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Houdiniana and Magic Memorabilia
Our April sale of magicana features rarities from the life and career of the greatest magician to ever tread the boards: Harry Houdini. Posters and playbills will be offered along with books and autographs of great rarity - including several unique items. Complementing the Houdiniana will be a strong selection of automatons, magic memorabilia, books, and tricks including John Gaughan's Orange Tree, two Alan Wakeling-made conjurers, and a strong selection of vintage lithographs and periodicals.
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How History Unfolds on Paper: Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part IX
This ninth sale from Eric Caren's archives offers a bird's eye view of history from a printed, manuscript, and photographic perspective. The sale's highlight is George Washington’s appointment as General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, signed by Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, seen at right ($150,000 - $250,000). Other featured lots include works owned and signed by America's founding fathers, rare broadsides, iconic photographs, and papers regarding pop culture, social movements, and political ideologies.
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Vintage Posters
Highlights from our spring vintage poster sale include rare and classic designs by Cappiello, Cassandre, Fix-Masseau, Flagg, Caldanzano, and Hohlwein. Robust sections of travel and war propaganda will lead the sale, complemented by advertising, sports, theater, and music.
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19th Century Historical and Military Rarities
Featuring the Napoleonic Collection of Richard Reichek and the U. S. Grant Collection of Bill Margeson
The first session in this auction features Richard Reichek’s military artifacts of the late 18th and early 19th centuries – the period of the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon. An array of items are represented, including uniforms and accouterments, ceramics, snuff boxes and miniature portraits, clocks and barometers, later commemorative items and memorabilia, and a substantial library. Historical characters from Napoleon, Josephine, Marshals Ney, Berthier and Murat to Lord Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington are reflected here. Both the French and British sides are respectively represented within this collection, reflecting the vast breadth of the nations which fought the conflict until its conclusion in 1815 with ultimate defeat of France’s Emperor.
The second session features the Bill Margeson collection of Ulysses S. Grant and the Civil War. This 50-year collection includes hundreds of rare prints, letters and documents, ephemera, and books.
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Outsider, Folk, Contemporary & Fine Art
Our summer art auction includes exceptional objects in all categories. Outsider Art: Howard Finster, Purvis Young, Mary T. Smith and Mr. Imagination, et al. In Folk Art, quilts, whirligigs, wood carvings of narrative scenes, figures and animals fill out the category. In Contemporary Art we’ll offer prints by Roger Brown, Leroy Neiman, Art Shay and Tony Fitzpatrick along with original works by Macena Barton and multiple works by Medard Klein from the Estate of Joe Silverberg, Founder and CEO of the Chicago clothier Bigsby & Kruthers. The Fine Art session includes a classic French work by Arthur Fillon, Le Quai de Louvre, a very large Aubusson “Cartoon” depicting the central image of the Cluny Tapestries, and an intimate ink on paper by Rockwell Kent. We will close out the sale with a major collection of works by Edward S. Curtis, featuring platinum prints, silver gelatin prints, photogravures, and orotones.