This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/11/2021
COLLINS, Stanley. Large Archive of Stanley Collins Letters to Jimmy Findlay. 1930s – 60s (bulk 1950s). An expansive and impressive gathering of correspondence from Collins to his fellow collector of magicana, regarding a wide variety of subjects related primarily to collecting. Written primarily through the 1950s, Collins discusses magic and collecting at length, filling most letters with his opinions on current events in the scene, as well as describing his recent acquisitions. Collins was notoriously opinionated, and this archive reveals much of his personality. For example, “A pupil of mine has lent me the latest [Milbourne] Christopher crime entitled Varied Deceptions. I am not amused.” “I have not seen the new magazine, but if it is worse than those already in circulation, then it must indeed be bad.” About Geoffrey Buckingham he states, “…who in the world wants to waste time on such nonsense which is appreciated only by half-witted amateurs?” Nearly every letter from Collins contains similar content, and no magician, it seems, is spared commentary. Sold together with an album of letters from Collins’ widow, Margaret, to Findlay primarily regarding the dispersal of Collins collection after his death, as well as a group of partial letters and carbon replies from Findlay. Approximately 350 letters in all, both typed and handwritten, the whole neatly organized, and together a remarkable and personal record of two of the great British conjuring collectors of the twentieth century, including their interests, acquisitions, and sidelights on the passing scene. Also included are two books by Collins inscribed and signed to Findlay. Should be seen. The collections of both Collins and Findlay are, to this day, spoken of in hallowed tones, as both men were pioneers in the field of magic collecting. Findlay’s massive archive was dispersed in a series of auctions in the late 1970s after his passing, the breadth and depth of which has, arguably, never been seen again in the marketplace. Collins was a professional magician who invented a variety of tricks, wrote several books (of both his own inventions and on behalf of other magicians, using their names), and built up a remarkable collection of books, ephemera, and posters that was dispersed primarily after his death.