Von Arx (Charles Albert Nicol) | A trio of striking posters emblematic of the Golden Age of Magic

Von Arx (Charles Albert Nicol)

Von Arx World's Premier Illusionist and All-American Company. Levitation. St. Paul: Standard, ca. 1912 (no. 467) — Von Arx World's Premier Illusionist and All-American Company. The Throne of Mystery. St. Paul: Standard, ca. 1912 (no. 468) — Von Arx World's Premier Illusionist and All-American Company. Cremation. St. Paul: Standard, ca. 1912 (no. 469)

3 color lithograph posters (2 of which, 27 1/2 x 20 1/2 in.; 698 x 520 mm & one slightly smaller). A few tears and creases and tiny chips, chiefly marginal. Each mounted on foamboard.

Despite his "All-American Company," Von Arx spent most of his career touring abroad. He was performing in India, then ruled by the British Raj, at the outbreak of the First World War. "The British authorities were convinced that Von Arx was German and made him feel unwelcome in India. His problems worsened when he moved to Rangoon, Burma, and was imprisoned for unknown reasons for nine months" (Magic, p. 346). Perhaps this ordeal led Nicol to adopt a different stage name.

REFERENCE:

Illusions, p. 72; Magic, pp. 344, 346