In the Collector’s Cabinet

Hamburg: Janos Bartl, ca. 1930. Hand-painted papier-mâché skull with reflective red eyes, designed to rise into the air and float about the stage. Recently placed with another collector.

Owen Magic Supreme, ca. 2000. A selected card is returned to the deck and placed before the target. With the “fire” of an air gun, the cards scatter and the selection appears in the bullseye.

Owen Magic Supreme, ca. 1990s.
Finely made faux-bamboo sticks finished in yellow, black, and red lacquer. As one cord is pulled, the other mysteriously responds. Handsomely constructed in the Owen tradition.

F.G. Thayer & Co., ca. 1944.
An ornate pagoda-style cabinet is shown empty, only to be filled to overflowing moments later.

Painted folding fan attributed to the personal and stage use of David Bamberg (Fu Manchu). Acquired in the early 1970s by magician and collector Gale Molovinsky from Chicago magic dealer Joe Berg.

The Magic Hands, ca. 1980s. Chromed candlestick in which a silk handkerchief appears in a flash, tied around the candle.

Hamburg: likely Janos Bartl, 1930s. Painted wooden divination effect comprising a hinged “KING TUT” sarcophagus and three mummies individually named Eva, Felix, and Hank. The magician determines which mummy has been placed inside the coffin by a spectator.

Charles Greene III, 2026. A collection of previously unpublished Houdini photographs reproduced from original glass plate negatives dating from 1903–1911. Includes the companion viewfinder featuring images from the collection.

Abbott’s Magic Co., ca. 1950s. A metal canister filled with an assortment of objects is opened to reveal a substantial brass birdcage containing a live bird. Includes the original rubber canary.

Hong Kong: Chu’s Magic Studio, 1975. Color-illustrated publication by Peter Y.C. Chu exploring the history, development, and traditions of Chinese magic. From the archives of The Houdini Museum.

Abbott’s, ca. 1940s. A solid wooden block visibly penetrates a cord while its ends are held by two spectators. Ingeniously constructed with an internal mechanism and finished in blue and gold.

Mike Caveney’s Magic Words, 2026. Fred Rickard’s illustrated biography of Floyd Thayer, documenting his life, work, and celebrated apparatus. Deluxe edition, no. 131 of 200, in a handcrafted walnut slipcase.

Owen Magic Supreme. Glass-sided cabinet framed in exotic hardwoods and bearing the Owen hallmark. Shown empty, the cabinet suddenly becomes filled with colorful silks.

Royal Publishing Company, ca. 1900. Early instructional booklet bearing Harry Kellar’s name, covering hypnotism, sleight-of-hand, and a variety of magical effects.

Watertown: Raymond Goulet and Marco Garuh, ca. 1985. A borrowed ring vanishes from one box and reappears in another, wrapped around a carnation. One of only ten sets manufactured.

Privately printed comic routines by magician R. Vernon Cook, dating to the 1940s. Obtained directly from Cook by the previous owner, the 17 scripts preserve a little-seen part of his performing repertoire.

Thayer, ca. 1930s. Selected cards rise from a wooden houlette resting on the tabletop while isolated from the performer.

Mephisto Novelty Company, 1936. Small-format booklet of card effects using a regular deck. Illustrated paper covers with bold court card design. 56 pages in pocket-sized softcover format.

Alan Warner, ca. 2000. A finely crafted geometric puzzle in which a completed white puzzle visibly transforms to red, leaving a single space perfectly filled by the red piece left outside the box.

Thayer & Jackson, Chicago, ca. 1905. Window card printed in black, white, and red, featuring an oval full-length portrait of Maro holding a magic wand above the bold "Prince of Magic" title.

Silent Mora (Louis McCord), 1956. A classic sympathetic-cord illusion in which the cords running through each bamboo stick mysteriously respond to one another. Hand-made and hand-painted by Silent Mora.

Abbott's Magic, ca. 1970. A knife is thrown at a young lady standing before a target. The knife visibly passes through her body lodging in the bull's-eye behind her.

Clarence S. Miller, 2002. Miller’s uncommon walnut version of the classic rattle box. Measures 2 ½" square. Signed and numbered 29, with original instructions bearing the matching number and dated November 2002.

U.F. Grant, ca. 1950s–60s. Four brightly colored wooden checkers mysteriously penetrate a silk in successive phases before returning above it. Includes the metal stand and original instructions.

Loyd, ca. 1940s. A decorated wooden block is secured within an open-sided cabinet by a solid brass rod, then vanishes and reappears elsewhere. Hallmarked. Very good condition.

E.J. Moore, ca. [?]. Inspired by Egyptian mythology, the Phenix—the legendary bird said to rise from its own ashes—serves as the basis for this effect. A marked strip of paper is placed on a staff, burned, and instantly restored.

After Martinka & Co., ca. 1890s. A selected card is placed into a finely crafted wooden box, its lid gently closed. Moments later, when reopened, the card has vanished—only to be replaced by a live bird.

Turn-of-the-century magic apparatus featuring a brass cage that vanishes beneath a handkerchief, only to reappear instantly—and in full view—within the open frame of a skeleton stand on the magician’s table.

Papier-mâché skull mounted on a glass column atop a wooden plinth clicks its jaw in answer to questions, once for “yes” and twice for “no.”

Jack Hughes, ca. 1960s. A rare Hughes creation in which a live dove vanishes when the magician snaps a photograph-only for the camera itself to instantly transform into the very cage containing the bird. This is the only known example.