MODESTY DID NOT SUIT HIM

CHUNG Ling Soo (William Ellswor...

MODESTY DID NOT SUIT HIM

CHUNG Ling Soo (William Ellsworth Robinson, 1861 - 1918). Chung Ling Soo. A Gift From the Gods. Birmingham: J. Upton Ltd., ca. 1912. Iconic half-sheet color stone lithograph depicts Soo standing on God’s hand, descending to Earth from a flurry of storm clouds. 21 ¼ x 31”. Wooden frame; marginal browning and tiny chips visible, but not examined out of frame. SCARCE.

Of the dozens of posters designed for Soo’s use, this is perhaps the best-known, and was later used as the title of a work regarding the many images used to advertise his fantastic magic show. Soo was born in New York as William E. Robinson and worked behind the scenes for Kellar and Herrmann before finding success and fame as a “Chinese” magician. He was shot on stage at London’s Wood Green Empire in 1918 when his bullet-catching feat went wrong, and died shortly thereafter.