This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/8/2024
MARVELLI, Fredo (1903 – 71). Correspondence, Manuscript, Notes, and Photographs from a Life in Magic. Germany, 1920s – 50s. A large archive of manuscript material for a likely-unpublished biography or memoir by Marvelli, tentatively titled Zauberer un der Front (Magician on the Front) regarding his time entertaining Rommel’s German troops on the North African front during WWII, along with considerable correspondence to magician and author Aloys Christoph Wilsmann. Hundreds of typed pages, along with dozens of carbon page of a possible final draft, a small grouping of Marvelli programs and promotional materials, various news clippings regarding Marvelli’s career, and dozens of vintage photographs of Marvelli in Africa performing for German troops, as well as portraits of the illusionist on stage and posed with fans of cards and other props in studio settings, likely meant to accompany the text. Approximately 200 4to typed sheets, some embellished with illustrations in Marvelli’s hand, or hand-corrected by the magician, with the bulk contained in the original working folders bearing his return address rubber stamp. Correspondence on plain sheets and Marvelli’s letterhead. An interesting and likely unpublished first-hand account of this well-regarded and artistic German magician who inspired future generations of performers.