Salon de Magie: The Klosterman Collection Part I

[Margery] Important Archive Related to the Séances and Thumb Print Materializations of The Spirit Medium Margery. Dating to the 1920s and 30s, and comprised of hundreds of pages, both typed and handwritten, addressed to Hereward Carrington, the noted magician, author, and investigator of spiritualistic phenomena. Among the correspondents represented are Dr. L.R.G. Crandon, husband of the Boston medium Margery (Mina Crandon), noted “ghost hunter” Harry Price, D.F. Comstock, E.E. Dudley, and others. The archive is made up of postcards, TLSs and ALSs, some carbons, as well as photographs, publications, proof sheets, and related memorabilia. Included are lengthy descriptions of séances at Margery’s Lime Street residence (with Houdini as part of the circle of sitters); TLSs and ALSs from Dr. Crandon on a range of subjects, including Houdini’s attitude toward Margery (“He apparently has implied that he detected fraud July 24 in spite of the fact that he proclaimed control perfect every two minutes throughout the sitting. He only brings these charges of fraud behind closed doors….”); a carbon “record of finger print controls in the Margery case”; extensive correspondence related to the thumb prints Margery claimed were created by the ghost of her brother Walter Stinson during séances; and a partial typed script for a “melodrama” titled The Voice from Beyond. A significant volume of information related to the Walter thumb prints is also present, comprised of notes from manufacturers of waxes and other experts in finger prints and plastic molding techniques. Related photographs of thumb prints and similar phenomena said to be the work of ghosts are also included, as well as typed notes related to other mysterious appearances of thumb prints, journals and publications with spiritualism-related content, and other paper ephemera related to Carrington’s life and career. Housed in three matching custom black buckram ring binders with matching slipcases, the spines gilt stamped. An important and significant chronicle of the Boston medium Mina Crandon and her apparent abilities to communicate with the spirit world. Carrington (1880 – 1958) was one of the best-known authors and researchers of psychic phenomena of his generation. Forging a career as an investigator of the paranormal and apparent spirit world communication, he eventually authored some 100 books on ghosts, magic, parapsychology, and related topics, in addition to countless articles for noted periodicals and journals. Among his most famous subjects were the Italian medium Eusapia Palladino, and the Boston medium Margery, the subject of the correspondence offered here. Though Carrington sat on the investigative committee of Scientific American, alongside Harry Houdini and others, later research and writing revealed that his opinion of Margery and her talents may have been clouded by a short-lived affair with the medium, in addition to what some biographers suspect was a substantial loan made to him by Mr. Crandon which Carrington could not repay. Unsurprisingly, Carrington championed Margery’s mediumship for a time, though later admitted her manifestations were the result of trickery.