$30,000
Okito (Theodore Tobias Bamberg). The Great Raymond's Hand of Fate, Made by Okito and Modeled After His Own Hand. Okito, ca. 1910. A painted wooden spirit hand (11 x 6 x 2") with green felt cuff and lace accent, handcrafted by Okito for The Great Raymond for his stage show act "The Hand of Fate." In the well-known type of performance in which it was utilized, and as specifically accounted by conjuring chronicler T.C. Hugall Benedict in 1910, the hand was placed on a pane of glass balanced between two chairs and then tapped out answers to questions posed by the audience- three times for yes, once for no, twice for doubtful. The trick was a mainstay of the show and was featured on one of Raymond's most famous lithographs, "The Mysterious Hand," which depicts the apparatus outstretched below the face of the smiling magician. Housed in the original felt-lined fitted case (12 x 8 x 4") with an engraved metal plaque on the lid bearing Bamberg's name. Fine. [See Rauscher, The Great Raymond, pgs. 58, 294.]
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2016-10-29
