Summer Magic Auction

Herrmann, Compars. Herrmann, First Prestidigitateur. [New York], 1861. Letterpress booklet/program advertising Herrmann’s performance at the Academy of Music, and including stories and anecdotes from Herrmann’s career. Single gathering of twelve pages. 12mo. Old fold, else very good. See Toole Stott 345. Rare. A few of the stories contained in this booklet sound familiar – but as tales about Herrmann’s brother, Alexander. A prime example is entitled “Herrmann at a Barber’s Shop,” reprinted from the Independence Belge, Bruxelles, April 2, 1858. A razor is used to bloody effect by Herrmann, yet no harm is done. Other stories recount his performance for the King of Portugal and at a restaurant, and a separate section describes episodes of his impromptu magic performed in New York City. The publication also notes the “absence of any apparatus, all effects being solely produced by extraordinary manual skill.”