This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/30/2021
Talking Teakettle. Omaha: David P. Abbott, ca. 1910. Ersatz teakettle, painted red, which will apparently “talk” to those who ask it questions. A ghostly voice emanates from the spout of the kettle and responds to queries, giving detailed answers ad infinitum to those who sit with it. The lid of the kettle may be lifted to show that there are no concealed mechanisms or speakers inside. Height 6 ½". One of perhaps fifty or fewer kettles made and sold by Abbott based on the original used in his famous “House of Mystery” presentations. Rare. In an era before radio was commonplace, Abbott’s teakettle created a sensation – not only in the parlor shows he presented, but in the repertoires of many professional mind readers and magicians. Even decades later, after the technology used to accomplish Abbott’s feat was more commonplace, the Talking Teakettle was used to generate thousands of inches of newspaper publicity for canny performers. The original model, offered here, is one of but a handful constructed by Abbott. Harry Kellar, after witnessing Abbott’s demonstration of the kettle, wrote to praise the device: “I consider your teakettle the most magical, the most wonderful illusion invented. … And for a house of mystery, there is nothing to equal it.” Kellar was gifted a kettle by Abbott, and this model was later presented to the Salon de Magie. See Salon de Magie, pages 278 – 281.