Names and faces

■ Minnesota’s congressional delegation on Monday introduced a resolution to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to pop superstar Prince, citing his “indelible mark on Minnesota and American culture.” The medal is one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, with past recipients including George Washington, the Wright Brothers, Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen and the Dalai Lama. “The world is a whole lot cooler because Prince was in it — he touched our hearts, opened our minds, and made us want to dance. With this legislation, we honor his memory and contributions as a composer, performer and music innovator. Purple reigns in Minnesota today and every day because of him,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in a statement. Born Prince Rogers Nelson, the singer, songwriter, arranger and instrumentalist broke through in the late 1970s. His hits include “Little Red Corvette,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry.” Prince died April 21, 2016, of an accidental fentanyl overdose at age 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minn. The resolution for Prince is led by Klobuchar and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. Under the rules, Congressional Gold Medals require the support of at least two-thirds of the members of the Senate and House. If it’s approved, the bill asks for the medal to be given to the Smithsonian Institution.

■ Conjurers, cheats, hustlers, hoaxsters, pranksters, jokesters, posturers, pretenders, sideshow showmen, armless calligraphers, mechanical marvels and popular entertainments. Those were the things that interested the grizzled Ricky Jay, the sleight-of-hand artist, card shark, author, actor and scholar extraordinaire on all of the above who died in 2018 at age 72. When he passed, he left behind a vast trove of rare books, posters, broadsides and other artifacts that honored many who came before him. Now, nearly 2,000 of more than 10,000 pieces that stuffed his Beverly Hill’s house will make their way into the hands of those who care to bid during a two-day Sotheby’s live auction starting Wednesday after Jay’s widow, the Emmy-winning producer Chrisann Verges, turned them over. Sotheby’s estimates the collection at $2.2 million to $3.2 million, hoping for bidders from those inside Jay’s world, magic admirers from afar and art enthusiasts on the hunt to decorate their walls. “He was doing serious research. And I think in part because he was curious about his predecessors, he wondered what illusions and tricks they did and how they accomplished them,” said Selby Kiffer, Sotheby’s international senior specialist for books and manuscripts.

Prince

Jay