Maskelyne, Nevil | A precursor of Harry Potter?

Maskelyne, Nevil 

Egyptian Hall. Mr. Nevil Maskelyne's Sensational Magical Romance The Philosopher's Stone. Daily at 3 & 8. London: The Dangerfield Printing Co., ca. 1903 (no. 55361)

Color lithograph window card (19 1/2 x 14 3/8 in.; 498 x 365 mm). Some creases and surface abrasions, marginal chipping and spotting, mounted on original board, two punch-holes for hanging at top.

The Philosopher's Stone was one of the most successful of the "magical playlets" that were a mainstay of the Maskelyne company's show; it featured numerous magical transpositions as well as a stunning and frequently copied effect that was invented by the Maskelynes: levitation. The Philosopher's Stone was revived in 1917, after the demolition of Egyptian Hall had ended the Maskelyne company's thirty-one–year residency there and caused their move to St. George's Hall (see Illusions: The Art of Magic 115).

REFERENCE:

Magic, p. 202