Antique Vaudeville Magician Poster. Reads 'Prince Kar-Mi Presenting Mysteries of the Spirit World and Demonstrations of Occult Powers By a Series of Astounding FeatsThat Have No Counterpart on Earth.' Depicts a mustached man in a turban and costume. As Is condition.

Size: 82 1/2 X 43 in.

#1590 .

Joseph Bryant Hallworth was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in April 1872. Little is known about his childhood, but at some point he became involved in vaudeville shows in the early 20th Century. He was known for rapid-fire acts, often just fifteen minutes in length, where he would swallow a sword, perform hand tricks, and finish with rapid sharpshooting feats. His two signature tricks were 'Selma,' which involved cremating and reviving his female assistant, and 'Shooting a Cracker From a Man’s Head,' which seems pretty self-explanatory. He also ran a mobile tattoo parlor, earning extra money etching the skins of eager customers, much to the chagrin of local authorities and clergy. To fit in with the other acts, he changed his name first to 'Joe van Victorina,' then 'Victorina,' then 'Prince Kar-Mi,' and finally just 'Kar-Mi.' Having spent a small fortune printing enormous lithograph posters advertising his 'Victorina Troupe' show, he was notorious for simply pasting his new name over the old one each time it changed, rather than reprinting, making every surviving lithograph an original, however altered. Because of his choice of names for himself and his tricks, and his reuse of his posters, there is some confusion about Hallworth and his career, especially since none of his female assistants were named either Victorina or Selma. Hallworth retired from vaudeville during the 1930s, passing away in 1958.