We learned from Alan Watson’s weekly newsletter, Magic New Zealand, of a once in a lifetime auction featuring the collections of Dai Vernon and Bruce Cervon scheduled for January 30, 2010.
(If you do not already receive Mr. Watson’s newsletter, you should. It is must reading for any magician or lover of magical things. Visit his site and sign-up today by going here).
In addition to the items from the Professor and Mr. Cervon, Gabe Fajuri has included additional “rare books, apparatus and ephemera.” You can check out the on-line catalog here.
The auction will be live and held in Chicago but accessible to participants around the world via the internets. Make sure you visit http://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/20344 to register and gain approval to participate well-before the auction day.
The catalog of items up for sale is better than any wish book we can recall. Amazing things, interesting magic, incredible collections of props and manuscripts are all up for bid.
Bruce Cervon was not only the essential author of all things Dai Vernon, he was also an accomplished magician, performer, actor, and lecturer. After his passing in 2007, his wife published the now famous Castle Notebooks, called by some the “Holy Grail” of magic texts.
Of particular interest to the Inside Magic Editorial Board is a small glass bottle identified as Dai Vernon’s “Ashes.” We know from reading Karl Johnson’s extraordinary biography, The Magician and the Cardsharp: The Search for America’s Greatest Sleight-of-Hand Artist
Could this be a bottle containing the real remains of Dai Vernon?
No. No, it’s not. Close, though.
The auction catalog describes the item as:
Dai Vernon’s “Ashes.” Small bottle with cork stopper and color label bearing a silhouette of Dai Vernon and half-full of what the label describes as, “Guaranteed to have possibly come from the cigars of Dai Vernon, lovingly known as “The Professor.”/Collected from the upholstery of the love seats outside the Close Up Gallery of The Magic Castle between 1968 – 1987.” A decided novelty. Good condition.
It is a very good thing Dai Vernon smoked cigars rather than chewed tobacco. As witnessed by our collection of spittoon drainings from the Thurston and Carter touring shows, evaporation is the constant foe of a diligent body fluid curator.
Check out the auction, get registered and approved. This looks to be a great opportunity for collectors, scholars, and working magicians alike.
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