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Sherman advancing upon Wilmington, N.C... Davenport brother's hoax...
Sherman advancing upon Wilmington, N.C... Davenport brother's hoax...
Item # 683057
March 09, 1865
THE WORLD, New York, March 9, 1865
* The Davenport Brothers
* American magicians
* "Spirit Cabinet" hoax
* Supernatural illusions ?
Among the front page column heads on the Civil War are: "WILMINGTON" "Gen. Sherman Reported Within 60 Miles of the City" "Advance of Gen. Terry" "Sheridan's Army" "Confirmation of the Reported Victory Over Early" "The Battle at Waynesboro" "THE SOUTH" "Open Confessions of Weakness by the Press" "Reiterated Resolve to Fight to the Last" and more.
The back page has an interesting report with a small heading: "The Davenports Dished" and more, with an illustration of the ropes they used. This relates to the infamous "Spirit Cabinet Hoax". A few printing flaws cause a little loss of text.
Eight pages, in overall very nice condition.
background: The Davenport Brothers hoax centered around their famed “spirit cabinet” act, in which the two brothers were tightly bound with ropes inside a wooden box along with various musical instruments; once the cabinet doors were closed, the instruments would mysteriously play, ropes would appear untied and retied, and ghostly sounds would emerge—all of which they attributed to spirit activity. In reality, the act was a cleverly executed illusion: the brothers were skilled escape artists who could free themselves quickly, create the noises and movements, and then rebind themselves before the cabinet was reopened, giving the impression that they had never moved. Their performances, cloaked in the language and atmosphere of spiritualism, captivated audiences across the U.S. and Europe during the mid-19th century, yet were repeatedly exposed by magicians and skeptics—most notably John Nevil Maskelyne and later Harry Houdini—who demonstrated that the so-called supernatural events were simply stagecraft and misdirection. Despite being debunked multiple times, the Davenports’ act contributed significantly to both the popularity of spiritualist séances and the evolution of modern magic performance.
Category: Yankee
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