$7,000
Card Restoration Frame. New York: Theo Bamberg, ca. 1909. Unusual and early apparatus allows for the gradual appearance of a card, one small piece at a time, in the center of a gilt wood frame trimmed with black fabric. Operates with an unusual thread-activated black-art device controlled by an offstage assistant. 16 " high. Hallmarked "Theo Bamberg/Maker/New York." Black fabric renewed. Good working condition. Rare. Underneath the frame, a handwritten note on provenance has been affixed: "Made by Okito. Given between 1935 and 1940 by Leo Rullman to Shirley Quimby, who used to grind depressions in China plates for Rullman's plate spinning act. Given in 1960 by Dr. Quimby to Robt. T.H. Davidson." Mr. Davidson was the grandson of the famous chemist and inventor of magic tricks Dr. Samuel Cox Hooker. This version of the Okito Card Restoration is substantially different than other models, which relied on spring-loaded flaps to accomplish the same effect, actuated by a series of brass releases on the rear of the device. In all likelihood, this is an early- perhaps the earliest known- version of the prop which would eventually be adapted and popularized by Richard Himber, among others, as the Fifth Dimension Card Frame.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2016-10-29
