This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/26/2022
Jaks, Stanley (Herbert Siegbert Jaks). Dr. Jaks’ First Close-Up Case. Finely veneered and inlaid wooden box with lock, the interior lined in plush and divided into separate compartments, with one removeable shelf. Owned and used by the famed close-up magician and mentalist Dr. Stanley Jaks for table-to-table performances. Included in the box are a small metal Okito-type coin box, two packs of cards, a tiny metal Budhha fetish, a gimmicked celluloid cylinder, a wire lockpick, and a red drawstring bag. 4 ¾ x 4 ¾ x 5”. With decorative brass handle. Accompanied by a handwritten note by Jaks identifying the box as “my first table-magic box / (1927) / presented to my friend / John McManus. / Stanley S. Jaks.” In later years, Jaks developed his storied Book of Mysteries, an elaborate close-up case fashioned in the form of a giant leatherbound volume, atop which he performed many of his tricks. This box predates the book by several years.