Potter & Potter Auctions
Live Auction

The Grossman-Nicholson Magic Collection Part 2

Sat, Jun 10, 2017 11:00AM EDT - Sun, Jun 11, 2017 11:00AM EDT
Lot 369

Archive of Nine Servais LeRoy Letters Regarding his Box Escape “La Malle Des Indes.”

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$30 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
LeRoy, Servais (Jean Henri Servais LeRoy). Archive of Nine Servais LeRoy Letters Regarding his Box Escape “La Malle Des Indes.” Addressed to magician Paul Fleming and primarily from early April 1938, LeRoy writes – at times with humor-filled phrases – regarding an escape trunk Fleming is purchasing from the aging Belgian magician. LeRoy describes his use of the trunk at the famous Palace Theatre, New York. LeRoy refers to himself as the “Keansburg Adonis,” his typewriter as “the victim of my efforts known as Mr. Royal,” and his efforts to locate the box in his warehouse: “Awake Pandora, I am here.” He also provides information about the working of the prop (it was a back-trap-style trunk), the special curtain he designed to use with it (different than the traditional cabinet that Houdini and others used), and that the box was manufactured by his own London firm, The Servais LeRoy Co. Occasional holographic corrections in LeRoy’s hand. Accompanied by one carbon response by Fleming and a Fleming-issued price list of magiciana offering the LeRoy letters (and 130 more items) for sale.

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