Blackstone

Welcome to the Magic Poster Tour at Poe’s Magic Theatre, inside the historic Lord Baltimore Hotel.

This stop features Blackstone, The World’s Master Magician, a circa 1920s piece billed as “The World’s Master Magician.”

Blackstone stands in the center of a crowded supernatural scene. A woman floats above him, small imps cluster around a smoking cauldron, and a red-cloaked devil rises behind his shoulder. The title gives him the highest billing, while the demons supply the noise.

This is stage magic advertised as a fight with the impossible. The red cape creates a strong center against the smoky blue background, and the surrounding spirits turn one performer into the master of an entire unruly world. The poster makes no effort to be subtle. It wants to be seen from the other side of the street.

This glare-free digital restoration is based on the framed poster photograph at Poe’s Magic Theatre; small details obscured by reflections have been reconstructed. It is a separate object from the 1947 Blackstone company portrait elsewhere in the tour.

Harry Blackstone Sr., born Harry Boughton, built one of America’s most successful touring illusion shows. The Blackstone name carried a large company, lavish stage effects, comedy, and a publicity style that understood the value of a wonderfully alarming picture.

This piece gives Blackstone a whole supernatural supporting cast. A real production had to make that promise work night after night, from railway baggage to the final curtain. The poster preserves the grand claim in its purest form: one magician, the whole world of spirits, and not a demon in charge.