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)
![[CEILING WALKERS] Three Broadsides Advertising Ceiling Walk...: [CEILING WALKERS] Three Broadsides Advertising Ceiling Walking Acrobats. Including: Professor McCormick The Original Inventor of the Miraculous Antipodean Feat of Walking Against Gravity. London: G.](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311143_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![CHANG (Zhan Shichai, d. 1893). Chang the Great Chinese Gian...: CHANG (Zhan Shichai, d. 1893). Chang the Great Chinese Giant. [London]: Aubert’s Steam Printing Works, ca. 1870. Bold two-color pictorial poster with giant type advertising the famed giant at](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311145_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[CIRCUS] Nieuwe en Vrolijke Verzamelaar Voor de Leergierige...: [CIRCUS] Nieuwe en Vrolijke Verzamelaar Voor de Leergierige Jeugd. (New and Cheerful Collector for Inquisitive Youth). Amsterdam: M.H. Helming, 1829. Pale orange wrappers printed in black with text](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311146_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![[JUGGLING] Four Clovelly Girls. London et al: David Allen &...: [JUGGLING] Four Clovelly Girls. London et al: David Allen & Sons Ltd., ca. 1913. Three-sheet color lithograph of the famed female juggling act, shown here with tennis rackets and juggling clubs in](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311148_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)


![Is Conan Doyle Right? Cleveland: J. Morgan Litho., [1923]. ...: Is Conan Doyle Right? Cleveland: J. Morgan Litho., [1923]. One sheet-color stone lithograph for this two-reel film subtitled, “Can the dead talk to the living?” directed by John Joseph](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311151_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[CONTORTIONIST] [MAGIC] Quel che Creder non Puoi Veder Potr...: [CONTORTIONIST] [MAGIC] Quel che Creder non Puoi Veder Potrai. (What you Believe You Cannot See.) Italian, late eighteenth century. Engraved pictorial advertisement for the performance of a](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311152_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[COOKE’S CIRCUS] A Great New Year’s Treat! Benefit of Mr. C...: [COOKE’S CIRCUS] A Great New Year’s Treat! Benefit of Mr. Cooke Junr. (Leith), 1842. Letterpress playbill printed in red with three wood-engraved images, two depicting feats of](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311153_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![[CRUIKSHANK, George] “Greeks.” The Pigeons. Dedicated to Al...: [CRUIKSHANK, George] “Greeks.” The Pigeons. Dedicated to All the Flats, and Showing the Artifices, Success, and Crimes of Gaming, Gamesters, and Gambling Houses. London: J.J. Stockdale,](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311155_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)


![[SEURAT, Claude] The Living Skeleton, Now Exhibiting at the...: [SEURAT, Claude] The Living Skeleton, Now Exhibiting at the Chinese Saloon, Pall Mall. London: Published by J. Limbird, 143, Strand, [1825]. Original printed publisher’s yellow wrappers bound](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311158_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[SEURAT – SKELETON] CIESSE, Joseph de. Descrition Interessa...: [SEURAT – SKELETON] CIESSE, Joseph de. Descrition Interessante de Claude-Amroise Seurat. Montpelier: Julien, (1826). Original plain blue paper wrappers, full-length wood-engraved portrait](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311159_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![[CUPS AND BALLS] Aquarelle of a Cups and Balls Conjurer. Fr...: [CUPS AND BALLS] Aquarelle of a Cups and Balls Conjurer. French, ca. 1790. Finely executed full-length image of an itinerant mountebank behind his folding table with a crowd looking on. His trumpet](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311161_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![[TRICK CYCLIST] Carnival. Festival of Fun. Leicester: Wilso...: [TRICK CYCLIST] Carnival. Festival of Fun. Leicester: Wilson’s New Walk Colour Printing Works, ca. 1880. Letterpress four-color playbill with wood-engraved images of a carousel and the](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311162_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![DALEY, Jacob (1897 – 1954). Jacob Daley’s Notebooks. [Teane...: DALEY, Jacob (1897 – 1954). Jacob Daley’s Notebooks. [Teaneck]: The Gutenberg Press, [1975]. First edition. Black cloth, spine titled in gilt. Introduction by Dai Vernon. 4to. From the](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311163_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)

![DAVENPORT BROTHERS (Ira 1839 – 1911 and William 1841 – 77)....: DAVENPORT BROTHERS (Ira 1839 – 1911 and William 1841 – 77). Mysterious Displays! And Unaccountable Manifestations! [Poughkeepsie]: Telegraph Steam Press, [1864]. Letterpress broadside for](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311165_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
![DAVIS, Hiram and Barney. The Wild Men of the Island of Born...: DAVIS, Hiram and Barney. The Wild Men of the Island of Borneo. New York: J. Cameron, [1855]. Pictorial lithographed broadside advertising an appearance for “two of the greatest living](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/928/274472/144311166_1_x.jpg?height=310&quality=70&version=1673893579)
