This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
PHILADELPHIA, Meyer (Jacob Meyer, 1735 - 95). Meyer Philadelphia. Germany, ca. 1775. Horizontal letterpress broadside advertising the show of this famed American magician and occultist. Overslip with contemporary note regarding the location of the performance, and inked notations of ticket prices in lower text block. All text bounded by a floral border and upper adornment of cherubs in various costumes. Framed to 20 ½ x 23 ¼”. See Jay’s Journal of Anomalies, p. 188. Rare. An early poster for this influential performer who was born in America but found fame in Europe performing for dozens of royals and heads of state across the continent. Born into a Jewish family he later converted to Christianity, and eventually became a member of an occult Rosicrucian order. Philadelphia was an exponent of phantasmagoria and “lectured” to audiences under the guise of science, as opposed to conjuring, though he regularly presented feats of mind reading and other tricks.