This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/9/2023
NICHOLS, T.L. (1815 – 1901). A Biography of the Brothers Davenport. London: Sanders, Otley & Co., 1864. FIRST EDITION. Publisher’s pebbled green cloth stamped and ruled in blind, with gilt-lettered spine and central gilt device to front board. 8vo. Front hinge weak with small crack, corners rounded, general shelfwear; good to very good condition. Toole Stott 809. INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY BOTH DAVENPORT BROTHERS on the verso of the ffep: “Complimentary from / the Brothers Davenport / to Sir Hesketh Fleetwood / Jan 12th 1865 / Ira Erastus Davenport / William H. Davenport.” And with a later signature below those of the brothers. RARE with these autographs.
The Davenport Brothers were among the first and most important presenters of spiritualistic tricks in the world, capitalizing on the furor brought on in Hydesville New York by the Fox Sisters. Developing theatrical “seances” of a type, the brothers were tied in a large wooden wardrobe-type cabinet with stout ropes, and yet, when its doors were closed, spiritualistic materializations took place, apparently caused by ghost and spirits using the brothers’ bodies as conduits through which the tangible world could be reached. It was an act that took the duo around the world and became a staple of magic shows (to say nothing of the séance rooms of fraudulent mediums) for decades thereafter. Hesketh Fleetwood, to whom this book is inscribed, was a British member of parliament and later a Baronet who helped develop the Lancashire coast significantly, and was instrumental in bringing the railroad to the region. He founded the town of Fleetwood and helped develop not only resorts there, but also a port.