[SNAKE CHARMER] ROTHOMAGO. Paris: Frick. R. Monsieur Le Prince, ca. 1865. Half-sheet color stone lithograph advertising the fairytale/fantasy play featuring Merlin and Nostradamus, with the snake charmer and reptile handler Karoli as a central figure both on stage and in the image. Two winged demons support a large clock above the likeness of Karoli. 24? ? 17". Margins trimmed away, one corner folded. A-. RARE. F?eries, or ?fairy plays,? were an elaborate and magical genre of theatrical entertainment developed and popularized in France in the early nineteenth century. A combination of technology-driven effects (including smoke machines, trap doors, and surprising transformations), amazing and acrobatic feats, married to evocative music and fantastical characters ? like the snake charmer at the center of this image ? to create overwhelming and visually arresting stage pictures that were frequently more important to the success of the productions than the plot. It was out of this milieu that the Hanlon Brothers developed their own brand of astonishing productions which toured for decades. See lot 152.