'Antiques Roadshow' guest lost for words after expert revealed the value of her 125-year-old item

By providing people the opportunity to get a high appraisal for vintage items and collectibles that they possess, "Antiques Roadshow" has also been able to discover long-lost artifacts in unexpected places. One such item turned out to be a prop belonging to Harry Kellar, who was a master magician and illusionist from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was famous for making heads float during his acts, and a bust that he used turned up on the show. A history and magic enthusiast presented Kellar's Illusion Head, ca. 1900, for appraisal to the expert. She explained how she first discovered the strange carved bust online before purchasing it for $5000 from an antique store in London, "Just, like, high-end antiques, they had this head. They acquired it from an artist who acquired it in New York in the '60s. And they bought it with the understanding that it had belonged to Houdini, and it was used in illusions," the owner revealed. 

The magician further explained that it belonged to Harry Houdini, a close friend of Keller, and was probably used to perform spiritualism illusion tricks. "Harry Kellar had actually gifted Houdini his props and things like that towards the end of his life. So logistically, that would match up," she continued. "Harry Kellar was like an idol to Houdini," she said while establishing their bond. The expert then went on to do a detailed background check about the rare collectible, "You look at pictures and posters of Harry Kellar, and there's a pretty astonishing resemblance," he said.

The appraiser believed that the hardwood prop was likely fashioned over Kellar's facial features. He further stated that the maverick magician was known as the 'Dean of American Magicians.' Born in 1849, Kellar became a worldwide sensation during the 1880s by attracting colossal crowds to witness his "larger illusions and mechanical tricks" performed with the help of innovative devices. "Previously, a lot of magicians relied on vaudevillian sleight of hand, quick stage acts that you could perform anywhere. He really mastered the art of larger stage shows," the antique expert said.

He further admitted that all of the props used for illusionary magic tricks remained a closely guarded trade secret, "A lot of these stage illusions, especially, are going to be traded behind the scenes." He then added, "With regards to Harry Kellar, he retired in 1908. He was good friends with Houdini later in life, and, yeah, a lot of his stuff went to Harry Houdini, but this never really shows up anywhere."

The expert further revealed that following a catastrophic shipwreck off the coast of Spain in 1875, a significant portion of Kellar's props met a cold end in the ocean, thus making the eerie wooden bust an extremely rare piece from the magician's memorabilia. "Because of the scarcity of high-end magic props and effects entering the open market, I would not be comfortable putting an auction estimate on it, because we don't know what these trade privately for. But I would have no problem putting an insurance estimate of $60,000 to $80,000 on it," he stated.

He further added that the Illusion Head would be an art dealer's pride in the black market. "I'm sure that there are a few people who would probably pay much more. But again, it's all a secret," he concluded. "Yeah, true. Yeah, wow. I've shown it to a few people. But this is kind of my first time really displaying it openly," the guest reacted.