Source: Julien Entertainment

Magician Harry Blackstone's famous sawing-a-woman-in-half illusion, including the whirling 30-inch buzz saw blade, will be offered at a live Monsters & Magic auction, November 15.

The public sale will be conducted in Los Angeles and on eBay by Julien Entertainment of Hollywood (www.JulienEntertainment.com) in association with Odyssey Auctions (www.autographs.com) of Corona, California. In addition to the Blackstone Collection, the auction includes classic special effects equipment plus famous props, posters and paraphernalia from numerous Frankenstein movies and other horror, fantasy and sci-fi favorites.

More than 400 stage illusions, costumes, original artwork, signed documents and other items from the estates of internationally-known father and son magicians, Harry Blackstone Senior and Junior, are in the sale.  The Blackstones entertained generations of audiences around the world, and remain the timeless image of the magician in coat tails and top hat, said Darren Julien, President of Julien Entertainment.

The stage illusions are consigned by the widow of Blackstone Junior, Gay Blackstone, who performed as her husbands assistant and magically survived the buzz saw tricks hundreds of times.

The opening bid on the famous buzz saw illusion will be $8,000.  Each major item in the sale will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by Blackstone and Julien. Instructions on the secret of each magic trick are included.

Another Blackstone crowd-pleaser in the auction is the floating light bulb in which an illuminated bulb seemingly hovers over the audience by itself. Developed in the mid 1930s, it is still one of magics most cherished illusions, explained Julien.

Among the highlights of the sale is a magnificent, one-of-a-kind 1924 original poster painting for Blackstone Sr. declaring: Biggest Necromantic Exposition on Earth BLACKSTONE Greatest Magician World Has Ever Known.

Other famous illusions from the Blackstone Collection include: Alice Through The Looking Glass, Radio Cabinet, The Crystal Casket, Tire Illusion, Robert Harbins Pink Zig Zag Girl, Doug Hennings Fire Cage, and Blackstones famous final-act production number, The Cannon and Triple Trunks.

The auction also features legendary items from the collection of ardent sci-fi fan, Forrest J. Ackerman, editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, and from the estate of Hollywood special effects genius, Kenneth Strickfaden, who created the props for such famous films as Frankenstein, Flash Gordon and The Wizard of Oz.

Detailed descriptions of the illusions and other historic props and costumes offered in the sale are contained in a full-color auction catalog available for $15 from Odyssey.

Buyers can view, track and bid immediately using the online Monsters and Magic auction catalog at www.JulienEntertainment.com or www.Autographs.com. Free digital catalogs are available on request by calling (800) 996-3977.

The sale will be conducted at the Hotel Sofitel, 8555 Beverly Blvd., in Los Angeles, beginning at 11am, Saturday, November 15.  Bidding also will be conducted online at www.autographs.com and eBay.

Gay Blackstone will be on hand Friday evening, November 14, during the lot viewing and reception at the hotel, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., to demonstrate many of the world-famous illusions included in the auction.

For additional information, contact Julien Entertainment at P.O. Box 691789, Hollywood, CA 90069.
Phone: (310) 836-1818.
Fax: (310) 836-1616.
E-mail: info@JulienEntertainment.com.
Web sites: www.JulienEntertainment.com and www.Autographs.com.

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