This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/27/2019
Chung Ling Soo (William Ellsworth Robinson). Silver Card Case Presented by Chung Ling Soo to his Mechanic. Circa 1915. Cast silver case with scalloped edges and button-operated closure bears a celestial dragon pattern on the recto, surrounding a medallion engraved, “CLS/to/PFR.” (Chung Ling Soo to Percy F. Ritherdon.) A bamboo tree design fills the verso. Obtained by the consignor from the family of Ritherdon. Hallmarked. A unique and personal relic from the life of one of magic’s most storied stage performers and his most trusted illusion builder. Percy Ritherdon was the fabricator who constructed many of Soo’s most significant stage illusions. Ritherdon had a good reputation for constructing theatrical devices and a personal interest in conjuring, which led to a longstanding relationship with Soo, and an innate ability to construct deceptive props based on Soo’s ideas and sketches.