Birmingham: Moody Bros., ca. 1910. A smiling bust portrait of Raymond at the center of the image bursts through a brick wall. His visage is flanked on one side by a magician in a Chinese robe producing a massive tortoise from a yellow shawl, and on the opposite side by a sculptor holding a hammer and chisel in his hands with a marble statue in front of him. Winged demons and fairies look up at the scene from the floor below. 75 ½ x 80". Upper-right quadrant misaligned as issued. Over-coloring at old folds and intersection of sheets, several closed tears, B. Scarce. Elbert Hubbard once noted about Raymond: “His conversation dazzles, sparkles, electrifies. He is wise, witty, subtle, keen, and has a vocabulary like a circus ad-writer.” Born in Akron, Ohio in 1877, he began performing at the age of nine, assisting his uncle, Addison the Magician. As his career flourished, he developed a humorous style of presentation which was incorporated into his presentation of the smallest feats and the largest illusions alike. Raymond spoke at least four languages and performed around the world, finding great success on the European continent as well as in South America. Despite his charming personality and apparent successes, Raymond’s end was an unhappy one. He died a near-pauper in New York in 1948. His wife Litzka went on to marry the noted writer, magician, and creator of The Shadow, Walter Gibson.