Thurston Presents Dante

August Harry Jansen (1883-1955) was born in Denmark, but moved to the United States at age six. Like many others, Jansen became enamored with magic after witnessing a performance by Alexander Hermann. He started performing professionally in 1900 with moderate success, and put together a world tour just one year later. Catching the attention of leading magician Howard Thurston, Jansen was invited to incorporate his show into Thurston’s own traveling company. Thurston dubbed Jansen “Dante” and the two toured the U.S. together from 1923-1927. After a joint world tour in the mid-1930s, Dante left Thurston to launch out on his own.

Still relatively unknown, the poster emphasizes Thurston as much - if not more - than Jansen's Dante. Dante is shown over Thurston’s shoulder instead of the customary imp that was often portrayed in magic posters at the time.