Spring Magic Auction

Lot #596:

Ed Marlo Magic Trick Manuscript Archive.

Marlo, Ed (Edward Malkowski). Ed Marlo Magic Trick Manuscript Archive. Thousands of pages of holographic and typewritten manuscripts of Marlo’s magic effects, created over nearly a half-century, drawn from Marlo’s own files. Most collated, primarily executed in Marlo’s distinct yet readable hand, with many earlier manuscripts typewritten. A portion of the manuscripts are carbons kept by Marlo for his own files. Material dates from the 1950s to 1980s, the bulk later. Among the sleights, routines, and tricks described are the Sleeper Shank Shuffle, Marlo Punch Deal, Marlo One Hand Crimp, Pressed Between (Marlo and Damico), Illogical Lie Detector, Double Eidetic Change, as well as ad copy for various Marlo publications including Marlo’s Magazine Vol. 4 (and the foreword to this work, written in Marlo’s own hand). Many of the manuscripts include corrections, annotations, illustrations, and comments from Marlo in the margins, as well as notes from notable members of the Marlo “table,” Jon Racherbaumer and David Solomon among them. Hundreds (if not thousands) of original black-and-white photographs of Marlo’s hands accompany the archive, each meant to flesh out and illustrate the routines and sleights. Most of these are identified on their own paper sleeves or the versos of the images themselves as to which effects they illustrate. Associated ephemera frequently attached to the manuscripts or part of the archive, including correspondence from various editors and magicians, including publishers of periodicals to which Marlo was contributing. Many of the manuscripts bear Marlo’s notations as to which publication he was submitting the material to (New Tops, Hierophant, Apocalypse, The Linking Ring, hardbound books by Kaufman, and many more). Overall an irreplaceable and significant archive of the great “behind the scenes” card wizard of the twentieth century, one of the true titans of the genre whose output was virtually unmatched. This collection bears that statement out wholeheartedly.