Posted 11 years ago
zguy2112
(110 items)
This is an original 1935 Thurston stone lithograph window card from my private collection of Magic posters. This window card depicting Howard Thurston's levitation Illusion is titled, "Astounding Mysteries" or sometimes referred to as "She Floats" and was one of Thurston's last posters ever to be printed. This window card is an advertising piece of history as it was actually used to advertise the show that still took place in Durham.....only not as planned.
On October 6th 1935, just days before his scheduled Durham, N.C. show advertised here, Magician Howard Thurston went across the street to a local restaurant opposite of the theatre where he had just finished rehearsing and suffered a stroke. He had already had posters printed for his performance in Durham, North Carolina later that month. The dates of Oct. 21 and 22 were already locked in and the show did not go on as planned. Jane Thurston did perform as back up for her step father along with able stage hand Herman Hansen, but Howard Thurston, "The Greatest Magician in the World", would never perform again! Howard Thurston died shortly after in 1936.
The B&W picture above shows Howard Thurston and step daughter Jane after his stroke.
sweet buddy:)this is great !!:)
Thanks SEAN68, glad you like it. Had to put the photograph up as well, pictures truly are worth 1000 words! I have 2 KILLER posters that I will post by next weekend, I'm sure you will agree.
Very cool! Love the history you provide!
wrightarchitecture, Thanks for the compliment. I do my best to only state the quick and important facts in order to tell the historic story. Much appreciated compliment my friend, thanks again.
This window card, and in fact many of the Thurston posters in collections today, were saved by Durham magician Wallace Lee after word came that Thurston had been stricken with a stoke and wouldn't be performing the engagement at the Carolina theatre. During that brief period in October 1935, Mr. Lee collected as many of the posters as he could and in the years prior to his death in 1969, he gave away or sold them to magicians and collectors, usually for no more than five dollars each. Incidentally, "Wallace the Magician" was quite an accomplished vaudeville magician in his own right, and the "stock" posters promoting his own act are quite attractive and valued by collectors.
$5, can you imagine? If only we could go back in time. The Carter window cards were the same deal, I don't think they were able to GIVE them all away back in the day, now the demand an easy $300. +