Houdiniana & Magic Memorabilia

PIPER, Leonora. Archive of Medium Mrs. Leonora Piper ALSs to Hereward Carrington. An extensive collection of correspondence between the fraudulent spirit medium Mrs. Piper and Carrington, written in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Letters concern sittings with Mrs. Piper, Carrington’s books, various psychic researchers, and related topics. Many of the missives are of a personal and friendly nature, showing a close relationship between the medium and the man who would attempt to verify her powers as genuine. Over 100 pages in all, primarily 8vos and smaller, and including many original mailing covers. Condition generally good. Most letters and notes signed “L.E. Piper.” SHOULD BE SEEN. One of the more widely studied spirit mediums of the era, Mrs. Piper used a wide range of conjuring tricks to apparently contact the dead. Extensive investigations (by Joseph Rinn, Martin Gardner, Henry Gordon, and perhaps a dozen other magicians and psychic researchers) exposed Piper’s techniques - among them muscle reading, confederacy, and fishing - despite the fact that several noted investigators of psychic phenomena believed her to be a genuine medium.