The Magic Collection of Jim Rawlins

Carousel Birdcage Production. New Haven: Petrie and Lewis (P&L), ca. 1935. A small, square, flat table is covered by a large cloth. When the cloth is raised, a tall spinning brass stand has appeared. Hanging from the ends of the spinning stand are four solid brass bird cages, each filled with a live canary. The cages and stand significantly overlap the edge of the tabletop as they spin around. 37” high (collapsed). Lacking the spring/triggering mechanism in the base, and with new fabric. Working. One of five examples manufactured. Rare. Perhaps the rarest of all P&L-made apparatus, The Carousel Birdcage Production was never offered in the company’s catalogs. Each unit was built to order, making the effect relatively exclusive. Jack Gwynne, Dell O’Dell, and W.W. Durbin owned examples (O’Dell purchased two). This unit is believed to be the model owned and used by Frederick Eugene Powell, close friend of the manufacturer, John Petrie.