The proprietor of magicposters.com, Ken Trombly, is a collector of magic posters and ephemera—as well as a sometime dealer of these items—who resides in Bethesda, Maryland. In the following interview, we talk about Ken's collection and the magic of magic posters.
ephemera: How did you become interested in magic ephemera?
Trombly: Like many boys growing up in the 1950's, I became interested in magic when I was about 8 or 9. However, unlike dinosaurs and a fascination with the FBI, this was more than a passing phase—and I ended up putting on shows from junior high school through law school. Because the artwork is so evocative of mystery, I was initially attracted to the old posters from the so-called Golden Age of Magic (1875-1925), which were sometimes reproduced in magic magazines in the 1960's. Around that time, a wonderful book called Panorama of Magic
Gradually over the years, I have branched out from posters to other paper items, such as sheet music or trade cards with a magic theme, cabinet photos and cdvs of magicians, antique prints of magicians, various giveaways that magicians used to advertise their shows etc, A fellow magic collector once told me that he would collect anything with the word "magic" on it – I am not quite as bad, although sometimes I come close.
ephemera: Did you begin consciously, knowing what you would collect, or did you just one day discover what you were doing?
Trombly: More so the latter. If I was attracted to an image, whether on a poster, the lid of an antique magic set, or in an old newspaper, then I have tried to acquire the item. Before I knew it, I was a serious collector!
ephemera: What challenges or obstacles do you encounter as a collector? How do you overcome these challenges?
Trombly: When I began collecting, there was no internet. Therefore, most of my acquisitions were through word of mouth, friendships, trades with other collectors and advertisements in antique and magic journals. What a thrill it was when I got the occasional phone call or postcard from someone who had seen one of my ads and had something interesting to sell. The internet, and, particularly eBay, has so evened the playing field that it is much harder to find scarce material where I do not have to compete with others – either in an outright auction, or with a seller who now can more easily shop the item around. That said if you are proactive and think outside the box a bit, the internet can also be a great place to find material- it certainly has brought much out of the woodwork.
ephemera: What are your favorite items in the collection?
Trombly: That is a tough one, as I have many favorites. In terms of categorizing the kinds of items in which I am most interested, I would say that I am most fond of 19th century advertising material, especially broadsides and early stone lithos, of Alexander Herrmann, Robert Heller, Signor Blitz, Wyman the Wizard and others - and in the 20th century, early material of Harry Houdini, Harry Kellar, The Great Lafayette and Chung Ling Soo. The more I collect, the earlier in magic history my interests take me. Also, though I have passed them up in earlier years, I certainly have my eye on association pieces. For example, a piece that I really highly prize is the original 1897 receipt of a transaction with a 23 year old Harry Houdini, then a total unknown, who had purchased some standard magic apparatus from a New England magic dealer. It is a bit like holding a moment from magic's history in my hands.
ephemera: What books or resources do you recommend to aspiring magic poster collectors?
Trombly:
- Panorama of Magic
.
- 100 Years of Magic Posters
- The Illustrated History of Magic
- Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater
- And, of course, my website, www.magicposters.com
For storage of small paper items, I suggest the various portfolios manufactured by Itoya
ephemera: Thank you, Ken.
Search Abebooks for the books listed in this interview.
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