This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/26/2022
[Robert-Houdin] Prestidigitateur! Mr. Robert Houdin. Boston [?], 1865. Letterpress broadside embellished with wood-engraved illustrations of the performance of this imitator of the “father of modern magic,” and depicting three tricks: The Crystal Cash Box, Ethereal Suspension, and Invulnerable Boy (bullet catch), each vignette surrounded by small portraits and and coats of arms, explanatory text captioning the images. Overprinting in the right margin heralds the show for “five nights only – commencing Thursday evening, December 14, 1865.” 29 ¼ x 10 ¾”. Minor soiling in lower left; A-. Linen backed. While this poster advertises many of the most famous feats from Robert-Houdin’s repertoire, by 1865 the French magician was living in retirement in his elaborate home in Blois, outside of Paris. Many magicians of the era traded on the names and fame of their more successful contemporaries, an occurrence which Robert-Houdin was no less immune to than Philippe, Heller, or Signor Blitz.