The excellent, annoying and luscious Richard Himber.

The benighted clown of god.

When Richard Himber's friend Arthur LeRoy benighted the stylish renegade at the end of the Himber era with this title, he did so with admiration and exasperation. The tale of it hit him with perplexing and lucid wonder. Not Perspex and Lucite wonders as Dick would have had it. Oh how Himber loved those plastics.

Where in the hell to start? Well.

Magicians were amongst the first to understand corporate sponsorship for shows, premiums and product placement. It was clever of them after World War Two to see how most makers of products and advertisers wanted to be considered as 'magic'.

Richard Himber with a marvellous musical career in the 1930s, saw that a firm like Pepsi would be thrilled to be connected with the two image powerhouses, music and magic. The soft drink firm did not have a choice when they were bombarded by the persuasively cracked force-meister that was Richard Himber. But, in the end, it made brilliant sense for them to sponsor Himber's orchestra. To them it was not hugely expensive but it kept Richard and his musical helpers in the manner to which they were accustomed. A little on the lavish side really.

The picture above is the cover of the 'conjurer's magazine' Genii later published from the famed Magic Castle in Hollywood. Himber was their most fabulous advertiser. His exquisite magical apparatus of precious materials, solid gold, filigree, silver, Moroccan leather, Lucite and anodised aluminium was advertised across double-spreads and full pages in Genii magazine. Those advertisements were cool in the extreme and they featured many of the most beautiful high-fashion mannequins from the pages of Vogue, New York. He often wittily mixed them with secretaries from his typing service. Wearing long black gloves, the sensational women caressed this superb magic apparatus often crafted by top designers working with Tiffany 5th. Avenue.

This peculiar, upsetting genius called Richard Himber really did know a thing or two about ultimate beauty.

Now a taste of the luxuriousness.  

The man called Himber was prolific and he created dozens of the most incredible things during twenty plus frantic years. The sample you see below is representative of the fine quality he provided.

He often described his magical treasures as luscious. What a wag.

But before your eyes are feasted on the gleaming wonder and the leather filigree lavishness, I will tantalise you with two advertisements for this apparatus, this stroke of true genius. It's the same luscious box but with two names, Topper and The Big Trick. That is confusing, but easily understood. Topper is the name of the box and The Big Trick is the name of one of the entertaining routines you can perform with it. See? Dick loved us being puzzled by his eccentricity.

There is something you cannot see in photographs of this lovely thing. It's the weight. Since the luxury is built around perfectly engineered metal, the box has a substantial feel. When I handle mine I always feel woozy. It was made at the end of the times when things that felt slightly heavier than they looked were appreciated for their fine quality. In recent times another outstanding eccentric, Steve Jobs, continued this slightly too heavy feel with his handheld appliances. It's a secret, quiet touch of genius.

And, after all these decades, my Himber Topper still has the expensive fragrance of rich leather. That's quality.

You see below the actual advertisements for the launch of this Himber marvel. The varying copy styles show Richard's panache and flash. And fun too.

As you read his advertising copy please understand how stunning these illusions are. What Richard explained really does happen. The effect of them is completely dazzling. His mysteries changed the entire idea of magic.

He also loved selling incredibly precious things like solid gold and gems for the price of decent meal. You'll see how inexpensive they were. You will be flummoxed by the prices. It was part of his joke on the world.

The ideas for this box have been stolen and stolen by less imaginative performers and makers without much credit at all during the decades since Himber was elevated to ghost status. The poor copies of his work have never come within a continent's width of matching Himber's jewel-like beauty.

It is unusual to see in the second advertisement one of his few mentions of Tiffany. He rarely did that though many believe the myth that he did. You can see from a hint in his words that these gems of craftsmanship were somehow made 'under the counter'. In truth many of them were made by the excellent craftsman Willy Schneider. You know it's an original, solid gold item if you find a WS imprint stamped into the metal of some hidden crevice.

These Topper boxes have sold for many thousands of dollars. As high as $25,000US. Get thee the smelling salts. They're quite rare really because he never made many of anything. Himber's instruction sheets sometimes said that his creations would become valuable collectibles. They have. The great one was right again.

Ian Buckland.

See the A+ performer exposed with a perfectly pained expression that says,
 "Oh please don't take my lovely thing ... but you are ladies and I can't resist".

Sell, so swell.

The loose-fitting cover of the silver box is a red Moroccan leather.

The inset shows the Italian leather, gold-blocked base of the box. 

This thick grained leather also lines the base of the silver interior.

Mario Carrandi of the United States, one of the great and knowledgable dealers in antiquarian theatrical items, passed the Himber flame to me with a gift of the last major collection of Richard Himber photographs, letters, advertising paste-ups and instruction sheets. 

Mario's generosity is overwhelming. A very good friend. He has been collecting this material since he met Himber in the 1960s. Very soon I will make much of this extraordinary material available with a series of slightly protected Web pages. The correct level of magical secrecy will be upheld. 

Mario, you love quality and I love knowing those who know quality.

The Carrandi collection is a very valuable resource displaying the extreme coolness of the 1960s. The page you see right here is no more than a taste of what will come. Look forward to the release of this eye-popping material. 

If you dare.

Ian.