Mediums William and Ira Davenport

Undated illustration of American mediums and spiritualists William and Ira Davenport. The Davenport Brothers were instrumental in building the popularity of the American Spiritualist movement prior to the Civil War. They created a sensation all over the country and in Europe and continued mystifying audiences for years. William Henry and Ira Erastas Davenport introduced the spirit cabinet for mediums to use during a seance. These cabinets, or enclosures, would section the medium off from view while they were producing their strange phenomena. This would prove to be both popular and astounding to audiences as the mediums were usually bound hand and foot in the cabinet while the seemingly impossible phenomena manifested about them. Ira Davenport was born in 1839 and his brother William came along two years later in 1841. HPG/8/1/1 (iv)

Beards Cabinets Davenport Magicians Mediums Mediumship Mysterious Sance Sensation Spiritualist Spiritualists

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