Posted 12 years ago
zguy2112
(110 items)
This is an original 1877 "De La Mano" broadside from my private collection of Magic posters. It measures approximately 4.5" x 24" and is in "A+" condition which is extremely rare for being over 130 years old!
Broadsides like this were meant to be disposable items, slapped up on the broad side of buildings in towns just prior to the arrival of the magician, then ripped down after their departure. Thus, such delicate pieces of magic history are rare to find today.
This broadside was just 1 of many that were found locked away in a trunk and hidden for over 100 years in the rafters of a barn in upstate New York. This broadside was found still carefully wrapped in the original printer's invoice dated 1877.
De La Mano (Zell Dreitzehn) was a wealthy Austrian whose family owned a successful European circus. By the age of 20, De La Mano was a highly skilled and most inventive illusionist with a most enthusiastic following.
In 1882 while locked in his room during a severe thunderstorm, De La Mano vanished from the face of the earth. No one ever saw or heard from him again.
