The Davenport Collection
- a growing resource on magic and entertainment history

Programmes & Handbills

The majority are for variety shows which include a magician. Most are from the UK covering the 1870s to the present day.

To search for a specific date use the format 10 October 1924

Maskelyne and Cooke Egyptian Hall programme, 29th consecutive year

Maskelyne and Cooke Egyptian Hall programme, 29th consecutive year

29th consecutive year, 1901-1902. There is more than one copy in the collection. One copy has the hand written date June 1902. The bill includes the sketch ‘The Entranced Fakir’, the first performance of which was on 6 April 1901, according to the book on the Maskelynes at the Egyptian Hall by George Jenness. The date must therefore be no earlier than this. It was in ‘The Entranced Fakir’ that Maskelyne first showed his latest, world beating, levitation. Valadon was also on the bill and Animated Photographs were shown. On this programme Mr. E. Morehen plays the part of Fraser in ‘The Entranced Fakir’.

Maskelyne and Cooke Egyptian Hall programme, 29th consecutive year

Maskelyne and Cooke Egyptian Hall programme, 29th consecutive year

29th consecutive year, 1901-1902. The bill includes the sketch ‘The Entranced Fakir’, the first performance of which was on 6 April 1901, according to the book on the Maskelynes at the Egyptian Hall by George Jenness. The date must therefore be no earlier than this. It was in ‘The Entranced Fakir’ that Maskelyne first showed his latest, world beating, levitation. Valadon was also on the bill and Animated Photographs were shown. On this programme Mr. E. Morehen plays the part of Fraser in ‘The Entranced Fakir’.

Maskelyne and Cooke Egyptian Hall programme, 28th consecutive year

Maskelyne and Cooke Egyptian Hall programme, 28th consecutive year

28th consecutive year in London, 1900-1901. The bill included Herr Valadon with The Tuppenny Tubes. According to the book by George Jenness on the Egyptian Hall, Valadon introduced this for the Christmas shows starting on 22 December 1900. This is consistent with the hand written date 18 January 1901 on the front page of the programme.

Programme for Maskelyne’s show at the Egyptian Hall, 28th consecutive year

Programme for Maskelyne’s show at the Egyptian Hall, 28th consecutive year

28th consecutive year, 1900-1901. The bill includes the sketch ‘The Entranced Fakir’, the first performance of which was on 6 April 1901, according to the book on the Maskelynes at the Hall by George Jenness. The date must therefore be no earlier than this. It was in ‘The Entranced Fakir’ that Maskelyne first showed his latest, world beating, levitation. Valadon was also on the bill and Animated Photographs were shown. On page 3 of the programme Maskelyne has an article making it clear why he is so annoyed by people who try to imitate his illusions, particularly mentioning his Box Trick and Levitation Mystery. [In his page 3 article JN rather exposes the Aga levitation.] On this programme Mr Nevil Maskelyne plays the part of Fraser in ‘The Entranced Fakir’.

Programme for Maskelyne’s show at the Egyptian Hall, 28th consecutive year

Programme for Maskelyne’s show at the Egyptian Hall, 28th consecutive year

28th consecutive year, 1900-1901. The bill includes the sketch ‘The Entranced Fakir’, the first performance of which was on 6 April 1901, according to the book on the Maskelynes at the Hall by George Jenness. The date must therefore be no earlier than this. It was in ‘The Entranced Fakir’ that Maskelyne first showed his latest, world beating, levitation. Valadon was also on the bill and Animated Photographs were shown. On page 3 of the programme Maskelyne has an article making it clear why he is so annoyed by people who try to imitate his illusions, particularly mentioning his Box Trick and Levitation Mystery. [In his page 3 article JN rather exposes the Aga levitation.] On this programme Mr. E. Morehen plays the part of Fraser in ‘The Entranced Fakir’.

Programme for Maskelyne’s show at the Egyptian Hall, 28th consecutive year

Programme for Maskelyne’s show at the Egyptian Hall, 28th consecutive year

Hand dated 20 April 1901. The bill includes the sketch ‘The Entranced Fakir’, the first performance of which was on 6 April 1901, according to the book on the Maskelynes at the Hall by George Jenness. The date must therefore be no earlier than this, consistent with the hand written date on the programme. It was in ‘The Entranced Fakir’ that Maskelyne first showed his latest, world beating, levitation. Valadon was also on the bill and Animated Photographs were shown, ‘Projected by a New Apparatus, the invention of Mr. Nevil Maskelyne’. On page 3 of the programme Maskelyne has an article making it clear why he is so annoyed by people who try to imitate his illusions, particularly mentioning his Box Trick and Levitation Mystery. [In his page 3 article JN rather exposes the Aga levitation.]

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 27th consecutive year

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 27th consecutive year

27th consecutive year, 1899-1900. The programme includes Herr Valadon who first appeared at the Egyptian Hall on 6 August 1900, according to the book by George Jenness. The programme date must therefore be after 6 August 1900. The animated photographs included the recent solar eclipse, taken in North Carolina by Mr. Nevil Maskelyne. Apart from the colour of the paper, the programme is the same as programme Ref. no. N2078.

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 27th consecutive year

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 27th consecutive year

27th consecutive year, 1899-1900. According to the book on the Egyptian Hall by George Jenness, the sketch ‘Will, the Witch, and the Watchmen’ was introduced on 23 December 1899. This programme is therefore probably in the period of end December 1899 to 14 April 1900, on which date the sketch ‘My Twin Spirit’ was first produced. This programme must have come apart into two sheets and a previous owner taped them together. This was apparently done incorrectly, because the Maskelyne and Cooke programmes have the bill on pages 2 and 3, whereas for this programme the bill appears to be on pages 2 and 4!

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 27th consecutive year

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 27th consecutive year

27th consecutive year, 1899-1900. The programme includes Herr Valadon who first appeared at the Egyptian Hall on 6 August 1900, according to the book by George Jenness. This is consistent with a handwritten note on page 1 saying that the programme was for 3.00pm on 2 November. The animated photographs included the recent solar eclipse, taken in North Carolina by Mr. Nevil Maskelyne. Apart from the colour of the paper, the programme is the same as programme Ref. no. N2081.

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 26th consecutive year

Maskelyne and Cooke programme for the Egyptian Hall, 26th consecutive year

26th consecutive year, 1898-1899. The programme includes the sketch ‘The Gnome’s Grot’ which was introduced at the start of the Christmas shows on 16 December 1898, according to Jenness. Jenness also said that the 16 December show included Mr. Spurr, who is not on this particular bill. The shows in early 1899 apparently followed the format of the Christmas show, and on 1 April 1899 Mr. Spurr returned to the show. The likely date of this programme is therefore late December 1898 to early 1899, before 1 April 1899.