Past Auctions
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Winter Magic Auction Featuring the Collection of Max Maven
Orson Welles wrote of Max Maven: "Yours is the most original mind in magic." This December, Potter & Potter is pleased to offer the very sources of information that helped supply that original mind, in the form of Max Maven's extensive collection and working library. Rare works on mind reading, magic, and the occult will be parts of the sale, along with Maven's material related to his idol, Thedodore Annemann. Complementing Maven's collection is an array of ephemera, posters, and magic apparatus both vintage and modern.
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SALE 170
Anything is Possible • Celebrity Photos & Art from the Beverly Hills Hilton | 2nd Session: Contemporary, Fine, Outsider and Folk Art
Our December Art sale featured a special group of Milton Greene photographs and stunning artwork from the collection and corridors of the Beverly Hilton. Greene’s portraits of famous figures like Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and Marilyn Monroe remain in high regard and we will offer over 50 of his images in the auction. The hotel itself is a world-famous landmark and particularly well known as the venue for the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony. “Anything is Possible” is the hotel’s tagline which will hold true for this auction of classic photos.
The second session was Art in all categories. Contemporary/Fine: Margaret Wharton, Leon Golub, Robert Lostutter, Ed Ruscha, Leroy Nieman, Morris Barzani, Tony Fitzpatrick, Karen Finley, Peter Max, Joyce Owens, Cosmo Campoli, Andy Warhol, Medard Klein, Ralston Crawford, Jared French, and Ephemera from The 1913 Armory Show. Outsider/ Folk: Bessie Harvey, Howard Finster, Lee Godie, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, Wesley Willis, R. A. Miller, Quilts, Wood Carving and More!
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Potter and Potter is proud to offer fine books and rare manuscripts in our November 21 sale. We will have important books, including modern firsts, fine bindings, antiquarian, illustrated and children's books, original artwork, maps; as well as fine letters and manuscripts.
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Vintage Posters
Our fall poster sale featured vintage paper advertising in many categories. From masterworks by Mucha to travel, war & propaganda, we offered over 500 lots from a range of well-known designers, printers, and publishers.
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The Collection of Edwin A. Dawes, Part II
This second sale from the Dawes collection is quite literally a "rich cabinet" of conjuring curiosa. The sale features rarities galore, from unique props used by Professor J.M. Hartz and Chung Ling Soo to stone lithographs advertising Harry Houdini's earliest performances; rare conjuring books from the seventeenth century and beyond; postcards, photographs, periodicals, and ephemera; and virtually every other type of magic collectible extant.
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SALE 166
Cabinet of Morbid Curiosities: The Richard Harris Collection
Richard Harris's collection focused on the macabre, and was an exhaustive collection on the subject in many areas, notably the tragedy of wars, anatomy and medical imagery, skeletons and skulls and crossbones. His art ranged in age from Renaissance prints to contemporary art, vernacular photography to contemporary photojournalism, historical art and ephemera from wars of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Folk Art, ethnographica, anatomy and medical subjects were also included. While clearly a macabre offering, the collection rang true as a positive group of works with plenty of humorous aspects and a compulsion for viewers to examine their mutual, eventual ends.
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SALE 165
Counterculture and the 1960s
Ephemera, books, posters, and memorabilia from the movements that changed history - and the individuals that made those movements happen - will be the hallmarks of this auction. Also featured will be a range of memorabilia from arguably the most famous band of the era, The Grateful Dead, including posters, apparel, ephemera, and an enormous archive of show tapes; and approximately 200 lots of gay erotica dating from the 1960s and beyond.
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Coin Op & Advertising
From arcade games of yesteryear to vintage vending machines, slot machines, and trade stimulators, this sale will feature coin-operated machines of all types. Complementing these mechanical marvels will be a host of vintage signs, and rare advertising objects from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among the featured lots are pieces of Chicago history - the Marshall Field's animated Christmas window displays, offered on behalf of the Museum of Science and Industry.
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The Ricky Jay Collection Part III
Our final offering from the collection of Ricky Jay was a collection of curious characters; an anomalous auction of extraordinary objects advertising learned pigs, fireproof women, and so much more. Crossing the block were hundreds of artifacts gathered by Mr. Jay over a lifetime spent in the pursuit of the unusual, the obscure, and the magical.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our July 25th sale featured a wide array of rare books and manuscripts at auction, including material signed by American Presidents, books by The Limited Editions Club, modern firsts, rare illustrated books, leather-bound sets, signed books, and much more.
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Circus, Sideshow & Oddities
This year's auction annual of the odd, the unusual, and the amazing is set to feature spectacular sideshow banners (including an incredible 37' long example from Caldwell), vibrant stone lithographs (including RBB&B favorites, and several Friedlander rarities), curiosities galore, and relics from the greatest shows on earth. Come one, come all for what promises to be an exciting summer sale.
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SALE 161
Outsider, Folk, Contemporary & Fine Art
Our summer art auction included: Outsider Art: Howard Finster, Purvis Young, Mary T. Smith and Mr. Imagination. In Folk Art, quilts, whirligigs, wood carvings, figures and animals filled out the category. In Contemporary Art we offered prints by Roger Brown, Leroy Neiman, and Tony Fitzpatrick. The Fine Art session included a very large Aubusson “Cartoon” depicting the central image of the Cluny Tapestries, and an intimate ink on paper by Rockwell Kent.
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Magicana: Featuring the Collection of Peter Hackhofer
This sale highlighted selected material from the collection of the late Peter Hackhofer. Built over several decades as a dealer and seeker of the unusual, his holdings included an extensive library, stone lithographs from the great illusion shows of yesteryear, and art with a magic theme. An archive of material from the career of Max Auzinger, the Black Art magician, will also be featured. The Hackhofer collection was complemented by an array of vintage posters, apparatus, and ephemera from the golden age of magic and beyond.
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SALE 158
19th Century Historical and Military Rarities
Military artifacts of the late 18th and early 19th centuries – the period of the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon. An array of items were offered, including uniforms and accouterments, ceramics, snuff boxes and miniature portraits, clocks and barometers, later commemorative items and memorabilia, and a substantial library. The second session of the sale featured the Margeson collection of Ulysses S. Grant and the Civil War.
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Vintage Posters
Highlights from our spring vintage poster sale include rare and classic designs by Cappiello, Cassandre, Fix-Masseau, Flagg, Caldanzano, and Hohlwein. The auction will feature our largest offering of World War and war propaganda posters to date, featuring the collection of Plato Foufas. This will be complemented by travel posters, selections of turn of the century and modern advertising, sports, theater, magic, and music.
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How History Unfolds on Paper: Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part IX
This ninth sale from Caren's archives offered a bird's eye view of history from a printed, manuscript, and photographic perspective. The sale's highlight is George Washington’s appointment as General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. Other featured lots include works owned and signed by America's founding fathers, rare broadsides, iconic photographs, and papers regarding pop culture, social movements, and political ideologies.
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Houdiniana and Magic Memorabilia
Our April sale of magicana features rarities from the life and career of the greatest magician to ever tread the boards: Harry Houdini. Posters and playbills will be offered along with books and autographs of great rarity - including several unique items. Complementing the Houdiniana will be a strong selection of automatons, magic memorabilia, books, and tricks including John Gaughan's Orange Tree, two Alan Wakeling-made conjurers, and a strong selection of vintage lithographs and periodicals.
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SALE 154
Entertainment, Toys, & Collectibles
This eclectic sale included Hollywood memorabilia featuring silent film posters and material related to comedian Harry Langdon; an extensive collection of science-fiction and horror lobby cards; vintage toys and pop culture memorabilia from the 20th century; and other collectibles including autographs, sports memorabilia, trading cards, comics, and more.
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Ephemera, Americana & Historical Memorabilia
Our March 2024 Ephemera auction featured the collection of Mark Rucker. Photographs, trade cards, souvenir advertising fans, baseball memorabilia, and a kaleidoscopic range of printed paper ephemera of all kinds crossed the auction block.
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The Collection of Edwin A Dawes, Part I
Equal parts scholar, author, historian, professor, and magician, Edwin Dawes was a singular figure in the world of magic and magicians, and the most prolific chronicler of conjuring history in the twentieth century. This first offering from his collection featured unique lithographs, antiquarian books, early broadsides, and remarkable vintage apparatus from the seventeenth century to the present day.
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A Study in Sherlock, Part II: Including the Collections of Robert Hess and Roy Pilot
We are pleased to announce the second session of Robert Hess's Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle collection. High spots will include the only known copy of the first English edition of The Lost World in original dust jacket and Sidney Paget's personal robe. The second half of the sale will include Roy Pilot's library, which is highlighted with perhaps the only autograph manuscript remaining in private hands of a major Doyle work, "Uncle Bernac" (over 120 pages).
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SALE 1008
Online Winter Magic
This auction featured contemporary collectible magic props as well as antique apparatus. A strong selection from modern makers crossed the block, including effects from the workshops of Michael Baker, Mikame Craft, Abbott's, Nielsen, and many more. Complementing the apparatus were a host of posters, books - including deluxe, signed editions and modern collectible volumes - as well as a selection of vintage apparatus, autographs, and photographs.
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SALE 1007
Printed Books & Manuscripts (Online Only)
We began the new year with a large offering of material spanning several categories, including Americana, modern firsts, bibliographies, hunting & fishing, travel, and more.
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SALE 150
Golden Age and Pre-Code Horror: The Comic Book Collection of Stephen J. Farber
We are pleased to ring in the New Year with the sale of this important comic book collection featuring many early issues, chief among them Captain America #1 and Adventures of Spider-Man #1. Many pedigreed comics crossed the block including issues from the White Mountain collection and several Gaines File Copies. Several of the comics in the auction have obtained the highest grades CGC has ever given out for that title.
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Select Secrets
From J.N. Maskelyne's toolbox to rare Houdiniana (posters, handcuffs, autographs), David Devant's passport to a magic trick that helped predict the outbreak of WWII, Robert Harbin's sketch for the Zig-Zag Girl and Al Delage's Sub Trunk, our December sale of magicana was a closely-curated offering of real rarities. A rare lithograph advertising Houdini's Milk Can Escape, printed in 1908, set a world record price for any magic or Houdini poster sold at auction, bringing in $180,000.00.
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SALE 148
Contemporary, Outsider, Folk, and Fine Art Auction
Our Contemporary, Outsider, Folk, and Fine Art sale featured works from all time periods and categories. Contemporary highlights included works by Paul Jenkins, Lucio Fontana, and Joan Miro. Chicago artists represented were John Kearney, Zani Jacobsen, and Leroy Neiman. Works from Mr. Imagination, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, and Purvis Young were featured, along with trade signs, shooting gallery targets, and quilts.
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Lewis Carroll and Alice: The Collection of Stephen and Nancy Farber
For nearly four decades, the Farbers were "mad as a hatter," collecting everything related to Alice in Wonderland. The Farbers had a deep fascination for the many translations of the work, chief among them perhaps the most important: the "original Alice's copy" of Nabokov's Russian translation of Alice. Other highspots of the sale included a presentation copy of Alice from Carroll to the British illustrator Richard Doyle, a second presentation copy from John Tenniel, the illustrator, and featuring one of his famous pencil sketches, and many other rarities.
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Vintage Posters
Our fall auction of vintage posters covered a waterfront of categories, from vintage travel and advertising lithographs, to entertainment, propaganda, and modern design. The first half of the sale featured iconic posters and pictorial maps from the golden age of air and rail travel. In the second half of this over 700-lot sale, we featured a mix of attractive and scarce images spanning psychedelic concert posters, product advertising, political graphics, cinema, Polish design, and more.
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The Ricky Jay Collection Part II
Unusual relics were the hallmark of Ricky Jay's storied collection. This second auction from his archives features an astonishing array of the fantastic, the funny, and the flabbergasting. From posters featuring frog-swallowing vaudevillains to caches of rare correspondence; from the first published treatise on ventriloquism to magic props manipulated by a Scottish greengrocer, this sale offers a range of curiosities many of which have never before come to market.
Click below to order a limited-edition deluxe hardbound auction catalog for $55.
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Nobu Shirase and the Japanese Antarctic Expedition: The Collection of Chet Ross
We are pleased to announce the sale of Chet Ross's Japanese Antarctic Expedition collection. Ross authored the first and only bibliography about the expedition, discovering over 50 publications related to Shirase and the JAE which now for the first time are coming across the auction block. Since the publication, several new items have been located including Shirase's personal military textbooks. This catalogue will act as a revised bibliography with new entries and insights previously unknown to the public. The second half of the sale will include general exploration, travel and the polar regions. Included is the USS Bear auxiliary wheel which was made famous as being part of the Greely Relief Expedition and later serving Admiral Richard E. Byrd on his second expedition to the Antarctic.
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Coin Op & Advertising
This sale featured a wide range of machines, including scarce examples in the vending and arcade categories, along with trade stimulators to slot machines of every description, dating from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth. A diverse offering of tobacco, liquor, and trade advertisements of every type, including salesman's samples and country store fixtures, were also offered. Selections of vintage tin litho toys and antiques rounded out the sale.
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Vintage & Modern Magic
Highlights of our August sale included a rare one-sheet poster advertising Servais LeRoy, a strong offering of Houdiniana, including inscribed and signed books, an assortment of magic books, and rare ephemera. Complementing these collectibles were magic props of every description, from modern makers and craftsmen dating to nearly every era in the art.
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Firsts: The Library of Robin and Kathryn Smiley
We are pleased to announce the sale of Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine's co-Publishers and Editors, Robin and Kathryn Smiley's collection of modern firsts of literature, mystery & detective fiction, and western literature; with a special emphasis on Books into Film, featuring items from Robin's long-running column on literature translated into film. Firsts is an esteemed periodical in its field for more than 30 years, providing an invaluable resource for all book collectors and enthusiasts.
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Circus, Sideshow & Oddities
Our annual sale of the unusual, the amazing, and the bizarre featured a wide range of amazing antique objects, from classic vintage lithographs (and the maquettes used to design them), to remarkable cabinet cards and photographs, sideshow banners, and fairground art, including carousel animals and horses. Unusual taxidermied items also came across the block.
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SALE 139
Outsider, Folk and Fine Art
Our June auction of Outsider, Folk and Fine Art featured a rare canvas work by Chicago street artist Lee Godie, works by Finster, Sudduth, Tolliver, Willis, and many other outsider stars. The auction also featured sideshow banners, carousel animals, American folk art, quilts and eccentric anonymous paintings and sculptures. The Fine Art session featured an important work by William Sylvester Carter.
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Summer Magic Auction
Our summer sale was an extravaganza of vintage and modern magic apparatus, featuring further selections from the collections of Jim Deloach and William Trotter. Rarities from the shops of P&L, Abbott's, Collector's Workshop, Thayer, Okito, and others will cross the block. A strong offering of books, posters, and ephemera from magicians of yesteryear - including selections from the library of Ken Klosterman's Salon de Magie - rounded out the sale.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts, including The Ronald K. Siegel Collection
Our summer book sale featured the important collection of drug literature from the esteemed psychopharmacologist, Ronald K. Siegel. Works included the first books written on cannabis and coca in English, Alice B. Tokals' Cookbook with a holograph inscription of her famous "hashish fudge", a plethora of opium paraphernalia and much more. Other categories included fine literature such as the triple-decker first issue of Dickens' Great Expectations.
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Gambling Memorabilia
Potter & Potter's annual gambling memorabilia auction featured a vast array of material in all branches of the hobby, from scarce playing cards, to books on cards and cheating, and thousands of casino and poker chips and sets. Included in the sale was S.W. Erdnase's classic "The Expert at the Card Table," a collection of Royal Bayreuth "Devil & Cards" porcelain, and casino chips from Las Vegas and casinos around the world.
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A Study in Sherlock
This was the first sale from Robert Hess's collection of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle. High spots in every category related to these two subjects included original illustration art, first editions, signed photos, archives of letters from the author and actors that portrayed Holmes, choice movie posters, a Richard Lancelyn Green collection, numerous rare ephemeral items from The Lost World, a selection of items from the Jeremy Brett Estate, and numerous collectibles including an original street sign from Baker Street.
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Houdiniana
From remarkable unpublished personal documents and props from his storied career, to personal relics from Houdini's home in Harlem, our April sale of Houdiniana was an offering of historical significance. Props and personal artifacts crossed the block, alongside important Houdini letters, unpublished photographs, and incredible association copies of his most famous publications. The auction was rounded out with a strong offering of vintage magic posters, apparatus, and ephemera.
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SALE 133
Pop Culture & Collectibles
From comic books and rock memorabilia, to movie posters, vintage toys, trading cards, and Disneyana, the auction featured highlights from nearly every corner of American twentieth century pop culture. A collection of graded and ungraded comics, including Amazing Spider-Man and other Marvel titles, psychedelic rock posters, a Beatles autograph, monster magazines, and dozens of sealed wax boxes of sports cards from the 1970s-90s crossed the block.
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Vintage Posters
Potter & Potter opened the spring season with an eclectic offering of over 500 vintage posters, spanning the Golden Age of travel, nineteenth and twentieth century advertising, propaganda, and more. The sale featured our largest selection of posters from the First and Second World Wars to date, including Flagg's famous "I Want You." Other highlights included David Klein's TWA poster for Disneyland, numerous designs by Bernard Villemot, and scarce pictorial maps covering the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.
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The Ricky Jay Collection
This was Potter & Potter's first sale from the singular, eclectic collection of Ricky Jay, the lauded actor, celebrated sleight-of-hand magician, and noted author, who curated his own extensive collection of magic, circus, and showbiz ephemera. From the literature of cheating and conmen, to vibrant circus and sideshow posters, broadsides spanning the last four centuries, and memorabilia of magic shows of yesteryear, this was a true celebration of curious characters and the rare relics that tell their stories. A limited number of hardbound auction catalogs remain available for purchase. Order below.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts, including Americana
Our first book sale of the year features high spots in all categories. The sci–fi and horror session includes a near complete collection of Arkham House titles, many from the famous Richard Manney collection. Other featured lots in the sale include the Kelmscott Chaucer, Mark Twain manuscripts and signed works, an Edward Gorey library, leaves from Shakespeare's First Folio, and a near fine set of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. We will round out the sale with important Americana including rare maps of the Midwest, and Theodore Roosevelt's first book.
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Coin - Op, Advertising & Breweriana
Our first auction of 2023 featured a host of coin operated machines in a range of collecting categories, from slots and trade stimulators to rare vending machines, and arcade games alike. The auction also featured the extensive Anheuser-Busch collection of William F. Goza, including vintage advertising, ephemera, rare bottles, and associated breweriana.
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Winter Magic Auction
Our winter sale of magicana included a diverse offering of magic apparatus from the collections of William Trotter, Jim Deloach, and Bill Taylor, as well as choice Houdiniana, posters, and a strong selection of collectible and antiquarian books.
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SALE 127
Fine & Outsider Art
Potter & Potter's inaugural Fine & Outsider Art sale featured prints, paintings, and mixed media works from Picasso, Chagall, and their contemporaries, as well as a diverse array of outsider art by Howard Finster, Mose Tolliver, and Purvis Young, many from the collection of Larry Clemons, a noted southern gallerist who represented these self-taught artists. Selections of illustration art, fine prints, and drawings rounded out the sale.
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Historical Memorabilia & Americana
Our November sale featured historical memorabilia and Americana in a diverse range of categories. Highlights included rare relics of the suffrage movement, civil rights ephemera and posters, early cased photographic images, and Civil War relics (swords, canteens, and medallions). Other highlights included autographs, erotica, and handsomely framed presidential documents.
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Salon De Magie - The Collection of Ken Klosterman Part III
This third sale from the Klosterman collection brought a unique array of treasures from the legendary "museum down the mineshaft" to auction. Houdini's mechanical Blooming Rosebush, which set a world-record price for any magic-related artifact ever sold at public auction, brought an astonishing $324,000.00 at the fall of the auctioneer's hammer.
Hardbound catalogs remain available - in limited quantities - for $55
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our fall book sale was a major high spot for the department this year. We are offered several items that are only found institutionally including a presentation copy of the Bodley Head Ulysses signed by Joyce and a book owned by Ernest Shackleton that was taken by him on the Nimrod Expedition. Other major works included Audubon's Birds of America complete in octavo, a complete set of Cook's voyage with the elusive atlas, a presentation copy of Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol to Oscar Browning, Aldine's printing of Aristotle's Opera, a massive collection of fore–edge paintings, and several choice bindings.
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The Zweifel Circus Collection
Our September sale featured the remarkable circus archives of John & Jan Zweifel. Lifelong circus fans and collectors, the Zweifels' archives were home to tens of thousands of documents, photographs, and relics, including correspondence and memorabilia, as well as circus and wild west costumes, posters, and banners. Among the featured lots will be objects and documents from the life and career of Tom Thumb and Buffalo Bill, as well as P.T. Barnum, and nearly every "greatest show on earth" of the last century.
As an "extra added attraction," Potter & Potter is also pleased to announce that the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago's entire circus exhibit - many elements of which have been on display at the museum for half a century - will also be part of the auction. These include elaborate motorized model circus scenes, including the parade, big top, and sideshow, in addition to the museum exhibit signage and interactive exhibits.
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SALE 1005
Online Only • Fall Magic Auction
Our fall sale of magicana featured 250 lots including an array of apparatus (both vintage and modern), ephemera, and collectible books, as well as the magic props and memorabilia from the career of the noted sleight-of-hand magician David Roth.
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Vintage Posters
Over 700 vintage posters in a broad range of categories are featured in our summer sale, including American and international travel, advertising, pictorial maps, Art Nouveau, European design, art exhibition, classic sci-fi movie posters, theater, magic, and others. Highlights include L'Hippodrome (1905) by Orazi, numerous classic mid-century airline posters by TWA, Pan Am, and their peers, and an extensive collection of Hawaii travel posters.
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SALE 121
Online Book Auction
Our first Online–Only book sale of the year featured an array of titles and authors spanning several centuries and categories. Included were several archives of ephemera, large libraries of hard–boiled fiction and modern literature, as well as numerous signed volumes by major authors.
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Magic: The Collection of Jim DeLoach
This July, Potter & Potter presented hundreds of fine pieces of vintage and modern magic apparatus from the lifetime collection of Jim DeLoach. Cornerstones of the collection included props by Okito, Collectors Workshop, Norm Nielsen, Abbott's, Petrie & Lewis, and other prominent magic manufacturers of the last century.
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Pop Culture, Disneyana & Collectibles
A cornucopia of American pop culture memorabilia represented this nearly 700 lot sale from rock & roll memorabilia, movie posters, and autographs, to an extensive collection of James Bond and spy toys, vintage toy guns, comics, cards, and games. Disneyana and Steiff were also featured.
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Houdiniana & Magic Memorabilia
Our May magic sale featured Houdiniana that has never before come to market. Lots included the earliest known photograph of Houdini and Hardeen performing a magic trick, Houdini family heirlooms, scrapbooks, and more. Complementing the Houdiniana were an array of choice ephemera, posters, and magic apparatus, including a large offering from the collection of Bill Trotter.
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Enter the Matrix: The Wachowski Collection
Potter & Potter is excited to announce this auction of memorabilia, props, awards, and concept art spanning the filmography of the celebrated directors, including items from The Matrix, V for Vendetta, Sense8, Jupiter Ascending, and Cloud Atlas. All items are drawn directly from the collection of the Wachowskis, and proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Protect & Defend Trans Youth Fund.
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Circus, Sideshow & Oddities
Our annual auction of Circus, Sideshow, and Oddities featured the second offering of rare photographs from the remarkable collection of Gary Bart, one of the most significant collections of its kind in private hands. Complementing Mr. Bart's images were a host of sideshow banners, historical documents, lithographs, and three-dimensional relics - including carousel horses and rare shooting gallery targets.
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Fine Literature & Modern Firsts
This sale featured over 200 lots in literary categories spanning both the 19th and 20th centuries. High spots included presentation copies from Fitzgerald, Frost, Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Asimov. Other choice lots included The Ballad of Reading Gaol signed by Oscar Wilde, association copies from Sherwood Anderson and Charles Bukowski, and numerous Truman Capote signed books and documents including a contract for the filming rights to In Cold Blood.
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Salon de Magie: The Klosterman Collection - Part II
Our second auction from the Salon de Magie drew on the vast archive assembled by Ken Klosterman, bringing rare posters - from the careers of Houdini, LeRoy, and Kellar - and choice vintage apparatus, ephemera, and relics from the "golden age" magic shows to the block. Highlights included stage illusions from the shows of Alexander, Birch, and Kassner; props owned by Harry Houdini, F.E. Powell, and Dante; memorabilia from the career of Karl Germain; and magic apparatus from the workshops of Okito, Thayer, Martinka, and their contemporaries. The white-glove sale boasted a 100% sell-through rate and brought in over $800,000.00. Deluxe clothbound catalogs - printed in limited quantities - are still available.
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Coin-Op, Advertising, Toys, & Collectibles
Day two of the auction featured coin-operated machines including slot machines, arcade games, and vending; vintage advertising including signs and figures; breweriana including beer taps and knobs; and a variety of vintage toys and collectibles. An extensive collection of pin-up and erotic photography including slides, negatives, and magazines from the 1950s-70s was also included.
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Gambling Memorabilia, Playing Cards, and Chips
Our spring schedule started with a two day auction. The first day featured Part II of the collection of the late Robert Eisenstadt, who amassed thousands of casino and gambling chips including numerous rarities and uncommon sets. In addition, desirable decks of playing cards such as transformation decks, early American decks, and uncommon advertising were also offered. Vintage cheating paraphernalia and rare books on gambling and "advantage play" -- including a first edition of Erdnase's The Expert at the Card Table and F.R. Ritter's Combined Treatise on Advantage Card Play and Draw Poker - rounded out the session.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our first book sale of the year featured an array of items not seen on the market in over a century. Among the Americana lots was one of the rarest and important Revolutionary War narratives, Ethan Allen’s account of his captivity in British prisons printed in 1779, along with scarce cartographic lots related to the Great Lakes region, and choice works on travel and exploration, including a second edition of Hakluyt’s Voyages. Other highlights included The Arabian Nights’ Entertainment translated by Lane in its original monthly parts, and a pristine copy of Huckleberry Finn. We rounded out the auction by offering an expansive fine press session. This auction achieved a sales total of $1.1 million with a 96% sell–through rate.
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SALE 110
Micro Magic Auction
Our first magic auction of the year was a first for Potter & Potter - a sale of "micro magic" - clever and collectible close-up magic apparatus. Featuring nearly-comprehensive offerings of props made by Eddy Taytelbaum, Alan Warner, and the Tenyo company, over 350 lots crossed the block. Rare examples from each of these makers' lines were offered, nearly all of them in like-new condition, with many of the Tenyo tricks complete with original packaging.
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Vintage Posters
Potter & Potter began the year with an expansive vintage poster auction consisting of hundreds of travel, war and propaganda, theatrical, advertising, concert, winter sports, and pictorial map posters. The sale included a trove of early advertising and World War I posters from the company archives of the Western Litho. Co. of Los Angeles, and works by notable designers and masters of the form such as Hohlwein, Cappiello, Steinlen, David Klein, James Montgomery Flagg, Jo Mora, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Norman Rockwell, Austin Cooper, and Paul George Lawler.
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Winter Magic Auction
Our December sale featured the collection of Bob Rossi. His main focus was memorabilia from the career of Joseph Dunninger, the "master mind of modern mystery." The sale highlight was the Houdini forcing bible, inscribed by Houdini to Dunninger, which sold for $102,000.
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Photography & Ephemera
Our November sale featured a diverse array of photographs and printed ephemera - including mugshots, baseball ephemera, books, over 100,000 vintage postcards in a large range of categories, and an important and substantial session of vintage and modern photography. The latter category included the work of Chicago photographer Vivian Maier (including a personal album of twenty-two images captured on her travels abroad), an enormous archive of glass plate negatives, and associated memorabilia. A substantial US and worldwide stamp collection, individual sets, airmails, and covers (including examples from the American Civil War), were also featured.
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Salon de Magie • Part I
Potter and Potter conducted its first sale from Ken Klosterman's world famous collection of magicana, The Salon de Magie, on October 30, 2021. Filled with historically-significant ephemera, books, and apparatus, the sale set records across the board, and is the highest grossing all-magic auction of all time. Highlights in every collecting category were part of this historic white glove sale. Among the featured lots were The Light and Heavy Chest of Robert-Houdin, T. Nelson Downs' own Coin Ladder, and a rare half-sheet lithograph of Houdini upside down in the Water Torture Cell.
Limited numbers of the deluxe clothbound catalog remain available for purchase for $55.00.
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SALE 105
Steiff, Toys, & Pop Culture
The auction opened with several hundred pieces of vintage and modern Steiff bears and other animals, drawn from advanced collections in Chicago and across the country. The remainder of the sale consisted of an eclectic offering of toys and collectibles, including a collection of antique mechanical cast iron banks; classic tin litho toys; German diecast scale model construction vehicles; comic books; movie posters; Disneyana; autographs; and other pop culture memorabilia.
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SALE 1005
Fall Magic Auction (Online-Only)
Our September magic auction featured a strong selection of antiquarian titles from the library of Giovanni "Roxy" Pasqua, among them classics by Bosco, modern presentation copies and deluxe editions, and related works. The books and manuscripts were complemented by a diverse array of collectable and performable magic apparatus, posters, and printed ephemera.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our summer book sale featured high spots in a range of categories. The auction commenced with a choice selection of early exploration titles including polar, atlases, and Americana. A first edition of Moby Dick sold for $60,000 and a presentation copy from Charles Darwin for $10,200.
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Disneyana / Pop Culture
This auction included nearly 900 lots of Disneyana and pop culture memorabilia. The first session focused on Disney memorabilia, with featured lots including park attraction posters, cast member uniforms and costumes, maps, collectibles, and artwork.
The second session featured pop culture memorabilia of all descriptions, from sports, music, and movie memorabilia, to comic books, cards, and vintage toys. Highlights included Frank Sinatra's personally owned music stand, signed guitars, and handwritten Grateful Dead lyrics. An original painting by Frank Sinatra sold for $38,500.
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Circus, Sideshow & Oddities
Several fine collections made up this year’s auction, including one of our largest offerings to date of vintage circus sideshow banners and posters, as well as show memorabilia, photographs and snapshots of circuses and carnivals, books and autographs, and an array of bizarre and unusual objects.
Among the highlights was our first offering of rare circus & sideshow photographs from the remarkable collection of Gary Bart, one of the most significant collections of its kind in private hands.
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Summer Magic Auction
Our June sale of magicana brought together an array of ephemera dating to the Victorian era and beyond, featured props and memorabilia from the careers of many heroes of magic (Cardini, Paul Daniels, Chan Canasta, Jay Marshall, Ricky Jay and others), included a wide array of choice Houdiniana (signed photos, ephemera, pitchbooks, and letters), and concluded with the third offering of vintage and modern magic apparatus from the collection and workshop of Rüdiger Deutsch.
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Coin-Op & Advertising
Our annual coin-op auction featured vintage and rare machines of all varieties including gumball, vending, slots, trade stimulators, and arcade games. Advertising signs, figures, and posters of every description were also offered. Selections of gambling memorabilia, including advertising playing cards, poker sets and casino chips from the collection of Robert Eisenstadt, concluded the sale.
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Vintage Posters
In this sale, we offered a strong mix of postwar American and European travel posters for airlines, railroads, ocean liners, and tourist destinations around the globe. These were complemented by a broad selection of posters in other categories including advertising, French Art Nouveau and La Belle Epoque, war and propaganda, circus, magic, movies, music, and entertainment. Finally, a section of fine art, illustration art, art books, prints, and graphic ephemera rounded out the sale.
Highlights included a set of Mucha's "Four Seasons" panels of 1896; Cassandre's 1928 "Statendam" cruise line poster; numerous airline posters by David Klein; and a "blaze line" painting by the Australian artist Tim Storrier, which sold for $37,000.
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Spring Magic Auction
This white glove sale (with a 100% sell-through rate) was the the first auction from the remarkable magic collection of Bill Trotter. Assembling what was unquestionably one of the largest gatherings of contemporary magic props in America, Bill's dedication to developing his collection was evident in every lot of the sale. From near-complete runs of props made by Mel Babcock and Chance Wolf, to giant gatherings of apparatus built by Owen Magic Supreme, John McKinven, Michael Baker, and other modern craftsmen, the auction offered a wide range of props for collectors and performers alike.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our first rare book auction of 2021 featured an array of literary classics, with choice selections from the pens of hard-boiled authors and detective fiction including Sherlockiana. These lots were complemented by a strong selection of early literature, modern firsts, and “literature in art” with highlights including a James Baldwin archive, literary ephemera, and an array of Civil Rights-related material.
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Select Secrets • Rare & Important Magicana
Our first magic auction of 2021 was also the first of its kind for Potter & Potter: a closely-curated selection of rare and important magicana. Just over 100 lots went on the block, but what the auction lacked in quantity it more than made up for in quality. Unique Houdini memorabilia, exceptional stone lithographs, unusual apparatus and historically significant association items were all part of the sale. The auction broke several records, and boasted a 100% sell-through rate.
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Ante Up: Gambling Memorabilia
In our first auction of 2021, we presented casino chips, poker sets, and gambling memorabilia from the collection of the late Robert Eisenstadt. One of the top collectors in this field, Mr. Eisenstadt owned troves of rare and obsolete chips from casinos around the world, antique and beautifully designed poker and gaming sets, as well as cheating, gambling, and card playing paraphernalia and ephemera. The sale also brought together playing cards and books, for what was one of the most expansive gambling auctions we have had the pleasure of holding.
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Winter Magic Auction
Our winter sale featured apparatus and relics from the workshops and showroom of Owen Magic Supreme. Tracing its beginnings to the days of Floyd Thayer, Owen Magic maintained an impeccably high standard of quality and innovation in the construction of magic apparatus and illusions, for every major performer in the industry. Props and memorabilia from the company's century-spanning history were complemented by mementos from the careers of two well-known California magicians, Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller, as well as a strong selection of books, posters, and ephemera.
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SALE 1004
Magic Auction for NEMCA
Our second sale of November was conducted in conjunction with the Yankee Gathering - a bi-annual magic history conference organized by the New England Magic Collectors Association. This "mini" auction featured 100 lots of magic memorabilia, including archives of ephemera and correspondence, photographs, collectible books and apparatus, and stone lithographs from the "golden age" of magic.
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Vintage Posters, Prints & Works on Paper
Our November sale featured hundreds of vintage travel posters, but also included highlights in the following categories: entertainment and music, circus, war and propaganda, sports, and film. Complementing these lithographs were a host of prints from modern masters, as well as a range of vintage ephemera and other works on paper.
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The Magic Collection of Rüdiger Deutsch • Part II
On Halloween, Potter & Potter presented the second auction featuring the collection of Rudiger Deutsch. Known as a master craftsman and consummate collector, this sale featured many of the finely-crafted props from Deutsch's own workshop, along with rarities from the showrooms and factories of Willmann, Bartl, and Conradi. Mechanical masterpieces of yesteryear (and fine recreations as only Deutsch could construct) were chief among the featured lots, many of which brought record prices.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our monumental fall sale featured nearly 1,000 lots in a broad range of categories, among them exploration, natural history, and early Americana. Strong sections of modern firsts and livres d’artiste also went to the block. The second half of the auction featured an important and massive archive of aviation and early American photography, and was rounded out by works on paper, including prints by Miró, Picasso, and Hockney.
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Circus • Sideshow • Oddities
Hundreds of vintage circus posters - from the heyday of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey - went to the block in our annual Circus, Sideshow & Oddities sale. Stone lithographs of Strobridge and its contemporaries complemented an eclectic assortment of unusual and macabre collectibles. A giant entrance banner by Fred Johnson brought $28,800.00, a world record for a sideshow banner sold at auction.
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SALE 1003
Online Magic Auction
Our September online-only magic auction featured finely bound books and antiquarian titles, a strong selection of Karl Fulves publications, Ed Marlo's personal library of his own published works (including his much sought-after Marlo Magazines), choice ephemera, and collectible contemporary magic props from several well-respected and sought-after builders.
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Coin-Op & Advertising
Our August sale featured hundreds of coin-operated machines in every popular category, from early and rare vending machines to slots, trade stimulators, and arcade games. Casino memorabilia and gambling collectibles from several Reno institutions were also offered, including memorabilia from Harold's Club and Harrah's. Complementing the machines were a wide variety of advertising signs, clocks, and decorative items.
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The Magic Collection of Jim Rawlins IV
This was the fourth and concluding sale of the vast magic collection of Jim Rawlins. Fine selections of magic apparatus, posters, props and memorabilia, and ephemera were reserved for the final sale.
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SALE 87
Eclectible Collectible Auction
Our June sale included a nearly-alphabetical listing of collectibles and antiques, from autographs to baseball cards and sports collectibles, comic books, as well as vintage magic tricks, circus posters, and Steiff animals. Vintage movie posters and memorabilia crossed the block along with oddities, pop culture relics, collectible toys, and advertising.
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May Magic Auction
Our May auction featured a strong selection of Houdiniana. Other highlights included ephemera from the careers of Chung Ling Soo, Jose Frakson, and Harry Kellar. Memorabilia and magic tricks from the career of Johnny Thompson, a/k/a The Great Tomsoni, rounded out the sale. A number of record prices were achieved, including the sale of Tomsoni's engraved cups, bringing $14,400.00.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our first book auction of 2020 highlighted strong sections of Sherlockiana, fine bindings, modern first editions, and illustrated works. High spots - many selling at record prices - included prints by Joan Miró and Keith Haring, and a limited-edition elephant folio of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Elihu Vedder. Rounding out the sale were a strong selection of James Bond and Ian Fleming books, including first editions, signed books, and associated ephemera.
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Gambling Memorabilia & Playing Cards
Our annual gambling and playing card auction included items in many categories: uncommon and beautifully bound books on cards, crime, cons, and poker, as well as books on cheating and crooked gambling, chief among them the works of Jonathan H. Green and S.W. Erdnase. A strong selection of vintage playing cards was offered, among them advertising decks, and early American cards dating to the 18th century. Other offerings included cheating devices, poker chips, dice, and decorative prints and posters with a card and gambling theme.
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The Magic Collection of Jim Rawlins • III
Our first magic auction of 2020 was the third sale from the collection of Jim Rawlins. The sale featured choice association items - including treasures from the careers of Harry Blackstone, Doug Henning, McDonald Birch, and others - the auction included items in nearly every collecting category, from unusual and rare props, to handsomely framed posters, to uncommon ephemera, books, costumes, Houdinana, and decorative objects.
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DISNEY
Our February sale featured Disney collectibles gathered from the famed theme parks around the globe. Lots included posters, costumes & uniforms, signage, original drawings, blueprints, animation art, park maps & memorabilia, and much more.
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Vintage Posters
Potter & Potter's first auction of 2020 will featured hundreds of vintage posters. The sale offered a large variety of vintage lithographs from the nineteenth century to modern times in a wide range of categories, from vibrant vintage travel posters, to circus and film, product advertising, theatrical paper, and war and propaganda posters.
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Winter Magic Auction - Dec. 14, 2019
Featuring selections from the collection of Giovanni Pasqua - aka Roxy - our Winter sale featured rare conjuring books from the sixteenth century to the present day. Complementing the books from Roxy's collection were an assortment of collectible props, Houdiniana, and choice posters.
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Circus • Sideshow • Oddities
Featuring the circus collection of Dave & Mary Jane Price, our November sale included nearly 1000 vintage circus posters, plus costumes, model circus trains, and other relics from bygone wonder-shows. The circus collectibles were complemented by an array of unusual, uncommon, and unbelievable oddities, sideshow memorabilia, banners, photographs, taxidermy, and relics of the "believe it or not" variety. Highlights included Tom Thumb memorabilia, sideshow electric chairs and props, and big, bold banners from the masters of the form.
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The Magic Collection of Rüdiger Deutsch
Potter & Potter presented the first auction of magic from the collection of German historian, builder, and performer Rüdiger Deutsch. In addition to the masterful mechanical props he constructed, the auction included Houdini artifacts, broadsides, rare props from the factories of Willmann, Conradi, and their German counterparts, and apparatus of every description, from the smallest gimmicks to automata, and stage illusions. Following the wishes of Rüdiger and Ute Deutsch, the proceeds of the auction were donated to Shining Eyes, a medical charity and hospital that operates in Bengal.
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Books, Manuscripts & Fine Art
Our fall fine book auction featured more than 500 lots of printed books including many modern first editions by famous authors. In addition, the auction featured historic autographs, manuscripts, maps, and prints.
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Coin-Op & Advertising
Our September sale featured coin operated machines in all categories: arcade, vending, and slots. Several records prices were achieved. The auction also featured vintage advertising, toys, and a strong selection of Black Americana.
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Automata: Life and Other Illusions
Our August sale featured the automaton collection of Michael Kam. Over 150 vintage and modern mechanical marvels went on the block, including rare and unusual examples by Vichy, Lambert, Phalbois, and their contemporaries. Fine and unique examples by modern makers of these intricate living sculptures were also represented. The automatons were complemented by a selection of kinetic art, puppets, and associated objects.
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SALE 1002
Summer Magic Auction - Online Only
Our summer magic auction included over 250 lots of choice vintage and contemporary magic collectibles. Among the featured objects were rare mind-reading ephemera and costumes, uncommon Houdiniana, large archives of correspondence, collections of vintage photographs, Dai Vernon ephemera, and finely leather bound books. A selection of uncommon and collectible apparatus rounded out the sale.
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Pop Culture
From vintage toys to comics, movie posters to trains, radio premiums to music memorabilia, sports cards to pedal cars, this sale featured hundreds of lots in virtually every genre of twentieth pop culture.
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The Magic Collection of Jim Rawlins • Part II
Our June auction was the second of four sales from the important and historically significant magic collection of Jim Rawlins. Highlights included memorabilia from the careers of Alexander Herrmann, Harry Houdini, and their contemporaries. A strong selection of vintage and modern magic apparatus made up a majority of the sale.
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Vintage Posters
Our May 22 auction featured hundreds of important vintage posters. The majority of the sale is composed of mid-century travel posters, including many fine airline posters advertising TWA, American, and United Airlines, many from noted designers of the era. The sale was rounded out by a fine selection of movie, magic, theatrical, advertising, and exhibition posters, as well as French posters by Cheret and his contemporaries.
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SALE 1001
Spring Magic Auction - Online Only
Potter & Potter offered some 200 choice magic collectibles in an online-only auction. A mix of ephemera, magic sets, large lots of vintage apparatus, and choice books and posters were offered for sale. The auction was conducted exclusively on Potter & Potter's online bidding platform.
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The Magic Collection of Ray Goulet
A well-loved collector, publisher, producer, performer, and friend to all magicians, Ray Goulet amassed one of the great American collections of conjuring memorabilia. On April 27th, many of the scarce and rare props, magic sets, magic-themed sheet music, framed posters, and other elements of his Mini-Museum of Magic went on the block. Goulet's offerings were complemented by a spectacular offering of posters from the collection of Charles and Regina Reynolds, authors of 100 Years of Magic Posters.
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Gambling Memorabilia featuring The Collection of Tom Blue
Tom Blue assembled one of the most impressive gambling collections in the United States. Tantalizing selections of rare and antiquarian volumes from his library lead the auction, including titles on poker, playing cards, cheating and advantage play, notorious gamblers, cons, criminals, and related subjects. A fine array of the appurtenances of old-time gambling halls—dealing shoes, check racks, case keepers, layouts, and more—also came up on the block.
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The Rawlins Magic Collection I
Our inaugural magic auction of 2019 was the first of four sales from the collection of Jim Rawlins, a devoted student of magic and its history, who spent nearly three decades building an impressive, important, and diverse collection. A finely curated selection went on the block, including choice objects in every collecting category. Association items from the careers of modern master magicians - Germain, Joseffy, Thurston, Blackstone, and more - was offered side-by-side with vintage apparatus (including many Thayer and Owen-made props), signed photographs, posters, and ephemera. Click below to view prices realized.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts • Chicago
We start the new year with an auction of books and manuscripts focused on Chicago, celebrating the city’s art and architecture, literature, sports, notable inhabitants, and historic events from the Great Fire to the present. Highlights include scarce pre-Fire imprints, early Chicago Cubs sheet music, and a vintage model of Fort Dearborn. Other sessions in the sale will feature comic books, children’s literature, Americana, fine prints, vintage photography, and posters.
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SALE 1000
Winter Magic Auction - Online Only
On December 15th Potter & Potter offered some 200 choice magic collectibles in an online-only auction. Posters, books, ephemera, and magic sets - perennial holiday favorites of yesteryear - were included. The auction was conducted exclusively on Potter & Potter's online bidding platform.
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Vintage Travel Posters
Our December auction featured hundreds of important vintage travel posters. From the works of famous designers - Galli, Klein, and their contemporaries - to the jet-setting advertising of TWA, United, and American Airlines, the sale was made up of scenes and scenery as depicted by the great graphic artists of the travel industry over the last century. The sale included a broad range of categories: ski, railroad, airline, and ocean travel.
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Freakatorium: The Collection of Johnny Fox
Alive! On the Inside! Potter & Potter was pleased to present the over-the-top, one-of-a-kind Barnumesque collection of renowned sword swallower, comedian, magician, and curiosity seeker Johnny Fox, who amassed an amazing assortment of natural and unnatural curiosities. The entire contents of his collection went on the block, including sideshow banners, Johnny Eck memorabilia, circus posters, Fiji mermaids, and even the disembodied wax head of Mao Zedong.
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Houdiniana
Our October 2018 sale featured the Houdini collection of John Bushey. Known as a true scholar and student of all things Houdini and escape related, John assembled one of the best collections of Houdini pitch books and related items in America. Bushey's collection was be complemented by a strong selection of magic memorabilia, books, and posters. In addition, the auction featured a selection of choice antique apparatus, and the largest collection of Mikame Craft-made props to ever come to market.
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Coin-Op & Advertising Auction
Our annual coin-op and advertising auction featured jukeboxes, vending machines, arcade games, signs & figural advertising, slots and gambling machines, vintage toys, and much more. Some 400 vintage machines went on the block. A strong selection of beer advertising was also included. Among the strong results were a Charles Fey countertop high striker which commanded over $40,000.
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Summer Magic Auction
Our summer sale of magicana is set to included collectibles in all familiar categories, including vintage posters, apparatus, antiquarian books, and ephemera. Highlights included rarities advertising the shows of the Hanlon Brothers, early and uncommon conjuring catalogs, and relics from the career of Howard Thurston. A strong selection of nineteenth century conjuring-related prints, along with a large offering of German-made micro-magic will also be included. The cover lot, a three-sheet Thurston levitation lithograph, brought over $22,000.00.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
Our summer book, manuscript, and memorabilia sale featured several categories: historical documents and Americana, modern literature, science, math, and children's books, autographs, and periodicals. Featured categories included travel books, political memorabilia, aviation, and American history objects. Accompanying the artifacts, books, and manuscripts were a selection of vintage prints, maps, and posters.
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The David Baldwin Magic Collection II
The second offering from David Baldwin's collection featured automatons, magic apparatus (both vintage and modern), ephemera, Houdiniana, stone lithographs, broadsides, and mystery clocks. Selections from the famed Raymond/Gibson collection, including personal property of Maurice "The Great" Raymond went on the block. Choice examples of props manufactured by Okito, Thayer, Klingl, Willmann, Williams, Beadle, and others, rounded out the sale.
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Gambling Memorabilia
Our May Gambling Auction featured the collection of Bob Rosenberger. The sale included an array of truly scarce and rare material related to gambling, poker, playing cards, and other games of chance. Sale highlights included Lot 151: Faro Exposed selling for $24,000, Lot 126: Advantage Card Playing and Draw Poker selling for $14,400, and Lot 249: Will & Finck Brass Sleeve Holdout going for $12,000.
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Spring Magic Auction
Our spring sale of magic memorabilia featured two recently-rediscovered Houdini scrapbooks, never before made available for public sale. In addition, the auction will included Houdiniana in a range of categories - glass slides, autographs, books, and photographs. The Houdini memorabilia was complemented by a diverse offering of vintage and antiquarian magic books, posters, broadsides, ephemera, and vintage magic apparatus
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Entertainment Memorabilia
From hundreds of movie posters, to signed and glamour photographs, rare documents, to costumes, props, and personal relics, our April 7th sale featured something for collectors at all levels, beginning and advanced alike. Offerings included collectibles from the worlds of film, television, music, the stage and even the circus big top.
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The Magic Collection of John Daniel
Our first magic auction of 2018 featured the collection of John Daniel. His collection includes rarities from the shop and lathe of Floyd Thayer (for a time, Daniel owned the Owen Magic, successor to Thayer), vintage magic posters, spook show memorabilia, personal artifacts and relics from the show of Dante (Harry August Jansen), and illusions, tricks, trunks, theatrical material, and costumes from the Virgil & Julie show, among other curiosities.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
The sale also featured high spots in several broad categories: literature, science and math, children's books, autographs, pulps and monster magazines. A large and diverse selection of private press publications was offered. Accompanying the books and manuscripts was a selection of vintage prints and posters.
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Winter Magic Auction
From uncommon Chung Ling Soo posters to early broadsides, a selection of rare and unusual Taytelbaum-made tricks, choice ephemera, collectible apparatus, and antiquarian books, the auction featured "something for everyone," beginning and advanced collectors alike. A selection of escape artist-related items, including handcuffs, locks, keys, and memorabilia, was auctioned, along with a selection of marionettes, Punch & Judy puppets, and ventriloquist's figures.
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Circus - Sideshow - Wild West
From Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey to Buffalo Bill, sideshow banners, carnival rides, carousel horses and more, our November sale will feature relics from the "greatest shows on earth." The auction will include posters, broadsides, costumes, personal memorabilia, carousel horses, carnival rides, Kelty photos, and more.
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Blackstone Magic Auction
Our October sale featured relics from the career of Harry Blackstone, Sr. From Blackstone's own scrapbooks, to paintings, original cartoon art, and even Houdini memorabilia, the sale set records in many categories. Blackstone's stage-worn tuxedo brought $45,600, and a scrapbook of original cartoon art made for him sold for $33,600. Houdini photos, handcuffs, and other items also set records.
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Coin-Op & Advertising
Our September 2017 auction featured choice coin-operated machines and vintage advertising, including the collection of Doug & Nancy Cain. Over 250 vintage machines in a wide variety of categories went on the block, including vending, slots & gambling, vintage arcade machines, and more. Vintage advertising items offered included posters, lithographs, and trade signs. The auction was rounded out by a selection of quality vintage toys and general antiques.
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Sleight of Hand - The Jeff Busby Collection
Our August 19th auction featured the extensive magic collection of Jeff Busby. Highlights of the sale included written correspondence between Dai Vernon and Faucett Ross selling for over $50,000, as well as an archive of correspondence between Ross and Charlie Miller selling for $48,000. Click to view prices realized.
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Fine Books & Manuscripts
The inaugural Fine Books and Manuscripts auction at Potter & Potter auctions featured high spots in a number of collecting categories, including printed and manuscript Americana, modern first editions, travel and exploration, natural history, fine bindings and continental books from the 16th century to present day. Pulp comics, science fiction and fantasy will lead the literature session, including a rare complete run of The Shadow, Walter B. Gibson's, own set.
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Grossman/Nicholson Magic Collection II
Our June auction featured rarities from the Grossman/Nicholson magic collection. Among the auction highlights were objects related to great magicians of yesteryear: Houdini, Robert-Houdin, Thurston, Herrmann, Kellar, and Frederick Eugene Powell. Association items, antiquarian books, and unusual apparatus went on the block, along with scarce lithographs, broadsides, and advertising from the "golden age" of magic.
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Gambling Memorabilia Auction
Our May auction featured gambling memorabilia in a wide range of categories, from a first edition of Erdnase's famous book (sold for $10,200.00), to slot machines, trade stimulators, and a world-class playing card collection. Also on the block were unusual cheating devices, books on cons, horseracing, and poker. The sale additionally featured poker chips, artwork and posters with a playing card/gambling theme.
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Spring Magic Auction
Our spring auction featured magic memorabilia, books, posters, and apparatus for beginning and advanced collectors alike. Of special import were a strong selection of Houdini-related material, including personal family photographs, documents, and letters.
A crown-shaped jeweled brooch, formerly property of Mrs. Harry Houdini and gifted to her by Russian royalty, sold for $72,000.00.
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Movie & Music Memorabilia
Our March auction featured entertainment memorabilia: autographs, instruments, posters, rock & roll, and KISS collectibles. An assortment of movie posters and memorabilia - from the silent to the modern eras - was offered. Contracts, personal photographs, costumes, signed instruments, a collection of 16mm films, and more went on the block - some 700 lots in all. A large collection of Hollywood photos brought $22,800.00.
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The Golden Age of Magic Posters - Part II
The second auction of the Nielsen Magic Poster Collection proved highly successful. A Houdini three-sheet Water Torture Cell poster sold for $114,000.00, a new world record price for a magic poster sold at public auction.
Deluxe hardbound special edition catalogs are available - as a companion to the previous volume (which can still be purchased by clicking here).
A combined edition of the auction catalogs - with a large number additional images and information not published in either volume - will be published in 2017. Contact us now to reserve your copy.
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Winter Magic Auction
Highlights from out final sale of the year included a Chung Ling Soo poster selling for $18,000, The Discoverie of Witchcraft going for $16,800 and a Clown Automaton selling for $10,200.
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The Magic Collection of David Baldwin
Our annual Halloween auction included the sale of a Robert-Houdin Electric Pendulum Clock for $60,000, as well as The Great Raymond's Hand of Fate - made by Okito - selling for $36,000.
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Advertising, Toys, CoinOp
The first day of our annual summer antiques sale featured vintage toys, a wide array of antique and vintage advertising including tins, pocket mirrors, signs, radios, trays, and much more.
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Illustration Art & Posters
The second day of our annual summer antiques sale featured hundreds of pieces of original illustration art from the early to mid twentieth century. The vintage posters and prints in the section part of the day covered many subject areas including travel, theatrical, automotive, music and entertainment, and more.
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Magic Old & New
Our Magic: Old & New auction featured antiquarian and modern books, magnificent prints, engravings, and posters, fine pieces of conjuring apparatus, and automatons. A Dai Vernon silhouette of Houdini sold for $10,200.
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Three Ring Auction!
Included in our 3 Ring Auction were a vast array of circus, side show and wild west memorabilia, including photographs, autographs, wagons, banners, wood carvings, signs, and other objects. Three separate Buffalo Bill's Wild West billboards sold for $12,000.
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The Nielsen Collection Part I
Included in the first part of the sale of Norm Nielsen's magic poster collecton were vibrant stone lithographs representing nearly every great magician of the 20th century. A three sheet Houdini poster went for $45,600 and an Okito portrait poster sold for $26,400.
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Two of a Kind
Our 2016 spring gambling auction included a wide array of vintage poker chips, truly rare books on cheating at cards, unusual holdout devices, many ivory objects, salesman's samples, slot machines, prints & graphics, and more. The top sale of the auction was Frank Bonville's The Little Secrets at $20,400.
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Houdiniana
The first section of this auction featured choice memorabilia related to the most famous magician and escape artist the world has ever known: Harry Houdini. A massive scrapbook compiled by Houdini sold for $51,600 and a previously unknown manuscript coauthered by HP Lovecraft and Houdini went for $33,600.
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The Davenport Magic Collection
The second half the April auction featured items from the collection of Lewis Davenport & Co. of London. A Robert-Houdin Glass Column Mystery Clock sold for $50,400.
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1001 Magic Tricks
The first sale of 2016 was the second auction of the magic collection of Bill King. Highlights included the Kellar poster A Walk in the Woods selling for $15,600 and an inscribed Eva Kellar portrait going for $5,560.
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Winter Magic Auction
Top sales of our annual winter auction were an 1885 Automaton Stull Pocket Watch at $24,000, a looming Orange Tree Automaton by Pierre Mayer at $8,400 and the Chung Ling Soo poster - Birth of the Pearl - for $5,760.
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Grossman/Nicholson Magic Collection
Our October sale featured selections from the Dr. John Henry Grossman/Nelson Nicholson magic collection. W.H. Crambrook’s Catalogue of Magical Curiosities and Deceptions sold for a record $64,800. Other top sales included Cardini's Billiard Ball Set for $28,800 and an outstanding collection of Magician Postcards for $18,000.
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Advertising, Coin-Op & Vintage Posters
Our two-day September auction featured nearly 1000 lots of vintage advertising, toys, coin-operated machines, and vintage posters. The top sale of the auction was a 1947 Bela Lugosi Dracula poster which went for $15,600.
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Magic Memorabilia at Magic Live
Our August 2015 auction took place at Magic Live! in Las Vegas. A range of books, posters, photographs, and apparatus were offered on display at our booth.
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Gambling Memorabilia & Rare Playing Cards
The June 2015 sale featured the collection of the late Ronald Wohl, who had an assortment of gambling devices, prints, books, and holdouts. A first edition copy of Erdnase's The Expert at the Card Table brought $10,200. Other top sales included a table hold out device for $10,800 and an ivory poker chip set at $8,400.
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Old & Rare Conjuring Books
Our May 2015 sale took place in Marshall, MI and featured over 100 choice and rare antiquarian volumes, as well as a mixture of vintage magic props, posters, and ephemera. A first edition volume of Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft brought $45,600. Other top sellers were The London Conjuror for $13,200 and A Letter to The Town, Concerning the Man and the Bottle at $10,800.
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The Magic Collection of Rich Bloch
In April 2015 Potter & Potter offered the magic collection of Richard Bloch up for sale at public auction.
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The Collection of JP Jackson
Our first sale of 2015 featured the collection of JP Jackson of San Diego, California.
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Fall Magic Auction
Our fall auction involved two important components; a selection of memorabilia related to the career of Channing Pollock and the library of noted author, bibliographer, and historian James B. Alfredson.
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Houdiniana
Our summer auction featured choice memorabilia related to the most famous magician and escape artist ever: Harry Houdini.
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The Devil's Picturebook
Potter & Potter’s two- day May auction featured a gigantic and remarkable assortment of rare & unusual playing cards and gambling-themed collectibles, including playing cards, porcelain, artwork, and advertising.
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Spring Magic Auction
Our spring auction included a wide range of collectibles and many stone lithographs from the collection of the late John Salisse, and featured several relics from the Bamberg dynasty, among them Okito's Mat Trick and Dragon robes worn by both Okito and Fu Manchu.
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The Collection of Burton S. Sperber
Our winter sale featured the library of Burton S. Sperber, who amassed an astounding collection on the subject of conjuring. Highlights included trade cards, periodicals, rare and collectible books from 1584 to the present day.
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The Collection of Bill King
Our fall auction featured a spectacular collection of vintage magic apparatus from the collection of Bill King.
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Magic Memorabilia at Magic Live
On August 14th we held a mini auction at Magic Live! at the Orleans hotel in Las Vegas.
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Summer Shelf Sale
Our Summer Shelf Sale included an astonishing quantity of collectible and contemporary magic books - nearly 1000 in all.
No printed catalog was published for this auction. A downloadable and printable PDF version is available. -
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Gambling Memorabilia Auction
Our annual gambling memorabilia auction included early books on cards, dice, roulette and "advantage play"; as well as collectible playing cards, casino memorabilia, poker chips, roulette wheels, artwork with a playing card theme, and cheating devices.
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Cardini - The Suave Deceiver
On April 6, 2013, Potter & Potter offered the personal property of the influential magician Cardini at public auction. Included in the sale were the props and costumes he made famous, playbills and posters, association items, correspondence, Cardini's scrapbooks, unpublished photographs, awards, tokens, and much more. A closely-curated selection of Houdiniana, rare books, ephemera, and apparatus from private collections rounded out the sale. The auction set records, with many lots bringing astonishingly high prices.
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Winter Magic Auction
Our winter auction included a variety of rare magic books, posters, and unusual pieces of apparatus culled from private collections. Among the highlights were a selection of rare and unusual Thayer-made props, an assortment of Eddy Taytelbaum's fabulous hand-made micro-magic props, Houdini ephemera and handcuffs, early hand-colored prints, and a choice selection of magicians' tokens and advertising pocket mirrors.
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The Collection of Charles Reynolds
On October 27th, 2012 Potter & Potter conducted an auction of the collection of illusion designer, author, consultant and photographer Charles Reynolds. Reynolds' collection includes many of the magic posters he so loved, along with an extensive working library of conjuring texts. Prominently featured will be Reynolds' collection of mentalism-related material, including apparatus, book tests, and unusual publications on the subject of mind reading.
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Gambling Memorabilia Auction
Potter & Potter conducted its second annual sale of rare gambling books, playing cards, early gambling supply and coin-op catalogs, trade stimulators, cheating devices and associated ephemera. The auction also featured mob memorabilia with direct ties to a prohibition-era illegal casino operated by Al Capone's closest bodyguard, Louis Campagna. Catalog out of print.
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The Collection of John McKinven
On May 13, 2012, Potter & Potter offered the collection of John A. McKinven, noted craftsman, author, and collector at public auction. The auction included many of McKinven's famous and finely-crafted wood turnings, his re-creation of DeKolta's famous expanding die, rare books, ephemera, and early magic sets. The two top sellers were an 1844 W.H.M. Crambrook’s Catalogue for $31,200 and Al Flosso’s Coin Pail and Coins selling for $13,200.
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Larry Jennings Collection
Auction of the collection of famed card expert and sleight-of-hand artist, Larry Jennings. Highlights included Dai Vernon memorabilia and props, and a copy of Erdnase's book inscribed and signed by Vernon, Dr. Daley, Jennings, Mike Skinner, and Charlie Miller. The latter sold for $9,600.00.
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Salon de Magie
A selection of magic memorabilia from the legendary collection of Ken Klosterman's Salon de Magie was conducted in October, 2011. The top sale was a 1910 Conjuror clown musical automaton for $15,600.
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Magic Live #1
A "sampler" auction was conducted in August 2011 at the MAGIC Live! convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Mullica/Taylor
An auction of the collections of Tom Mullica and Prentice Taylor was conducted in May, 2011. Featured lots included custom-made Merv Taylor apparatus, Mullica's own magic props and apparatus, and a host of rare books and Houdini handcuffs. The surprise of the auction was the original Mullica Wallet selling for $9,600.
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Rare Posters
On March 26, 2011, Potter & Potter conducted an auction of rare magic and circus posters, including one of six known examples of a 1902 Houdini poster showing the master mystifier standing before a German court. The poster was discovered in the basement of a suburban Chicago home and sold for $30,000. Catalog out of print.
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Gambling Memorabilia Auction
Auction of rare gambling books, cheating devices, punch boards, roulette wheels, poker chips and associated items. Included the gambling device collection of Raymond J. Goulet, as well as an assortment of magic memorabilia. The auction featured S.W. Erdnases's Expert at the Card Table on the cover, which fetched a record-setting price, as well as a copy of F.R. Ritter's Advantage Card Playing and Draw Poker, which garnered a world-record price of over $19,000.
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Zarrow/Fox/Vernon Collections
Auction of the collection of Herb Zarrow, the legendary New Jersey card magician and sleight-of-hand student. Complemented by the personal property of Paul Fox (including many of his own props), and rarities from the archives of the late, great Dai Vernon. The top sale was a bound complete set of the Sphinx going for $10,800.
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The Collection of Jay Marshall Part IV
Fourth auction of magic memorabilia from the collection of Jay Marshall. Catalog now out of print. The cover depicted one of the sale's highlights: Fred Kaps' rabbit cane, a prop used by the famous Dutch magician on the Ed Sullivan Show.
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Dai Vernon/Bruce Cervon Collections
Auction of the collections of Bruce Cervon and Dai Vernon. Included Vernon's prop case and personal scrapbooks, as well as rare photos, props, and associated items.
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SALE 3
The Collection of Jay Marshall Part III
Third auction of magic memorabilia from the collection of Jay Marshall.
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Marketplace Auction: Magic
Auction of magic memorabilia from varied consignors, including autographs, books, posters and apparatus.
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The Magic Collection of Jay Marshall
A selection of books, apparatus and memorabilia from the collection of Jay Marshall.