This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/9/2023
Looping the Loop. Berlin: Conradi, ca. 1920. The magician produces six red billiard balls and displays them in cups around the perimeter of a cluster-like stand. On command, and while the performer is some distance away from the device, the balls visibly vanish from the cups, penetrating the bottom of the stand one at a time, falling downward on the roller coaster-like track attached to it, making a final rollercoaster-like loop and falling into a waiting top hat at the end of the path. After all six balls have traveled down the track, the magician reaches inside the waiting hat and produces a giant cannonball or billiard ball to conclude the routine.
Includes all accessories as produced by Conradi, including the giant ball production for the climax, a folding silk opera hat, nickel plated display stand for giant ball, winding key for internal motor, and nickel-plated hat stand. Clockwork mechanism operated by a single lever below the ball cluster/ball stand. Height 73” (inclusive of ball cluster). Small portion of mechanism in need of adjustment or minor repair. One of only a handful of the original models constructed by Conradi to have survived the last 100 years. A remarkable and RARE mechanical magic prop from a bygone era of flashy stage apparatus.