This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/26/2019
Willmann’s Magic Cauldron. Hamburg: Carl Willmann, ca. 1910. Hammered copper cauldron atop three thin legs from which fire and smoke spew, then steam and water, and finally live birds are produced from within. Mounted on a later wooden base. Original hardware and gas jets present but not tested. Height 37”. Believed to be the only remaining piece of the Willmann stage display, this cauldron and a companion piece can be seen in photographs of the Willmann stage in early editions of the company’s catalog. The cauldron was later owned by Janos Bartl, another famous manufacturer of magic tricks from Hamburg who, for a time, partnered with Willmann.