MENTALIST

[The Piddingtons, Australian husband and wife mentalists; Changi] Biography ‘The Piddingtons’ by their manager Russell Braddon, with illustrations by Ronald Searle, signed by Braddon and Lesley and Sydney Piddington, with bookplate of Desmond Young.

Author: 
Russell Braddon [The Piddingtons [Sydney and Leslie Piddington], Australian husband and wife telepathic mentalists; their manager Russell Braddon (1921-1995); Ronald Searle (1920-2011).]
Publication details: 
Werner Laurie, London. 2nd impression, March 1950.
£120.00

238pp, 8vo, with frontispiece and illustrations. In green cloth binding, gilt. Internally good and tight, on lightly-browned paper, in good binding with slight discolouration at head and foot of spine, caused by loss to the creased and damaged dustwrapper. The three signatures are one on top of the other in the centre of the recto of the front free endpaper: ‘Leslie Piddington. / Sydney Piddington / Russell Braddon’.

['Stuart Cumberland' [Charles Garner] (1857-1922), Victorian 'Mentalist' or 'Muscle Reader'.] Twelve Autograph Letters Signed ('Laura') from his wife to her father and sister, written during tours from Egypt, India, Spain and Australia.

Author: 
Laura Nina Webb (née Cumberland) (fl. 1885 and 1947), wife of 'Stuart Cumberland' [Charles Garner] (1857-1922), Victorian 'Mentalist' or 'Muscle Reader' (i.e. mind reader)
Publication details: 
Trieste, Egypt (Cairo), India (Calcutta, Bombay, Agra), Australia (Sydney) and Spain (Madrid). 1885, 1886 and 1887.
£500.00

Of the twelve letters, nine are to her sister Ellen Alice Webb ('Nell'), two are to her father the Oxford gunmaker George Webb (d.1892, of 85 High Street, and later 36 Iffley Rd), and one is to both father and sister. They total 57pp, in a variety of paper shapes and sizes (10pp., 32mo; 20pp., 16mo; 23pp., 12mo; 4pp., 4to). In good condition, on aged and worn paper. One letter lacking the final section, including signature. As Barry H.

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