Best/Favorite Magic Posters

[Guest]

I am interested to hear what are your all-time favorite magic posters.
Base your choices on whatever criteria you choose: graphic impact, memories triggered, etc.

Here are several good ones:
--The BIG HOUDINI "crossed-arms' poster;
--Alexander the Great's "green and yellow vertical lines" poster;
--Kellar's "Walk Through a Forest";
--Doug Henning's "Water Torture Cell" poster;
--the poster for Ricky Jay's "On the Stem";
--David Blaine's "Vertigo"

[Guest]

I love, love, love P.T. Selbit's Mighty Cheese poster. (I've got one of the Norm Nielsen reproductions on canvas; the only poster I own.)

It's got great artwork, it's humorous, and I like that it's not readily recognized as a "magic" poster by laypeople; they usually are quite curious about it.

It's a real conversation piece, and I enjoy telling people about Selbit's performance of "The Mighty Cheese."

[Guest]

Selbit's Mighty Cheese poster is the only magic poster I own.

[Guest]

Castaway,
I collect PC Sorcar memorbilia - Sr. & Jr. I've got several framed posters and a large 3 sheet mounted. Unfortunately I don't have the space to show this one, so its in my closet.....sideways.

Mr. Sorcar Jr. personally gave me a few of his posters. They're vivid and beautiful. Not mainstream, but I have an emotional/ethnic connection to these magicians.

I have a small poster (more of a window card) of the film, Shade that is very cool. Its an import promo written in Japanese. The image is of the cast with an interesting reflection. My goal is to have the entire cast and consultants sign it.

[Guest]

My favorite magic poster is Bob Farmer, for humor and Curtis Kam for content.
My second favorites in each catagory are the reverse, though sometimes it's too close to call.

My least favorite poster is Mark Lewis, because I don't get his jokes.

[Pete Biro]

My four favorites are in front of me as I type.
1: The Magic Show - Doug Henning (autographed to me). 2: Francis Brunn "Gretest Juggler the World Has Even Known. 3: Unis (standing on one finger Ringling Bros.) and the NUMBER ONE FAVORITE, Frank Van Hoven, the Dippy Mad Magician.

[Guest]

Duncan, you nut!

Mr. Biro--I am also a proud owner of a Magic Show poster--classic.

[Kevin Connolly]

I have to go Houdini for President or Houdini Paper Clip poster.

[Guest]

David Devant "All Done By Kindness"

I have only found images of it on line and see Nielsen has it on a t-shirt. I would love to get it as a print.

[Guest]

Oh, I seem to have been confused.

My favorite poster of a magic event is my Vanishing Statue of Liberty, signed by David Coppersquiggle.

[Matthew Field]

LeRoy, Talma and Bosco.

Matt Field

[Guest]

Moodini.

Bob Taxin

[Guest]

This is a great topic, and interestingly, Dave hit my favorite poster in the opening post. I, too, am a sucker for the Kellar Walking Through the Woods piece (I only have one of the Nielsen canvas repros, though I did once see the original in Ken Trombly's collection). Also, Dave mentions a David Blaine piece -- I recently framed up his "Above the Below" poster, which is quite a beauty and very interesting. While I have a handful of vintage original posters, the one that speaks to me (figuratively speaking), is the one sheet portrait of Grover George -- the colors are so very intense, and mine even has some pencil guide marks left by the lithographers. It's a relatively common piece, but really quite a find.

Gary Brown

[Guest]

I have three favorites: first, I am in love with (and will eventually get) the posters Copperfield has done for libraries (first "Read More About It", then "Read" several years later).

Second, I would buy either of the multi-magician "Conjuring Lights" posters if there were an inexpensive reprint. Similarly, I will eventually buy the poster of magic posters.

These are my favorites of the ones I don't yet have. (Of the ones I do own, my sentimental favorite is my Doug Henning "Merlin" window card, inscribed to me).

Matthew

[Guest]

My faves
Kellar walking through the woods
and
Kellar's passing the Mantle to Thurston

G arry Hayes

[Guest]

Kellar's Golden Butterfly

[Guest]

Here are some links to magic posters:

http://www.magicgallery.com/name_lindex.htm

http://www.magicposters.com/main/index.html

http://theophilusmagic.com/memorabilia.html

http://nnmagic.com/posters_magicrepros/magicrepros1.htm

opie

[Guest]

I want to heartily thank the gentlemen that have taken a moment to remark on their favorite posters and memorabilia.

I look forward to future posts.

[Guest]

Thank you Opie--You are one of the good ones. :)

[Guest]

It is mildly amusing noone has mentioned Chung Ling Soo! He had how many excellent posters?...

[Guest]

some favorites;

- almost any levitation (especially the Servais Leroy levitation of Talma)
- Chung Ling Soo "mosaics" portrait
- Germain full color portrait
- Kellar "Queen of the Roses"
- Valadon, "Gone"
- Rameses "in his Egyptian Temple of Mysetries"
- Goldin "Tiger god" 1/2 sheet

[Guest]

Thank you Dave....I like Soo's "Pallette"........

Actually, I like all of Soo's posters, better than most other posters...opie

[Guest]

For affordable fun I'd go with the Moodini poster. It's almost a Farside cartoon done as a classic magician levitation poster- with plenty of bovine references :) .

[Guest]

Moodini Poster???

http://cgi.ebay.com/Moodini-Poster-Mint ... dZViewItem

opie

[Guest]

Kind of a Gary Larsen take on the old Thurston levitation poster which was a classic.

[Guest]

It reminds me more of Keller's Levitation....

http://www.magicgallery.com/Kellar%20Le ... ry.com.htm

opie

[Guest]

Agreed that the foreground figures of the magician and the floating assistant are very close to the Keller poster ... and that cow sphinx and Egyptian motif looked more like the Thurston one IMHO.

Is there a poster or publicity pic that that also has the bowing assistants in front?

[Guest]

The Thurston poster, Passing the Mantle, has a coupleof figures in the foreground who appear to be bowing...

opie

[Guest]

I love almost all of 'em, and never tire of seeing my friends' collections of them! I will list my entire poster collection here: The Great Jansen (later Dante) half-sheet doing LeRoy's 'Three Graces' (Jansen doing the trick, not 'half-sheet.'). Even my wife likes it, and it graces our livingroom wall. Two favorites, one already listed, Selbit's cheese, and Kassner's vanishing elephant. Hooray for them all!

[Guest]

My prized posession is not "graphically beautiful", in fact pretty plain, and doesn't really even look like a "magic poster"...

That said, the best item in my humble archives is a poster from "Asparagus, the Amazing Comedy of Theatrical Surprises", signed by all three performers (Penn, Wier & Teller), and which Teller additionally sketched all-over: a sea-serpent, an "army" marching, a skyline with a little plane flying over.
He inscribed it "You see Dave, we don't sell that many posters and I just..."

[Guest]

That's neat Dave....Here are some more posters I found in my link file:

http://facweb.furman.edu/%7Erbryson/impimages.html

http://www.circusmuseum.nl/

opie

[Guest]

Thurston's "All out of a Hat" has always been my favorite. Lots of color and things going on.

[Guest]

In terms of cool understatement, how about Eddie Fechter's sign, "Magician Nightly"?