This piece, more of an ad card than a throwout, is an extremely rare piece representing the remarkable, albeit short, magic career of Henry Stork, known on the stage as Harry Stork. The card, showing a tuxedo-clad Stork holding a small devil, is in noticeably poor condition, having suffered from significant scrapbook damage. However, the piece is so very unusual, and the subject equally interesting, that I'm proud to have this in my collection.
Stork was born in Rochester, New York in 1864. He was, by all accounts, a gifted manipulator and magic inventor, building a regional reputation based upon unique stage routines. His original inventions included an "incomparable flag trick," an invisible two-handed pass with cards and a marketed "Flying Aces" effect, the latter being marketed for more than a decade after Stork's death. By 1881, he headed to Detroit, where he opened his own magic emporium. His dealership was frequented by such great luminaries as Alexander Herrmann and Harry Kellar, who often sought his help developing new illusions.
He travelled the country as a vaudeville performer, and was, according to John Northern Hilliard, "a prince of good fellows." He befriended many of magic's leading performers, including T. Nelson Downs, Harry Houdini and Howard Thurston. Most notably, in 1902, he became an advisor to Kellar, traveling with the master magician for several seasons. Kellar described Stork as the most valuable assistant with whom he had ever worked. Stork later returned to Rochester and left magic for other business pursuits. Tragically, Stork contracted spinal meningitis, succumbing to the disease in 1907 at age 43.
