Potter & Potter Auctions
Live Auction

May Magic Auction

Sat, May 2, 2020 12:00PM EDT
Lot 131

Bishop, Washington Irving. Washington Irving Bishop St. Jam...

Estimate: $400 - $600

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
Bishop, Washington Irving. Washington Irving Bishop St. James?s Hall Program. London, 1883. Handsome letterpress program filled with endorsements and descriptions of Bishop?s thought-reading abilities, and posing his ?1000 challenge to Henry Labouchere, Esq., M.P. Old folds, strip of paper on rear panel at spine from scrapbook; good. Rare. Six years after this program was printed, Bishop died under strange circumstances. Prone to cataleptic fits (the mentalist claimed he sometimes remained in a trance state for extended periods after demonstrating his ?powers?), the mind reader was presumed dead on May 12, 1889 after lapsing into a coma while giving mind reading demonstrations. According to his mother, Bishop was not dead, but only in a trance, and perfectly healthy. But the following day an unauthorized autopsy sealed his fate.