This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/26/2022
Coleman, David. Archive of David Coleman/Doc Mahendra Correspondence and Ephemera. Approximately 1,000 pages in both manuscript and typewritten, being correspondence written by David and Pauline Coleman, proprietors of “Coleman’s Oddities,” a two-person act of magic and sideshow stunts performed by the duo, the letters addressed to Frank B. Sterling (known as “Doc” Mahendra, a mind reader and health food store proprietor from Texas). The letters address wide-ranging subjects including plans for future shows, personal matters, routines and ideas for tricks, showbusiness conditions for the Colemans, fellow entertainers and magicians (“[Lester] Lake is just a chiseler, no more or less – and a damn poor performer at his best. John said Dell [O’Dell was at the Plaza (800 bux a nite)….” Accompanied by a group of typewritten scripts authored by Coleman, typewritten programs and notes, and newspaper clippings relating to his performances. Some letters only present in part. Items date primarily from the 1930s and 40s. The collection neatly organized in three display albums and one archival box. A fascinating trove of correspondence from a midwestern “working act” of the mid-twentieth century filled with personal anecdotes and “inside” information unavailable in virtually any other form. Coleman lived in Terre Haute, Indiana and Effingham, Illinois. His wife Pauline (referred to as “Polly” in the correspondence), played a dangerous role in their show. Lying between two chairs, her head balanced on one, and her feet on the other – with nothing between her midsection for support – an anvil studded with spiked was placed on her bare midriff. Atop the anvil was placed a cinder block. The climax of the feat came when an audience volunteer wielding a sledgehammer was directed by Coleman to shatter the cinder block. Amazingly, Polly remained unharmed no matter how often the stunt was performed.