!Magic Posters LAPEL BUTTONS

We had these lapel buttons made for us by a clever artist right here in the USA!

Looking for a unique magical gift or stocking stuffer?
Or maybe a little something to dress up your magic outfit?
These lapel buttons definitely say MAGIC!

Using little snippets from famous magic posters, we created some really eyecatching magical designs!

SOLD INDIVIDUALLY - many designs to choose from!

Alexander
Claude Alexander Conlin (June 30, 1880 – August 5, 1954), also known as Alexander, C. Alexander, Alexander the Crystal Seer, and Alexander the Man Who Knows, was an American spiritual author and vaudeville magician who specialized in mentalism and psychic reading acts, dressed in Oriental style robes and a feathered turban. He often used a crystal ball as a prop. In addition to performing, he also worked privately for clients, giving readings and earning MILLIONS of dollars doing so. Rather a vain man, Alexander poured a great deal of money into producing some striking magic posters, the innovative designs still holding up today. Alexander's posters are often seen as set design in modern movies.

Beat the Devil
Playing cards with the Devil and beating him at his own game is a theme that was used by several famous magicians, including Carter the Great, Herrmann and Goldin.
This particular image is from a poster used by Alexander Fredrik. Fredrik (April 23, 1878 - August 1923) was an early 1900s illusionist who performed on the Lyceum circuit as "Fredrik the Great". Around l913, he went bankrupt and was forced to release his stage name to a printing company that still had a large stock of his unpaid-for posters in storage. The printing company sold the posters to both Willard the Wizard and Harry Boughton (Harry Blackstone Sr.) early in their carreers, and both performed under the Fredrik the Great name for a short while- probably just long enough to use up the posters!

Brush
Edwin Brush (1874-1967) was an American magician whose greatest fame came on the Chautauqua and Lyceum circuits. In fact, he was the first magician to appear in a tented Chautauqua show. Later in life, he developed a magic lecture that incorporated a religious message, which was also very successful. His distinguishing characteristic was his trademark upside-down mustache; he actually cut and trained his moustache hair to grow straight up, defying the laws of gravity and creating a rather unique appearance!

Carter Devils
Charles Joseph Carter (June 14, 1874 – February 13, 1936) was an American stage magician who performed as as Carter the Great. His shows were financially successful, allowing him to print some of the most wonderful magic posters, many of which still survive. This image shows Carter consulting with devils, a very popular theme in magic poster imagery. His life story is absolutely fascinating, and well worth reading about. An interesting tidbit- Carter purchased the famous Martinka Magic Palace in 1917. Despite plans of opening Martinka shops all over the country, Carter soon discovered that he was losing money in the magic shop business and sold the Martinka two years later to a group of investors that included Harry Houdini. A famous anecdote states that he kept his lion, Monty, in the back room of the shop and when it would roar, the startled customers would run for the door.

Fra Diavolo
This is a poster from 1903, featuring a bearded magician learning the Devil's secrets. "Fra Diavolo" means "the Devil's Brother". Though it is not known exactly who this magician was, he must have had some money to invest in posters, as this poster was printed by Friedlander, one of the foremost high quality poster printing companies of the day.

Hardeen
Theodore "Dash" Hardeen (born Ferenc Dezso Weisz; March 4, 1876 – June 12, 1945), known simply as Hardeen, was a Hungarian-born American magician and escape artist who was the younger brother of Harry Houdini. Hardeen, who usually billed himself as the "brother of Houdini", was the first magician to escape from a straitjacket in full view of the audience, rather than behind a curtain.

Houdini Barrel [SORRY - SOLD OUT]
This is a poster from 1905, one of dozens of Houdini posters printed throughout his lifetime.
The Barrel Mystery was an early attempt at creating a sensational escape illusion. The original poster states: "Harry Houdini - The Jail Breaker introducing his latest & greatest Prison Cell & Barrel Mystery- Houdini is strapped and locked in a barrel, placed in a police cell which is also locked and in less than 2 seconds changes places". The image shows Houdini being placed into a locked barrel by imps and then rising as spirit from the barrel.

Kellar
Harry Kellar (July 11, 1849 – March 10, 1922) in his time, Kellar was by far the most famous stage magician, and was known as the Dean of American Magicians. His many posters are known for their incredible beauty and attention to details. Kellar often favored the images of imps whispering their supernatural secrets to him, as in these posters.

Kitty Baldwin
Kitty Baldwin (1853-1934) was the wife and stage partner of magician Samri Baldwin, a hugely successful act in its day. Kitty had her own portion of the show, and performed a blindfolded mindreading routine with her husband.

Magie Noire
French for "Black Magic", the idea of obtaining magical powers through supernatural means was a very popular theme in 19th and 20th century magic posters.

Red Devil
Red devils were used in many magic posters. Not only did they convey the idea that something supernatural was going on, but they were also graphically exciting from a design standpoint. They really catch the eye!

Sorcar Devil
Protul Chandra Sorcar (23 February 1913 – 6 January 1971) was India's most famous 20th century stage magician. He was known for his colorful and graphically intersting posters, as well as for being the father of P.C. Sorcar Jr.

Spirit Cabinet
Following the launch of the spiritism movement in 1848, it was not long before spiritism was incorporated into a magic act. The most successful spiritism performers were the Davenport Brothers, whose heyday was just after the Civil War. Their signature routine was the Spirit Cabinet: they would be tied up and placed in a large box, and the minute the door was closed, tambourines and trupets would play and all kinds of object would fly out of the box. Though the door was instantly opened, the Brothers would be found sitting quitely, still bound and tied.

Stock Imps
This is from a "stock" poster, meaning a poster that had no name printed on it, so it could be used by any magician who needed a nice poster.
Many magicians took advantage of the great cost savings in buying general posters like this one, and just writing their names across the top, along with the time and place of the performance they were advertising. Stock posters varied widely in theme- some were dark and bizarre, but most were colorful and fun. This particular poster uses the popular theme of imps whispering their secrets to the magician.

Thorn Dreamland
Austrian magician Chevalier Ernest Thorn (1855-1928) billed his act as being a combination of a variety of feats including levitation, conversing with the spirits, and duplicating spiritualistic feats by the well-known Davenport Brothers. He was most renowned for his “Dreamland” show, which included many effects invented by Thorn himself.

Thurston
Howard Thurston (July 20, 1869 – April 13, 1936) was one of the greatest American stage magicians of the 20th century. From his partnership with Harry Kellar, to his incredibly huge illusion show (it was so large that it needed eight train cars to transport), to his signature illusions (She Floats, Iasia, All Out of a Hat, East Indian Rope Trick), Thurston is one of the most fascinating personalities magic has ever known. Well worth reading a biography or two!
By the way, for those of us old enough to know who Imogene Coca was, the woman shown on Thurston's She Floats poster is Imogene Coca's mother!