This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/12/2020
Voodoo Cabinet. Springfield: Karson X-Clusives, 1949. A borrowed pocket handkerchief, with a knot tied in one end, is placed in the low wooden cabinet. As if filled with a lively spirit, the handkerchief then dances about inside and in front of the cabinet, responding to the magician’s commands and control. The handkerchief is then returned to the owner. With original instruction booklet, Thornton Reel, and winding key. Height 32”. Trim on base chipped, else very good. Rare. One of but a handful manufactured. Karson’s cabinets were manufactured by a young magician named Leslie Smith, who would go on to own and operate Owen Magic Supreme. The trick requires no offstage assistance, often used in similar routines. When first advertised by Karson in 1949, Voodoo retailed for the astounding sum of $150.00. Perhaps fewer than six examples have survived the intervening decades.