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

Max O'Rell

Publicity item for Mr. David Devant’s Season at the Masonic Hall, Birmingham, which on 3 March 1899 presented Mr. Max O’Rell with comedy lectures

Publicity item for Mr. David Devant’s Season at the Masonic Hall, Birmingham, which on 3 March 1899 presented Mr. Max O’Rell with comedy lectures

On this Friday Mr. Max O’Rell, billed as the Eminent Author and Humorist, gave two performances of his fascinating comedy lectures. Max O’Rell was the pen name of Léon Paul Blouet, a French author and journalist. In his day he became well known and his Wikipedia page explains that he was less successful towards the end of his career. He died in 1903. We know from a publicity item in The Magic Circle Archive that during Devant’s Season at the Masonic Hall, during the month of March, each Friday had a lecturer rather than a performance of Devant’s Entertainment.