A boy, a girl in Egyptian dress and a live donkey vanish, then turn up again in different corners of the theatre.
Strobridge Litho Co of Cincinnati and New York printed the poster in 1914 for Howard Thurston's touring show, which he billed as The Wonder Show of the Universe. Thurston had succeeded Harry Kellar in 1908, and his production needed eight railway cars to move between cities. The McCord Stewart Museum holds a 1914 Strobridge poster titled Balaam and His Donkey (accession M2014.128.547).
On the poster
Thurston stands at stage left in white tie and tails, wand raised, one arm gesturing toward a swirling blue vignette. Inside it, three curtained cabinets are labelled "EMPTY", "MARVELOUS PRODUCTION" and "VANISHED", showing the sequence of the trick with the boy, the girl and the donkey. Red devil imps tumble through the scene. Gilded canopied platforms and columned temple architecture set the Egyptian staging. A banner along the foot spells out the act: a boy, donkey and girl appear and vanish several times in different parts of the theatre.
About this print
A digitally restored reproduction, printed on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art paper with pigment inks.
