Above: “Kellar and his Perplexing Cabinet Mysteries” published by Strobridge & Co. (c. 1894). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014635609/)
Introduction
To celebrate Halloween, I would like to welcome you to the first Archive of the Past Exhibit. For the spooky festivities this year, I will be sharing lithograph posters from magicians and illusionists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Each of these posters is from the Library of Congress’s Performing Arts Poster collection. The full collection can be found at the link.
Harry Houdini
One of the most famous magicians of all time is Harry Houdini. Born in Budapest as Ehrich Wiess, his family moved to Wisconsin when he was four. As a young child, Wiess began to perform as a trapeze artist. In 1891, he became a magician and adopted his famous stage name. The name was based on Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, a French magician. Houdini, performing with his brother, soon became one of America’s most popular performers.
Daring Escapes
Houdini’s best-known stunts were his daring escapes. During his career, he became known as the “World’s Handcuff King and Prison Breaker,” escaping from Scotland Yard, a “Siberian Transport Cell,” a large milk can, and a “Chinese Water Torture Cell.” This poster shows him escaping after being “buried alive,” and he is described as “the Greatest Necromancer of the Age – Perhaps of All Time.”
Spiritualism
One of the forgotten aspects of Harry Houdini’s life is his efforts to debunk séances. Initially interested in the idea, he became one of spiritualism's most important opponents as he grew older. (One of the idea’s significant proponents was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.) According to Houdini, he investigated hundreds of Spiritualists to expose them as frauds. Shortly before his death, he supported banning all séances in Washington D.C. This poster, from around 1909, promises that Houdini will prove in a show that spirits can not return. After his death, his wife Bess attempted for a decade to bring his spirit back to the realm of the living. She never succeeded.
Houdini's Death
Houdini’s death is the most enigmatic part of his life. On October 22, 1926, several students visited Houdini after a show in Montreal. One of the students asked if the magician could withstand his punch and proceeded to strike Houdini in the gut. The great magician had not had time to prepare for the impact and was badly hurt. Several days later, after a 104-degree temperature, Houdini was diagnosed with appendicitis. On Halloween, Harry Houdini passed away. To this day, there are questions as to whether or not the punch days before killed the world’s greatest magician.
Even after his death, people still capitalized on his fame. The 1931 poster advertises Theodore Hardeen, the stage name of Houdini’s brother Dash.
The Herrmanns
Early in their careers, Harry and Bess Houdini often performed together, but they were not the only magical couple. The 1898 poster on the left below advertises Leon and Adelaide Herrmann “in startling sensations and illusions, eclipsing anything ever attempted in the world of magic.” The poster on the right shows just Leon.
Harry Kellar
Harry Kellar was a close friend of Houdini, as is considered to be one of Houdini’s inspirations. Born in 1849, he first performed as a magician when he was sixteen. Unlike Houdini, some of Kellar’s acts involved séances. Kellar eventually retired, and his secrets were given to Howard Thurston. Kellar’s last public performance ended with him being carried offstage while six thousand attendedees sang “Auld Lang Syne.”
These posters are from Kellar and Thurston. Click each poster for a better view.
Image 1: “Kellar and his Perplexing Cabinet Mysteries,” published by Strobridge & Co. (c. 1894). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014635609/)
Image 2: “Kellar’s wonders” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1900). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014637424/)
Image 3: “Kellar” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1900). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014637365/)
Image 4: “Kellar” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1899). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014636917/)
Image 5: “Kellar” published by Strobridge & Co. (c. 1894). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014636920/)
Image 6; “Kellar: Levitation” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1900). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014637364/)
Image 7: “Kellar in his latest mystery” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1897). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014637362/)
Image 8: “Thurston: Kellar’s Successor” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1908). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/resource/var.0272/)
Image 9: “Thurston: The Great Magican” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1910). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2014636950/)
Image 10: “Thurston the great magician the wonder show of the universe” published by Strobridge Litho. Co. (c. 1915). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/resource/var.1666/)
Image 11: “One of Thurston's astounding mysteries” published by the Otis Lithograph Company (1935). From the Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b53126/)
The Man Who Knows
Magician Claude Alexander Conlin performed as a mentalist under the stage name “Alexander: the Man Who Knows.” This poster for his act was published between 1915 and 1924.
Barnum the Hypnotist
This elaborate poster is for Barnum the Hypnotist. Sadly, very little information is available about this act.
Sylvain A. Lee
Sylvain A. Lee, shown in this 1898 poster, was known for his “hypnotic performances.” He also wrote a book on the subject, The Practice of Hypnotic Suggestion, in 1901. That same year, an advertisement in the St. Louis Republic said Lee “cures diseases of every nature without medicine or knife. He taught all the successful magnetic healers and hypnotists and will teach you.”
The diseases Lee claimed to heal included “Dyspepsia, Hearts Disease, Rheumatism, Female Troubles, Epilepsy, Blood Diseases, lack of Vitality, Chronic Headaches, and in fact every disease that is known to the human body.” Lee predicted his magnetic healing would “be the ruling force of the 20th Century.”
The Great McEwen
Phillip Hartley McEwen, a “famous Scottish hypnotist,” began performing around 1895. An advertisement from the July 15, 1895, edition of The Times Herald from Port Huron, Michigan, called him the “wizard of the west.” Ads from this time also mention he performed with “the cleverest troupe of Japanese Performers in America.” This poster is from an American tour of his in 1908. In 1913, he performed in Auckland, New Zealand.
MacKnight: Hypnotic Fun Maker
Not all hypnotic acts were serious. A Mr. MacKnight was billed as the “Hypnotic Fun Maker,” and evidently liked to cause mischief. One of MacKnight’s young assistants, Lyle Talbot, later became a Hollywood actor, working with Shirley Temple and Humphrey Bogart. Talbot appeared in several superhero serials, including as Commissioner Gordon and Lex Luthor, and was in several episodes of the Lone Ranger, Leave it to Beaver, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Green Acres. He is best known for his role as a next-door neighbor on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
The Great Dayton Show
The Great Dayton Show, led by W. W. Dayton, began perfoming around 1892, when a Vermont newspaper carried an ad saying “Chinquilla, the great Indian princess, can be seen only with the great Dayton show.” The act continued until around 1926, when W. W. Dayton placed an ad in the Woodward Daily Press asking for “a young man about 21 to assist in general… Cigarette fiends, Novel fiends, drunkards and chicken thieves keep off- don’t want you… Ford truck preferred.”
Miscellaneous Posters
These final few posters are from a variety of magicians and acts. Several of them have motifs from far-off places that were considered exotic, like Egypt and the Middle East. Others focus on supernatural or spooky designs, like skeletons and demons.
Archive of the Past
Created by Andrew J. Bramlett
Archive of the Past covers everything historical: books, artifacts, photographs, buildings, art, music, and everything in between. Check out our social media for daily posts, and visit the exhibits page for curated collections.
Credits:
The Library of Congress & the Andrew J. Bramlett Collection