Summer Magic Auction - Online Only

Munroe, Al. Archive of 22 ALSs and TLSs on Magic Collecting by Al Munroe. Detroit, 1947 – 54. Typed and handwritten by Munroe to collector Richard McKinney, the letters range in length from short notes to lengthy discussions of magicians of years gone by, the collecting of their memorabilia, and current events in the magic world at the time of writing. Munroe also mentions personal matters, and the passing scene. Among the subjects and individuals treated are Ed Reno and Augustus Rapp (two of Munroe’s favorite “old time” magicians), organizing and gathering magic memorabilia, sources for the same, various trades between the two men for their respective collections, Munroe’s fabled “maglet” Al Munroe’s Magical Miscellaney, T. Nelson Downs and Dr. Elliott, Karrell Fox, magic magazines and books, and more. Most on 4to sheets folded from mailing, and three-hole punched, generally not affecting text. A fascinating and informative archive of material about some of the earliest American magic collectors, their interests, methods, and motivations. Munroe, who worked for the Detroit Times for much of his career as a promotions manager, is perhaps the unsung hero of American magic collectors. Through the pages of his periodical, the Miscellaney, Munroe championed small town showmen and “40-miler” magicians over big-time names like Houdini, Thurston, and Kellar (though he admired them all, to some degree). It was Munroe who influenced Robert Lund, founder of the American Museum of Magic, and mentored him in the collecting of magic. Lund went on to assemble what remains one of the world’s largest collections of magic ephemera, with a special focus on those small time performers his mentor, Munroe, so loved.