The clever design allows it to be folded flat and sent through the post as a postcard.
Other Ephemera
This section includes all types of ephemera other than Posters & Showcards and Programmes & Handbills.
The collection is particularly rich in ephemera relating to the Davenports, the Maskelynes and Will Goldston.
George Mozart (1864-1947) was a musician and burlesque comedian. He wasn’t one of the top music hall stars, but he had a long, successful career as an entertainer. In the 1920s he worked for the Maskelynes at St George’s Hall. His road to success is a fascinating story which tells us much about life as an entertainer in late 19th and early 20th century Britain. Click here to enter his world.
Anne Goulden has used private letters from Charles Glenrose to Claude Chandler to paint a picture of the 1922 season in Aberystwyth. The letters provide an insight that would never be obtained from contemporary printed material. Despite Glenrose’s hope and optimism, it was a tough season.
Have you ever thought about having your own bookplate? Steve did, for a long time. Then he decided he would make it happen. He now has 6 bookplates (or 8, depending on how you count). His article tells you about his experience and then what you need to know to avoid false starts. Even if the desire to have your own bookplate has not yet overwhelmed you, you’ll like Steve’s quirky insight into the strange, driven world of collecting.
Many of the Maskelyne items in the Davenport Collection were made for public consumption: programmes, publicity material, printed books, and so on. One of our shelves is occupied by books which were always intended to be private. They are the surviving business records of the Maskelynes at St George’s Hall.
The purpose of this article is to record the scope of these business records and provide examples of their content.
Anne Goulden gave this talk at the IBM British Ring Convention, Bournemouth on 25 September 2014.
While Wyn toured with her parents in the 1920s, she collected autographs from many magicians and variety acts. Anne Goulden brings these characters to life in a well illustrated talk.
This giveaway lists three performers in the St. George’s Hall show: Warwick Pryce; Charles Morritt; E.A. Maskelyne. On the evidence of the programmes in the Davenport Collection, all these performers and the listed illusions were in the show in October 1913. The pillar box illusion was introduced by Morritt in June 1913 under the name ‘From Pillar to Post’. Shortly afterwards the name was changed to ‘Another Pillar Box Mystery’.
Issue dated 23 December 1911. The advertisement mentions Mr. David Devant with The Window of the Haunted House; etc.
Issue dated 10 April 1913. The advertisement mentions Mr. David Devant in Rag-Time Magic, etc; Raymond Phillips’ New Wireless Alarm Signal; etc.
Issue dated 11 June 1913. The advertisement mentions Raymond Phillips’ Wireless Airship; New Mysteries; The A.B.C. Fly; The Panel; etc.