$250
Maro (Walter Truman Best). Maro Prince of Magic. Chicago, Thayer & Jackson Stationery Co., ca. 1906. Two-color offset window card (14 ¼ x 18 ½") bearing a full-length portrait of Maro, magic wand in hand. Good condition. Maro was one of the most refined and accomplished Lyceum magicians America had ever known. Few magicians realize, however, that he was first and foremost a talented musician. As a boy, Maro taught himself to play the guitar. He eventually settled in Kansas City and there worked as a music teacher. But on witnessing an impromptu performance of magic, the "hook" was set and Walter Truman Best began his transformation into Edwin Maro, Prince of Magic. He developed a fast friendship with Dr. A.M. Wilson, who became one of his first tutors in magic. In 1890, Maro moved to Chicago where he opened a banjo and mandolin school. Soon enough, however, he became affiliated with the Lyceum bureaus headquartered in Chicago. As both magician and musician he became a featured attraction on Lyceum courses for the next 18 years, until his unexpected death from typhoid fever in 1908.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2011-03-26
