This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/29/2022
CASSADAGA CABINET. American, ca. 1930. Mahogany cabinet with lacy circular curtains filling the two front doors rests atop a thin platform on Queen Anne-style legs. A borrowed handkerchief is placed inside with a knot tied in one corner, then dances about merrily as if inhabited by a ghost. The pocket square is later returned to the owner who is none the wiser as to the working of the effect. Height 39 ½”. Finely made. With a vintage hand-lettered sign stating “Quiet – Spirits at Work.” Unlike the plain cabinet used by Blackstone, this model, clearly the work of a master carpenter, is outfitted with a host of contact points and traps used to facilitate the animation of the handkerchief.