The Art of the Illusion: Collecting and Conserving Magic Posters at NYPL

TheNew York Public Library for the Performing Artshouses one of the worlds most extensive combination of circulating, reference, and rare archival collections in its field. These materials are available free of charge, along with a wide range of special programs, including exhibitions, seminars, and performances. An essential resource for everyone with an interest in the arts — whether professional or amateur — the Library is known particularly for its prodigious collections of non-book materials such as historic recordings, videotapes, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters, and photographs.Please read ourPrivacy Policy.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Magic poster experts and conservators discuss the art of the illusion.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts -Bruno Walter Auditorium

Mystery and Wonder: Magic Exhibition Programs

Join us for programs related to our exhibit Mystery and Wonder: A Legacy of Golden Age Magicians in New York City on the Library's archival materials surrounding the Golden Age of Magic and the fascinating lives of magicians.

For more than 100 years, the New York Public Library has been building an extraordinary collection of rare color lithograph posters that promote the great magicians and illusions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Forty-eight of these striking posters are currently on view in the exhibition Mystery &amp; Wonder: A Legacy of Golden Age Magicians in New York City. These posters illustrate magicians reimagining old tricks and inventing new ones, shaping each performer’s unique identity within a new visual language of magic as audiences became more international. Esteemed magic historian and poster collector Charles Greene III will speak about the rise and importance of posters in promoting the Golden Age of Magic and the thrill of collecting these historic works of art today. NYPL paper conservators Denise Stockman and Juliana Cordero will share their stories about the fascinating process of restoring the posters included in the exhibition. Exhibition curator Annemarie van Roessel will lead a discussion and Q&amp;A from the audience.Photo Credit: Courtesy of NYPL for the Performing Arts.

SEATING POLICY | Programs are free and open to all, but registration is requested. Check-in line forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. Five minutes before the advertised start time, all seats are released, regardless of registration, to our patrons in the stand-by line. If you arrive after the program starts, you will be seated at the discretion of our front-of-house staff.STANDBY LINE | If registration is sold out or has ended, do not fret! We welcome you to come to the Library regardless of registration status and wait in our standby line, which forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Five minutes before the program starts, all remaining seats are released. While this is not guaranteed, we will do our best to get you into any of our programs.ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.BRUNO WALTER POLICY | Please note that any unoccupied seat will be released five minutes before the show begins and holding seats for anyone beyond that is prohibited. There is no food or drink allowed inside the venue.AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs may be photographed and recorded by and at the discretion of the Library for the Performing Arts and will post signs indicating as such. If you would prefer your image not be captured, please let us know and we can seat you accordingly. Attending any program indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any and all purposes of the New York Public Library.PRESS | Please send all press inquiries to Alex Teplitzky at alexteplitzky@nypl.org. Please note that all recording, including professional video recordings, are prohibited without expressed consent from the Library.

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The Art of the Illusion: Collecting and Conserving Magic Posters at NYPL

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The Art of the Illusion: Collecting and Conserving Magic Posters at NYPL

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