$1,700
Newport: Donaldson Litho. , ca. 1905. Half-sheet color stone lithograph picturing Wood's illusion in which a giant butterfly woman was produced from an empty box. 19 x 28 ". Over painting on edges throughout; B+. Wood (1862 - 1908) was a magician and ventriloquist who began his career as an assistant to Harry Kellar and patented a spectacular levitation illusion named for his wife, Edna. A multi-lingual performer, he worked in Latin America successfully for years. In February 1908, Wood and his daughter Bertha engaged a tugboat to take them across the Gulf of Mexico. Unexpectedly, a storm blew in across the gulf. The aged boat began leaking, and eventually the captain, passengers, and crew abandoned ship. The last time Wood and his daughter were seen was floating in the gulf clinging to debris from the wrecked tug. The $14,000.00 in cash and $5,000.00 in diamonds Wood was reported to be carrying at the time were never recovered, however, his trunks did wash ashore. These were later claimed by fellow magician Frederick Eugene Powell, who went on to perform the Edna levitation illusion in his own show.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2017-02-04
