This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/26/2022
Head of Zak. Chicago: National Magic Company, 1940s. A tiny metal knife is used to apparently sever the bakelite horse’s head from the top of the metal column on which it rests. Despite running the blade through the neck of the figure, the head remains held fast to the column. Height 6”. Good working condition. Scarce. The National Magic Company operated from a mezzanine-level suite in Chicago’s famed Palmer House Hotel. While the company carried a large and diverse line of professional-grade magic props (and also sold novelties and pocket tricks in the hotel’s arcade), most of its products, like this device, were built in outside workshops and imported to Chicago for sale and distribution. This prop is a reimagining of a trick “decapitation” cane popular in the 1880s, and would later be adapted into a plastic novelty that achieved wide popularity.