$2,000
Floyd, Walter. Floyd. King of Magic. Chicago: Goes Litho, ca. 1910. Handsome full-length portrait poster of this popular Chautauqua and Lyceum magician on a pastel background with a magic wand held between his hands. 42 1/2 x 81 1/2". Minor restoration in upper third at old folds; A-. Scarce. Born in Chelsea, Mass. in 1861, Walter Floyd was a pioneer in the Lyceum entertainment field and served his apprenticeship as an assistant to another well-known East Coast magician, Robert Nickle. Over the course of his career, he performed some 5,000 shows in a wide variety of venues. On Aug. 21, 1940, at the age of 79, while giving a show for approximately 100 men at a banquet in his hometown, Floyd collapsed and died of a heart attack. He was performing his version of the Miser’s Dream, in which coins are caught in mid-air. His wife Mohala later discovered that several coins used in the trick remained palmed in Floyd’s hand when he died.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2016-06-25
