This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/9/2023
DEVANT, David (David Wighton, 1868 – 1941). David Devant’s Publishing Contracts, Probate Documents, Will, and Correspondence. 1930s – 70s. Comprised of the agreements for Secrets of My Magic (1936) and My Magic Life (1931), the two works authored by Devant after his retirement from the stage, both agreements in their original printed and typed jackets as issued by the publisher Hutchinson and Co., Ltd; a small archive of correspondence related to the republication of these two works between Edwin Hooper of the Supreme Magic Co. and Devant’s son-in-law T. Stanhope Sprigg; correspondence between Sprigg and George Routledge & Sons Ltd. regarding royalties for Devant’s Lessons in Conjuring and other matters related to the rights for the book, dating to the late 1940s after Devant’s death; the probate documents issued by His Majesty’s High Court of Justice after Devant’s death including a photostat of his will, and accompanying typed executor’s accounts (the total value of Devant’s estate at the time of his death was £222.13.0); and sold together with another agreement for a book by another of Devant’s in-laws, C. St. John Sprigg titled Death of an Airman, now considered a “classic British mystery.” A fascinating and revealing trove of documents related to Devant’s life, and the classic magic books he authored.