$220,000
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Description
39" (99 cm.) h. x 32"w. x 19"d. Theatre background 88"h. x
60"w. x 25" d. The man is 29"h. Posed upon a wooden stage is
the scene of a magic show depicting the illusion of a magician
levitating a lady. A stately,goateed gentleman-magician,wearing
rich evening dress in the manner of the famous illusionist
Robert-Houdin,stands behind a red-velvet bench,holding a
magic wand in his left hand and a hoop in his right hand.
Reclining on the bench is a lady,presumably selected randomly
from the "audience",dressed in a light green satin-crepe
gown,nervously anticipating the performance as she blinks her
eyes and fans herself. The two figures have paper mache heads
with oil-painted features,kidskin eyelids,glass eyes,the man with
hinged jaw. The complexly-designed spring-driven mechanism
comprises a main cluster of six wooden cams which pass up
through the legs of the Levitator. There are also three auxiliary
wooden cams that direct the movement of the lady's
eyelids,fanning and the levitation itself. Music is provided by a
"fat" cylinder Sublime Harmonie movement. Movements: There
are eleven movements. At first the magician leans forward while
waving his wand,fixing his gaze so as to hypnotize the lady. She
slowly stops fanning herself and closes her eyes,falling into a
sleeplike state,yet receptive to his suggestions. In her trance she
rises,her body horizontally suspended in mid-air. The magician
then passes the hoop fully across her body several times to and
fro,as though to prove to his speculative audience that there are
no "tricks". His left arm is so articulated that it can do complete
circles in both ways. Finally the lady's body levitates
downwards,back onto the bench,and she opens her eyes,now
broken from the trance,and she fans herself once again. The
Levitator raises his head to the audience and moves his lips and
blinks his eyelids as accepting accolades for his remarkable feat.