$350
Andress, Charles. Andress and his Novelty Gift Shows. Cincinnati, Strobridge Litho. Co., ca. 1910. Panel (9 ½ x 41 ½") color lithographed poster depicting a handsome portrait of "uncle" Charley Andress in white tie and tails on a yellow field. Chips and folds with some restoration, including reconstruction of text; fair condition. Scarce. Linen backed. "Uncle" Charley Andress, as he was known to magicians of the 1920s and 30s, was not only a successful conjurer, but an accomplished circus impresario. He left home as a boy of nine with an itinerant magician named Captain Thomas, and in 1872, "organized his first circus-type show which he called the Andress Carnival of Novelties and Trained Animal Show," according to magic historian David Price, Jr. Andress's list of accomplishments in the circus world was long. He ran his own shows successfully for years, invented the stake-driving machine, and was later employed by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. In 1916, he gave up circus life and returned to magic, featuring, among other tricks, the Bullet Catch. He retired to Great Bend, Kansas, where he lived on 1,200 acres of land. At the age of 78 in 1930, Andress married Virginia Pritchard, age 27, and one year later, the couple welcomed their first child into the world.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2011-03-26
