$2,400
[Pollock, Channing] Vanishing Birdcage Used by Channing Pollock’s Successor, Frank Booker. Brooklyn, Connie Haden [?], ca. 1965. The performer stands behind a cage holding live doves and, after covering it with a cloth, carries it away from the table on which it is resting and tosses it in the air, where the cage vanishes and he is left with just the sheet of cloth. Table measures 24 x 16 x 33” (closed). With hardware and tools for assembly, video explaining the cage’s operation, and a letter of provenance regarding its history. Brooker met Pollock in 1955 and chauffeured him to engagements during his stay in England. Eventually, the two developed a friendship and Pollock taught Brooker his act. When Pollock retired from active performance to pursue a career in film, Brooker succeeded him and performed his act, with permission, in the years that followed. Though Channing Pollock undoubtedly inspired generations of magicians and many of them copied his style, presentation, and tricks, Brooker was the only performer authorized to do so by Pollock himself. The Vanishing Bird Cage was Channing Pollock’s signature feat, and one so popular that even today, many magicians working with doves close their shows in the same manner.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2014-11-01
