Maro's Magic Found

 

In the upcoming Oct 2022 Potter & Potter Auction, there are two items that belonged to and were used by The Great Maro. One of them is listed as being Maro's prop, that is Lot#80, Maro's Tri-Color Plume Trick.  The actual apparatus is up for auction, and it appears to be a unique take on a Color Changing Plume.

But the real gem is actually Lot#57, which is listed as "Germain's Meteoric Ribbons and Parasol Production". First let me state, that yes, Germain did own this item. But he received it from Maro's Widow Allie Best after Maro had passed away from Typhoid Fever.  The poster above, shows Maro presenting the Meteoric Ribbon's on the right side of the poster, with the giant parasol in his hands. This was one of his signature tricks. The auction listing says the parasol cover has been restored, but all else is original.  This mystery was also featured in a second Maro poster, where it is the only thing depicted in the poster. That poster is far more scarce than the one above.

*UPDATE: I just came across my notes from the Maro Lecture I did for the Yankee Gathering a few years back. And I had included a photo of the item below in my lecture with the comment, "I saw this in the Klosterman collection, and though I didn't ask him about it at the time, I believe this to be the Meteoric Ribbon and Parasol Production". Turns out I was correct, lol. 

To download and/or purchase a catalog for the upcoming Potter Auction go to: https://potterauctions.com and click the link for the Oct 29th, 2022 auction. And to learn more about The Great Maro, listen to my podcast Ep 11 on his life. http://magicdetectivepodcast.com/e/the-magic-detective-podcast-ep-11-the-great-maro/

Houdini's Daughter, Captured on Video!!!

 

It may come as a shock to many, but apparently Houdini had a daughter! Here for the first time anywhere, is archived video footage of Flo Houdini, presenting one of her dangerous escapes that she learned from her father Harry!

Ok, actually, it's Carol Burnett, in a skit that I'd never seen. It's quite hilarious to be honest, but then again, Carol Burnett could make anything funny, she was an amazing performer. Enjoy the video below!

Charlie Miller - Charlie Miller - Charlie Miller

 

Episode 79 of the Magic Detective Podcast is on Charlie Miller. He was known as a great sleight of hand master. But he was equally skilled with apparatus. I thought you might like to see Charlie in action. The first video is rather grainy and hard to see. Probably taken in the 50s or so. But you can see Charlie's skill with cards.        

Next week have Charlie, I think these were from the 1970s on The Magic Palace. He's past his prime here, but still can handle the props. The presentations are a bit dated, but that's to be expected. I really love his Chinese Sticks routine. There are two moves in there that I've not see done before, and they really help to sell this routine. The first one is early on when he shows that the cords are actually connected near the top, but then a moment later, they are not. The second sequence is harder to describe, but its when he is pulling the tassels straight up through the stick, rather than pulling them down. It's an interesting sequence. To see that footage you have to use the youtube link, it won't allow me to embed the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLElkBMl4To

I hope you enjoy Charlie Miller's magic and check out my podcast too!