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Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Billy Rose Theatre Division

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COLLECTION
Circus and magic posters

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This Item

Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries

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Title
Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries
Names
Strobridge & Co. Lith. (Lithographer)
Collection

Circus and magic posters

Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1894
Place: Cincinatti, Ohio
Publisher: Strobridge Lith.
Library locations
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Shelf locator: MWEZ +++ n.c. 18,203
Genres
Posters
Notes
Funding: National Endowment for the Arts Millennium Project.
Biographical/historical: Harry Kellar, born Harold Kellar, began his career as an assistant to magicians, including the Davenport Brothers, who were among the first to use the spirit cabinet routine in which musical instruments locked inside a cabinet begin to be played, presumably by spirits. For many years he toured outside the United States, travelling as far as India and Africa. In the United States, he performed a full-evening show featuring many illusion effects. He was, for much of his life, the nation's most popular magician.
Content: Treasures of the American Performing Arts, 1875-1923
Physical Description
Lithographs
Extent: 1 poster : col. ; 33 x 46 cm.
Some corners missing; edges torn; encapsulated.
Description
Advertising poster for magician Harry Kellar. Depicts Kellar standing at the side of a cabinet on wheels, holding its open door. Inside the cabinet are a bell and a tambourine on a chair, a veiled spirit holding another tambourine aloft, and a winged devil holding, and presumably ringing, another bell. Several other spirits, devils, and some skeletons are carrying or adjusting panels of the cabinet. Three short, balding men with stick-like legs are seen bottom right, perhaps arguing or commenting upon the illusion.
Type of Resource
Text
Still image
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: NYPG98-F984
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b14426835
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 7ddc5100-c62c-012f-c122-58d385a7bc34
Rights Statement
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Item timeline of events

  • 1894: Issued
  • 2016: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1894. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4eda-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Chicago/Turabian Format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4eda-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

APA Format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. (1894). Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4eda-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4eda-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 | title= (text) Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries, (1894) |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 19, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Kellar and his perplexing cabinet mysteries