Potter & Potter’s fall auction, scheduled for Saturday, October 23rd, at the firm’s Chicago gallery, will feature the library and collection of legendary card magician Herb Zarrow.
Zarrow’s collection included a massive working library of texts in nearly every branch of magic, from close-up tricks and card magic to illusions and biography. The entire library, including many rare and out of print books, and a cache of signed and inscribed volumes, will be offered in the October 23rd auction.
Other highlights from Zarrow’s holdings include a rare mask, hand-crafted by Jeanne Verner (wife of Dai Vernon) for Mike Bornstein and accompanied by the elaborate costume Bornstein wore when performing under his stage name, Kolma; an unusual Doll House illusion designed by New Jersey magician Don Rose; ephemera and photographs of many of New York’s best-known sleight-of-hand magicians; files of rare periodicals; and sought after books including the influential Magic of Robert Harbin.
Complementing the Zarrow collection will be a wide range of rarities, most specifically from the collections of Paul Fox and Dai Vernon.
Fox, originally an Ohioan, influenced many of the great magicians of the early 20th century, refnining and reshaping their best tricks. He was also an accomplished stage performer. Included in the sale will be many choice association items inscribed to Fox by Cardini, Vernon, and Charlie Miller, as well as many of the props used by Fox throughout his career, and his tuxedo.
The Vernon material will include early original artwork executed by Vernon as a teenager, a risque silhouette cut by the great magician, personal memorabilia, photographs, and more.
The sale will also feature a selection of choice books, autographs, automatons, and rare posters, making it not only one of Potter & Potter’s largest auctions to date, but a sale suitable for collectors of virtually all specialties, at every level.
Catalogs will be available for download and purchase in late September. Exhibition takes place at Potter & Potter’s gallery during the week preceding the sale. Liveauctioneers.com will carry the auction on the Internet.
Contact Potter & Potter Auctions, Inc. at 773-472-1442 or [email protected] for details.
