Select Secrets: Rare & Important Magicana

Brodien, Marshall. Marshall Brodien’s Cups and Balls. New Haven: Petrie & Lewis (P&L), ca. 1940. Heavily-used and battered set of three plated cups owned and used for decades by Chicago hypnotist, magician, sideshow talker, and magician Marshall Brodien. Sold together with two inscribed and signed photographs of Brodien (one as Wizzo the Wizard, his character on the Bozo Show), a set of his TV Magic Cups signed on one panel of the box by Brodien, and a circa 1980 studio photo of the TV Magic Cups. Arguably responsible for selling more magic than any other figure in history, Brodien revolutionized the way magic was merchandised when he struck on the idea of pitching Svengali Decks on television. TV Magic Cards were introduced in the 1970s, and the ensuing years led Brodien to sell over eight million decks. Follow-up products included hundreds of different Brodien-branded magic sets and tricks, including and TV Magic Cups. Even while pitching magic on television, Brodien led a long and prosperous performing career, starting out on the sideshow at Chicago’s Riverview amusement park, later working industrial shows and appearing on television for decades. The Cups and Balls were a regular part of his act, as the wear and tear on this set plainly shows.