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Potter and Potter Auctions: Houdiniana & Magic Memorabilia
Auction Reports
| Auction Name | Houdiniana & Magic Memorabilia | Total Sales (USD) | 436,090.35 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Date | April 18, 2026 - April 18, 2026 | Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 184,800.00 |
| Sale Number | #22204 | High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 313,750.00 |
| Total Lots | 262 | ||
| Sold Lots | 260.0 | Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 185,800.00 |
| % of Lots Sold | 99.24% | High Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 315,150.00 |
| Unsold Lots | 2 | Total Sales as a % of High Est. | 138.38% |
Top twenty-five by sale price
| Lot Number | Author Name | Book Title | Year Published | Estimate | Actual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Houdini's Paper Magic |
1922 | USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | USD 31,980.00 |
| 120 | Harry Kellar (1849 - 1922) | Kellar. Presenting his Latest and Greatest Wonder. “Gone.” |
c. 1900 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 20,910.00 |
| 81 | Koch & Co. Houdini Challenge |
1907 | USD 500.00 - 1,000.00 | USD 19,680.00 | |
| 10 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Harry Houdini Autographed Playing Card |
c. 1915 | USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | USD 15,990.00 |
| 121 | Howard Thurston (1869 - 1936) | Kellar and Thurston. Howard Thurston |
1907 | USD 5,000.00 - 10,000.00 | USD 15,990.00 |
| 30 | Lawlessness on Trial |
c. 1910 | USD 12,000.00 - 16,000.00 | USD 14,760.00 | |
| 57 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Houdini Mirror Cuff Postcard |
1904 | USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 | USD 14,760.00 |
| 140 | Theo. Bamberg (Tobias Bamberg, 1875 – 1963) | Thurston Presents Theo Bamberg Europe's Great Shadowist |
c. 1908 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 11,685.00 |
| 327 | Maurice Raymond (1877 - 1948) | The Great Raymond's Embroidered Curtain Medallion |
c. 1910s | USD 500.00 - 1,000.00 | USD 11,685.00 |
| 8 | Buried Alive! Egyptian Fakirs Outdone. Master Mystifier. Houdini. |
c. 1924 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 9,840.00 | |
| 305 | Joseffy (Joseph Freud, 1873 - 1946); Hal Phyfe | Large Signed Portrait of Joseffy and Balsamo |
c. 1935 | USD 400.00 - 800.00 | USD 7,995.00 |
| 5 | The Lover's Dictionary: A Poetical Treasury |
1867 | USD 5,000.00 - 10,000.00 | USD 6,765.00 | |
| 137 | Howard Thurston (1869 - 1936) | Thurston the Great Magician |
1910 | USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | USD 6,765.00 |
| 16 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | A Magician Among the Spirits |
1924 | USD 2,500.00 - 3,500.00 | USD 6,150.00 |
| 59 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Houdini Portrait Postcard |
ca. 1910 | USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | USD 6,150.00 |
| 1 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Houdini Photograph and Signed Book Shadowbox |
1922 | USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | USD 5,166.00 |
| 6 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Signed Real Photo Postcard of Houdini |
c. 1910 | USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | USD 5,166.00 |
| 119 | Harry Kellar (Heinrich Keller) | Kellar |
c. 1897 | USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 | USD 5,166.00 |
| 338 | Leon Herrmann (1867 - 1909) | Leon Herrmann's Playing Cards |
N/A | USD 400.00 - 800.00 | USD 5,166.00 |
| 363 | Hyla M. Clark | The World’s Greatest Magic |
1976 | USD 500.00 - 800.00 | USD 5,166.00 |
| 83 | F.N. Trowers | Two TLSs Regarding a Spirit Photo of Mary Todd Lincoln |
1925 | USD 250.00 - 500.00 | USD 4,920.00 |
| 112 | W.E. Robinson (1861-1918) | Chung Ling Soo |
c. 1910 | USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 | USD 4,920.00 |
| 113 | W.E. Robinson (1861-1918); Val Prince | Chung Ling Soo Mysteries. The Birth of the Pearl. |
c. 1915 | USD 4,000.00 - 8,000.00 | USD 4,920.00 |
| 58 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Portrait Postcard of Houdini |
ca. 1920 | USD 2,500.00 - 3,500.00 | USD 4,674.00 |
| 60 | Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz, 1874-1926) | Houdini Autograph Note Signed |
1908 | USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 | USD 4,674.00 |
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Sotheby’s
Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone
25 June – July 7Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000. -
Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000 -
Freeman’s, June 30. Thomas Jefferson’s “Birth of the New Nation” letter, carried to Paris with the Treaty of Peace, by a Jewish patriot. $100,000-200,000.Freeman’s, June 30. “The rockets’ red glare.” A British midshipman’s log recording the bombardment of Fort McHenry. $60,000-80,000.Freeman’s, June 30. The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry Commission signed by James Madison, 1812. $40,000-60,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776. $15,000-25,000.Freeman’s, June 30. One of the Earliest Printed Announcements of American Independence, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000-15,000.Freeman’s, June 30. "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks": A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. A Unique Contemporary Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words to His Followers, the Day Before his Violent Death. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. The State of Minnesota Officially Certifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Of the United States. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. A Call to Arms in the Months Following the Declaration of Independence: An Early Continental Army Recruitment Poster. $6,000-9,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Samuel Jones, the Statesman Behind the Newly Discovered "Jones Declaration": His Annotated Set Used in His Working Law Library. $6,000-9,000.