A Merry Christmas Throw-Out Card from Jay Hunter and Charles Arbuthnot III

[Having read my recent post about Al Munroe which decries the scarcity of holiday throwing cards, our friend Jay Hunter picked up the throwing card gauntlet, dove into his copious collection and came out with this wonderful item.  So here it is, just in time for Christmas and the Magical New Year!  Thanks, Jay]

A Merry Christmas Throw-Out Card

by Jay Hunter

This throw-out card from Charles Arbuthnot III wishes everyone “A Merry Christmas” and “A Magical New Year." Arbuthnot, who went by “Arb” was born on September 1, 1888 in Pittsburgh, PA. He was a past president of the Pittsburgh S.A.M. assembly and contributed to several magic magazines. Something he had in common with Judge Brown of this particular website is that they were both Yale University alumni, with Arbuthnot graduating in 1912.

Arbuthnot worked as the vice-president of a floor covering business, and was dubbed by The Linking Ring in 1942 as "the exemplification of a gentleman,"  who "has injected a higher intellectual level into our art."  Arbuthnot, who became interested in magic in 1939,  contributed effects to most of the periodicals of his day and assembled a large, valuable magic library.  His contributions were highly desired by magic editors of the time.

Cartoon from Linking Ring
article re: Arb's purloined book

One of the interesting stories about Arbuthnot derives from his interest in magic literature.  Arbuthnot always carried a leather bag with a copy of Greater Magic, a then recently-published tome containing effects penned by numerous prominent magicians of the day.  Whenever he met one of them, Arbuthnot would procure the autograph of the particular contributor on the page where his effect appeared.  In February 1942, at a magic event in Tampa Florida, the book - by that time laden with signatures and quite valuable -- reportedly disappeared.  Arbuthnot offered a hefty reward for its return, purportedly to no avail.  In April of that year at a Pittsburgh magic event, an Indianapolis-based mindreader identified only as Sir Edward (real name: Ramon La Rue) offered readings of sealed questions.  The Linking Ring reports as follows:

"Among those present was Charles Arbuthnot III, whose valuable auto­graph book vanished February 17 during an affair held by Tampa Ring 13, International Brotherhood of Magicians, at the Roosevelt. On his card he had written a question that even his offer of a liberal reward had failed to answer, "Who stole my book?"
Mr. Arbuthnot can't explain it— and as far as this skeptic is con­cerned, you can write your own answer—but when the sealed ques­tion was held to the blindfolded
mentalist's ear, he said, "Your book will be returned to you at 10:30 to­night." At 10:35 a Western Union boy walked in and handed Mr. Arbuthnot his autographed "Greater Magic" book."

Arbuthnot died on January 2, 1951. 

The image on the face of his card is a small photo of himself that has been pasted on. The back of the card is a blue Fox Lake design.