Magician Joe Karson-Holetite Pencil-circa 1940s-Springfield Mass.-v.FINE--

ITEM: This is a Holetite pencil, black ink on red background, with text:

Souvenir from
JOE KARSON
Magician
"Lots of Magic and Lots of Laughs"

His name is repeated on the right with phone number and address in Springfield, Mass.

From Magicpedia, courtesy of Genii Magazine:

Joe Karson (1912-1980) was owner of the mail order business "Karson Xclusives", a had magic shop in Springfield, Massachusetts, and was the inventor of the Zombie illusion. Karson was born Joseph Alexander Chrzanowski in Providence, Rhode Island. He changed his name after his parents separation. Early on, he performed for several years with a Chinese magic act called "Chan Lin and Company." In the late 1930s, he started a mail order business "Karson Xclusives" and a had magic shop in Springfield, Massachusetts where he built much of the magic he sold. Joe was also one of the founding members of the Magic Dealers’ Association. Karson's most famous invention is the Zombie illusion. The inspiration came to him when he was fooling around with the simple impromptu trick where the magician interlocks the fingers of both hands and a lighted match appears to magically suspend in air behind it. He patented the Zombie in 1940. Due to alcoholism, he started to slip into obscurity, loosing touch with the magic community starting in late 1950’s. Karson died penniless and was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Michael's Cemetery in Springfield, Massachusetts. During the Magic Collector's Weekend in 2000, Mike Rose help collect over $500 to purchase a headstone.


DATE: Modern Make

SIZE: Pencil is 7 5/8 inches long, metal cap, gold color cord.

COND: All are in otherwise Very Fine, almost Mint condition.