Done
Chicago, IL, United States
Auction Details
The Ricky Jay Collection
Potter & Potter Auctions
Potter & Potter is thrilled to bring to auction the remarkable, singular, eclectic collection of Ricky Jay, the lauded actor, celebrated sleight-of-hand magician, and noted author, who curated his own extensive collection of magic, circus, and showbiz ephemera - a one of a kind wunderkammer. From literature of cheating, gambling and conmen, to vibrant circus and sideshow posters, flamboyant text-filled broadsides spanning the last four centuries, and memorabilia of magic shows of yesteryear, this, the first of three auctions promises to be a true celebration of curious characters and the rare relics that tell their stories.
Auction Curator:

Gabe Fajuri
PresidentTOP
![JAY, Ricky. Ricky Jay. On the Stem. [New York], 2003. One-s...](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311274_1_x.jpg?height=300&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![Is Conan Doyle Right? Cleveland: J. Morgan Litho., [1923]. ...](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311151_1_x.jpg?height=300&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![[BLONDIN] Arsens Blondin. Paris: Affiches Americaines, Ch. ...: [BLONDIN] Arsens Blondin. Paris: Affiches Americaines, Ch. Levy, ca. 1882. Half-sheet color lithograph of a tightrope walker clad in an elaborate costume with feathered cap, the large central](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311120_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[TRAINED ANIMAL] Blondin the Wonder of the World. Hamburg: ...: [TRAINED ANIMAL] Blondin the Wonder of the World. Hamburg: Adolph Friedlander, ca. 1880. Stone lithograph in bright colors advertising the remarkable trained donkey, Blondin (named after the famed](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311121_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[TRAINED ANIMAL] BRISTOL, D.M. (d. 1926) Professor D.M. Bri...: [TRAINED ANIMAL] BRISTOL, D.M. (d. 1926) Professor D.M. Bristol’s Equescurriculum. Buffalo: The Courier Co., ca. 1890. Color lithograph advertises the act of Bristol’s trained steed,](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311122_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)



![BODIE, Walford (1869 – 1939). Four Bodie Pitch Books. [Scot...: BODIE, Walford (1869 – 1939). Four Bodie Pitch Books. [Scotland: Author, ca. 1910]. Comprising: How to Become a Hypnotist; Hypnotism. Bodieism or Bodic-Force; Dr. Bodie’s Book of](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311126_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![Bonassus. [London], ca. 1821. Letterpress broadside (trimme...: Bonassus. [London], ca. 1821. Letterpress broadside (trimmed), bearing a large and handsome wood-engraved image of the “newly discovered animal” exhibited as part of James’s](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311128_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![BOSCO, Giovanni Bartolomeo (1793 – 1863). BOSCO Prestidigit...: BOSCO, Giovanni Bartolomeo (1793 – 1863). BOSCO Prestidigitatore. [Florence]: Galletti, 1861. Letterpress broadside advertising some of the final performances of the famed Italian](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311130_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![[BOTTLE CONJURER] Four Political Satires on the Bottle Conj...: [BOTTLE CONJURER] Four Political Satires on the Bottle Conjurer Hoax. Satires on the famed theatrical hoax in which a conjurer claimed he would jump inside a pint bottle at the Covent Garden Theatre;](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311132_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![BRESLAW, Philip (1726 – 1803). Breslaw’s New Capital Decept...: BRESLAW, Philip (1726 – 1803). Breslaw’s New Capital Deceptions. [London, ca. 1782]. Letterpress broadside advertises the famed magician “At the Great Room, Panton Street,](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311134_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![[BRIGHT, Edward (1721 – 50)] The Surprising Bett Decided. [...: [BRIGHT, Edward (1721 – 50)] The Surprising Bett Decided. [London]: Carrington Bowles, ca. 1751. Satirical etching depicts a bet whether seven men could fit inside the shirt of Edward Bright,](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311136_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![[BUCHINGER] Folio of Etchings, Drawings, and Engravings of ...: [BUCHINGER, Matthias] (1674 – 1740). Folio of Etchings, Drawings, and Engravings of Remarkable Characters and Freaks, Including Matthew Buchinger. German [?], compiled ca. 1850. A scrapbook of](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311138_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![BUNKER, Chang and Eng (1811 – 74). Handbill and Autographed...: BUNKER, Chang and Eng (1811 – 74). Handbill and Autographed Complimentary Pass for the Original Siamese Twins. [France]: A. Belin, ca. 1830. Illustrated letterpress handbill bearing a crude](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311139_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[CHANG AND ENG] An Account of Chang and Eng, the World Reno...: [CHANG AND ENG] Life of the Siamese Twins. New York: Published by T.W. Strong, 1853. Buff pictorial wrappers bearing a portrait of the twins with two of their children. Engraved frontispiece, text](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311140_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![CANFIELD, Kid (George Washington Bonner, 1878 – 1935). Kid ...: CANFIELD, Kid (George Washington Bonner, 1878 – 1935). Kid Canfield the Notorious Gambler. Sydney: The Swift Printing Co., Ltd., [1912]. Insert poster for a silent film featuring](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311141_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

