Salon de Magie: The Klosterman Collection Part I

Mulholland, John. John Mulholland’s Buddha Tubes and Side Table. Circa 1930. Said to be crafted by Mulholland himself, and including two wooden tubes with inlaid designs which are shown empty, then nested. From inside, a massive production of handkerchiefs, flowers, and even livestock can then be made. Resting on a wooden stand with removable fabric top, also crafted by Mulholland. With the performer’s address label inside one tube. Metal load chamber. Height of table and tubes 43 ½". Table legs pack in fabric bags (included). Accompanied by a lengthy LOA regarding the provenance of the props from Alton Sharpe. In addition to his career as a magician, Mulholland taught industrial arts at the Horace Mann school for boys for a short time, and constructed many of his own props. His complete routine using these Buddha Tubes, titled “The Bottomless Boxes,” was published in John Mulholland’s Book of Magic (1963) at page 156, where he explains that the props were used to produce a variety of gifts for his audience: “On one, single, solitary occasion the object to be mysteriously found was a diamond necklace valued at a quarter of a million dollars.”