A small collection of a 1930s / 1940s amateur magician's paper ephemera
Howard J Rutter, including wartime concerts
Author
Publisher
Printing Details
This is a small collection of ephemera belonging to a magician in the 1930s and 1940s. The magician was Howard J Rutter who was born in the early years of the twentieth century. It appears he served in the Second World War with 720 General Construction Company, Royal Engineers, but little is known of him after the war.
The collection comprises:
1. A business card for Howard Rutter, then of Torquay, and a small portrait in military uniform.
2. Two membership cards for the Leeds Magical Society, 1934/35 and 1935/36, the second one is signed by Rutter.
3. A prgramme for a Night of Magic with the Leeds Magical Society (February 1935)
4. Severel wartime programmes (typed copies), including some duplicates, of Pay Parade, an evening of entertainment with the Pay Corps in Leeds, 1941 (Rutter isn't mentioned in the programme, perhaps he just went along for the laughs...), Cinders on the Airfield, the 23 Airfield Construction Group's own pantomine in which Rutter plays both the Fairy and the Fairy Godfather, and a couple of copies of Warship Week, a concert for the 703 GCC supported by the ATS, where now Cpl Rutter is "The Magician" (with the tagline: what the eye doesn't see).
5. Some loose adverts for magic tricks and equipment (Chinese linking rings, vanishing wands, the great egg bag mystery, glass levitation, uniqie golf balls, and the "Demon" all-a-light cigarette.
6. Six typed flyers for shows in which Rutter plays his part (he is a Sergeant in one of them and starting to be known as Merlin).
7. Four letters of various dates to Mr Rutter thanking him for his splendid entertainment.
Condition
All items are in fair to good condition. The loose sheets have been folded and are worn to the edges, with some small tears along the folds.
Price
£25.00
