see the wonderful Pagado that was the grand finale of the show. The lower left shows assistants with giant fans, and then the lower right is David popping out of their beautiful Shadow Box illusion.

I don't know who painted this one however. There is no mention in the Carteles book as to who the artist was.  Cesareo was usually the designer or came up with the concept for the posters and other company members would do the painting. Rick Heath and Bill Balkus both painted and there may have been more. Clearly they were a highly talented and creative company but Cesareo always preferred to leave the early posters unsigned because they were an collaborative ensemble effort.

The final item is a small pin that I picked up on ebay. I think there were two different pins that they produced. It's amazing to me the many ways they used their artwork to promote the shows. I've seen the works used in advertising, posters, flyers, programs, postcards, books, decks of cards, pins and probably ways I never even imagined. This pin shows David presenting the Zombie and Cesareo wearing his costume for the Linking Rings. Rather than holding rings, Cesareo has butterflies around him, which was imagery that they would use many times in their artwork. The pin itself is about 1 inch by 2 inches.

The Phoenix Poster- Le Grand David

How fitting that I should return to my blog with The Phoenix! This is a poster I saw at the Cabot Street Cinema Theatre during my very first visit many many years ago. After the show, seeing the show for the first time, I had the opportunity to buy one of these cool posters but didn't.  I regretted my decision. (I did purchase two 'other' posters however, which I still have today)

A few months later I would see the poster on display at the American Museum of Magic. And over the years I would see various versions of the poster, but getting one myself always alluded me.

According to the book, Carteles de Magia, by the Le Grand David Company, the poster was created

in May 1977. It was one of their most popular posters. It was called 'The Bird of Paradise or The Phoenix'. The poster featured the full name of the theatre for the first time, The Cabot St. Cinema Theatre, and also proclaimed the newly added second show on Sundays at 8:15pm. The design was done by Rick Heath, it was marker on mat board. What made the poster so unique is that on some of the posters, members of the company customized them by adding paints, water colors, glitter and even decoupage. The posters were printed on various colored paper and came in two sizes 20.5x28.5 and 10x14.

I have only ever seen the larger ones customized.  The two images above are from the first Kaminski Auction. I have seen various other versions on ebay and elsewhere. Finally, thanks to the kindness and generosity of one of my readers, I can proudly say I have one of the customized Le Grand David Phoenix Posters in my collection. I have never seen a blue version before so this one is very special to me! The poster is also signed by Marco, Seth, Le Grand David and Professor Besco, the four lead performers at that time.

More On Houdini and Kellar

More on Houdini & Kellar

Five years ago, I wrote an article about Harry Kellar and Harry Houdini, and then wrote a follow-up article on a different blog. I've decided to move that 'other' article over here for you to enjoy, but I'm also rewriting it a bit.  I am totally fascinated by these two performers. I can't get enough of Kellar and Houdini. The more I find out about each of them, the more interesting they become.

KELLAR of course was the first nationally famous magician born in America. Robert Heller and Herrmann the Great preceded him, but Heller was English and Herrmann was from France. If you want to go back further, you could make the case for Signor Blitz as he was quite famous as well, but again, he was from another country.  Kellar was born in Erie PA so he was a native born son. It's said that Harry Kellar was the inspiration for the character of the Wizard in the Wizard of OZ. Actually, I've only heard this said within the magic world. I have a biography of L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of OZ and there is no mention of Kellar in the book. Still, that doesn't mean he wasn't the inspiration.

Kellar was around before the modern media, before radio/TV/internet/movies, and certainly no Social Media. In fact, in Kellar's time, it was rare to see a photograph in the paper, as that technology was still in it's infancy. Instead, there were line drawings or fancy fonts in ads that were being used. So how did Kellar sell his show? POSTERS, newspaper ads and word of mouth! Kellar has some of the most beautiful and highly collectable posters in the history of the theatre.  If you examine Kellar's posters you'll receive a 19th Century lesson on Branding that is still valid today. His posters had a consistent look and theme. Whether they displayed young Kellar or older Kellar, they were still done in the same style. Some posters featured Kellar performing his signature effects, others showed only Kellar...and usually a few of his devilish imps appeared in the posters as well.

There are a number of effects in Kellar's show that have always intrigued me, probably because I saw posters for them when I was starting out in magic and the images stuck with me. Two in particular were Flyto and OH!. Flyto was an illusion invented by Charles Morritt and it consisted of two upright rectangular cabinets on the stage set several feet apart. A woman would go into one and a man into the other and instantly they would change places.

OH! was kind of a challenge vanish. There was a chair, with a curtain cabinet around it. A Steel plate went under the chair to prevent someone from dropping into a trap door. The assistant who sat in the chair put her hand through the curtain which was held by a spectator from the audience, and the other hand held a ring which was attached to a cord held by another spectator. And under these stringent conditions the person in the chair still vanished without a trace! 

HOUDINI was not born in the USA, but he always presented himself as if he was. In his mind he was a mid-westerner from a little town called Appleton. Now, where Heller and Herrmann were Kellar's rivals, they had a different connection to Houdini. Herrmann was a distant relative (maybe). Houdini enormous respect for Heller, even going so far to track down the old magi's grave. He said of Heller, "he was the most versatile magician to ever life."

Houdini was not the inspiration for any fictional characters that I'm aware of, however, he was such an iconic figure in history that he became the inspiration for many people inside and outside of magic. Even today, they still make movies and write books about this fellow, so still he has a hold on the public's imagination.

Houdini predated the internet/social media and TV. But he was right there when radio and movies were in their infancy, and he used them to the best of his ability. He did a number of radio interviews and as far as movies went, he starred in movies as well as opened his own movie studio to produce his own movies and his own film development company.  He also used newspapers in ways that others had not with his sometimes scandalous photos (think naked jail escapes).  Through his outdoor escapes he created his own sort of 'social media', back then it was called 'word of mouth' and it was extremely effective.

Like Kellar, Houdini used posters to their maximum effect. He even had one poster that had devils on it, but he eventually went his own way when it came to the images on the posters. He emphasised drama, fear and emotion in many of his posters. The Water Torture Cell posters and the Milk Can, 'Failure Means a Drowning Death' and the Water Torture cells often had the depiction of a green giant putting Houdini in the cell. Pure drama!
  

In regards to his performing material I've always been intrigued with the escapes but lately it's his magic that is pulling me in. I never in a million years considered doing the East Indian Needle Trick. The It's an effect that has danger (real danger) and suspense and it appears totally impossible. It's frankly brilliant and Houdini recognized the trick for how powerful it was. He would do it in newspaper offices, he even did it on the stage at the Hippodrome Theatre, one of the largest stages in the world! Watch for it in my act, because it's coming.

Houdini's Walking Through a Brick wall is another piece that is simply genius. Though I don't expect to Walk Through a Brick Wall anytime soon (it won't fit in my Van). And frankly, I have a new found respect for the Milk Can after having done a ton of research on it. The Milk Can restarted a stalled career for Houdini and then when he was ready to replace it with the Water Torture Cell, he found continual uses for the Milk Can.

It's ironic that Houdini and Kellar didn't really become friends until after Kellar retired. Houdini always looked up to Kellar. Houdini had a habit of looking up to 'father-figures'. Kellar fits this description, as does Harry Cooke & Oscar Teale.

The Houdini/Kellar relationship carries a valuable lesson.  No matter how famous you are, there are people out there that you can admire. These two performers, certainly both admired each other.

By the way, maybe the best photo of the two magicians together can be found online. I will post the link, because I don't know who owns this today and would not post it without the owners ok. https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/33516298_portrait-photograph-of-houdini-and-kellar

A Piece of Doug Henning Memorabilia

Thanks to my friend Michael Stroud, who is a fine magician and also a big fan of Doug Henning and Le Grand David, I now have one of the canes from Doug Henning's Cane Cabinet in my collection. The Cane Cabinet as presented by Doug Henning was called Backstage With A Cane Cabinet and it was the creation of Jim Steinmeyer.

The origins of the trick go back to U.F. Grant and can be found in a number of different magic books including Tarbell.  The U.F. Grant version used Steel Bars and an upright cabinet. Jim's creation was basically the same cabinet with some subtle alterations to the method and with canes rather than steel bars. It was introduced into Doug's show in 1984 according to the book, Spellbound, by John Harrison.

The routine borrowed liberally from Dante's Backstage With The Magician presentation, with a painted backdrop that looked like the audience. The illusion was performed facing that backdrop, so it appeared to the real audience they were getting a view of an illusion that wouldn't normally be seen.

In the course of the illusion, the magician, sneaks out of the cabinet (in full view of the real audience of course) and goes underneath a covered table-like structure. A large quantity of wooden canes are shoved into the now apparently empty box. Once all the canes are in, one of them mysteriously begins to move, the assistants quickly jump in and remove all the canes. At the conclusion of the illusion the magician is found  having vanished underneath the table and is yet again inside the Cane Cabinet. It's a wonderful effect, part penetration, part transposition. Doug later performed this on The Tonight Show w/Johnny Carson.

In October of 2014, Jim Steinmeyer's column in Genii Magazine called CONJURING, featured another take on the cane cabinet, this time called The Petite Illusion. That version doesn't have the 'backstage' feature but does offer another 'sucker' like ending.

To my knowledge the only other person to present The Backstage with a Cane Cabinet was Lance Burton. I remember seeing the illusion featured on one of Lance Burton's TV Special's and I think he also performed it on the Tonight Show, but this time Jay Leno was the host. I am pretty sure I saw him perform it at his fantastic show at the Monte Carlo Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. At the bottom of the page is a video of Lance's Cane Cabinet in action.

The photo above/left shows the cane once owned and used by Doug Henning. I am actually going to have it mounted on a board with a photo of the cane cabinet, but I have to locate a photo of Doug presenting the illusion first. The Cane Cabinet owned by Doug Henning was purchased at the Southern California auction of Doug's props by a magician from Hollister, CA, William Wizard. My friend Michael purchased the illusion from Mr. Wizard at a later date.  Michael held onto the illusion for a while but it's size became an issue for storage so he eventually sold it to an eccentric collector in California. However, Michael kept the canes and now one of those canes is in my collection.

If you enjoyed this, I'll have another Doug Henning article later this month!

Memorabilia from Kalanag

I first encountered this name 'Kalanag' when I saw his photo in Milbourne Christopher's book, The Illustrated History of Magic. I found him very interesting as I read his story. His real name was Helmut Schrieber and he was born in January 23rd, 1903 in Stuttgart Germany. During WW2 he was a movie producer and amateur magician. There is a lot of controversy surrounding Kalanag, from his connections to Nazi's and the Third Reich in Germany, to his blatant stealing of Dante's catchphrase,
Sim Sala Bim, which Kalanag claimed as his own.

I remember hearing Siegfried from Siegfried and Roy talk about Kalanag and how he was inspired to become a magician from seeing his show. He related the story of how Kalanag made an icecream cone magically appear. As I recall, there was a video of Kalanag doing that very trick which accompanied the dialog. That goes back to one of those old History Channel documentaries on Magic from the late 90s. 

Kalanag's life story deserves more time than I am going to devote to it right now. There is a new book out by William Rauscher about Kalanag called, Kalanag Magician of The Third Reich, which I need to pick and and read. And there was an old Genii article that I need to dig up that was about Kalanag. For now however, I want to share with you a small item I picked up at an auction recently.

The item is a small pin, which Kalanag personally gave to Cesareo Pelaez. I probably overpaid for the item, but I don't really care. It's interesting to me on two fronts and that is what matters. I don't know the whole story of how/where Cesareo met Kalanag, and it's not likely I'll ever find out. I did ask one of my Le Grand David friends, but he had not recollection of any Kalanag stories as told by Cesareo. I have an old email from Cesareo where he mentions Kalanag in passing, however nothing specific. But as Rick said, he spoke more of Okito, FuManchu and Richiardi than of anyone. Still, this is a great piece of magic history.

The Great KIO, Russia's Greatest Illusionists

Years ago when I visited the American Museum of Magic for the first time, Bob Lund told me about this fellow named KIO who was the most famous magician in Russia. I'm not sure why that stuck with me, but it always did. Ten years ago, when I had my own little museum inside The Underground Magic Theatre, one of KIO's posters was featured on the walls. I actually have two KIO posters, one of them is above which wonderfully captures their Cremation illusion. The other is in storage but I found an image of the same poster online which can be seen here. The truth be known, I don't really know much about KIO. But I'll share what I've been able to dig up.

There were three KIOs. The father was Emil KIO and the star illusionist of the Moscow Circus. He was born Emil Teodorovich Girshfeld-Renard April 11th, 1894 in Russia. He died December 19th, 1965 in Kiev Ukraine. Upon his death, his youngest son, Igor Kio took over the show.  The eldest son, Emil Jr. was also an illusionist, worked with the Union of Circus Artists of Russia. Emil Jr. is still alive but retired.

Igor Kio

Igor had quite the career after he took over for his father. He appeared in the U.S. at Madison Square Garden with the Moscow Circus back in 1967 and later toured the country. He performed on TV and had a number of his own Television specials in Russia. A rather unusual note to his career, was his marriage in 1962 to the daughter of Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev. Galina Brezhneva was 32 and Igor Kio was 18.  The marriage made Igor famous but the marriage only lasted 9 days. To make matters worse, Galina had been married to a circus acrobat at the time she met Igor and quickly divorced him to be with KIO. When word reached Leonid Brezhnev of his daughter's new marriage he sent to KGB after them. Apparently, the though the two were separated initially, they continued an on again off again affair for 3 years.


Like his father before him, Igor Kio was a circus illusionist which meant besides being part of the circus his shows were performed mostly surrounded. It has been said he performed "more shows per year than there were days." I saw estimates between 500 and 600 shows a year. He performed mainly with the circus, but also in theatres, sporting arenas and on television.  Igor KIO passed away August 30th, 2006 in Moscow. He has one of the coolest graves of any magician I've seen. Maybe only Houdini's grave is better. He is buried, along with his father and mother in Novodevichy Cemetery Moscow Federal City, Russia.

One of the featured illusions in the KIO show, presented by father and sons, was a spectacular Cremation illusion. An assistant would stand on a raised platform. A circular paper tube would cover her whole body and then it would be set on fire. The assistant would later appear elsewhere in the audience. Another popular illusion was the Lion's Bride, where an assistant, in this case, Igor's mother, would climb inside a large cage, which then was covered by a cloth, and a moment later, the cloth whisked away to reveal she had changed into a lion. There is a video of the father, Emil, performing the Lion's Bride, also some sort of Flyto Illusion, and several other effects, here.

Below is a video of of several of the KIO illusions, presented by both father and sons. There is also some footage of what I assume is the KIO warehouse where the illusions are stored.

Finally, I found this Russian documentary of KIO that is absolutely fascinating. I watched the entire thing and have no idea what was said (I don't speak Russian). But I did get to see a number of the illusions. There are interviews with Emil Jr and other family members and cast members. There is archival footage of Igor as well. The KIOs were clearly very famous and very loved by the public in their country and beyond.

The KIOS used many different posters to promote their performances. Back in April two KIO posters showed up in the Potter and Potter Auction. The description gives them as being for Igor Kio, but I'm certain they are his father's posters. There were a lot of KIO posters and it's hard to know whose was whose, except when they had an image of the particular person like the one on the below/right. There are some great posters for sure! I've been able to find at least 15 different posters online, and one which is similar to my poster at the top of the page except it is not framed in red.

 

The Man Who Invented The Handcuff Act

Bruce MacNab posted a photo of B.B. Keyes, over on the Facebook group CONJURING HISTORY - BUY, SELL AND TALK. He said his name comes up in most of the Houdini biographies but little is known about him. So, I decided to see what I could dig up.

Benjamin B. Keyes was born in Sandwhich, Massachusetts in 1837. He was the son of Samuel and Betsy Brown. He was an engineer by trade. In 1869 he married Sarah Russell of Charlestown Mass. According to Bruce MacNab's book on Houdini titled Metamorphosis, Keyes was a portrait photographer from Lynn Mass. But the magic community knew him as a mechanical genius.

The Sphinx and Mahatma both say his greatest creation was Astarte which he developed with William Robinson. However, according to a 2006 article in MUM Magazine, the original illusion was the work of Will B. Wood who called the levitation Edna, after his wife. B.B. Keyes actually reverse engineered the illusion while working for Kellar.

Besides Astarte, Keyes is credited with being a very prolific creator of magic. Many of his creations were sold through the Boston magic dealer W.D. Le Roy*. In Leroy's catalog you can find ads for The Floating Wand, invented by B.B. Keyes, and Table Lifting, invented by B. B. Keyes. There is also a big photo of Keyes in the pages of the catalog. That same photo is the one at the top of this article.

Maybe his true most famous creation was the commercially available Handcuff Act*. Below is the ad from Leroy's Catalog. Please note the price, $75.00. I went through most of the catalog and most everything was under $10. A few items reached $20 and $30 and a Sub-trunk reached $50. But here was the act that put Houdini on the map, and it's price much much higher!

Here now is an interesting piece from the May 1895 issue of Mahatma, "Mr. B.B. Keyes gave an exhibition of legerdemain and spirit manifestations at the E.W. Kinsely Post No.113 on April 23rd. His tricks with cards, coins, etc. were very deceptive, but the most astonishing feat of all was freeing himself from handcuffs, seemingly an impossibility. E.F. Gaskin, Captain of Police Station 14, at the request of the Commander of the Post was present with 4 different kinds of the latest improved hand-cuffs, the best the department could obtain. He applied them himself, one pair at a time, and was dumbfounded when Mr. Keyes removed and handed them back to him unlocked, in from twenty to fifty seconds."

So apparently the date of April 23rd, 1895 was when B.B. Keyes first showed his handcuff escape act to an audience. At least it was one of his early exhibitions if not the actual first time. Oddly, the first Handcuff Act that was sold by B. B. Keyes actually went to T. Nelson Downs, this information according to a 1919 letter by Dr. James Elliott. Here is an interesting side note, in the November 1930 issue of The Sphinx, T. Nelson Downs relates a story of meeting up with Houdini at their hotel while Houdini was working the London Alhambra. Downs took from his trunk a ring of 52 keys and said to Houdini, "Here are the tools you do your act with." Houdini replied, "Tom, I don't use keys. You know I did not have the money to buy the keys" etc. Then Downs said, "Well you can't open them with hot air!" 

According to The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, on pg 39 it states that in September 1895 Houdini purchased the above escape act from W.D. Le Roy. Patrick Culliton in his book Houdini The Key, shows several letters between Houdini and W.D. Leroy discussing the handcuff act and some issues that have come up with exposure. These letters were written in 1900, and apparently even at that date, Le Roy was still supplying Houdini with new keys.

The handcuff act by Keyes and sold by Leroy was a ring of keys that could be used to open many different styles of cuffs, and likely any brand readily available. Was this Houdini's sole secret to his handcuff act, not hardly.  He had been developing handcuff escapes prior to his purchase of the B.B. Keyes method, and no doubt continued to work on new and different techniques to beat any pair of handcuffs, but it was one method he used for sure. However, in 1908, Houdini sold his handcuff act through various dealers as 'The Defiance Handcuff Act'. The kit consisted of a set of keys and picks that would open 62 different handcuffs, and it came with 15 pages of typewritten instructions. This information comes directly from Patrick Culliton's book, Houdini The Key, which has an entire chapter of the Handcuff trick and illustrations of the Defiance Handcuff Manuscript. One of the dealers who sold this was August Roterberg of Chicago. I wonder what W.D. Leroy thought of this?

Benjamin B. Keyes, according to the April 1898 issue of Mahatma Magazine, "Keyes possessed almost a mania for automata and constructed some of the most complete mechanical working figures. He was widely known throughout the profession, frequently making goods for jugglers, trapeze artists, bicycle riders, etc.."

In a 1919 letter to Dr. A.M. Wilson from Dr. James Elliott that appeared in the July 1919 issue of The Sphinx Magazine, he mentions that Benjamin Keyes died of Bright's Disease and that he was the one who gave the diagnosis. Bright's Disease is an old fashioned word for chronic inflammation of the kidneys.  Keyes died in November 1895 in Chelsea, Mass. He would not live to see the fame that Houdini would achieve escaping from handcuffs.

*William D. Le Roy was born in LaSalle Illinois August 5th, 1862. In his youth, he studied music and

the violin. By the age of 19 he was living in San Francisco and was giving classes on the violin. This appears to be where he picked up the magic bug and began to learn the trade. But, whether he met someone or discovered it from a book is not known.

In 1885, he made his first professional appearance as a magician at the Fountain Theatre in San Francisco according to the Feb 1909 issue of The Sphinx. He also appeared on the cover that month.

In 1887, he relocated to Boston and by 1893 opened the Boston School of Magic on 103 Court Street. According to the website Auspostalhistory.com, Le Roy altered the way his name was spelled in 1906 from Le Roy to Leroy. I would guess because it was easier to remember or to distinguish himself from Servais Le Roy.

He is credited with having the largest and most up to date magic catalog of it's time. Besides selling magic he was a big advocate of magic fraternities and was instrumental in signing up many people to the Society of American Magicians.

Le Roy passed away on June 10th, 1919. He is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Gloucester Mass.

I looked up the location of his shop on Google Earth, but sadly, that area has been completely redeveloped. However, below is a picture of his shop that appeared in The Sphinx.

*It was actually Samri Baldwin who claimed to have presented the first handcuff escape. I wrote about that in a previous article which can be found here.

Only 2 Days Till TheMagicDetective Blog Returns!

Coming in Just 2 Days, The Return of The Magic Detective Blog! I've written a number of articles that I've been saving. The first article will have a Houdini connection. I also have an article about Russia's greatest illusionist, and a brief article about Kalanag. They won't all appear on Sept 1, but you'll be seeing articles more often after that date. There's a lot more in store, so keep watching! Only 2 Days to Go!

The RETURN Of The Magic Detective!

On September 1st, the Magic Detective RETURNS with new articles, new content, an updated look (ok, more historical look). It's been a tough few months, as I'm sure you could tell from my last post. In that time, I've watched as other friends and associates have had to endure the trials of going through the death of a loved one, just as I did. I've had to sit back and be a spectator to the deaths of some iconic members of our magic family. 2016 has not been a good year. But, I'm determined to make it better! So September 1st, I'll put up my first blog article since April. I did post a brief article in June just to let every one know why I had vanished. But the true articles stopped back in April. Now, I'm ready to get in my time machine and travel to the past to enjoy more Magic History!!!!

The Reason For My Absence

I must apologize for my short hiatus from this blog. The recent deaths of my Dad and my best friend have taken the wind from my sails. For those who don't know, my best friend, Bobby Dymond was a performer, magician, balloon artist and probably one of the greatest rock and roll drummers who ever lived. He had been battling cancer and came through all his procedures with flying colors. However, he developed pneumonia, and though it looked like he was on the mend, on May 2nd, while walking out the door of his house, he collapsed on the front steps. An ambulance was called but he eventually passed away right on the front steps. Cause of death was congestive heart failure linked to his pneumonia. His death was such a shock to everyone. He died May 2, 2016 at the age of 61.

Then, only days later, my Dad, who had been hospitalized for 40 consecutive days, died on May 15th, 2016. It is still very hard for me to speak of this, or write about it. He began with a heart valve replacement which went well, but then he had incredible side effects from the medication, so he ended up back in the hospital. Then he developed peritonitis, and then a few days later a strangulated hernia. If that was not enough, only days after these things he came down with c-diff.  After 40 days of hospitalization, the Doctors said there was nothing else they could do, he was not showing any signs of recovery. Each day he seemed to get worse. There was yet another ailment that developed on day 39. So, we decided to move him to a hospice. I went in the ambulance with him to the facility. He was awake and alert. When we got him into his new room, he was fine but eventually fell asleep. The nurses would come in every hour and check on him and though he was asleep he was fine. At 5:20am, the next morning they came in and he had passed. My mom stayed with him every single night he was in the hospital. I stayed with him most days, as both moral support and relief for my mom when she had to head home to take care of things.

So now you know where I've been. I'm sure that I will return to the blog eventually. Maybe even fairly soon. But for now, I'm still trying to work through everything. Thank you all for being loyal readers of my blog. I know when I return, I will have more great content and stories to share, until then, be safe and be well.

Obscura Day Houdini Escapes DC-Update

Atlas Obscura hosted a fun event yesterday in Washington D.C. that they called Houdini Escapes D.C.. The event showcased Houdini's many visits to D.C.. It was a two hour event that began with a viewing of Ken Trombly's Houdini collection. Ken also spoke for about 45 minutes about Houdini and his collection. Unfortunately, I missed this part, but I have seen parts of Ken's collection in the past and it's incredible!

And thanks to Brian Suddeth, who was present, I can share some photos from Ken's presentation.
As I mentioned, Ken has an incredible Houdini collection. I was blown away by all the posters he had the first time I saw them in his home. At the event he shared some of those posters and  he also shared some smaller photos during his talk. The photo to the right shows Houdini's Metamorphosis poster, his King of Cards Poster, and one of my favs, the Prison Cell and Barrel Mystery Poster. I'm sure Ken gave information about each of the posters.

The next photo from Ken Trombly's talk shows him holding a photo of Houdini and Teddy Roosevelt. This is a classic photo. Long before Photoshop existed, Houdini was altering photos! The actual photo has several people on both sides of Houdini and Roosevelt. But Harry, had them all painted over so it looked like he was the only one standing next to Teddy.

It's ironic that Ken showed that photo, because I had planned to share the story about Houdini meeting Roosevelt on board the SS Imperator and performing for the former president. In fact, I was going to demonstrate the slate trick that Houdini fooled Roosevelt with, but I cut it from the show at the last minute because I didn't want to run long.

After Ken's talk the attendees walked a short distance to Farragut Square Park to watch Carnegie (me) and Denise present a Houdini-like show. Because this was my portion of the program I'll tell you what we had intended and I'll tell you what actually happened. We planned to present the first half of the show AS Harry and Bess. We had our period costumes, we also had the same music Houdini used along with some other musical selections from that era. I was even going to do the Houdini-voice! However, the circumstances didn't really feel right for such a theatrical approach, so on the fly, I changed to more of a historical presentation. I still did all the material just in a slightly different manner. Thankfully, I have a fantastic assistant who knows to expect these types of things when working with me.

Our show began with a quick, silent-to music escape sequence which started with a chain escape, a rope 'thing', and a single handcuff escape. The rope 'thing' is something I created a while ago and is actually part of a longer routine. It begins with a piece of rope about 3 feet long, dropped into a bag. My hands go into the bag and a moment or two later come out with my hands tightly bound! It's a cool moment and gets a nice laugh from the audience because they do not expect it. Next, I move on to the handcuff escape. In this instance a pair of Hamburg 8s were used. Boom, boom, boom, three quick escapes in under two minutes. NOT the way Houdini would have done them, but a nice way to present it for 21st Century audiences.


Next I share a bit about Houdini the King of Cards and presented the classic Cards Across. I chose this effect because it was one that Robert-Houdin presented and Houdini got his start in magic via the book, The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin. I figured it was very likely that Houdini presented this particular trick, even though I don't have definitive proof.

The next segment was the multi-handcuff escape. Truly one of the most painful things I've had to endure. You see, I have a medical condition which has me on blood thinning medication. This medication causes me to bruise easily. From several days of rehearsal, I ended up with multiple bruises up and down both arms. In fact, we had to drop three pair of cuffs because they would no longer fit my wrists due to the swelling. I was still able to get 6 pair of cuffs on along with a pair of thumbscrews.

Once I was all cuffed, I stepped inside my make-shift 'Ghost House', in other words a cloth cabinet, and proceeded to escape. I tossed the individual cuffs over the top of the cabinet after I was free of them. The last piece I removed were the thumbscrews, which I did in the open rather than inside the cloth cabinet.

I followed the multi-cuff escape with my routine which I call Chaplin. It's basically a story about how Houdini met a young Charlie Chaplin in England before Chaplin's rise to fame. In the story, Houdini helps Chaplin earn some money by playing a guessing game of sorts and he is rewarded if he wins. I've presented this hundreds of times and it's always a fun routine, though it is better indoors in a theatre setting.

The last item was a 100 foot rope tie. I got two volunteers out of the audience to help tie me up and well, I proceeded to escape.  The wonderful thing about this escape is, you never know just how people will tie you up. People always go about it differently, sometimes they start with the hands, sometimes, they wrap you up first, it's always interesting to see what choices they take. After about three minutes I was completely tied and it took me about 2 minutes to free myself.

Those two events, Ken Trombly's Houdini collection and my show, probably would have made for a perfect event. But there was one more thing yet to do. We all walked several blocks to the location of the old Keith's Vaudeville Theatre. The location is the corner of 15th and G St.. Today the spot is filled by The Old Ebbit Grill. But in Houdini's day it was Keith's Theatre. January 12, 1922, Houdini presented a hanging straitjacket escape from this location. It was his second straitjacket escape in DC but it's also his most famous due to the iconic photo of him hanging upside down in front of the building with the Treasury building on the far right and the Washington Monument off in the distance.

When we all arrived at the location, I spoke for 10-15 minutes about Houdini's escape and some of his challenge escapes he performed in D.C.. I also brought out an original program from Keith's with Houdini on the cover, along with a vintage postcard of the theatre. I took a few questions following the talk and we wrapped things up right there. Incidentally, if you go into the Old Ebbit Grill, the doors you walk through are the same entrance way that was used for the Keith's Vaudeville theatre. And if you walk to the back seating area you'll be sitting in the area that was the theatre auditorium itself.

Le Grand David: The End of an Era

It's truly over. With the final Le Grand David Auction on Sunday April 10th, and with the Larcom Theatre for sale, the end of the LeGrand David reign as one of the greatest magic shows to ever grace a theatrical stage is done. Actually, it was over when they closed the show a few years ago but now all traces of this incredible journey have vanished.

I have such a mixed bag of emotions about this. Let me state first, I fully support the efforts of the cast to sell off their show, theater and materials. They have every right to do so. It's awfully kind of them to allow some of us in the magic community and theatre community to enjoy these treasures. I'm so very glad my friends from the cast were able to make some money off these wonderful items while they were still alive rather than leave it till after they were all gone. I think Vincent Van Gogh sold only a few paintings when he was alive and for very little money. It wasn't until after he was long gone that the world realized the true value of his art. For the cast of Le Grand David, though they have profited from the sale of their theatre(s) and show, I don't think enough people have yet realized the true value of their art. Perhaps, no price tag can be placed upon such a thing.
 
There is another side of me that hoped the show would continue on. In some way, even after the first show stopped and the Cabot St. Cinema Theatre was sold, I hoped a new version would take off at the Larcom Theater. I hoped as the older members bowed out that a new generation would come in and take over the show. Perhaps taking it to places that the previous show had never gone. But reality and time got in the way.  The cast began this grand adventure way back in the 1970s and now forty years later,  it was time for them to seek a different path. They more than did their duty for king and country.

So why do I have visions of Cesareo with his arms crossed and a frown upon his face? Would he be upset with the members? If he could relay a message from the great beyond, would he tell them how sad he is that his nearly impossible dream that was brought to life is gone? Here is what I think, I think he would be a little sad, but he would understand. And would encourage his friends to seek out the best of life and live every moment fully aware that together they achieved what no one else could do. They were all true wizards in every sense of the word. I think he would encourage them to move beyond this chapter and find a new adventure, for themselves, whatever it might be.

I do think he is still standing with his arms crossed and a concerned look on his face however. Not because he is unhappy with his friends in Beverly. Because he is unhappy with the world of magic. So many have lost their way and forgotten the beauty and wonder inherent in magic.  His dreams therefor fall upon his disciples to carry on his vision to a new generation of theater goers. We who present stage magic, must pick up this magic torch and carry it forward so that the dream lives on.

And those of us who are collectors, we can remember them through the treasures they have allowed us to obtain through their two auctions!

The poster/painting (above) which was painted by Rick Heath with artistic direction by Cesareo, is now in the Carnegie collection (me). Below, you will see a hand painted Find The Lady stage card trick which is also now part of my collection. And from the previous auction, The Peacock Backdrop, The first Floating Tables, One of Cesareo's costumes, and The Sack Escape.

The Larcom Theatre and Le Grand David

As of yesterday, March 31, 2016, The Larcom Theater in Beverly Ma. went up for sale. This was the second theater owned by White Horse Productions, the folks who put on the Le Grand David Magic Shows for 35 years. They owned both the Cabot St. Cinema Theatre and the Larcom.

Both theaters were built by the Ware brothers of Marblehead Mass. The Cabot opened in 1920, the Larcom opened in 1912. For a time the Larcom had both live theatrical events and films. By the 1930s they mainly showed films. But in 1984, the Le Grand David folks purchased the theatre and renovated it under the direction of Cesareo Pelaez, the company leader. In 1985, a second 2 hour production of stage magic debuted at the Larcom. Originally called Le Grand David in Concert, it was different from the Cabot Show. Only a couple of effects were duplicated, but even those, like the Broom Suspension, were presented in a different manner.

The 6,726-square-foot, 560-seat theater, located at 13 Wallis St., is listed at $699,900.

I still recall my first visit to the Larcom. It was during a whirlwind weekend visiting the cast and crew of the two grand theatres. My girlfriend and I were invited guests of Cesareo and we were enjoying meeting everyone. The show at the Larcom took place on a Saturday afternoon. That morning, we had already visited the Cabot Theatre, and watched some rehearsals and even participated in some juggling and dance classes. We were having a great time, but had to get ready to head over to the Larcom for the afternoon show. I assumed the show would be like the Cabot show, but boy was I wrong.

It's true they were both stage magic shows complete with illusions, hand-made costumes, incredible scenery all hand painted by company members, but there was a difference in the who shows. The Larcom show had a different feel to it. It was a tad livelier and brighter. The show at the Cabot had more grandeur and theatricality. Both shows were great, don't get me wrong, but this show at the Larcom had a profound affect on me. Much like the Cabot show from many years before, this show at the Larcom was like a shock to my system, a wake up call, if you will, to the potential of what stage magic could and should be.

While the audience was getting seated for the afternoon show, I was in the gallery of the Larcom, the basement area that they had converted over to a showroom for older illusions and props. I had been down there for some time with Cesareo and Rick Heath. But they had to go to get ready for the show and naturally, I had to get up to the theatre too before the show started!

When the show began, I was struck by the 
brightness and burst of color from the costumes. This show had a different pace from the original show. Perhaps the word festive would be a good description of the show.

Take a look at this one costume worn by Cesareo. Like the original show, there were tons and tons of

costumes and costume changes in the show. But this purple costume with this most unusual hat, is just the coolest thing. I'm not even sure what you would call this style. It screams WIZARD, but good wizard for sure. If my memory is correct, he wore this during the broom suspension routine at the Larcom. A very different presentation to the one featured at the Cabot, still, the same trick however. I honestly, do not remember if he wore this during any of the other routines. I kind of think not, because the members always changed costumes for each new routine.

I'm trying to remember, but I think it was the Larcom show where I saw David, Le Grand David himself present the Harbin Upside Down production box. This was something that David had built himself and to my knowledge is the only one in existence. I think there was an article about the Upside Down production box in one of the company programs at one point. Basically, it was a box with a handle on the top and the bottom had a flap/door that hung open. David would lift it up and reach under and inside the box and remove numerous items. It really was an unusual trick and a stunning piece of magic, and really a piece of magic history having been the creation of the great Robert Harbin.

My favorite routine in the show was The Orange and the Rice by Cesareo. Why? Because of his mechanical monkey! That little guy stole the show. Cesareo had the entire place in stitches with that routine and with that monkey. Last year, I purchased one of those mechanical monkeys for my own show. I named him Marco, after Cesareo's character.

The only real regret I have about that show was that I only saw it a few times. I wish I had seen it many many more times. The show at the Cabot is burned into my memory because I have a video of the entire performance given to me by Cesareo. Oh, to have one of the Larcom as well. Who knows, maybe David Bull will one day dig through the video archives and share this wonderful show with those who loved it and with those who had not ever seen it.

But for those interested in getting a piece of memorabilia from the show they are having an Auction on April 10th of the remainder of the Le Grand David items. This is your last chance to get a piece of history! http://www.kaminskiauctions.com/servlet/Search.do?auctionId=97

The First Time I Met Le Grand David

"The First Time I met Le Grand David..." These are the first words from a lengthy monologue delivered by Webster Bull during the Le Grand David Show at the Cabot St. Cinema Theatre. For some reason those words have been stuck in my head now for several days. I hear them over and over and my mind goes back to the first time I met Le Grand David.

It was many years ago now. In fact, it was in the early days of their show, in the early 1980s. I was just a kid. I had found out about the show through Genii Magazine. The ad above is the one that caught my eye. As it turned out my family was going to take a trip to New England to visit some friends and I mentioned to my Dad this magic show thing. He suggested we ALL attend, so 9 of us showed up at the box office in Beverly. Back then, there wasn't a whole lot to the town. It had seen better days. The theatre seemed to be the only life in the area. No one knew what to expect, even me to be honest.

Walking in the theatre doors, it was if the show had already begun. There were costumed characters in the lobby greeting people. Further down there was a puppet stage set up. There was a feeling of excitement even before the show began. I just soaked it all in.

When the show began, I was overwhelmed with the spectacle. There were elaborate costumes, beautifully painted props, and what seemed like tons of people on stage. Also, there were curtains and gorgeous backdrops. This was not like any magic show I had ever seen, though I had not really seen that many magic shows live. I had not even seen Doug Henning perform LIVE yet, that would still be a year or so away.

If you read the title at the lower left hand side of the ad above it reads "Le Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company". I assumed, the show was this guy Le Grand David. I had missed the part on the right hand side page that reads "Marco The Magi's production of..." So when I began watching the show, I immediately recognized Le Grand David, but the person who stood out was Marco the Magi. I remember the drive back to the house after the show, most of the talk was about this guy Marco. Why? His character was a wild man on stage. He was funny and extremely energetic. I remember his very theatrical Linking Ring routine. I remember that he performed what would become one of his signature pieces, The Floating Table by making the table float, and then he walked into the audience with the table floating against his fingers. And I believe Seth, the youngest member of the cast, also did the table floating along with him.

I don't remember every bit of the show, but I remember a lot. I recall being blow away by David's skill with the billiard balls. This was a trick that I was just learning at the time and I was dumbfounded at how well he handled the mystery. I think more than anything it was the smaller stuff that really fooled me. The stage illusions were great, but I was fairly knowledgeable about the inner workings of those things. I say that, but in truth, I really didn't know as much as I thought. Naturally, today, having performed many of those same illusions, I do know how they work, but back then, I'm not so sure how many I truly knew.

I can tell you this, when the show was over my head was buzzing. OH, but wait, I forgot to mention the intermission. So this show had an intermission, and everyone got up to get a refreshment or stretch their legs or use the rest room. Well, I got up and was standing in the back of the theatre by myself. I happened to look over and I see someone that I recognized, but had never met, Irene Larsen. I instantly wondered if Bill Larsen was there, they were married after-all, and sure enough he was. So I got to meet Bill and Irene for the first time! I had been writing letters to Bill for a while because he was editor of Genii and frankly, I didn't know many magicians, so I often would contact people via snail mail. I EVEN had a copy of Genii with me, and you know what, it didn't even occur to me to have them sign it! I had David Bull sign it, but I didn't even think to have the editor of the magazine sign it! Oh the brain of a child, lol.

Around my birthday in August of that year, the new Genii came out and lo and behold who was on

the cover but Le Grand David! It took Bill two issues to fully cover his experience at the show. In fact, he wrote "Seeing Marco the Magi's production of Le Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company was the most exciting magical evening I have had since I first saw the Dante Show."

I never forgot that first visit to Beverly. Years later, I would send a letter to Cesareo telling him about my first visit there and he replied by inviting me and a guest up for the weekend to enjoy the show all over again. Enjoy it I did. In truth, the second visit to Le Grand David changed my life. I have never been the same since. It was an extremely positive experience and becoming friends with the company has been a bonus. I'm certainly not a close to them as some folks in the magic world, but I have always felt a bond, thanks to Cesareo and David and Rick Heath and Avrom and Ann and other members of the Le Grand David Family.

Oh, incidentally, that magic show also changed the life of that town. When I returned to Beverly years later, the downtown area was a thriving place with shops and stores and many restaurants. The show and theatre  breathed life back into that area, and that magic show is what breathed life into many of us fellow magi.

On April 10th, Kaminski Auctions in Beverly is holding the second Le Grand David auction. If you're a fan of the show you have a chance to pick up something to remember the show by. There is not as much in this second auction, but there are certainly some very nice pieces.

Unique Houdini Event in Washington D.C.

On April 16th, Atlas Obscura is sponsoring an event called Houdini Escapes DC. It's a historical look at Houdini's time in Washington, complete with artifacts from the collection of Ken Trombly, a walking tour of some of the sites Houdini himself had visited and then a show/demonstration of some of Houdini's magic by Dean Carnegie (me).

I have written a lot about Houdini's visits to Washington. And I've visited all but one of the sites where some historical event took place. The one that I have not gone to is the 10th Precinct Police Station, which you can read about here. The only reason I've not gone by is it's still a working Police Station and I don't want to just barge in an disturb them. I'll eventually try and make an appointment to see the station and hopefully the cell that Houdini escaped from.

Many of the buildings connected to Houdini are long gone. Keith's Vaudeville Theatre, Chase's

Theatre, The Gayety Theatre, The Rialto have all been torn down and replaced. However, you can still go to the actual locations. The best spot, in my view, is Keith's Vaudeville Theatre which was directly across from the Treasury Building. This is now the location of Old Ebbit's Grill. Back on January 12th 1922, Houdini hung upside down in front of Keith's performing one of his classic straitjacket escapes.  The location of the theatre is very close to the White House. And there is a story of President Woodrow Wilson sneaking into the theatre to catch Houdini's show in the 1920s.

There are many great stories of Houdini's DC visits, many of which will be covered during the walking tour I'm sure. As for my part of the event, the recreation of some of Houdini's magic. I currently am planning on doing some rope escapes, a challenge handcuff escape, an escape from a pair of thumb screws and other escapes. In addition I'm going to 'teach' a member of the audience how to escape from a rope using mind over matter. I'll be doing a little bit of card magic because Houdini began his career as The King of Cards. I'm also planning on finishing the show with an interactive routine involving all the participants. Though the final thing is not something Houdini did, I feel it's a great way to give the attendees a hands-on magical experience and a perfect way to end the day. I've got a few additional surprises that I'm working on as well, but those I'll keep secret until the event.

It's sure to be a fun day. Space is LIMITED, so if you're interested in attending, go to the Atlas Obscura site to get your tickets. Oh, by the way, if you visit their site, you'll notice a photo of ME in the header. Behind me in the photo is a bridge. I don't know if the folks who chose this photo were aware, but that is a bridge that leads into Budapest, the birthplace of Houdini.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/events/obscura-day-2016-houdini-escapes-dc

A Magical Day of Rememberance

Today marks the 142 Anniversary of the birth of Harry Houdini. It also marks a more solemn event, the 4th Anniversary of the passing of my friend Cesareo Pelaez from the Le Grand David Magic Show in Beverly MA. Interestingly enough, as I type this there is a special 'Birthday Auction' going on over at Harversat & Ewing Auctions. The auction runs till later today March 24th. And on April 10th, there is the Le Grand David Auction II happening online and in Beverly through KaminskiAuctions.com

A couple of days ago, I recorded a brief spot, along with David Bull and Rick Heath about the LGD Auction. You can hear the interview online on SoundCloud. The interviews were conducted by Michael Stroud on his Majinga Over The Edge Broadcast https://soundcloud.com/michael-stroud/le-grand-david-and-his-own-spectacular-magic-company-round-two

Please check out the interview. If you're like me, it never gets old hearing David and Rick talk about their days with Le Grand David. If you listen closely you'll hear some of the audio from one of the performances at the Cabot St. show in the background.

And don't forget the Potter & Potter Auction of Houdini and Davenport items on April 9th.

It's HERE It's HERE!!!! The new Potter & Potter Auction Catalog!

Potter and Potter has an auction of many Houdini items on April 9th. Their catalog is now available to download. I've ordered a printed version too, but if you just want to download and see what is available, now is your chance! http://www.potterauctions.com/auctions/upcoming

In addition, Haversat and Ewing is having a Houdini Birthday Auction on March 23-24. You can view their items here https://haversatewing.hibid.com/catalog/73383/houdinis-birthday-auction/ 

Lots of incredible items up for auction. Be sure you're registered so you can bid the day OF the auction.

Houdini's Right Hand Man Jim Collins Died Today, in 1942

Here is Jim Collins death certificate from 1942. It contains all sorts of amazing information. For example, he died in Philadelphia, but according to the death certificate he was to be buried in New York. Try as I might, I have not been able to locate the grave, yet. I'll have more to add about Collins at a later date.

Sorry, been swamped with gigs right now, so The Magic Detective is behind, but I'll catch up shortly!

Le Grand David Auction, Round 2

I just received word from Rick Heath that the folks at Le Grand David along with the Kaminski Auctions will be holding a second auction of rare and collectible items from the longest running magic show in history.

If you followed the previous auction you might be wondering, 'what's left?'. Well, for the keen observer, there were a number of things that did not sell. And there were a number of things that were not part of the previous auction. I also imagine, there were items that were discovered since that last auction took place. So you'll have another chance to pick up something if you are a LGD collector.

The auction is April 10th starting at 10am. You can bid in person or online. There will be several days of previews where you can go and actually view the items. You can read a bit about the previous auction here: http://www.themagicdetective.com/2014/02/legrand-david-auction-is-now-history.html

There will be a catalog of the items online soon. They are currently photographing everything. As soon as that become available, I'll let you know.

Harry Kellar Poster

Harry Kellar is definitely one of my favorite magicians. He was one of the most beloved magicians of his time, though I think the Maskelynes' might disagree. His posters are highly sought after and they are always gorgeous. I honestly, never imagined I'd own a Kellar poster, but the photo above is MY Kellar poster!

This is a three sheet Strobridge Lithograph poster (84x40). I'm uncertain of the true date of the poster however. I have seen it listed online and in books as 1900 and 1903. And yet there is another poster, very similar to this one, where he is clearly younger, and that poster has dates of 1900 and 1907. I think that this poster to the left is likely 1907 as it looks like Kellar much later in his career.

It's kind of funny, most of the Kellar posters are filled with devils and imps and I get one of the few that doesn't include that iconic imagery, lol. But I've decided to include the imps just the same. How you ask?  I have been quietly collecting little devil figurines which I'll put on display right next to this enormous poster. I've got to get it framed and I can only imagine what that will cost. But it's going to look so incredible.

I don't have a huge poster collection, but I do have a few. I have a Fu Manchu, a Levante poster, one or two Virgil posters, a Kassner poster, two KIO posters from Russia, two George posters, and a few others that I can't think of off the top of my head. I also have a ton of modern day posters, all but 2 of the Le Grand David posters, Doug Henning posters, Copperfield and the like. But it's the lithos that are the most desirable. This Kellar is just breathtaking in real life!

UPDATE: Just an interesting aside, today at the Potter & Potter Auction, a signed photo of Harry Kellar's wife sold for $4800 and a Kellar In the Woods Poster sold for $13,000. AND there are a bunch of Kellar Posters among the Nielsen Collection which gets auctioned off in June.