LAFAYETTE (Sigmund Neuberger, 1871 – 1911). The Great Lafayette Theater Broadside. Circa 1911. Two-color panel-size poster for Lafayette’s theatrical illusion spectacle. An image depicting one scene from the show appears at left. The magician shares the bill with trained sea lions, comedians, and acrobats. 35 ½ x 12”. Linen backed. Large losses; sold as-is. From the James B. Findlay collection. RARE.Only a few months after the performance advertised on this broadside, on May 9, 1911 during Lafayette’s performance of his Lion’s Bride illusion at the Empire Theatre Edinburgh, a lantern fell to the stage and ignited a blaze that destroyed the theater and many of the performers on stage. Lafayette managed to survive the blaze, but when he rushed back into the building to save his horse, he was killed. A body presumed to be the illusionist was discovered and sent to Glasgow for cremation but was later determined to be Lafayette’s double. Once Lafayette’s body was found, and after a funeral procession through the streets of the city attended by a reported 250,000 mourners, his ashes were interred in an urn in the same tiny coffin as his beloved dog, Beauty.