CARLTON (Arthur Phelps, 1881 – 1942). Souvenir Statuette of Carlton, the “Human Hairpin.” British, ca. 1916. Small lifelike plaster likeness of the famous music hall magician and manipulator who was among the highest-paid performers of his generation. Here, dressed in his stage costume of blue tights, tiny exaggerated yellow tailcoat, and a tall domed bald headpiece, Carlton holds a fan of playing cards in his right hand, while his left rests on his hip. With the base bearing his name in block capitals, and signed beside one foot by the sculptor, “J. Sabuter [?].” Height 17”. General wear and chipping, with right arm imperfectly repaired but intact. This sculpture was gifted to magician Jeffrey Atkins by the sister-in-law of Carlton, the statuette having been presented to her by Carlton himself. RARE; the first example we have offered for sale.
Though Carlton died in poverty, for years he was a genuine music hall star and among the best-paid magicians in England. His act was a combination of manipulative magic with cards, the venerable Die Box, and various stage illusions, all accented by not only his funny appearance and unusual costume, but a brand of self-deprecating humor that frequently poked fun at his appearance, including a delivered in his trademark falsetto: “What are those wires for, Daddy?” Then, “Don’t be silly, my child, those are his legs!” Will Goldston advertised these statues for sale in his Magazine of Magic in 1916 as something suitable for “a magician’s den,” but apparently few have survived. Further information about Atkins’ acquisition of this rare object appears in his “On the Illusion Scene” in the February 1974 issue of Magigram.