Potter & Potter Auctions
Live Auction

The David Baldwin Magic Collection II

Fri, May 18, 2018 03:00AM EDT
Lot 224

Del Ray?s Card Finding Bird and Fifty Dollar Bill.

Estimate: $1,500 - $2,000

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
Del Ray (Raymond Petrosky). Del Ray?s Card Finding Bird and Fifty Dollar Bill. Both integral parts of Del Ray?s close-up act. Del interacted with various mechanical and automaton birds in his close-up magic act, including this small toucan, perhaps the last model he used. In effect, the bird chirped and bobbed on its perch, eventually finding a card chosen by a spectator. Accompanied by a framed photograph of Del Ray with the bird, matted together with the fifty-dollar bill Del offered to his spectators should the bird (or any of his other ?trained? animals ? really just toys that seemed to take on lives of their own) fail to perform as expected. Bird 9? high, frame 28 x 17 ??. Bird not tested with batteries. ?Fifty dollars could be yours!? That was one oft-heard line drawled by Del Ray, who used the fifty-dollar bill offered here for years as an integral part of his close-up act. Though the bill was offered to spectators in a playful yet challenging interaction, Del never gave it away ? hence the well-worn appearance of the money.