Note: I originally published this post on September 28, 2010, at 12:06 a.m.
Edgar G. Heyl (in “The Early American Editions of Robert-Houdin’s Autobiography,” in Cues for Collectors) and Clay Shevlin (in “Robert-Houdin’s Memoirs: A Checklist of English-Language Variants,” in Magicol), have each cast light on early American editions of Robert-Houdin’s autobiography. Below are portrayals of the front cover and title page of a copy in my collection.
The copy is similar to one for which Ed gave a date of “[1896?].” It is also similar to copies (Clay’s numbers 35 and 36) for which Clay shows “[ca 1896].” It is from the interim period after Porter left the firm and before there had been a complete switchover in firm names. The spine shows “H.T. Coates & Co.,” and the title page shows “Porter & Coates.”
Below is a scan of the front cover:
The front cover
Below is a scan of the title page:
The title page
The title page shown has the additional feature of a rubber-stamp impression of W.D. Le Roy, who was a magician and magic dealer of the era.
The Armchair Bibliographer 