This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
[SHADOWGRAPHY] GUEST, Leslie (1898 – 1981). Leslie Guest’s Hand Shadow Act Case, Screen, and Gimmicks. Circa 1942. Wooden case with hinged lid, the interior compartmentalized and containing the electric lantern, screen, and an array of gimmicks and props for a hand shadow performance, including the tin appliances, a miniature curling iron and trombone, bottle of gin, various hats and head-forms, and other articles used for mini-plays conducted in silhouette, including many classics of the form, among them “The Haircut,” “The Drunkard,” and others. Constructed from a modified artist’s case, allowing the act to be performed in small venues, as the canvas screen mounts atop the open lid of the case in the same manner as a stretched canvas. Outer dimensions of case (closed) 14 x 18 ½ x 7”. Enclosed is a note addressed to Ricky Jay tracing the provenance of the case; Guest’s holographic note is affixed inside the frame of the shadowgraph screen, bearing his New Jersey address. Guest served as Secretary and National President of the Society of American Magicians, and editor of its long-running journal. M.U.M., for nine years. He developed his hand shadow act during WWII, presenting it for American troops with the U.S.O.