This well produced 8 page brochure covers Nikola’s many performing skills. It directs communications to Messrs. Maskelyne & Cooke’s Entertainment Bureau. Click on View Details for a PDF showing all 8 pages of this brochure. See item N3076 for an example of a Nikola booking that came through the Entertainment Bureau.
The letters illustrated here record that Maskelynes’ Entertainment Agency booked Nikola for a show at Holborn Hall, Gray’s Inn Road, London on 25 January 1933. The event was a New Year’s Party and Dance for Sanders Sports and Social Club. The fee was 5 guineas (£5. 5. 0. in pre-decimal money). The Agency took 15% commission on the booking. Note that the fee was paid to the Agency prior to the date of the show.
This item is based on the Jacob’s Ladder novelty. Louis Nikola was a successful professional magician, an expert in shadowgraphy and also a magic book author. His performing career spanned the 1910s to 1930s period. The purpose of this Jacob’s Ladder would have been to introduce Nikola. The ladder first shows LOUIS. It is then allowed to fall open to display NIKOLA. This would have been manufactured by Harry Leat who was a friend of Nikola. Leat advertised these ‘Magic in a Name’ cards in his Leat’s Leaflets, No. 16 in 1928. It was also included in his catalogue, as illustrated here. The Davenport collection contains material from Louis Nikola and this particular example almost certainly came into the collection via Nikola. See also N2927.
This item is based on the Jacob’s Ladder novelty. Louis Nikola was a successful professional magician, an expert in shadowgraphy and also a magic book author. His performing career spanned the 1910s to 1930s period. The purpose of this Jacob’s Ladder would have been to introduce Nikola. First the block with a Question Mark on it would be shown. The ladder then falls open to display WHO IS THIS. The ladder is then allowed to flip over and it displays LOUIS NIKOLA. This would have been manufactured by Harry Leat who was a friend of Nikola. Leat advertised these ‘Magic in a Name’ cards in his Leat’s Leaflets, No. 16 in 1928. It was also included in his catalogue, as illustrated here. The Davenport collection contains material from Louis Nikola and this particular example almost certainly came into the collection via Nikola. See also N2928.