A bearded head sits on a silver salver balanced on Servais Le Roy's fingertips, and the bound devil behind him looks far more upset about it than the head does.
Adolph Friedländer's press in Hamburg lithographed the poster around 1907. The Friedländer firm produced more than 9,000 posters between 1872 and 1935. Le Roy was a Belgian-born illusionist who, with Talma, first performed the Asrah levitation in London in 1914.
His wife Mary Ford performed as Talma, and the Bosco role passed through nine performers over the act's long run.
On the poster
Le Roy stands at the centre in a red tailcoat, right arm extended overhead. On the salver is the severed head, wide-eyed, with Bosco’s beard. Behind Le Roy a bound red devil crouches on the amber-to-yellow ground with its tail coiled. The palette is scarlet and cobalt on warm amber that deepens to burnt orange at the edges.
About this print
A digitally restored reproduction, printed on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art paper with pigment inks.





