A few examples of appraisal values for
THAYER MAGIC

• THAYER GHOST SHOW
  THAYER GHOST SHOW ILLUSION.[Blueprints] Thayer Ghost Show Illusion. Los Angeles, ca. 1950. A version of Pepper's Ghost. 18 x 15". Old mailing folds.
• MAGIC: RARE THAYER RAPPING HAND
  MAGIC: RARE THAYER RAPPING HAND TRICKF.G. Thayer's Rapping Hand trick. Also known as Doctor Q Spirit Hand. A carved wooden hand taps (for example, one for yes and two for no) answers to questions. No magnets or wires. Hand can be picked up and shown to astounded audience members. Circa 1930s. Board measures 18" x 11-1/4". Hand measures 9" long. Original velvet around wrist, with lace cuff. Some minor paint loss, not repainted or restored in any way. Very fine condition. Mechanism works well and smoothly. From the estate of a 90-year-old retired professional stage magician.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. THE
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. THE GREAT MAGICIAN. THE WON...Cleveland: The Otis Lithograph Co., ca. 1926. One-sheet color lithograph depicting Thurston’s levitation illusion in a cartoonish style. In performance, Thurston first performed the version of the effect he purchased from Kellar, then finished by covering the floating lady and causing her to float about the stage, and finally “vanish like a fading cloud” ala Servais LeRoy’s famous Asrah levitation.. 27 x 40 ½". Old fold; A.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. WORLD’S
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. WORLD’S GREATEST MAGICIAN.Cincinnati: The Strobridge Litho. Co., 1909. Full color lithograph portrays Kellar’s successor performing a rapid transposition illusion with the assistance of imps and gnomes. Assistants appear and disappear in cabinets scattered about the stage. 29 ½ x 39 ½". Edges stained and torn, not affecting image; A-. Scarce.
• Thurston The Greatest Magician
  Thurston The Greatest Magician program, playing cards, and button/coin. Program, 12". Good condition, center fold in program.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. THE
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. THE FAMOUS MAGICIAN EAST IN...Cleveland: Otis Lithograph Co., ca. 1928. A young turban-clad boy climbs a thick rope magically suspended in the air as Thurston gestures upward from the side of the image. The actual effect audiences witnessed was somewhat less spectacular and convincing than what the poster promised. 27 x 40 ½". Minor tears on edges repaired; A-. Uncommon one-sheet size.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. MY LIFE OF
  THURSTON, HOWARD. MY LIFE OF MAGIC.Thurston, Howard. My Life of Magic. Philadelphia: Dorrance, 1929. First edition, first printing. Publisher's green gilt-stamped cloth with scarce unclipped pictorial dust-jacket. Photo-frontispiece of Thurston, illustrated with plates. 8vo. Flyleaf lacking; jacket torn at spine head with mild chipping, tears, and losses at edges.
• THURSTON MASTER MAGICIAN. MILLION
  THURSTON MASTER MAGICIAN. MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERY.Thurston, Howard. Thurston Master Magician. Million Dollar Mystery. Cleveland: Otis Litho, ca. 1928. Striking horizontal one-sheet poster depicts Thurston’s version of this classic stage illusion. Framed to 31 x 44”. Margins worn, one corner and one chip restored; B. Not examined out of frame. Uncommon.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON.
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. VANISHED!Cincinnati: The Strobridge Litho. Co., 1918. An early Thurston image. The famous magician makes a levitating woman disappear as imps and gnomes look on. 19 x 28". Significant over-painting and repairs throughout the image; B-. Scarce.
• THURSTON THE GREAT
  THURSTON THE GREAT MAGICIAN.Thurston, Howard. Thurston the Great Magician. Cleveland: Otis Litho., ca. 1926. Color lithograph panel poster bearing the portrait of a menacing devil figure whose hands extend below, grasping at imps, a skull, and black cats. 41 x 13 ". Mounted to board, with a closed tear to the margin and other light wear. Sold as is.
• STEINMEYER, JIM (ED.). THURSTON
  STEINMEYER, JIM (ED.). THURSTON ILLUSION SHOW WORK BOOK...Steinmeyer, Jim (ed.). Thurston Illusion Show Work Book, Pts. I Ð II. Pasadena: Magical Publications, 1991 Ð 92. Gilt-stamped cloth with matching cloth slipcases. Each from a numbered edition of 500 copies. Illustrated with photographs, tipped-in frontispieces. Small 4tos. Very good. Together with Steinmeyer's ÒSecret No One Tells YouÓ (2008) and ÒModern ArtÓ (1995).
• THURSTON TAN SAN TONIC THROW-OUT
  THURSTON TAN SAN TONIC THROW-OUT CARD.Thurston, Howard. Thurston Tan San Tonic Throw-Out Card. Late 1900s or 1910s. Recto bearing a halftone portrait of Thurston above the text: “Thurston/World’s Master Magician.” Verso bearing Tan San Tonic advt. printed in three colors. Dampstains to verso, pale marginal soiling to recto. 3 ½ x 2 ¾”. Scarce.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. MY LIFE OF MAGIC.
  THURSTON, HOWARD. MY LIFE OF MAGIC. PHILADELPHIA: DORRA...Thurston, Howard. My Life of Magic. Philadelphia: Dorrance, 1929. First edition, first printing. Publisher's gilt-stamped patterned cloth. Illustrated with photographic plates, frontispiece portrait of the author. 8vo. Gift inscription to the previous owner from Walter B. Gibson on flyleaf. Two pages with repaired torn away areas affecting text, else good.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON.
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. KELLAR’S SUCCESSOR.Cincinnati: The Strobridge Litho. Co., 1908. Striking portrait of the famous magician claims, “Mr. Kellar says: Thurston will be the Greatest Magician the World has ever known.” 28 x 39". Edges replaced, repairs throughout image. Old fold; B+.
• CARDART.Cardart. Los Angeles: Lloyd
  CARDART.Cardart. Los Angeles: Lloyd Chambers (for Thayer), ca. 1938. A dart thrown at a spinning wheel with cards attached to it unfailingly selects the spectator’s chosen pasteboard. Large 12-card model. 18” high. Finish worn. Uncommon.
• MISCELLANEOUS VINTAGE AND
  MISCELLANEOUS VINTAGE AND CONTEMPORARY MAGIC TRICKS. IN...Miscellaneous Vintage and Contemporary Magic Tricks. Including Flat Model Money Maker (Grant); Ball Through Hand (Viking); Hot Spot (Star Magic); Money Maker (Adams); Crazy Spots (Tenyo); Berg Card Frame (Thayer?); Supreme Clipboard (Tannen); Pass the Salt (Merv Taylor); Por-Mor (Merv Taylor); Ball and Vase (Adams); Coin Wand (unknown); Clutter-Buck (Harry Stanley); and more. Some with instructions, generally good condition.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. CONFIDENTIAL COPY
  THURSTON, HOWARD. CONFIDENTIAL COPY OF THURSTON'S COURS...Thurston, Howard. Confidential Copy of Thurston's Course in Magic. New York, 1926. Original pictorial wrappers inscribed to the original owner, Gustave Brenner. Forty-seven pages, 4to, on rectos only, with directions to 25 tricks for entertaining with magic. Illustrated. Two-hole punched, disbound. Margins numbered in pencil. Scarce.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. THE
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. THE GREAT MAGICIAN. THE WON...Cleveland: The Otis Lithograph Co., ca. 1926. Full color lithograph depicting the iconic portrait of Thurston gazing forward with two devils perched on his shoulders, whispering into his ears. 27 x 40 ½". Bottom right corner repaired and old fold; A.
• PRIVATE PAT. LOS ANGELES: F.G.
  PRIVATE PAT. LOS ANGELES: F.G. THAYER, CA. 1942. A DOUG...Private Pat. Los Angeles: F.G. Thayer, ca. 1942. A doughboy-themed version of the Bonus Genius vanishing doll. Complete with two figures and ÒtentÓ (often lacking) from which the doughboy vanishes. Dolls 7Ó high. Very good. Uncommon.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. KELLAR’S
  THURSTON, HOWARD. KELLAR’S SUCCESSOR. THURSTON.Cincinnati & New York: The Strobridge Litho. Co., 1908. A magnificent representation of perhaps the most famous illusion from the Kellar show, the Levitation. Gesturing upward, Thurston looks upon the lady who floats high above his head. Snickering devils stand behind the magician on one side, while two more look upward at a burning brazier. Smoke from the conflagration curls up behind the floating lady. 40 x 83 ½". Over-coloring to old folds throughout, several closed tears; A-/B+. Rare. For years, Fernanda Myra served as the chief assistant on the Thurston show and played the role of the princess in Thurston’s unforgettable Levitation of Princess Karnac. After hypnotizing the lovely princess, Thurston laid her on a couch in the center of the stage. As he uttered his script in the most serious of tones, Fernanda began floating upward slowly, steadily, and surely. According to Arthur LeRoy, the scene and story proceeded as follows: “Rise, Fernanda, I command you to rise! Rise as you rose in the Temple of Krishna one thousand years ago!” The orchestra filled the quiet of the dusk as it played the Meditation from Thais. Two figures attired as Hindu holy men knelt, and Fernanda rose slowly, like a dream creature into space. “There she lies, asleep in space, suspended by nothing but the power of thought. There she can remain in peace for two hours, two weeks, two years. The slightest sound, the slightest whisper can disturb her sleep.” The audience was hushed, over-awed, as it watches as so many audiences had been by the beauty and grace of the perfect mystery – Karnac.”
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON THE
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON THE GREAT MAGICIAN. BALAAM A...Cincinnati, Strobridge Litho., 1914. Color lithographed advertising a transposition illusion from Thurston’s show which included a boy, girl, and donkey vanishing and reappearing in several parts of the theater. 28 ½ x 38 ½". Minor restoration. A-. “[One] reason why Howard Franklin Thurston was the preeminent magician in his era was a willingness to spend whatever amounts of money were necessary to keep the show in top form constantly bringing in new effects. “Balaam and His Donkey” was such an instance. A boy, girl and donkey walked up a short ramp into a curtained cabinet. The donkey balked at first, until Thurston whispered into his ear, and it went right in. All three had disappeared when the curtain was reopened. Instantly an uproar at the back of the theatre revealed the boy and the girl trying to pull the donkey down the aisle. No other magicians, probably would spend the money needed for two sets of twins and two donkeys, their care and transport, for one illusion lasting so brief a moment in time. But [Thurston] could afford it.” (John Booth, “Memoirs of a Magician’s Ghost,” The Linking Ring, V79 N11, Nov. 1999)
• THURSTON, HOWARD. TYPED LETTER
  THURSTON, HOWARD. TYPED LETTER SIGNED FROM HOWARD THURS...Thurston, Howard. Typed letter signed from Howard Thurston to F.E. Powell. Dated Nov. 24, 1931, Thurston writes a short note to the Dean of Ameican Magicians regarding a date he hopes Powell will play in Hartford, Connecticut. On Thurston's stationery, with original mailing cover. Signed ÒHowardÓ and with the holographic notation ÒYou are to do about 40 minutes Ð 30 would do, I thinkÓ beneath the signature in Thurston's hand.
• BLUE PHANTOM.Blue Phantom. Los
  BLUE PHANTOM.Blue Phantom. Los Angeles: F.G. Thayer, ca. 1940. A red checker mysteriously travels through a stack of yellow checkers when covered by a decorated metal tube. 17Ó high. Handsomely redecorated in blue, black, and white by Richard Resor of the Resor Magic Co. Lima, Ohio. Minor rubbing and wear to finish, else good. The only such example finished in this way.
• COLLECTION OF 13 PIECES OF MAGIC
  COLLECTION OF 13 PIECES OF MAGIC EPHEMERA RELATED TO TH...Collection of 13 Pieces of Magic Ephemera Related to Thurston, Dante, Blackstone, and Herrmann. American, 1890s—1940s. Including two trimmed Alexander Herrmann newspaper advts., one pictorial; clipped program pages signed by Dante (1941) and Harry Blackstone (1940s); clipped Howard Thurston signature (1930), Steel Pier handbill, and throw-out card; Blackstone “World’s Foremost Magician” RPPC; and other pieces as removed from display frame, with irreversible adhesive residue and matting to the versos and margins.
• SILK CABBY.Silk Cabby. Los Angeles:
  SILK CABBY.Silk Cabby. Los Angeles: F.G. Thayer, ca. 1940. Wooden cabinet allows for the magical change, production, vanish, or restoration of silk handkerchiefs placed inside. 7” long. Finish worn.
• FOUR DODIE THAYER POTTERY LETTUCE
  FOUR DODIE THAYER POTTERY LETTUCE WARE BUTTER PATS, EACH WITH THE IMPRESSED MARK, 3 3/4" DIA., DODIE THAYER, WAS BORN INTO A FLORIDA LEGACY FAMILY, AND AFTER MARRIAGE, SHE TURNED TO POTTERY MAKING IN THE MIDST OF MOTH...FOUR DODIE THAYER POTTERY LETTUCE WARE BUTTER PATS, each with the impressed mark, 3 3/4" dia. Dodie Thayer, was born into a Florida legacy family, and after marriage, she turned to pottery making in the midst of motherhood to make ends meet. Thayer produced different kind of vases and bowls and eventually developed her signature style of "Lettuce Ware" in the 1960's. Her wares were sold at the Palm Beach gourmet store, Au Bon Gout, on Worth Avenue. After some experimentation and direction from the staff at Au Bon Gout, she was ultimately influenced by Italy's green Napoli ware. The vivid green glazing and lifelike quality made an impression. Eventually, her pottery business thrived and her pieces caught on with the Palm Beach socialites and the jet-set crowd. Frank and Barbara Sinatra, The Kennedy's, and Brooke Astor, hosted lavish parties with her table wares adorning each table. Thayer continued making her pottery pieces into the 1980's. Provenance: Gulfstream, Florida Estate
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON'S
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON'S GREATEST MYSTERY. THE VANI...Thurston, Howard. Thurston's Greatest Mystery. The Vanishing Whippet. [Cleveland: Otis Litho], ca. 1924. Depicting an automobile filled with comely ladies vanishing in wisps of smoke above the head of the magician. 41 x 27Ó. Linen-backed. Marginal chips and tears. A-.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON.
  THURSTON, HOWARD. THURSTON. IASIA!!Cleveland: The Otis Lithograph Co., ca. 1920. Color lithographed panel poster depicting Thurston’s performance of the Iasia illusion, in which an assistant vanished from within a curtained cabinet hoisted above the audience. 13 ½ x 41". Some overpainting on edges; A-.
• STEINMEYER, JIM (ED.). THURSTON
  STEINMEYER, JIM (ED.). THURSTON ILLUSION SHOW WORK BOOK...Steinmeyer, Jim (ed.). Thurston Illusion Show Work Book. Pts. 1-2. Pasadena, 1991/92. Gilt-stamped cloth, original slipcases. Both from the limited edition of 500 copies. Illustrated with photographs, tipped-in frontispieces. Small 4to. Fine.
• NEW WONDER SILK CABBY. LOS ANGELES:
  NEW WONDER SILK CABBY. LOS ANGELES: F.G. THAYER, CA. 19...New Wonder Silk Cabby. Los Angeles: F.G. Thayer, ca. 1940. Wooden cabinet (7 _ x 5 x 3 _") on raised feet, stencil-painted in colors with dragons, in which silk handkerchiefs vanish, appear, or change. Minor chipping from handling.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. EARLY HOWARD
  THURSTON, HOWARD. EARLY HOWARD THURSTON THEATER PROGRAM...Thurston, Howard. Early Howard Thurston theater program. Circa 1905. For an appearance in Sydney, Australia at the Palace Theatre, on one of Thurston's early world tours. Two portraits of the magician appear on the front wrapper of the program. Tall 4to. Old ink notations on recto, else good.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. TYPED LETTER
  THURSTON, HOWARD. TYPED LETTER SIGNED TO BERNARD ZASS.Thurston, Howard. Typed Letter Signed to Bernard Zass. New York, 1931. On one sheet of Thurston The Magician letterhead, signed "Howard Thurston" in green ink, regarding contact information for Mr. (Fred) Keating, and wishing Zass good health and a successful show season. With original mailing envelope pre-printed with Thurston's letterhead logo.
• RECOLLECTIONS OF HOWARD THURSTON:
  RECOLLECTIONS OF HOWARD THURSTON: CONJURER, ILLUSIONIST...Worthington, T.C. Recollections of Howard Thurston: Conjurer, Illusionist and Author. Baltimore, 1938. Blue cloth stamped in gilt (cover mis-stamped twice, out of register). Portrait frontispiece and plates. 8vo. Very good.
• HOFFMANN, PROFESSOR. MORE
  HOFFMANN, PROFESSOR. MORE MAGIC.Hoffmann, Professor (Angelo J. Lewis). More Magic. London: George Routledge, ca. 1890. Publisher's pictorial cloth stamped in colors. Illustrated. 8vo. Pencil ownership signature of Floyd G. Thayer on the flyleaf and the Martinka over-slip (signed "Thayer the Mystifier"). Several annotations by Thayer to a section on the Welsh Rabbit Saucepan trick. With a 1905 letter, in blue pencil, from Thayer to A. Roterberg, originally enclosing money for a card trick. Light wear to covers; very good.
• GLASS PENETRATIONGlass Penetration.
  GLASS PENETRATIONGlass Penetration. Los Angeles: F.G. Thayer [?], ca. 1935. A piece of glass held in a wooden frame is pierced by a metal rod or pen, yet is shown unbroken a moment later. Finely made of hardwood, corners bound with brass. Locking gimmick. 7 _ x 9Ó.
• THURSTON, HOWARD. CHICAGO
  THURSTON, HOWARD. CHICAGO AMERICAN SAYS “GO SEE” THURST...Cincinnati & New York: The Strobridge Litho. Co., ca. 1910. A reproduction of sketches made by French, staff artist of the Chicago American, showing scenes from the Thurston show at McVicker’s theater, Chicago, on one of Thurston’s annual and early tours through the Midwest. Among the effects pictured are the levitation and the lion used in Thurston’s Lady to Lion illusion. 40 x 30". Considerable repair to old tears and margins; B-. In addition to assuming Harry Kellar’s “mantle” of magic, Thurston acquired his entire show, as well as the route he toured. McVicker’s was a regular stop on Kellar’s annual tours.