$475
[Australia], ca. 1925. Screen-printed broadside features a bold portrait of Sam and advertises his performance at His Majesty's Theatre in Perth. 15 x 40". Bottom right corner repaired; B+. Acrobat, impresario, theater-owner, restauranteur, comic, and magician Long Tack Sam was born in China in 1885. After running away to join the circus (and learning tricks of the trade in the process), he found fame on the vaudeville stages of the world with a magic and circus-infused spectacle that included spectacular costumes and impossible acrobatic feats. Considered one of the greatest acts in vaudeville, he would become a mentor to the great Orson Welles, teaching the film star several signature feats. Among Sam's best-known tricks were his production of a massive porcelain bowl filled with water, which appeared under a cloth held in his hands - after Sam had somersaulted across the stage toward the footlights. His entire family - including his daughters - worked in the family business. Sam retired to New York in the late 1950s, and passed away near the hometown of his wife, Poldi, in Linz, Austria, on August 7, 1961
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2017-02-04
