The Great Raymond: Entertainer of Kings, King of Entertainers
Title: The Great Raymond
Author: William V. Rauscher and William L. Broecker
Publisher: David M. Baldwin, NJ
Publication Date: 1996
Hardcover
Book Size: 9" x 11 1/4"
Pages: 343
Edition: 1st Edition
Book Condition: Excellent-Like New!
Dust Jacket Condition: Excellent-Includes clear Mylar cover!
Note: Autographed/Inscribed-"To Bill King with the good wishes of his friend - William V. Rauscher"
This fascinating book takes you on a magical journey around the world seven times with The Great Raymond, a Master Magician of remarkable charm and skills. Learn about the hardships, trials, and glory of theatrical magic from the 1900s to the 1940s. Thrill to stories about Raymond's travels, his magic and his lectures on such exotic topics as his Shrunken Heads from Ecuador. This 343-page book with three appendixes includes full-color reproductions of 19 exquisite Raymond posters, a number of which are believed to be one of a kind, and 24 pages of rare full color photographs of Raymond's equipment and costumes. In addition, the reader will find more than 100 black-and-white illustrations depicting Raymond's fabulous stage settings, illusions, personnel, advertising, and scenes from a lifetime of magic. The authors personal friendship with Litzka Raymond Gibson lends a special insight to this remarkable story which is a major contribution to theatre history.
Each cloth-bound book features two of Raymond's beautiful posters on the four-color dust jacket. The book spine is lettered in gold, and the cover is gold-embossed with Raymond's monogram.
Contents
viii Acknowledgments viii
x Foreword x
xiii My Profession Is Magic xiii
1 Prologue: Being Great
5 1. Becoming a Magician
19 2. Vaudeville: Hypnotism, Mentalism, and Escapes
39 3. Shows and More Shows
61 Gallery: Stage Display Photographs
75 4. Fooling the King
81 5. The Great Raymond's Lithographs
90 Color Gallery: Raymond Lithographs
101 6. Litzka, The Second Mrs Raymond
145 7. A Life on Stage
133 8. The Business of Touring
159 9. Fanclion and Marco Present
173 10. Seeing Raymond
199 Gallery: Aspects of Raymond
205 11. Dear Father
217 12. Jewels for the Great
221 13. Brother Raymond
235 14. Raymond Remembers
247 15. Rock and Raymond
253 16. The End Draws Near
265 17. Life without Raymond
271 18. Dreams of a Museum
275 19. Walter B Gibson, Wizard of Words
281 Color Gallery: Pieces of Magic
307 20. Possessions of a Lifetime
319 Epilogue
321 Appendices
321 I Raymond and Animals
329 II Raymond on Chung Ling Soo
334 III Raymond as Poet 334
337 Index
Reviews
"The Great Raymond is an important addition to magical biography, imbuing the legend of a great showman with much fascinating factual detail presented via interesting text and beautiful graphics, within the covers of a handsome volume that must surely appeal alike to bibliophiles and collectors."
Edwin A. Dawes
"My comments about this book can not be put into a few words...it would take pages of praise."
Bev Bergeron
"One of this book's greatest attributes is the wealth of high quality photographs of Raymond, taken throughout his life."
Jamy Ian Swiss
"The Great Raymond is perhaps the best biography of the decade...a wonderful way to put yourself into those adventuresome years of the early part of the century, when magicians were not only magical performers, but also world travelers and explorers. This is a must for every historian and collector, and the rest of you will enjoy it tremendously as well."
David Goodsell
"You have produced a wonderful book that tells the real story of why the Great Raymond was great! It is one of the most magnificently produced books of magic history that I have ever seen."
Harry Blackstone, Jr.
Biography
Maurice Francois Raymond (1877-1948) toured the world as The Great Raymond.
He began performing as a young man in the United States, but achieved success first in England. Raymond played in the Vaudeville circuits and in 1910 he made a tour of Australia, spending considerable time in the Far East. He also visited Japan, China, Manila and Hawaii. One act that Raymond was known for was his "Mytempsicosis — fastest trunk escape in the world", performed with his wife, Lipzka.
He was sponsored into the Society of American Magicians by Harry Houdini in 1921.
Please examine the photos of this book. I have included photos of the index. I have also included photos of especially colorful, interesting or autographed pages. I will be happy to answer any specific question, just send me an Email!
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