May Magic Auction

Bonus Genius, Said to Have Been Owned by Charles Dickens. French[?], 19th century. Painted wooden bonus genius, or vanishing doll, which the magician causes to vanish when placing it under the fabric cloak. This example with a tenuous connection to Charles Dickens: An accompanying letter from magician Will Ayling (1914-1992) to John Fisher describes a man named Hobson approaching Ayling at a Portsmouth (England) Get-Together with the prop, stating that he acquired it from an elderly woman who “understood” that some props she inherited from her father had once been the property of Charles Dickens.” But in the same letter, Ayling admits, “I wanted to believe what I’d been told was true,” but that “there is no real evidence.” Height 4 ¼”. Cloak 7 x 5 ½”. Retained in a mailing cover addressed to Will Ayling. Sold with a file of letters from Ayling to Fisher (1970s-90s), several referencing this prop; and Dickens on an Island (1970), Hutchings, which documents Dickens’ interest in conjuring and his performance of The Travelling Doll Wonder around 1849.