Auction Date:2010 Jun 16 @ 10:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Bid online at www.rrauction.com. Auction closes June 16.
ALS signed “Kellar,” two pages, 5.75 x 8, elaborately designed pictorial personal letterhead showing Kellar with a devil whispering in his ear, January 18, 1919. The famed magician writes to Harry Houdini about the Society of American Magicians, contemporaries such as Thomas F. Manning (“Dalvani”) and the famous Alexander Herrmann (“Herrmann the Great”), as well as Houdini’s superstitious nature. In part: “I don’t blame you for feeling superstitious about them. He was a ‘Jonah’ to everyone he worked for. Including the Kiraflys, Alexander Herrmann, and yours truly. He was a wonderful performer, a finished artist and a good fellow, but, he sure had a jinx for every employer.” In fine condition, with central horizontal fold, light soiling, and an area of toning at the upper left corner.
Kellar was the predecessor of Harry Houdini and was often referred to as the "Dean of American Magicians.” He was beloved in all parts of the world...with the notable exception of the United States, which allowed only one King of Magic in the late 1800s. At the time that title was held by French magician Alexander Herrmann, referenced here. The two competed for audiences in towns when they appeared simultaneously, often covering each other’s posters (undoubtedly each bearing creative graphics such as the one employed on this letter). Despite Kellar’s efforts to dethrone the reigning monarch, American audiences continued to prefer “Herrmann the Great,” even after the two showmen agreed there could be two Kings of Magic…and even after Herrmann appeared with another magician, Dalvani, considered to be a jinx, or in nautical parlance, a Jonah. Kellar’s last performance was with Houdini at a Society of American Magicians benefit, after which, Houdini demanded that "America’s greatest magician should be carried off in triumph after his final public performance,” with which fellow members lifted him in his chair and carried him off.
Auction Location:
5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
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