Potter & Potter Auctions
Live Auction

Salon de Magie: The Klosterman Collection Part I

Sat, Oct 30, 2021 12:00PM EDT
Lot 144

Headline Sensation. Colon: Abbott?s Magic Novelty Co., ca. ...

Estimate: $500 - $1,000

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
Headline Sensation. Colon: Abbott?s Magic Novelty Co., ca. 1944. Headline prediction effect consisting of an outer metal box and internal wooden block holding a sturdy brass tube. The prediction ? mailed to the theatre weeks before the magician?s appearance ? is shown to match, nearly exactly, the newspaper headline of the town in which the performance takes place. With instructions. Outer box 6 ? x 3 ? x 3 ?". Inner brass tube a tight fit, else very good. Rare. After its invention, this prop was offered to the magic fraternity by Abbott?s for the high price of $25 and on the condition that each buyer would sign a secrecy agreement in order to complete the purchase. A complete history of James? invention and use of this prop to predict the outbreak of WWII is outlined in Stewart James in Print: The First Fifty Years, at page 212. This unit is said to have been the property of ?Doc? Mahendra. Note: the inner brass tube can be freely removed from the wooden block. "