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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin - -Author: Harry Houdini - -Release Date: May 16, 2013 [EBook #42723] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Libraries and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: Harry Houdini] - -_Frontispiece_] - - - - - THE UNMASKING - - _OF_ - - ROBERT-HOUDIN - - _BY_ - - HARRY HOUDINI - - [Illustration] - - _NEW YORK_ - - _THE PUBLISHERS PRINTING CO._ - - _1908_ - - _Copyright, 1906_ - _Copyright, 1907_ - _Copyright, 1908_ - - _By HARRY HOUDINI_ - - _Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, England_ - _All rights reserved_ - - Composition, Electrotyping and Printing by - The Publishers Printing Company - New York, N.Y., U.S.A. - - - - - Dedication - - - _This Book is affectionately dedicated to the memory of - my father, - Rev. M. S. Weiss, Ph.D., LL.D., - who instilled in me love of study and patience in research_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -INTRODUCTION, 7 - -CHAPTER - - I. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN, 33 - - II. THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK, 51 - - III. THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE, 83 - - IV. THE PASTRY COOK OF THE PALAIS ROYAL, 116 - - V. THE OBEDIENT CARDS--THE CABALISTIC CLOCK--THE - TRAPEZE AUTOMATON, 141 - - VI. THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE, 176 - - VII. SECOND SIGHT, 200 - -VIII. THE SUSPENSION TRICK, 222 - - IX. THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF, 245 - - X. ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BETRAYED - BY HIS OWN PEN, 264 - - XI. THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S "MEMOIRS," 295 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -This book is the natural result of the moulding, dominating influence -which the spirit and writings of Robert-Houdin have exerted over my -professional career. My interest in conjuring and magic and my -enthusiasm for Robert-Houdin came into existence simultaneously. From -the moment that I began to study the art, he became my guide and hero. I -accepted his writings as my text-book and my gospel. What Blackstone is -to the struggling lawyer, Hardee's "Tactics" to the would-be officer, or -Bismarck's life and writings to the coming statesman, Robert-Houdin's -books were to me. - -To my unsophisticated mind, his "Memoirs" gave to the profession a -dignity worth attaining at the cost of earnest, life-long effort. When -it became necessary for me to take a stage-name, and a fellow-player, -possessing a veneer of culture, told me that if I would add the letter -"i" to Houdin's name, it would mean, in the French language, "like -Houdin," I adopted the suggestion with enthusiasm. I asked nothing more -of life than to become in my profession "like Robert-Houdin." - -By this time I had re-read his works until I could recite passage after -passage from memory. Then, when Fate turned kind and the golden pathway -of success led me into broader avenues of work, I determined that my -first tour abroad should be dedicated to adding new laurels to the fame -of Robert-Houdin. By research and study I would unearth history yet -unwritten, and record unsung triumphs of this great inventor and -artiste. The pen of his most devoted student and follower would awaken -new interest in his history. - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin in his prime, immediately after his -retirement. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Alas for my golden dreams! My investigations brought forth only -bitterest disappointment and saddest of disillusionment. Stripped of his -self-woven veil of romance, Robert-Houdin stood forth, in the -uncompromising light of cold historical facts, a mere pretender, a man -who waxed great on the brainwork of others, a mechanician who had boldly -filched the inventions of the master craftsmen among his predecessors. - -"Memoirs of Robert-Houdin, Ambassador, Author and Conjurer, Written by -Himself," proved to have been the penwork of a brilliant Parisian -journalist, employed by Robert-Houdin to write his so-called -autobiography. In the course of his "Memoirs," Robert-Houdin, over his -own signature, claimed credit for the invention of many tricks and -automata which may be said to have marked the golden age in magic. My -investigations disproved each claim in order. He had announced himself -as the first magician to appear in regulation evening clothes, -discarding flowing sleeves and heavily draped stage apparatus. The -credit for this revolution in conjuring belonged to Wiljalba Frikell. -Robert-Houdin's explanation of tricks performed by other magicians and -not included in his repertoire, proved so incorrect and inaccurate as to -brand him an ignoramus in certain lines of conjuring. Yet to the great -charm of his diction and the romantic development of his personal -reminiscences later writers have yielded unquestioningly and have built -upon the historically weak foundations of his statements all the later -so-called histories of magic. - -For a time the disappointment killed all creative power. With no laurel -wreath to carve, my tools lay idle. The spirit of investigation -languished. Then came the reaction. There was work to be done. Those who -had wrought honestly deserved the credit that had been taken from them. -In justice to the living as well as the dead the history of the magic -must be revised. The book, accepted for more than half a century as an -authority on our craft, must stand forth for what it is, a clever -romance, a well-written volume of fiction. - -That is why to-day I offer to the profession of magic, to the world of -laymen readers to whom its history has always appealed, and to the -literary savants who dip into it as a recreation, the results of my -investigations. These, I believe, will show Robert-Houdin's true place -in the history of magic and give to his predecessors, in a profession -which in each generation becomes more serious and more dignified, the -credit they deserve. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece of "Hocus Pocus," Second Edition, 1635, one -of the earliest works on magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -My investigations cover nearly twenty years of a busy professional -career. Every hour which I could spare from my professional work was -given over to study in libraries, to interviews with retired magicians -and collectors, and to browsing in old bookstores and antique shops -where rare collections of programs, newspapers, and prints might be -found. - -[Illustration: John Baptist Porta, the Neapolitan writer on magic. From -an old woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In order to conduct my researches intelligently, I was compelled to pick -up a smattering of the language of each country in which I played. The -average collector or proprietor of an old bookshop is a canny, -suspicious individual who must accept you as a friend before he will -uncover his choicest treasures. - -As authorities, books on magic and kindred arts are practically -worthless. The earliest books, like the magician stories written by Sir -John Mandeville in 1356, read like prototypes of to-day's dime novels. -They are thrilling tales of travellers who witnessed magical -performances, but they are not authentic records of performers and their -work. - -One of the oldest books in my collection is "Natural and Unnatural -Magic" by Gantziony, dated 1489. It is the author's script, exquisite in -its German chirography, artistic in its illuminated illustrations, but -worthless as an historical record, though many of the writer's -descriptions and explanations of old-time tricks are most interesting. - -Early in the seventeenth century appeared "Hocus Pocus," the most widely -copied book in the literature of magic. The second edition, dated 1635, -I have in my library. I have never been able to find a copy of the first -edition or to ascertain the date at which it was published. - -A few years later, in 1658, came a very important contribution to the -history of magic in "Natural Magick in XX. Bookes," by John Baptist -Porta, a Neapolitan. This has been translated into nearly every -language. It was the first really important and exhaustive work on the -subject, but, unfortunately, it gives the explanation of tricks, rather -than an authentic record of their invention. - -In 1682, Simon Witgeest of Amsterdam, Holland, wrote an admirable work, -whose title reads "Book of Natural Magic." This work was translated into -German, ran through many an edition, and had an enormous sale in both -Holland and Germany. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Simon Witgeest's "Book of Natural -Magic" (1682), showing the early Dutch conception of conjuring. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1715, John White, an Englishman, published a work entitled "Art's -Treasury and Hocus Pocus; or a Rich Cabinet of Legerdemain Curiosities." -This is fully as reliable a book as the earlier "Hocus Pocus" books, -but it is not so generally known. - -Richard Neve, who was a popular English conjurer just before the time of -Fawkes, published a book on somewhat similar lines in 1715. - -Germany contributed the next notable works on magic. First came Johann -Samuel Halle's "Magic or the Magical Power of Nature," printed in -Berlin, in 1784. One of his compatriots, Johann Christian Wiegleb, wrote -eighteen books on "The Natural Magic" and while I shall always contend -that the German books are the most complete, yet they cannot be accepted -as authorities save that, in describing early tricks, they prove the -existence of inventions and working methods claimed later as original by -men like Robert-Houdin. - -English books on magic were not accepted seriously until the early part -of the nineteenth century. In Vol. III. of John Beckmann's "History of -Inventions and Discoveries," published in 1797, will be found a chapter -on "Jugglers" which presents interesting matter regarding magicians and -mysterious entertainers. I quote from this book in disproving -Robert-Houdin's claims to the invention of automata and second-sight. - -About 1840, J. H. Anderson, a popular magician, brought out a series of -inexpensive, paper-bound volumes, entitled "A Shilling's Worth of -Magic," "Parlor Magic," etc., which are valuable only as giving a -glimpse of the tricks contemporary with his personal successes. In 1859 -came Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," magic's classic. Signor Blitz, in 1872, -published his reminiscences, "Fifty Years in the Magic Circle," but -here again we have a purely local and personal history, without -general value. - -[Illustration: John White, an English writer on magic and kindred arts -in the early part of the eighteenth century. Only portrait in existence -and published for the first time since his book was issued in 1715. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Thomas Frost wrote three books relating to the history of magic, -commencing about 1870. This list included "Circus Life and Circus -Celebrities," "The Old Showmen and the Old London Fairs," and "Lives of -the Conjurers." These were the best books of their kind up to the time -of their publication, but they are marked by glaring errors, showing -that Frost compiled rather than investigated, or, more properly -speaking, that his investigations never went much further than Morley's -"Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair." - -Charles Bertram who wrote "Isn't it Wonderful?" closed the -nineteenth-century list of English writers on magic, but his work is -marred by mis-statements which even the humblest of magicians could -refute, and, like Frost, he drew heavily on writers who preceded him. - -So far, in the twentieth century, the most notable contribution to the -literature of magic is Henry Ridgely Evans' "The Old and the New Magic," -but Mr. Evans falls into the error of his predecessors in accepting as -authoritative the history of magic and magicians furnished by -Robert-Houdin. He has made no effort whatever to verify or refute the -statements made by Robert-Houdin, but has merely compiled and re-written -them to suit his twentieth-century readers. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Richard Neve's work on magic, showing -him performing the egg and bag trick about 1715. Photographed from the -original in the British Museum by the author.] - -[Illustration: Signor Antonio Blitz, author of "Fifty Years in the Magic -Circle" (1872). Original negative of this photograph is in the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -The true historian does not compile. He delves for facts and proofs, and -having found these he arrays his indisputable facts, his -uncontrovertible proofs, to refute the statements of those who have -merely compiled. That is what I have done to prove my case against -Robert-Houdin. I have not borrowed from the books of other writers on -magic. I have gone to the very fountain head of information, records of -contemporary literature, newspapers, programmes and advertisements of -magicians who preceded Robert-Houdin, sometimes by a century. It would -cost fully a million dollars to forge the collection of evidence now in -my hands. Men who lived a hundred years before Robert-Houdin was born -did not invent posters or write advertisements in order to refute the -claims of those who were to follow in the profession of magic. These -programmes, advertisements, newspaper notices, and crude cuts trace the -true history of magic as no romancer, no historian of a single -generation possibly could. They are the ghosts of dead and gone -magicians, rising in this century of research and progress to claim the -credit due them. - -[Illustration: Philip Astley, Esq., an historical circus director, a -famous character of Bartholomew Fair days, and author of "Natural Magic" -(1784). From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Charles Bertram (James Bassett), the English author and -conjurer, who wrote "Isn't it Wonderful?" Born 1853, died Feb. 28th, -1907. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Often when the bookshops and auction sales did not yield fruit worth -plucking, I had the good fortune to meet a private collector or a -retired performer whose assistance proved invaluable, and the histories -of these meetings read almost like romances, so skilfully did the Fates -seem to juggle with my efforts to secure credible proof. - -To the late Henry Evans Evanion I am indebted for many of the most -important additions to my collection of conjuring curios and my library -of magic, recognized by fellow-artistes and litterateurs as the most -complete in the world. - -Evanion was an Englishman, by profession a parlor magician, by choice -and habit a collector and savant. He was an entertainer from 1849 to the -year of his death. For fifty years he spent every spare hour at the -British Museum collecting data bearing on his marvellous collection, and -his interest in the history of magic was shared by his excellent wife -who conducted a "sweet shop" near one of London's public schools. - -While playing at the London Hippodrome in 1904 I was confined to my room -by orders of my physician. During this illness I was interviewed by a -reporter who, noticing the clippings and bills with which my room was -strewn, made some reference to my collection in the course of his -article. The very day on which this interview appeared, I received from -Henry Evanion a mere scrawl stating that he, too, collected programmes, -bills, etc., in which I might be interested. - -I wrote at once asking him to call at one o'clock the next afternoon, -but as the hour passed and he did not appear, I decided that, like many -others who asked for interviews, he had felt but a passing whim. That -afternoon about four o'clock my physician suggested that, as the day was -mild, I walk once around the block. As I stepped from the lift, the -hotel porter informed me that since one o'clock an old man had been -waiting to see me, but so shabby was his appearance, they had not dared -send him up to my room. He pointed to a bent figure, clad in rusty -raiment. When I approached the old man he rose and informed me that he -had brought some clippings, bills, etc., for me to see. I asked him to -be as expeditious as possible, for I was too weak to stand long and my -head was a-whirl from the effects of la grippe. - -[Illustration: Last photograph of Henry Evans Evanion, conjurer and -collector, taken especially for this book in which he was deeply -interested. Died June 17th, 1905. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -With some hesitancy of speech but the loving touch of a collector he -opened his parcel. - -"I have brought you, sir, only a few of my treasures, sir, but if you -will call--" - -I heard no more. I remember only raising my hands before my eyes, as if -I had been dazzled by a sudden shower of diamonds. In his trembling -hands lay priceless treasures for which I had sought in vain--original -programmes and bills of Robert-Houdin, Phillippe, Anderson, Breslaw, -Pinetti, Katterfelto, Boaz, in fact all the conjuring celebrities of the -eighteenth century, together with lithographs long considered -unobtainable, and newspapers to be found only in the files of national -libraries. I felt as if the King of England stood before me and I must -do him homage. - -Physician or no physician, I made an engagement with him for the next -morning, when I was bundled into a cab and went as fast as the driver -could urge his horse to Evanion's home, a musty room in the basement of -No. 12 Methley Street, Kennington Park Road, S.E. - -[Illustration: Very rare and extraordinarily fine lithograph of -Robert-Houdin, which he gave only to his friends. It depicts him among -his so-called inventions. His son, Emile, doing second sight, is behind -him. The writing and drawing figure is on his left. On his right under -the clockwork is a drawing which, on close examination of the original, -shows the suspension trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In the presence of his collection I lost all track of time. Occasionally -we paused in our work to drink tea which he made for us on his -pathetically small stove. The drops of the first tea which we drank -together can yet be found on certain papers in my collection. His -wife, a most sympathetic soul, did not offer to disturb us, and it was -3:30 the next morning, or very nearly twenty-four hours after my arrival -at his home, when my brother, Theodore Weiss (Hardeen), and a thoroughly -disgusted physician appeared on the scene and dragged me, an unwilling -victim, back to my hotel and medical care. - -Such was the beginning of my friendship with Evanion. In time I learned -that some of his collection had been left to him by James Savren, an -English barber, who was so interested in magic that at frequent -intervals he dropped his trade to work without pay for famous magicians, -including Döbler, Anderson, Compars Herrmann, De Liska, Wellington -Young, Cornillot, and Gyngell. From these men he had secured a -marvellous collection, which was the envy of his friendly rival, -Evanion. Savren bequeathed his collection to Evanion, and bit by bit I -bought it from the latter, now poverty stricken, too old to work and -physically failing. These purchases I made at intervals whenever I -played in London, and on June 7th, 1905, while playing at Wigan, I -received word that Evanion was dying at Lambeth Infirmary. - -After the show, I jumped to London, only to find that cancer of the -throat made it almost impossible for him to speak intelligibly. I soon -discovered, however, that his chief anxiety was for the future of his -wife and then for his own decent burial. When these sad offices had been -provided for, he became more peaceful, and when I rose to leave him, -knowing that we had met probably for the last time, he drew forth his -chiefest treasure, a superb book of Robert-Houdin's programmes, his one -legacy, which is now the central jewel in my collection. Evanion died -ten days later, June 17th, and within a short time his good wife -followed him into the Great Unknown. - -[Illustration: Poster used by James Savren. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Even more dramatic was my meeting with the widow of Frikell, the great -German conjurer. - -I had heard that Frikell and not Robert-Houdin was the first magician to -discard cumbersome, draped stage apparatus, and to don evening clothes, -and I was most anxious to verify this rumor, as well as to interview him -regarding equally important data bearing on the history of magic. Having -heard that he lived in Kötchenbroda, a suburb of Dresden, I wrote to him -from Cologne, asking for an interview. I received in reply a curt note: -"Herr verreist," meaning "The master is on tour." This, I knew, from his -age, could not be true, so I took a week off for personal investigation. -I arrived at Kötchenbroda on the morning of April 8th, 1903, at 4 -o'clock, and was directed to his home, known as "Villa Frikell." Having -found my bearings and studied well the exterior of the house, I returned -to the depot to await daylight. At 8:30 I reappeared at his door, and -was told by his wife that Herr Frikell had gone away. - -I then sought the police department from which I secured the following -information: "Dr." Wiljalba Frikell was indeed the retired magician whom -I was so anxious to meet. He was eighty-seven years old, and in 1884 had -celebrated his golden anniversary as a conjurer. Living in the same town -was an adopted daughter, but she could not or would not assist me. The -venerable magician had suffered from domestic disappointments and had -made a vow that he would see no one. In fact he was leading a -hermit-like life. - -Armed with this information, I employed a photographer, giving him -instructions to post himself opposite the house and make a snap shot of -the magician, should he appear in the doorway. But I had counted without -my host. All morning the photographer lounged across the street and all -morning I stood bareheaded before the door of Herr Frikell, pleading -with his wife who leaned from the window overhead. With that peculiar -fervency which comes only when the heart's desire is at stake, I begged -that the past master of magic would lend a helping hand to one ready to -sit at his feet and learn. I urged the debt which he owed to the -literature of magic and which he could pay by giving me such direct -information as I needed for my book. - -[Illustration: The Author standing in front of Villa Frikell at -Kötchenbroda, Germany, where the master magician, Wiljalba Frikell, -spent the last years of his life. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Frau Frikell heard my pleadings with tears running down her cheeks, and -later I learned that Herr Frikell also listened to them, lying grimly on -the other side of the shuttered window. - -At length, yielding to physical exhaustion, I went away, but I was still -undaunted. I continued to bombard Herr Frikell with letters, press -clippings regarding my work, etc., and finally in Russia I received a -letter from him. I might send him a package containing a certain brand -of Russian tea of which he was particularly fond. You may be sure I lost -no time in shipping the little gift, and shortly I was rewarded by the -letter for which I longed. Having decided that I cared more for him than -did some of his relatives, he would receive me when next I played near -Kötchenbroda. - -With this interview in prospect, I made the earliest engagement -obtainable in Dresden, intending to give every possible moment to my -hardly-won acquaintance. But Fate interfered. One business problem after -another arose, concerning my forthcoming engagement in England, and I -had to postpone my visit to Herr Frikell until the latter part of the -week. In the mean time, he had agreed to visit a Dresden photographer, -as I wanted an up-to-date photograph of him and he had only pictures -taken in his more youthful days. On the day when he came to Dresden for -his sitting, he called at the theatre, but the attachés, without -informing me, refused to give him the name of the hotel where I was -stopping. - -[Illustration: Last photograph of Herr and Frau Frikell, taken -especially for this work. Frikell died Oct. 8th, 1903, the day after -this photograph was taken. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -After the performance I dropped into the König Kaffe and was much -annoyed by the staring and gesticulations of an elderly couple at a -distant table. It was Frikell with his wife, but I did not recognize -them and, not being certain on his side, he failed to make himself -known. That was mid-week, and for Saturday, which fell on October 8th, -1903, I had an engagement to call at the Villa Frikell. On Thursday, the -Central Theatre being sold out to Cleo de Merode, who was playing -special engagements in Germany with her own company, I made a flying -business trip to Berlin, and on my return I passed through Kötchenbroda. -As the train pulled into the station I hesitated. Should I drop off and -see Herr Frikell, or wait for my appointment on the morrow? Fate turned -the wheel by a mere thread and I went on to Dresden. So does she often -dash our fondest hopes! - -My appointment for Saturday was at 2 P.M., and as my train landed me in -Kötchenbroda a trifle too early I walked slowly from the depot to the -Villa Frikell, not wishing to disturb my aged host by arriving ahead of -time. - -I rang the bell. It echoed through the house with peculiar shrillness. -The air seemed charged with a quality which I presumed was the intense -pleasure of realizing my long cherished hope of meeting the great -magician. A lady opened the door and greeted me with the words: "You are -being waited for." - -I entered. He was waiting for me indeed, this man who had consented to -meet me, after vowing that he would never again look into the face of a -stranger. And Fate had forced him to keep that vow. Wiljalba Frikell was -dead. The body, clad in the best his wardrobe afforded, all of which -had been donned in honor of his expected guest, was not yet cold. Heart -failure had come suddenly and unannounced. The day before he had cleaned -up his souvenirs in readiness for my coming and arranged a quantity of -data for me. On the wall above the silent form were all of his gold -medals, photographs taken at various stages of his life, orders -presented to him by royalty--all the outward and visible signs of a -vigorous, active, and successful life, the life of which he would have -told me, had I arrived ahead of Death. And when all these were arranged, -he had forgotten his morbid dislike of strangers. The old instincts of -hospitality tugged at his heart strings, and his wife said he was almost -young and happy once more, when suddenly he grasped at his heart, -crying, "My heart! What is the matter with my heart? O----" That was -all! - -There we stood together, the woman who had loved the dear old wizard for -years and the young magician who would have been so willing to love him -had he been allowed to know him. His face was still wet from the cologne -she had thrown over him in vain hope of reviving the fading soul. On the -floor lay the cloths, used so ineffectually to bathe the pulseless face, -and now laughing mockingly at one who saw himself defeated after weary -months of writing and pleading for the much-desired meeting. - -I feel sure that the personal note struck in these reminiscences will be -forgiven. In no other way could I prove the authoritativeness of my -collection, the thoroughness of my research, and the incontrovertibility -of the facts which I desire to set forth in this volume. - - - - -THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN - - - - -CHAPTER I - -SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN - - -Robert-Houdin was born in Blois, France, December 6th, 1805. His real -name was Jean-Eugene Robert, and his father was Prosper Robert, a -watchmaker in moderate circumstances. His mother's maiden name was Marie -Catherine Guillon. His first wife was Josephe Cecile Eglantine Houdin, -whose family name he assumed for business reasons. He was married the -second time to Françoise Marguerite Olympe Naconnier. His death, caused -by pneumonia, occurred at St. Gervais, France, on June 13th, 1871. - -[Illustration: Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. Photograph taken--about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Barring the above facts, which were gleaned from the register of the -civil authorities of St. Gervais, all information regarding his life -previous to his first public appearance in 1844 must be drawn from his -own works, particularly from his autobiography, published in the form of -"Memoirs." Because of his supreme egotism, his obvious desire to make -his autobiography picturesque and interesting rather than historically -correct, and his utter indifference to dates, exact names of places, -theatres, books, etc., it is extremely hard to present logical and -consistent statements regarding his life. Such discrepancies arise as -the mention of three children in one chapter and four in another, while -he does not give the names of either wife, though he admits his -obligation to both good women. - -According to his autobiography, Jean-Eugene Robert was sent to college -at Orleans at the tender age of eleven, and remained there until he was -eighteen. He was then placed in a notary's office to study law, but his -mechanical tastes led him back to his father's trade, watchmaking. -While working for his cousin at Blois, he visited a bookshop in search -of Berthoud's "Treatise on Clockmaking," but by mistake he was given -several volumes of an old encyclopædia, one of which contained a -dissertation on "Scientific Amusements," or an exposition of magic. This -simple incident, he asserts, changed the entire current of his life. At -eighteen, he first turned his attention to magic. At forty, he made his -first appearance as an independent magician or public performer. - -On page 44 of his "Memoirs," American edition, Robert-Houdin refers to -this book as an encyclopædia, but several times later he calls it "White -Magic." In all probability it was the famous work by Henri Decremps in -five volumes, known as "La Magie Banche Dévoilée," or "White Magic -Exposed." This was written by Decremps to injure Pinetti, and it exposed -all the latter's tricks, including the orange tree, the vaulting trapeze -automaton, and in fact the majority of the tricks later claimed by -Robert-Houdin as his own inventions. - -In 1828, while working for M. Noriet, a watchmaker in Tours, Jean-Eugene -Robert was poisoned by improperly prepared food, and in his delirium -started for his old home in Blois. He was picked up on the roadside by -Torrini, a travelling magician, who nursed him back to health in his -portable theatre. Just as young Jean recovered Torrini was injured in an -accident, and his erstwhile patient remained to nurse his benefactor and -later to help Torrini's assistant present the programme of magic by -which they made their living. His first public appearance as the -representative of Torrini was made at Aubusson. - -[Illustration: The only Robert-Houdin poster showing his complete stage -setting. This lithograph was made in France. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Programme for the opening of Robert-Houdin's theatre in -Paris. Reproduced from the American edition of his "Memoirs."] - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin's favorite lithograph for advertising -purposes. Used on the majority of his posters and in the original -edition of his "Memoirs." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Torrini was an Italian whose real name was Count Edmond de Grisy. He was -a contemporary of Pinetti. In all probability, during the long summer of -their intimate companionship, Torrini not only initiated his fascinated -young guest into his own methods of performingtricks, but also into the -secrets of Pinetti's tricks. In his "Memoirs," Robert-Houdin makes no -secret of the fact that both Comus and Pinetti, together with their -tricks, were topics of conversation between himself and Torrini. - -[Illustration: A very rare, and possibly the only, programme in -existence, chronicling Robert-Houdin's first appearance before Queen -Victoria, July 19th, 1848. The original, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection, was presented to James Savren by Robert-Houdin.] - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert-Houdin during an Easter engagement -at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -When Torrini was able to resume his performances, Jean-Eugene returned -to his family in Blois. During the next few years he mixed amateur -acting with his daily labor, leaning more and more toward the profession -of public entertainer. But his ambitions along this line were nipped in -the bud by marriage. Mademoiselle Houdin, whose father was a celebrated -watchmaker in Paris, visited old friends in Blois, their native town, -and became the fiancée of young Robert. As the new son-in-law was to -share the elder Houdin's business and naturally wished to secure such -benefits as might accrue from so celebrated a family of watch and clock -makers, he applied to the council of state and secured the right to -annex "Houdin" to his name, Jean-Eugene Robert, and thereafter was known -only as Robert-Houdin. - -His life between 1838 and 1844 was divided between reading every work -obtainable on magic, and his duties in his father-in-law's shop, where -he not only made and repaired clocks, but built and repaired automata of -various sorts. His family shared with him many financial vicissitudes, -and about 1842-43 his first wife died, leaving him with three young -children to raise. Earlier in his "Memoirs" he speaks of having four -children, so it is more than likely that one died before his wife. He -married again soon, and though he gives his second wife great credit as -a helpmate he does not state her name. - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin as he appeared to the English critics. -Reproduced from the _Illustrated London News_, December 23d, 1848.] - -[Illustration: ROBERT HOUDIN'S SOIREES FANTASTIQUES - -Poster used in 1848 in London by Robert-Houdin. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -By this time he had acquired more than passing fame as a repairer of -automata, and in 1844 he mended Vaucanson's marvellous duck, one of the -most remarkable automata ever made. Doubtless other automata found -their way to his workshop and aided him in his study of a profession -which he still hoped to follow. During these discouraging times he was -often assisted financially by one Monsieur G----, who either advanced -money on his automata or bought them outright. In the same year, 1844, -he retired to a suburb of Paris, and there, he asserts, he built his -famous writing and drawing figure. - -[Illustration: Poster for the Emile-Houdin benefit at St. James's -Theatre in 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The next year, 1845, he was assisted by Count de L'Escalopier, a devotee -of conjuring and automata, who advanced the money to fit up and furnish -a small theatre in the Palais Royal. Robert-Houdin went about the work -of decorating and furnishing this theatre with a view to securing the -most dramatic and brilliant effects, surrounding his simple tricks with -a setting that made them vastly different from the same offerings by his -predecessors. He was what is called to-day an original producer of old -ideas. On June 25th, 1845, he gave his first private performance before -a few friends. On July 3d of the same year his theatre of magic was -opened formally to the public. The programme of this performance is -shown on page 37. - -It will be noted that the famous writing and drawing figure was not then -included in Robert-Houdin's répertoire, nor does it ever appear on any -of his programmes. He exhibited it at the quinquennial exhibition in -1844, received a silver medal for it, and very soon sold it to the late -P. T. Barnum, who exported it to America. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert-Houdin when he played at Sadler's -Wells, London, in 1853. He never refers to this engagement in his -writings because he was not proud of having appeared in a second-class -theatre, while his rival, Anderson, held the fashionable audiences at -the St. James's, where Robert-Houdin had worn out his welcome. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -This question naturally arises: If Robert-Houdin built the original -writing and drawing figure, why could he not make a duplicate and -include it in his programme? Surely it was one of the most remarkable of -the automata which he claims as the creations of his brain and hands. - -In 1846 he claims to have invented second sight, and at the opening of -the season in 1847 he presented as his own creation the suspension -trick. During the interim he played an engagement in Brussels which was -a financial failure. - -In 1848 the Revolution closed the doors of Parisian theatres, -Robert-Houdin's among the rest, and he returned to clockmaking and -automata building, until he received from John Mitchell, who had met -with great success in managing Ludwig Döbler and Phillippe, an offer to -appear in London at the St. James's Theatre. This engagement was a -brilliant success and for the first time in his career Robert-Houdin -reaped big financial returns. - -Later Robert-Houdin toured the English provinces under his own -management and made return trips to London, but his tour under Mitchell -was the most notable engagement of his career. - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin's grave, in the cemetery at Blois, France. -From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now -in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1850, while playing in Paris, he decided to retire, and to turn over -his theatre and tricks to one Hamilton. A contemporary clipping, taken -from an English newspaper of 1848, goes to prove that Hamilton was an -Englishman who entered Robert-Houdin's employ. Hamilton signed a dual -contract, agreeing to produce Robert-Houdin's tricks as his acknowledged -successor and to marry Robert-Houdin's sister, thus keeping the tricks -and the theatre in the family. During the next two years Robert-Houdin -spent part of his time instructing his brother-in-law in all the -mysteries of his art. In July, 1852, he played a few engagements in -Germany, including Berlin and various bathing resorts, and then -formally retired to his home at St. Gervais. Here he continued to work -along mechanical and electrical lines, and in 1855 he again came into -public notice, winning awards at the Exhibition for electrical power as -applied to mechanical uses. In 1856, according to his autobiography, he -was summoned from his retirement by the Government to make a trip to -Algeria and there intimidate revolting Arabs by the exhibition of his -sleight-of-hand tricks. These were greatly superior to the work of the -Marabouts or Arabian magicians, whose influence was often held -responsible for revolts. What Robert-Houdin received for performing -this service is not set forth in any of his works. He spent the fall of -1856 in Algeria. - -[Illustration: Bas-relief on Robert-Houdin tombstone. From a photograph -taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -From the date of his return to St. Gervais to the time of his death, -June 13th, 1871, Robert-Houdin devoted his energies to improving his -inventions and writing his books, though, as stated before, it was -generally believed by contemporary magicians that in the latter task he -entrusted most of the real work to a Parisian journalist whose name was -never known. - -He was survived by a wife, a son named Emile, and a step-daughter. Emile -Houdin managed his father's theatre until his death in 1883, when the -theatre was sold for 35,000 francs. The historic temple of magic still -stands under the title of "Théâtre Robert-Houdin," under the management -of M. Melies, a maker of motion picture films. - -[Illustration: The last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as -the frontispiece for the original French edition of his "Memoirs," -published in 1868.] - -During my investigations in Paris, I was shocked to find how little the -memory of Robert-Houdin was revered and how little was known of France's -greatest magician. In fact, I was more than once informed that -Robert-Houdin was still alive and giving performances at the theatre -which bears his name. - -Contemporary magicians of Robert-Houdin and men of high repute in other -walks of life seem to agree that Robert-Houdin was an entertainer of -only average merit. Among the men who advanced this theory were the late -Henry Evanion of whose deep interest in magic I wrote in the -introduction, Sir William Clayton who was Robert-Houdin's personal -friend in London, Ernest Basch who saw Robert-Houdin in Berlin, and T. -Bolin of Moscow, Russia, who bought all his tricks in Paris and there -saw Robert-Houdin and studied his work as a conjurer. - -Robert-Houdin's contributions to literature, all of which are eulogistic -of his own talents, are as follows: - -"Confidence et Révélations," published in Paris in 1858 and translated -into English by Lascelles Wraxall, with an introduction by R. Shelton -Mackenzie. - -"Les Tricheries des Grecs" (Card-Sharping Exposed), published in Paris -in 1861. - -"Secrets de la Prestidigitation" (Secrets of Magic), published in Paris -in 1868. - -"Le Prieuré" (The Priory, being an account of his electrically equipped -house), published in Paris in 1867. - -"Les Radiations Lumineuses," published in Blois in 1869. - -"Exploration de la Rétinue," published in Blois, 1869. - -"Magic et Physique Amusante" (oeuvre posthume), published in Paris in -1877, six years after Robert-Houdin's death. - -In his autobiography, Robert-Houdin makes specific claim to the honor of -having invented the following tricks: The Orange Tree, Second Sight, -Suspension, The Cabalistic Clock, The Inexhaustible Bottle, The Pastry -Cook of the Palais Royal, The Vaulting Trapeze Automaton, and the -Writing and Drawing Figure. - -His fame, which has been sung by writers of magic without number since -his death, rests principally on the invention of second sight, -suspension, and the writing and drawing automaton. It is my intention to -trace the true history of each of these tricks and of all others to -which he laid claim as inventor, and show just how small a proportion of -the credit was due to Robert-Houdin and how much he owed to magicians -who preceded him and whose brain-work he claimed as his own. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK - - -Robert-Houdin, on page 179 of the American edition of his "Memoirs," -thus describes the orange-tree trick, which he claims as his invention: -"The next was a mysterious orange-tree, on which flowers and fruit burst -into life at the request of the ladies. As the finale, a handkerchief I -borrowed was conveyed into an orange purposely left on the tree. This -opened and displayed the handkerchief, which two butterflies took by the -corners and unfolded before the spectators." - -On page 245 of the same volume he presents the programme given at the -first public performance in the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, stating: - -"The performance will be composed of entirely novel Experiments invented -by M. Robert-Houdin. Among them being The Orange-Tree, etc." - -Now to retrace our steps in the history of magic as set forth in -handbills and advertisements of earlier and contemporaneous newspaper -clippings describing their inventions. - -Under the title of "The Apple-Tree" this mechanical trick appeared on a -Fawkes programme dated 1730. This was 115 years before Robert-Houdin -claimed it as his invention. In 1732, just before Pinchbeck's death, it -appeared on a programme used by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., and the -younger Fawkes. In 1784 it was included in the répertoire of the Italian -conjurer, Pinetti, in the guise of "Le Bouquet-philosophique." In 1822 -the same trick, but this time called "An Enchanted Garden," was featured -by M. Cornillot, who appeared in England as the pupil and successor of -Pinetti. - -[Illustration: Diagram of the orange-tree trick, from Wiegleb's "The -Natural Magic," published in 1794.] - -The trick was first explained in public print by Henri Decremps in 1784 -when his famous exposé of Pinetti was published under the title of "La -Magie Blanche Dévoilée," and in 1786-87 both Halle and Wiegleb exposed -the trick completely in their respective works on magic. - -That Robert-Houdin was an omnivorous reader is proven by his own -writings. That he knew the history and tricks of Pinetti is proven by -his own words, for in Chapter VI. of his "Memoirs" he devoted fourteen -pages to Pinetti and the latter's relations with Torrini. - -Now to prove that the tree tricks offered by Fawkes, Pinchbeck, Pinetti, -Cornillot, and Robert-Houdin were practically one and the same, and to -tell something of the history of the four magicians who featured the -trick before Robert-Houdin had been heard of: - -[Illustration: Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr. This is the oldest and rarest -authentic mezzotint in the world pertaining to the history of magic. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Daily Post_ of November 30th, -1728. Used by Christopher Pinchbeck before he joined Fawkes. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Unquestionably, the real inventor of the mysterious tree was Christopher -Pinchbeck, who was England's leading mechanical genius at the close of -the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. He was a -man of high repute, whose history is not that of the charlatan, compiled -largely from tradition, but it can be corroborated by court records, -biographical works, and encyclopædias, as well as by contemporaneous -newspaper clippings. - -[Illustration: Advertisement from the London _Daily Post_ during 1730, -showing the orange tree as offered by the senior Fawkes, just previous -to his death. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -According to Vol. XLV. of the "Dictionary of National Biography," edited -by Sidney Lee and published in 1896 by Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo -Place, London: "Christopher Pinchbeck was born about 1670, possibly in -Clerkenwell, London. He was a clockmaker and inventor of the copper and -zinc alloy called after his name. He invented and made the famous -astronomico-musical clock. In Appleby's _Weekly Journal_ of July 8th, -1721, it was announced that 'Christopher Pinchbeck, inventor and maker -of the astronomico-musical clock, is removed, from St. George's Court -(now Albion Place) to the sign of the "Astronomico-Musical Clock" in -Fleet Street, near the Leg Tavern. He maketh and selleth watches of all -sorts and clocks as well for the exact indication of the time only as -astronomical, for showing the various motions and phenomena of planets -and fixed stars.' Mention is also made of musical automata in imitation -of singing birds and barrel organs for churches, as among Pinchbeck's -manufactures. - -"Pinchbeck was in the habit of exhibiting collections of his automata at -fairs, sometimes in conjunction with a juggler named Fawkes, and he -entitled his stall 'The Temple of the Muses,' 'Grand Theatre of the -Muses,' or 'Multum in Parvo.' The _Daily Journal_ of August 27th, 1729, -announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales went to the Bartholomew -Fair to see his exhibition, and there were brief advertisements in _The -Daily Post_ of June 12th, 1729, and the _Daily Journal_ of August 22d -and 23d, 1729. There is still a large broadside in the British Museum -(1850 c. 10-17) headed 'Multum in Parvo,' relating to Pinchbeck's -exhibition, with a blank left for place and date, evidently intended for -use as a poster. He died November 18th, 1732; was buried November 21st, -in St. Denison's Church, Fleet Street. - -"In a copy of the _Gentlemen's Magazine_, printed 1732, page 1083, there -is an engraved portrait by I. Faber, after a painting by Isaac Wood, a -reproduction of which appears in 'Britten's Clock and Watch Maker,' page -122. His will, dated November 10th, 1732, was proved in London on -November 18th." - -[Illustration: A very rare mezzotint of Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., -combining the work of Cunningham, the greatest designer, and William -Humphrey, the greatest portrait etcher of his day. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -During one of his engagements at the Bartholomew Fair, Pinchbeck -probably met Fawkes, the cleverest sleight-of-hand performer that magic -has ever known, and the two joined forces. Pinchbeck made all the -automata and apparatus thereafter used by Fawkes, and, in Fawkes, he -had a master-producer of his tricks. Christopher Pinchbeck never -appeared on the program used by Fawkes, save as the maker of the -automata or apparatus, but directly after the death of the elder Fawkes, -and a few months before his own, the elder Pinchbeck appeared with the -son of his deceased partner, and was advertised as doing "the Dexterity -of Hand" performance. This indicates that he was inducting young Fawkes -into all the mysteries of the profession at which the two elder men, as -friends and business partners, had done so well. - -Christopher Pinchbeck was survived by two sons, Edward and Christopher, -Jr. Edward, the elder, succeeded to his father's shop and regular -business. He was born about 1703, and was well along in years when he -entered into his patrimony, which he advertised in _The Daily Post_ of -November 27th, 1732, as follows: "The toys made of the late Mr. -Pinchbeck's curious metal are now sold only by his son and sole -executor, Mr. Edward Pinchbeck." - -This announcement settles forever the oft-disputed question as to -whether the alloy of copper and zinc which bears the name of Pinchbeck -was invented by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., or by his son Christopher, -Jr. - -All newspaper and magazine descriptions of the automata invented by the -elder Pinchbeck indicate that his hand was as cunning as his brain was -inventive, for they showed the most delicate mechanism, and included -entire landscapes with figures of rare grace in motion. - -[Illustration: The best portrait of Isaac Fawkes in existence. The -original, now in the Harry Houdini Collection, is supposed to have been -engraved by Sutton Nichols. It is said that there is only one more of -these engravings extant.] - -"Christopher, the second son of Christopher Pinchbeck the elder," -continues the biographical sketch, "was born about 1710 and possessed -great mechanical ingenuity. While the elder son, Edward, was made -executor and continued his father's trade in a quiet, conservative -fashion, the younger son struck out along new lines and became even more -famous as an inventor than his brilliant father had been. - -[Illustration: An early Fawkes advertisement, clipped from a London -paper of 1725. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"He was a member and at one time president of the Smeatonian Society, -the precursor of the Institution of Civil Engineers. In 1762 he devised -a self-acting pneumatic brake for preventing accidents to the men -employed in working wheel-cranes. In _The Gentlemen's Magazine_ for -June, 1765, page 296, it is recorded that Messrs. Pinchbeck and Norton -had made a complicated astronomical clock for the Queen's house, some of -the calculations of the wheel having been made by James Ferguson, the -astronomer. There is no proof that Pinchbeck and Norton were ever in -partnership, and there are now two clocks answering to the description -at Buckingham Palace, one by Pinchbeck, with four dials and of a very -complicated construction, and another by Norton. - -[Illustration: A clipping from the _Daily Post_, London showing that -Fawkes combined forces with Powel, the famous Bartholomew Fair puppet -man. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"Pinchbeck took out three patents: the first (No. 892), granted 1768, -was for an improved candlestick with a spring socket for holding the -candle firmly, and an arrangement whereby the candle always occupied an -upright position, however the candlestick might be held. In 1768 (patent -No. 899) he patented his nocturnal remembrancer, a series of tablets -with notches, to serve as guides for writing in the dark. His snuffers -(No. 1119) patented 1776, continued to be made in Birmingham until the -last forty years or so, when snuffers began to go out of use. In 1774 he -presented to the Society of Arts a model of a plough for mending roads. -Pinchbeck's name first appears in the London directory in 1778, when it -replaced that of Richard Pinchbeck, toyman, of whom nothing is recorded. - -"Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., was held in considerable esteem by George -III., and he figures in Wilkes' London Museum (ii-33) in 1770 in the -list of the party who called themselves the King's friends. He died -March 17th, 1783, aged 73, and was buried in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. -His will, which was very curious, is printed in full in _The Horological -Journal_ of November, 1895. One of his daughters married William Hebb, -who was described as 'son-in-law and successor of the late Mr. Pinchbeck -at his shop in Cockspur Street' (imprinted on Pinchbeck's portrait), -whose son Christopher Henry Hebb (1772-1861) practised as a surgeon in -Worcester. There is in existence a portrait of Christopher Pinchbeck the -younger, by Cunningham, engraved by W. Humphrey." - -The mezzotints of the Pinchbecks, father and son, herewith reproduced, -are extremely rare, and when I unearthed them in Berlin I felt myself -singularly favored in securing two such treasures of great value to the -history of magic. S. Wohl, the antiquarian and dealer from whom they -were purchased, acquired them during a tour of old book and print shops -in England, and thought them portraits of one and the same person; but -by studying the names of the artists and the engravers on the two -pictures, it will be seen that they set forth the features of father and -son, as indicated by the biographical notes quoted above. - -Of the early history of Fawkes, whose brilliant stage performance lent -to the Pinchbeck automata a new lustre, little is known. It is -practically impossible to trace his family history. His Christian name -was never used on his billing nor published in papers or magazines, and -after repeated failures I was about to give up the task of discovering -it, when in 1904, aided by R. Bennett, the clerk of St. -Martin's-in-the-Fields Parish Church, Trafalgar Square, London, England, -I came upon the record of his burial. This record, which I found after -many days' search among musty, faded parchments, showed that his -Christian name was Isaac, and that he died May 25th or 29th, 1731, and -was buried in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Parish Church. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_ during 1728, showing the -oldest evidence procurable of the original "Two a Night" performance. -From the Harry Houdini Collection: - -At FAWKES's Booth in the Upper Moorfields, will be presented the -following Entertainments, - -First his Famous Posture-Master, that for his wonderful dexterity of -Body exceeds all Europe. 2. The Musical Temple of Arts, with two moving -Pictures, the one a Concert of Musick, the other the Siege and Bay of -Gibraltar, being the finest Piece of Clock-work in the World. 3d. -Another Machine with three moving Pictures, the first represents the -Hill of Parnassus, with Apollo and the Nine Muses playing on various -Instruments of Musick, with next a beautiful View of a River, with Swans -and other Fowls and Fish, sporting as tho' Alive. The last gives a -Prospect of the New Palace Yard, with the whole Procession of the late -Coronation of their preseat Majesties marching from the Hall to the -Abbey, - -Note, Half the Performance can't be express'd in this advertisement. - -Note, We show twice every Evening, the First beginning at Five, the -other at Seven.] - -The records further show that he was buried in the church vault, the -coffin being carried by six men. Prayers were said in the church, -candles were used, and the great bell was tolled. As the fees amounted -to £6 12s., a goodly sum for those days, all signs indicate that the -funeral was on a scale more costly and impressive than the ordinary. - -Fawkes was worth at his death £10,000, which was considered an enormous -sum in those days. Every penny of this he made performing at the fairs. - -The earliest announcements of Fawkes' performance in my collection are -dated 1702 and include advertisements headed "Fawkes and Powel," -"Fawkes and Phillips," and "Fawkes and Pinchbeck." Powel was the famous -puppet man, Phillips a famous posture master (known to-day as -contortionist), and Pinchbeck was the greatest of mechanicians. Fawkes -seems to have possessed a singular gift for picking out desirable -partners. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, February 7th, 1724, in -which Fawkes announces his retirement and offers to teach his tricks to -all comers. Below this announcement is the advertisement of Clench, -famous as an imitator and an instrumentalist.] - -From this mass of evidence I am producing various clippings. By a -peculiar coincidence one of these I believe offers the most authentic -and earliest record of "two a night" performances in England. - -In my collection are a number of other clippings from the press of the -same year, in April and May, 1728, but none of them says "twice a -night," therefore I judge that the custom of giving two performances in -a night was tried previously to April, 1728, and then abandoned, or -after the first of May. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Daily Post_ of August, 1735, in -which Fawkes advertises his admission price as twelvepence. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In the London _Post_ of February 7th, 1724, Fawkes announced an -exhibition "in the Long Room over the piazza at the Opera House in the -Haymarket." At this time he also advertised the fact that he was about -to retire and was exposing all his tricks. The clipping of that date -from my collection has the following foot-note: "Likewise he designs to -follow this business no longer than this season; so he promises to learn -any lady or gentleman his fancies in dexterity of hand for their own -diversion." - -When Fawkes was not in partnership with some puppet showman, he always -advertised his own puppets as "A court of the richest and largest -figures ever shown in England, being as big as men and women!" His -admission charges varied, but 12 pence seemed his favorite figure. -About six years before his death he had his own theatre in James Street, -near the Haymarket, in which he exhibited for months at a time before -and after fairs. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, showing that young -Fawkes collaborated with Pinchbeck and together they offered the -orange-tree trick in 1732. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -I reproduce a clipping from my collection showing Fawkes' last program. -Here it will be seen that his first trick was causing a tree to grow up -in a flower-pot on the table, and bear fruit in a minute's time. In _The -Gentlemen's Magazine_, that oft-quoted and most reliable periodical, of -February 15th, 1731, readers were informed that the Algerian Ambassadors -witnessed Fawkes' performance. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, August 16th, 1736, when -young Fawkes was playing alone. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -At their request he showed them "a prospect of Algiers, and raised up an -apple-tree which bore ripe fruit in less than a minute's time, which -several of the company tasted of." - -Fawkes, too, had a son, and thus the partnership and the friendship -which had existed between the elder Fawkes and the elder Pinchbeck were -carried on by the second generation. All of the marvellous apparatus -made by Pinchbeck the elder, for Fawkes, may have been bequeathed by the -latter to his son, but, in 1732, Pinchbeck the elder and Fawkes the -younger were in a booth together, and Pinchbeck was advertised as doing -"the dexterity of hand" performances. After Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., -died, young Fawkes started out on his own account. In 1746, according to -an advertisement in my collection, a Fawkes and a Pinchbeck were -together again, so the son of Pinchbeck must have joined the younger -Fawkes for exhibition purposes. The accompanying clippings from -contemporary publications trace the history of young Fawkes, and prove -that the tree which bore fruit in a minute's time was still on his -programme. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of page 1226 of Hone's "Every-Day Book" in -the Harry Houdini Collection. This is a portrait of Fawkes, engraved on -a fan by Setchels in 1721 or 1728. Fans like these were distributed at -the Bartholomew Fair.] - -For many years it was supposed that only one portrait of Fawkes was in -existence, but it now seems that three were made. I publish them all, -something which no one has ever before been able to do. One was taken -from a Setchels fan published about 1728, although some authorities say -1721. It appeared in Hone's "Every-Day Book," page 1226. Another, I -believe, was engraved by Sutton Nicols, as Hone mentions it in his -description of Fawkes. In the fan engraving, it will be noticed that -there appears a man wearing a star on his left breast. It is said that -this is Sir Robert Walpole, who was Prime Minister while Fawkes was at -the height of his success, and who was one of the conjurer's great -admirers. Hogarth also placed Fawkes in one of his engravings as the -frontispiece of a most diverting brochure on "Taste," in which he -belittles Burlington Gate. This makes the third portrait from my -collection herewith reproduced. - -According to an article contributed by Mons. E. Raynaly in the -_Illusionniste_ of June, 1903, the orange tree next appeared in the -répertoire of a remarkable peasant conjurer, whose billing Mons. Raynaly -found among "Affiches de Paris." This performer was billed as the -Peasant of North Holland, and gave hourly performances at the yearly -fairs at Saint-Germain. - -It is more than possible that he purchased this trick from Fawkes or -Pinchbeck, having seen it at the Bartholomew Fair in England. - -He featured the orange tree as follows: "He has a Philosophical Flower -Pot, in which he causes to grow on a table in the presence of the -spectators trees which flower, and then the flowers fall, and fruit -appears absolutely ripe and ready to be eaten." - -His posters are dated 1746-47 and 1751. - -The next programme on which the mysterious tree appears is a Pinetti -handbill, dated in London, 1784, when the following announcement was -made: - -"Signore Pinetti will afterwards present the assembly with a Tree called -Le Bouquet-philosophique composed of small branches of an orange-tree, -the leaves appearing green and natural. He will put it under a bottle, -and at some distance, by throwing some drops of water of his own -composition, the leaves will begin to change and the bouquet will -produce natural flowers and various fruits." - -[Illustration: Masquerade and opera at Burlington Gate. Reproduction of -Hogarth's engraving entitled "Taste," belittling the artistic taste of -London. This caricature verifies the Fawkes advertisement, reproduced on -page 64, for here the conjurer is pictured leaning from the window of -the "long room" and calling attention to his performances. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Pinetti is one of the most fascinating and picturesque figures in the -history of magic. His full name was Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, and, -like Pinchbeck and Fawkes, he was a man of parts and readily made -friends with the nobility. In fact, there is some question as to whether -he did not come of a noble family. - -He was born in 1750 in Orbitelle, a fortified town once claimed by -Tuscany. What can be gleaned regarding his early history goes to prove -that his family connections were excellent and his education of the -best. One of his portraits, reproduced herewith, shows a half-crown of -laurel decorating the frame, and on one side of the bust is a globe, -while in the rear of the picture is a stack of books. This would -establish his claim that he was once a professor of physics and -geography. In fact, the legend beneath the portrait, being translated -from the French, runs: - -"I. I. Pinetti Willedal de Merci, Professor and Demonstrator of Physics, -Chevalier of the Order of St. Philipe, Geographical Engineer, Financial -Counselor of H.R.H. Prince of Linbourg Holstein, Born in Orbitelle in -1750." - -[Illustration: A wood-cut used by Pinetti during his engagement at -Hamburg, Germany, in October, 1796. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As it has so often happened in the history of savants and students, -there ran in Pinetti's blood a love of the mysterious with that peculiar -strain of charalatanism which went to make up the clever performer in -old-time magic. Evidently he resigned his duties as a professor for the -more picturesque life of the travelling magician, and he is first heard -from in this capacity in the French provinces in 1783. His fame quickly -carried him to Paris, where in 1784 he appeared before the court of -Louis XVI. His arrival was most opportune, for just then all Paris and, -for that matter, all Europe had been aroused to a new interest in magic -by the brilliant Cagliostro. - -[Illustration: The only authentic portrait of Pinetti in existence, the -only known copy extant being in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -From Paris he went to London, playing at the Haymarket and creating a -sensation equal to that which he made in France. Later he toured -Germany, playing in Berlin and Hamburg. Next he went back to his native -land, Italy, but later returned to Germany for a second engagement. In -1789 he appeared in Russia and never left that country. There he married -a Russian girl, daughter of a carriage manufacturer. They had two -children. Pinetti would have left enormous wealth, but in his later -years he became interested in ballooning, the sensation of the hour, and -spent his entire fortune on balloon experiments. He died in Bartichoff, -Volhinie, aged fifty years. - -[Illustration: Henri Decremps, the French author who exposed and -endeavored to ruin Pinetti, but succeeded only in immortalizing him.] - -Pinetti was a man of rare inventive genius and almost reconstructed the -art of conjuring, so numerous were his inventions. For half a century -after his death his successors drew upon Pinetti's inventions and -répertoire for their programmes. Naturally such ability aroused bitter -jealousies, especially as Pinetti made no attempt to conciliate his -contemporaries, either magicians or writers on magic. He issued one -book, whose title-page reads: - -"Amusements Physiques et Differentes Expériences Divertissements, -Composées et Executées, tant à Paris que dans les diverses Courts de -l'Europe. Par M. Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, Romain, Chevalier de -l'Ordre Mérite de Saint-Phillipe, Professeur de Mathématiques et de -Physiques, Protégé par toute la Maison Royale de France, Pensionnaire de -la Cour de Prusse, etc., 1785." - -The work, however, was not a clear and lucid explanation of his methods -and tricks. In fact some of his contemporaries claimed that he -deliberately misrepresented his methods of performing tricks. Among -these writers was Henri Decremps, a brilliant professor of mathematics -and physics in Paris, who proceeded to expose all of Pinetti's tricks in -the book referred to in the preceding chapter, "La Magie Blanche -Dévoilée." This work was in five volumes and was so popular in its day -that it was translated into nearly every modern language. The following -explanation of the trick is taken from page 56 of the English -translation, entitled "The Conjurer Unmasked": - -"The branches of the tree may be made of tin or paper, so as to be -hollow from one end to the other in order that the air which enters at -the bottom may find its exit at the top of the branch. These branches -are so adjusted that at intervals there appear twigs made from brass -wire, but the whole so decorated with leaves made from parchment that -the ensemble closely resembles nature. - -"The end of each branch is dilated to contain small pieces of gummed -silk or very fine gold-beater's skin, which are to catch the figures of -the flowers and fruit when the latter expand by the air driven through -the branches to which they were fastened by a silk thread. - -[Illustration: Decremps's signature written by himself on the last page -of a copy of his book now in the Harry Houdini Library.] - -"The tree or nosegay is then placed on a table, through which runs a -glass tube to supply air from beneath the stage, where a confederate -works this end of the trick, and causes the tree to 'grow' at the -prearranged signal." - -Later it was described as being accomplished entirely by springs, and -real oranges were first stuck on the tree by means of pegs or pins, and -the leaves were so secured around them that at first appearance they -could not be seen. Then a piston was used to spread all the leaves, -another that forced the blossom up through the hollow branches, etc. - -Pinetti's personality was almost as extraordinary as his talents. A -handsome man who knew how to carry himself, acquiring the graces and the -dress of the nobility, he became rather haughty, if not arrogant, in his -bearing. He so antagonized his contemporaries in the fields of magic and -literature that he was advertised as much by his bitter enemies as by -his loving friends. Many of his methods of attracting attention to -himself were singularly like those employed by modern press agents of -theatrical stars. He never trusted to his performances in theatres and -drawing-rooms to advertise his abilities, but demonstrated his art -wherever he appeared, from barber-shops to cafés. - -Perhaps the best pen pictures of Pinetti and his methods are furnished -by E. G. Robertson in his "Memoirs." Robertson was a contemporary of -Pinetti, and, like him, a pioneer in ballooning. His "Memoirs," written -in the French language, were published in 1831. The following extracts -from this interesting book tell much of Pinetti's life in Russia and of -his professional history as tradition and actual acquaintance had -presented it to M. Robertson: - -"Pinetti had travelled a great deal and for a long time had enjoyed a -great European reputation. He had done everything to attain it. There -was never a man that carried further the art of the 'charlatisme.' When -he arrived in a town where he intended to give a show, he took good care -to prepare his public by speeches, which would keep it in suspense. In -St. Petersburg great and incredible examples of mystification and of -prestidigitation were told about him. - -"One day he went to a barber-shop to get shaved, sat down in the chair, -had the towel tied around his neck, and laid his head back ready for the -lather. The barber left him in this position to get hot water, and when -he returned, guided by force of habit, he applied the lather where the -chin should be, but he found feet, arms, hands, and body in a coat, but -no head! Such lamentations! No more head! What could it mean? He opened -the door, and, frightened to death, ran away. Pinetti then went to the -window and called the barber back. He had put his head in his coat in -such a clever way, covering it with his handkerchief, that the surprise -and the fright of the barber were quite natural. Of course this barber -did not fail to spread over the whole town that he had shaved a man who -could take his head off and on to his wish. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece of Pinetti's book, "Amusements Physiques," -published in Paris, 1785, one of the first treasures of the Evanion -Collection purchased by the author.] - -[Illustration: Pinetti's autograph, written by him on the back of the -frontispiece, reproduced on page 78. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"Pinetti met in a summer-garden a young Russian who sold small cakes. He -bought a few cakes, bit into them, and complained of finding a hard -substance. The youth protested, but Pinetti opened the cake before him -and found inside a gold piece. The magician pocketed the gold piece, -bought another cake, then a third cake, and in each case found a new -gold piece inside. He tried to buy the rest of the cakes. The passers-by -had in the mean time come round the seller, and everybody wanted to buy -as well. The market seemed to be all right, a ducat for a kopeck! Twelve -francs for a cent! The young man refused to sell any more, hurried away, -and when alone opened the cakes that were left. He found only the -substances of which the cakes were made--nothing else. He had two left, -so he hurried back to offer these to Pinetti. Pinetti bought them from -him, opened them and showed in each one the gold piece, which the young -man could not find in the two dozen cakes which he had spoilt. The poor -boy bit his lips and looked at Pinetti with wondering, frightened eyes. -This little adventure was advertised here, there, and everywhere, and -was told in the clubs and in the society gatherings, and very soon the -name of Pinetti gave the key to the enigma, and Pinetti was in demand by -everybody. - -"When Pinetti came on the stage, he had the knack of attracting members -of the nobility around his table, by letting them learn some small -secrets. This would render them confederates in working his tricks. He -would appear in rich suits, embroidered in gold, which he changed three -and four times in the evening. He would not hesitate to deck himself in -a quantity of foreign decorations. In Berlin it was told how Pinetti -would go through the streets, in a carriage drawn by four white horses. -He was clad in fine embroidery and decorated with medals of all nations. -Several times it happened that, as he passed by, the soldiers would call -arms and salute, taking him for a prince. One day the King of Prussia -rode out in his modest carriage drawn by two horses. Ahead of him drove -the supposed prince. When the King witnessed the mistake made by his -soldiers, he made inquiries as to the rank of this man to whom his men -were paying such honor, then gave the Cavalier Pinetti twenty-four hours -to get beyond Prussia's borders." - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a handbill distributed on the streets of -London in September, 1822. The orange-tree trick is on the bill under -the name of "Enchanted Garden." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Whatever may be said of Pinetti's charlatanism, it must be admitted that -he gave to the art of conjuring a great impetus which was felt for -several generations. It is not remarkable, therefore, that when the -French magician Cornillot appeared in London in 1822 he announced -himself as the pupil and successor of Pinetti. This was when -Robert-Houdin was seventeen years of age, twenty-three years before he -made his professional début, and on Cornillot's programme we find -another version of the now famous and almost familiar tree trick. As -will be seen from the accompanying reproduction of a Cornillot handbill, -the tree now appears as "An Enchanted Garden," and, if the wording of -the bill is to be believed, Cornillot had improved the trick and was -using more than one tree or plant. - -Cornillot remained in England for some time and is classed among the -conjurers of good repute. Another bill in my collection shows that he -played at the Theatre of Variety, Catherine Street, Strand, in October, -1823. He was then assisted by several singers and dancers, including the -famous Misses Hamilton and Howe, pupils of M. Corri. In his company was -also an Anglo-Chinese juggler, who, in addition to feats of juggling, -"swallows an egg, a sword, and a stone, a la Ramo Samee." - -To sum up the evidence against Robert-Houdin in this particular trick: -Four magicians of high repute gave public performances before -Robert-Houdin knew and operated the orange-tree trick. Three eminent -writers exposed it clearly and accurately. Robert-Houdin, as an -indefatigable student of the history of magic, must have known of the -trick and its _modus operandum_. He may have purchased it from -Cornillot, or as a clever mechanician he had only to reproduce the trick -invented by his predecessors, train his confederate in its -operation--and--by his cleverly written autobiography--attempt to -establish his claim to its invention. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE - - -In his "Memoirs" Robert-Houdin eulogizes the various automata which he -claims to have invented. The picturesque fashion in which he describes -the tremendous effort put forth ere success crowned his labors would -render his arguments most convincing--if stern historical facts did not -contradict his every statement. - -One of the most extraordinary mechanical figures which he exploits as -his invention was the writing and drawing figure, which he exhibited at -the Quinquennial Exhibition in 1844, but never used in his public -performances, though he asserts that he planned to exhibit it between -performances at his own theatre. This automaton, he says, laid the -foundation of his financial success and opened the way to realizing his -dream of appearing as a magician. - -[Illustration: Writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin as -his invention. From Manning's Robert-Houdin brochure.] - -On page 196 of his "Memoirs," American edition, he starts his romantic -description of its conception and manufacture. According to this he had -just planned what promised to be the most brilliant of his mechanical -inventions when financial difficulties intervened. He was obliged to -raise two thousand francs to meet a pressing debt. He applied to the -ever-convenient Monsieur G----, who had bought automata from him before. -He described the writing and drawing figure minutely to his patron, who -immediately agreed to advance two thousand five hundred francs, and if -the figure was completed in eighteen months, two thousand five hundred -francs more were to be paid for it, making five thousand francs in all. -If the figure was never completed, then Monsieur G---- was to reimburse -himself for the amount advanced by selecting automatic toys from -Robert-Houdin's regular stock. - -After liquidating his debt, Robert-Houdin retired to Belleville, a -suburb of Paris, where for eighteen months he worked upon the figure, -seeing his family only twice a week, and living in the most frugal -fashion. - -He employed a wood-carver to make the head, but the result was so -unsatisfactory that in the end he was obliged, not only to make all the -complicated machinery which operated the figure, but to carve the head -itself, which, he adds, in some miraculous fashion, resembled himself. -This resemblance, however, cannot be traced in existing cuts of the -figure. - -The chapter devoted to this particular automaton is so diverting that I -quote literally from its pages, thus giving my readers an opportunity to -take the true measure of the writer and the literary style of his -"Memoirs." Here is his description of his moment of triumph: - -"I had only to press a spring in order to enjoy the long-waited-for -result. My heart beat violently, and though I was alone I trembled at -the mere thought of this imposing trial. I had just laid the first sheet -of paper before my writer and asked him this question: 'Who is the -author of your being?' I pressed the spring, and the clockwork -started--began acting. I dared hardly breathe through fear of disturbing -the operations. The automaton bowed to me, and I could not refrain from -smiling on it as on my own son. But when I saw the eyes fix an attentive -glance on the paper--when the arm, a few seconds before numb and -lifeless, began to move and trace my signature in a firm hand--the tears -started in my eyes and I fervently thanked Heaven for granting me -success. And it was not alone the satisfaction I experienced as an -inventor, but the certainty I had of being able to restore some degree -of comfort to my family, that caused my deep feeling of gratitude. - -"After making my Sosia repeat my signature a thousand times, I gave it -this question: 'What o'clock is it?' The automaton, acting in obedience -to the clock, wrote, 'It is two in the morning.' This was a timely -warning. I profited by it and went straight to bed." - -[Illustration: Specimens of penmanship executed by the Droz writing -automaton in 1796 and 1906 respectively. From the brochure issued by the -Society of History and Archæology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.] - -Robert-Houdin injects a little humor into this chapter, for he relates -that as Molière and J. J. Rousseau consulted their servants, he decided -to do likewise; so early the next morning he invited his portress and -her husband, Auguste, a stone-mason, to be present at the first -performance of the figure. The mason's wife chose the question, "What is -the emblem of fidelity?" The automaton replied by drawing a pretty -little greyhound, lying on a cushion. The stone-mason wished to see the -works, saying: "I understand about that sort of thing, for I have always -greased the vane on the church steeple, and have even taken it down -twice." - -When the work was completed, according to page 208 of the American -edition of his "Memoirs," he returned to Paris, collected the remaining -two thousand five hundred francs due him from Monsieur G----, to whom he -delivered the figure, and two thousand francs more on an automatic -nightingale made for a rich merchant of St. Petersburg. Incidentally he -mentions that during his absence his business had prospered, but he -fails to state who managed it for him, and here is where I believe -credit should be given Opre, the Dutch inventor, who was unquestionably -Robert-Houdin's assistant for years. - -In 1844 he claims to have borrowed the writing and drawing figure from -the obliging Monsieur G---- to exhibit it at the Quinquennial -Exposition, where it attracted the attention of Louis Philippe and his -court, thus insuring its exhibitor the silver medal. - -At this point Robert-Houdin deliberately drops the writing and drawing -figure, leaving his readers to believe that it was returned to its -rightful owner, Monsieur G----, but, unfortunately for his claims, -another historian steps in here to cast reflections on Monsieur G---- 's -ownership of the figure. This writer is the world's greatest showman, -the late P. T. Barnum, who purchased the figure at this same exposition -of 1844, paying for it a goodly sum, and this incident is one of the -significant omissions of the Robert-Houdin "Memoirs." Either -Robert-Houdin sold the figure to Mr. Barnum for Monsieur G----, or such -a person as Monsieur G---- never existed, for in his own book Mr. Barnum -writes: - -"When I was abroad in 1844 I went to Paris expressly to attend the -'Quinquennial Exposition'--an exhibition then held every five years. I -met and became well acquainted with a celebrated conjurer, as he called -himself, Robert-Houdin, but who was not only a prestidigitateur and -legerdemain performer, but a mechanic of absolute genius. I bought at -the exposition the best automaton he exhibited and for which he obtained -a gold medal. I paid a round price for this most ingenious little -figure, which was an automaton writer and artist. It sat on a small -table, pencil in hand; and, if asked, for instance, for an emblem of -'fidelity,' it would instantly draw the picture of a handsome dog; if -love was wanted, a cupid was exquisitely pencilled. The automaton would -also answer many questions in writing. I took this curiosity to London, -where it was exhibited for some time at the Royal Adelaide Gallery, and -then I sent it across the Atlantic to my American Museum, where it -attracted great attention from the people and the press. During my -visit, Houdin was giving evening legerdemain performances, and by his -pressing invitation I frequently was present. He took great pains, too, -to introduce me to other inventors and exhibitors of moving figures, -which I liberally purchased, making them prominent features in the -attractions of the American Museum." - -[Illustration: The late P. T. Barnum, the world's greatest showman, who -bought the writing and drawing figure from Robert-Houdin, and wrote at -length of the French conjurer in his autobiography. Born July 5, 1810. -Died April 7, 1891. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: The figure of Cupid as executed by the Droz drawing -figure. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.] - -Barnum then continued to describe Robert-Houdin's greatness and his -cleverness in the use of electricity. The showman was always a welcome -guest at the magician's house, and he relates how, at luncheon time, -Robert-Houdin would touch a knob and through the floor would rise a -table, laden with inviting viands. These details in the Barnum book make -it all the more inexplicable that Robert-Houdin should omit all mention -of the great showman's name in his "Memoirs." - -[Illustration: Hanger advertising the Professor Faber talking machine, -exhibited by P. T. Barnum during 1873 in his museum department. This -automaton was the first talking figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Just at this time the amusement-seeking public seemed greatly interested -in automata, so it was only natural that Barnum, great showman that he -was, should scour Europe for mechanical figures. Soon after he purchased -the writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin, he brought to -America a talking figure invented by Professor Faber of Vienna, to which -he refers most entertainingly in his address to the public dated 1873: - -"The Museum department contains 100,000 curiosities, including Professor -Faber's wonderful talking machine, costing me $20,000 for its use for -six months; also the National Portrait Gallery of one hundred life-size -paintings, including all the Presidents of the United States, etc.; John -Rogers' groups of historic statuary; almost an endless variety of -curiosities, including numberless automaton musicians, mechanicians, and -moving scenes, etc., etc., made in Paris and Geneva." - -It can be imagined how wonderful this talking machine must have been -when Barnum gave it special emphasis, selecting it from the hundreds of -curios he had on exhibition. As this talking machine is probably -forgotten, I will reproduce the bill used at the time of its appearance -in London, England. - -When Barnum was in London in 1844, with Gen. Tom Thumb, who was then -performing at the Egyptian Hall, he first saw the automatic talking -machine and engaged it to strengthen his show. Thirty years later Prof. -Faber's nephew was the lecturer who explained to the American public the -automaton's mechanism and also the performer who manipulated the -machine. - -Barnum always speaks of the talking automaton as being a life-size -figure, but the pictures used for advertising purposes show that it was -only a head. - -The fate of both the talking automaton and the writing and drawing -figure is shrouded in mystery. If they were in the Barnum Museum when -the latter was swept by fire in 1865, they were destroyed. If they had -been taken back to Europe, they may now be lying in some cellar or loft, -moth-eaten and dust-covered, ignominious end for such ingenious -brain-work and handicraft. - -So much for the claims of Robert-Houdin. Now to disprove them. - -The earliest record of a writing figure I have found is in the -"Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines," compiled by Andrew Ure, -M.D., and published in New York in 1842 by Le Roy Sunderland, 126 Fulton -Street. On page 83, under the heading of "Automaton," is this statement: - -"Frederick Von Knauss completed a writing machine at Vienna in the year -1760. It is now in the model cabinet of the Polytechnic Institute, and -consists of a globe two feet in diameter, containing the mechanism, upon -which sits a figure seven inches high and writes, upon a sheet of paper -fixed to a frame, whatever has been placed beforehand upon a regulating -cylinder. At the end of each line it raises and moves its hand sideways, -in order to begin a new line." - -[Illustration: Portrait and autograph of Pierre Jacquet-Droz. Born 1721, -died 1790. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.] - -This does not answer the description of the figure which Robert-Houdin -claims, but it is interesting as showing that mechanical genius ran -along such lines almost a hundred years before Robert-Houdin claims to -have invented the famous automaton. - -The writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin as his original -invention can be traced back directly to the shop door of Switzerland's -most noted inventor, Pierre Jacquet-Droz, who with his son, Henri-Louis, -laid the foundation of the famous Swiss watch-and music-box industry. - -In the latter part of the eighteenth century, probably about 1770, the -Jacquet-Drozes turned out a drawing figure which also inscribed a few -set phrases or titles of the drawings. In mechanism, appearance, and -results it tallies almost exactly with the automaton claimed by -Robert-Houdin as originating in his brain. The Jacquet-Droz figure -showed a child clad in quaint, flowing garments, seated at a desk. The -Robert-Houdin figure was modernized, and showed a court youth in knee -breeches and powdered peruque, seated at a desk. The Jacquet-Droz figure -drew a dog, a cupid, and the heads of reigning monarchs. The -Robert-Houdin figure, made seventy-five years later, by some -inexplicable coincidence drew a dog as the symbol of fidelity, a cupid -as the emblem of love, and the heads of reigning monarchs. - -The history of the Jacquet-Drozes is written in the annals of -Switzerland as well as the equally reputable annals of scientific -inventions, and cannot be refuted. - -Pierre Jacquet-Droz was born July 28th, 1721, in a small village, -La-Chaux-de-Fonds, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland. According to some -authorities, his father was a clock-maker, but the brochure issued by -"Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie" of the city of Neuchâtel, which -has recently acquired many of the Jacquet-Droz automata, states that he -was the son of a farmer and was sent to a theological seminary at Basle. -Here the youth's natural talent for mechanics overbalanced his interest -in "isms" and "ologies," and he spent every spare moment at work with -his tools. On his return to his native town he turned his attention -seriously to clock- and watch-making, constructing a marvellous clock -with two peculiar hands which, in passing each other, touched the dial -and rewound the clock. - -[Illustration: Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz, son of Pierre Jacquet-Droz, and -the superior of his father as a mechanician. Born Oct. 13th, 1752, died -November 15th, 1791. From the Jaquet-Droz brochure, issued by the -Neuchâtel Society of History and Archæology.] - -At this time his work attracted the attention of Lord Keith, Governor of -Neuchâtel, then a province of Prussia, who induced the young inventor to -visit the court of Ferdinand VI. of Spain, providing the necessary -introductions. Pierre Jacquet-Droz remained for some time in Madrid and -made a clock of most complicated pattern. This was a perpetual calendar. -For hands, he utilized artificial sunbeams, shooting out from the sun's -face which formed the dial, to denote the hours, days, etc. With the -money received from the Spanish monarch he returned to Switzerland to -find that his son, Henri-Louis, had inherited his remarkable inventive -gifts. He sent his boy to Nancy to study music, drawing, mechanics, and -physics. During his son's absence in all probability he produced the -first of the marvellous automata which made the Jacquet-Drozes famous -the modern world over, namely, the writing figure. - -With the return of Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz from college commenced what -may be termed the golden age of mechanics in Switzerland. Associated -with father and son were the former's pupils or apprentices, -Jean-Frédéric Leschot, Jean-David Maillardet, and Jean Pierre Droz, a -blood relation who afterward became director of the mint at Paris and a -mechanician of rare talent. Jean Pierre Droz is credited with having -invented a machine for cutting, stamping, and embossing medals on the -face and on the edges at one insertion. - -[Illustration: Jean-Frédéric Leschot. Born 1747, died 1824. Portrait -published by Société des Arts de Genève. Presented to the author by -Mons. Blind (Magicus) of Geneva.] - -The output of this shop and its staff of gifted workers included the -first Swiss music box, the singing birds which sprang from watches and -jewel caskets, the drawing figure which was an improvement on the -writing figure, the spinet player, and the grotto with its many -automatic animals of diminutive size but exquisite workmanship. Years -were spent in perfecting the various automata, and none of them have -been equalled or even approached by later mechanicians and inventors. - -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz was conceded to be the superior of his father, -Pierre Jacquet-Droz. In a German encyclopædia which I found at the -King's Library, Munich, it is stated that when Vaucanson, celebrated as -the inventor of "The Flute Player," "The Mechanical Duck," "The Talking -Machine," etc., saw the work of the younger Droz, he cried loudly, "Why, -that boy commences where I left off!" - -According to the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, and an article contributed by Dr. -Alfred Gradenwits to _The Scientific American_ of June 22d, 1907, the -writing and drawing figures are made and operated as follows: - -[Illustration: The Jacquet-Droz writing automaton. From the brochure -issued by the Society of History and Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, -Switzerland.] - -"The writer represented a child of about four years of age, sitting at -his little table, patiently waiting with the pen in his hand until the -clockwork is started. He then sets to work and, after looking at the -sheet of paper before him, lifts his hand and moves it toward the -ink-stand, in which he dips the pen. The little fellow then throws off -an excess of ink and slowly and calmly, like an industrious child, -begins writing on the paper the prescribed sentence. His handwriting is -careful, conscientiously distinguishing between hair strokes and ground -strokes, always observing the proper intervals between letters and words -and generally showing the sober and determined character of the -handwriting usual at the time in the country of Neuchâtel. In order, for -instance, to write a T, the writer begins tracing the letter at the -top, and after slightly lifting his hand halfway, swiftly traces the -transversal dash, and continues writing the original ground stroke. - -"How complicated a mechanism is required for insuring these effects will -be inferred from the illustration, in which the automaton is shown with -its back opened. In the first place a vertical disk will be noticed -having at its circumference as many notches as there are letters and -signs. Behind this will be seen whole columns of cam-wheels, each of a -special shape, placed one above another, and all together forming a sort -of spinal column for the automaton. - -"Whenever the little writer is to write a given letter, a pawl is -introduced into the corresponding notch of the disk, thus lifting the -wheel column and transmitting to the hand, by the aid of a complicated -lever system and Cardan joints arranged in the elbow, the requisite -movements for tracing the letter in question. The mechanism comprises -five centres of motion connected together by chains. - -[Illustration: View of the mechanism which operates the Jacquet-Droz -writing automaton. From the brochure issued by the Society of History -and Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.] - -"In the 'Draftsman,' the mechanism is likewise arranged in the body -itself, as in the case of the 'Writer.' The broad chest thus entailed -also required a large head, which accounts for the somewhat bulky -appearance of the two automatons. With the paper in position and a -pencil in hand, the 'Draftsman' at first traces a few dashes and then -swiftly marks the shadows, and a dog appears on the paper. The little -artist knowingly examines his work, and after blowing away the dust and -putting in a few last touches, stops a moment and then quickly signs, -'Mon Toutou' (My pet dog). The motions of the automaton are quite -natural, and the outlines of his drawings extremely sharp. The automaton -when desired willingly draws certain crowned heads now belonging to -history; for example, a portrait of Louis XV., of Louis XVI., and of -Marie Antoinette." - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, 1776, advertising the -writing and drawing figures, exhibited by their inventor, Mr. -Jacquet-Droz. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The automata made by the Jacquet-Drozes and their confrères were -exhibited in all the large cities of Great Britain and Continental -Europe. According to the programmes and newspaper notices in my -collection, Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz acted as their first exhibitor. As -proof I am reproducing a Droz programme from the London _Post_, dated -1776. - -In support of this advertisement, note what the same paper says in what -is probably a criticism of current amusements: - -[Illustration: Heads of King George and Queen Charlotte, executed in -their presence by the Jacquet-Droz drawing figure in 1774. From the -brochure issued by the Society of History and Archæology, Canton of -Neuchâtel, Switzerland.] - -"This entertainment consists of three capital mechanical figures and a -pastoral scene, with figures of an inferior size. The figure on the -left-hand side, a beautiful boy as large as life, writes anything that -is dictated to him, in a very fine hand. The second on the right hand, -of the same size, draws various landscapes, etc., etc., which he -finishes in a most accurate and masterly style. The third figure is a -beautiful young lady who plays several elegant airs on the harpsichord, -with all the bass accompaniments; her head gracefully moving to the -tune, and her bosom discovering a delicate respiration. During her -performance, the pastoral scene in the centre discovers a variety of -mechanical figures admirably grouped, all of which seem endued, as it -were, with animal life, to the admiration of the spectator. The last -curiosity is a canary bird in a cage, which whistles two or three airs -in the most natural manner imaginable. Upon the whole, the united -collection strikes us as the most wonderful exertion of art which ever -trod before so close on the heels of nature. The ingenious artist is a -young man, a native of Switzerland." - -The inventory of Jacquet-Droz, Jr., dated 1786, quotes the "Piano -Player" as valued at 4,800 livres, the "Drawing Figure" at 7,200 livres, -while the "Writer" had been ceded to him by his father for 4,800 livres, -in consideration of certain improvements and modifications which -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz made in the original invention. This shows that -while the elder Droz did not die until 1790, his son controlled the -automata previous to this date, for exhibition and other purposes. - -During his later years Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz was induced to take the -automata to Spain. His tour was under the direction of an English -manager, who, possibly for the purpose of securing greater -advertisement, announced the figures as possessed of supernatural power. -This brought them under the ban of the Inquisition, and Jacquet-Droz was -thrown into prison. Eventually he managed to secure his freedom, and, -breathing free air once more, like the proverbial Arab, he silently -folded his tent and stole away, leaving the automata to their fate. -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz died in Naples, Italy, in 1791, a year after -his father's death. - -[Illustration: A de Philipsthal programme of 1803 before the writing and -drawing figure came under his control. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Poster used, March 22nd, 1811, by de Philipsthal and -Maillardet during their partnership, on which the writing and drawing -figure is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The English manager, however, tarried in Spain. The figures were "tried" -and as they proved motionless the case was dropped. The Englishman then -claimed the automata as his property and sold them to a French nobleman. -Their owner did not know how to operate them, so their great value -was never realized by his family. After his death, during a voyage to -America, they lay neglected in the castle of Mattignon, near Bayonne. -After changing hands many times, about 1803 they passed into the hands -of an inventor named Martin, and were controlled by his descendants for -nearly a hundred years. One of his family, Henri Martin, of Dresden, -Germany, exhibited them in many large cities, and advertised them for -sale at 15,000 marks in the _Muenchener_ Blaetter of May 13th, 1883. -After Martin's death, his widow succeeded in disposing of them to Herr -Marfels, of Berlin, who had them repaired with such good results that in -the fall of 1906 he sold them for 75,000 francs, or about $15,000, to -the Historical Society of Neuchâtel. In April, 1907, the writing figure, -the drawing figure, and the spinet player were on exhibition in Le -Locle, Chaux-de-Fonds, and Neuchâtel. - -So far we have traced only the original writing and drawing figure. This -has been done purely to show that even if Robert-Houdin had been capable -of building such an automaton, he would not have been its real inventor, -but would merely have copied the marvellous work of the Jacquet-Drozes. -Now to trace the figure which in 1844 he claimed as his invention. - -With the fame of the Neuchâtel shop spreading and the demand for Swiss -watches increasing, Maillardet and Jean Pierre Droz, apprentices or -perhaps partners of Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz, -removed to London and there set up a watch factory. About this time -Maillardet invented a combination writing and drawing figure which was -pronounced by experts of the day slightly inferior to the work of the -two Jacquet-Drozes. However, it must have been worthy of exhibition, for -it appeared at intervals for the next fifty years in the amusement -world, particularly in London. At first Maillardet was not its exhibitor -nor was his name ever mentioned on the programmes and newspaper notices, -but later his name appeared as part owner and exhibitor. As the Swiss -watches had created a veritable sensation and were snatched up as fast -as produced, it is quite likely that he had no time to play the rôle of -showman. - -The figure first appeared in London in 1796, when the London _Telegraph_ -of January 2nd carried the advertisement reproduced on the next page. - -Haddock had no particular standing in the world of magic, and it is more -than likely that he rented the automata which he exhibited, or merely -acted as showman for the real inventors. - -[Illustration: Haddock advertisement in the London _Telegraph_, January, -1796, in which he features the writing automaton as an androide. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Telegraph_ in March, 1812, -proving the partnership of de Philipsthal and Maillardet in an -"Automatical Theatre." The Mr. Louis mentioned in the advertisement as -assistant engineer later secured possession of the writing and drawing -figure. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In quite a few works on automata, notably Sir David Brewster's "Letters -on Natural Magic," Collinson is quoted as having interviewed Maillardet -as the inventor of the combination writing and drawing figure. _The -Franklin Journal_ of June, 1827, published in Philadelphia, Pa., credits -this figure to Maillardet and gives the following description: "It was -the figure of a boy kneeling on one knee, holding a pencil in his hand, -with which he executed not only writing but drawings equal to those of -the masters. When the figure began to work, an attendant dipped the -pencil in ink, and fixed the paper, when, on touching a spring, the -figure wrote a line, carefully dotting and stroking the letters." - -The Robert-Houdin figure did not kneel, but this change could be made by -a mechanician of ordinary ability. - -[Illustration: A Louis programme of April 3rd, 1815, in which the -writing and drawing figure is advertised as a juvenile artist. It also -features a bird of paradise automaton which Robert-Houdin claimed to -have invented thirty years later. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The writing and drawing figure does not reappear on amusement programmes -in my collection until 1812, when it was featured by De Philipsthal, the -inventor of "Phantasmagoria." The nature of the inventions grouped -under this title can best be judged from the reproduction of a De -Philipsthal programme, dated 1803-04, and reproduced in the course of -this chapter. All evidence goes to prove, however, that De Philipsthal -did not control the writing and drawing figure exclusively, but that it -was the joint property of himself and his partner, Maillardet. One of -their joint programmes is also reproduced. Wherever De Philipsthal -appears as an independent entertainer, the writing and drawing figure is -missing from his billing. Later the writing and drawing automaton came -into the possession of a Mr. Louis, who, as it will be seen from the -billing, acted as assistant engineer to De Philipsthal and Maillardet. -Louis evidently controlled the wonderful little automaton in the years -1814-15. - -The last De Philipsthal programme in my possession is dated Summer -Theatre, Hull, September 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, 1828, when he -advertises only "rope dancers and mechanical peacock," and features -"special uniting fire and water" and "firework experiments." He must -have died between that date and April, 1829, for a programme dated at -the latter time announces a benefit at the Théâtre Wakefield for the -widow and children of De Philipsthal, "the late proprietor of the Royal -Mechanical and Optical Museum." This benefit programme contains no -allusion to the writing and drawing figure, which goes to prove that it -had not been his property, or it would have been handed down to his -estate. - -In May, 1826, an automaton was exhibited at 161 Strand, a bill regarding -which is reproduced. This mechanical figure, however, should not be -confounded with the original and genuine writing and drawing figure. It -seems to have lacked legitimacy and, from what I can learn from -newspaper clippings, was worked like "Zoe," with a concealed -confederate, or, like the famous "Psycho" featured by Maskelyne, it was -worked by compressed air. This bill is interesting solely because I -believe that this fake automaton exhibited at 161 Strand was the first -figure of the sort foisted on the public after the Baron Von Kemplen -chess-player, which is described in Halle's work on magic, published in -1784. - -[Illustration: Poster announcing a benefit for the widow and children of -de Philipsthal at Wakefield, in April, 1829, which proves that writing -and drawing figure formed no part of the estate left by the deceased -showman. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Handbill advertising the fake automatic artist, exhibited -also at 161 Strand, London, May 7th, 1826. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -In 1901, while in Germany, I saw a number of these automaton artists, -all frauds. The figure sat in a small chair before an easel, ready to -draw portraits in short order. The figure was shown to the audience, -then replaced on the chair, whereupon a man under the platform would -thrust his arm through the figure and draw all that was required of the -automaton. The fake was short-lived, even at the yearly fairs, and now -has sunk too low for them. - -During this interim, that is between 1821 and 1833, the famous little -figure seems to have been in the possession of one Schmidt, who, -according to the programmes in my collection, exhibited it regularly. - -In 1833 Schmidt is programmed in London, playing at the Surrey Theatre, -when the writing and drawing figure is one of twenty-four automatic -devices. A program, which, judging from its printing, is of a still -later date, announces Mr. Schmidt and the famous figure at New Gothic -Hall, 7 Haymarket, for a short period previous to the removal of the -exhibit to St. Petersburg. The dates of other programmes in my -collection can be judged only from the style of printing which changed -at different periods of the art's development. Some of these indicate -that the writing and drawing figure was on exhibition during the early -40's in London at Paul's Head Assembly Rooms, Argyle Rooms, Regent -Street, etc. - -It is more than likely, according to Robert-Houdin's own admission -regarding his study of automata and his opportunities to repair those -left at his shop, that at some time the writing and drawing figure was -brought to Paris to be exhibited, needed repairing, and thus reached his -shop. Whether it was bought by Monsieur G----, whose interest in -automata is featured in Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," and brought to -Robert-Houdin to repair, or whether Robert-Houdin bought it for a song, -and repaired it to sell to advantage to his wealthy patron, cannot be -stated, but I am morally certain that Robert-Houdin never constructed, -in eighteen months, a complicated mechanism on which the Jacquet-Drozes -spent six years of their inventive genius and efforts. Modern -mechanicians agree that such a performance would have been a physical -impossibility, even had Robert-Houdin been the expert mechanician he -pictured himself. - -[Illustration: Programme used by Mr. Schmidt in 1827, when he had -possession of the writing and drawing figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Poster used by Mr. Schmidt in advertising the writing and -drawing figure in London just before his departure for St. Petersburg, -Russia. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -To sum up the evidence: The writing and drawing figure as turned out by -the Jacquet-Drozes was known all over Europe. It is not possible that a -man so well read and posted in magic and automata as Robert-Houdin did -not know of its existence and mechanism. And if Robert-Houdin had -invented the same mechanism it is hardly possible that his design would -have run in precisely the same channel as that of Jacquet-Droz and -Maillardet, in having the figure draw the dog, the cupid, and the heads -of monarchs. - -In those days humble mechanicians, however well they were known in their -own trade, were not exploited by the public press. Nor did they employ -clever journalists to write memoirs lauding their achievements. And so -it happened that for years the names of Jacquet-Droz and Maillardet were -unsung; their brainwork and handicraft were claimed by Robert-Houdin, -who had mastered the art of self-exploitation. To-day, after a century -and a half of neglect, the laurel wreath has been lifted from the brow -of Robert-Houdin, where it never should have been placed, and has been -laid on the graves of the real inventors of the writing and drawing -figure, Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz and Jean-David -Maillardet. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE PASTRY COOK OF THE PALAIS ROYAL - - -Concerning this trick, which Robert-Houdin claims as his invention, he -writes on page 79 of his "Memoirs," American edition: "The first was a -small pastry cook, issuing from his shop door at the word of command, -and bringing, according to the spectator's request, patties and -refreshments of every description. At the side of the shop, assistant -pastry cooks might be seen rolling paste and putting it in the oven." - -By means of handbills, programmes, and newspaper notices of magical and -mechanical performances, this trick in various guises can be traced back -as far as 1796. Nine reputable magicians offered it as part of their -repertoire, and at times two men presented it simultaneously, showing -that more than one such automaton existed. The dates of the most notable -programmes or handbills selected from my collection are as follows: - -1, Haddock, 1797. 2, Garnerin, 1815. 3, Gyngell, 1816 and 1823. 4, -Bologna, 1820. 5, Henry, 1822. 6, Schmidt, 1827. 7, Rovere, 1828. 8, -Charles, 1829. 9, Phillippe, 1841. - -In 1827 Schmidt and Gyngell joined forces, yet both before and after -this date each performer had the wonderful little piece of mechanism on -his programme. In 1841, four years before Robert-Houdin appeared as a -public performer, Phillippe created a sensation in Paris, presenting -among other automata "Le Confiseur Galant." In 1845, when Robert-Houdin -included "The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal" in his initial programme -at his own theatre in Paris, Phillippe was presenting precisely the same -trick at the St. James Theatre, London. - -Of this goodly company, however, Rovere and Phillippe deserve more than -passing notice, as both were the contemporaries of Robert-Houdin, and -Rovere was his personal friend. Both also appear in Robert-Houdin's -"Memoirs." - -The trick appears first, not as a confectioner's shop with small figures -at work, but as a fruitery, then again as a Dutch Coffee-House and a -Russian Inn, from which ten sorts of liquor are served. Finally, in -1823, it is featured under the name that later made it famous, the -Confectioner's Shop. - -Haddock, the Englishman who had the writing and drawing figure in his -possession for some time, featured the fruitery on his programmes dated -1796. One of his advertisements from the London _Telegraph_ is -reproduced on page 106, in connection with the history of the writing -and drawing figure, but for convenience I am quoting here Haddock's own -description of the fruitery trick, which was even more complicated than -the famous Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal: - -[Illustration: A Bologna poster of 1820 which features an automatic -distiller who draws eight different liquors from one cask. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"A model of the neat rural mansion, and contains the following figures: -First, the porter, which stands at the gate, and on being addressed, -rings the bell, when the door opens, the fruiteress comes out, and any -lady or gentleman may call for whatever fruit they please, and the -figure will return and bring the kind required, which may be repeated -and the fruit varied as often as the company orders: it will likewise -receive flowers, or any small article, carry them in, and produce them -again as called for. As the fruits are brought out, they will be given -in charge of a watch-dog, which sits in front of the house, and on any -person taking or touching them will begin to bark, and continue to do -so until they are returned. The next figure belonging to this piece is -the little chimney-sweeper, which will be seen coming from behind the -house, will enter the door, appear at the top of the chimney, and give -the usual cry of 'Sweep' several times, descend the chimney, and come -out with his bag full of soot." - -In 1820, Haddock's programme, including the fruitery, appears with only -a few minor changes as the répertoire of Bologna, a very clever conjurer -who afterward became the assistant of Anderson, the Wizard of the North, -and who made most of the latter's apparatus. On the Bologna programme, -for a performance to be given at the Great Assembly Room, Three Tuns -Tavern, the shop trick is described thus: "A curious Mechanical -Fruiterer and Confectioner's Shop, kept by Kitty Comfit, who will -produce at Command such Variety of Fruit and Sweetmeats as may be asked -for." - -The marvellous little shop does not appear again on programmes of magic -until 1815, when Garnerin features it as "The Dutch Coffee-House." On -the programme used by Garnerin in that year for a benefit which he gave -for the General Hospital at Birmingham, England, it is featured as No. -10: "A Dutch Coffee-House, a very surprising mechanical piece, in which -there is the figure of a Girl, six inches high, which presents, at the -Command of the Spectators, ten different sorts of Liquors." - -[Illustration: A Garnerin poster of 1815, advertising "A Dutch Coffee -House," whose automatic hostess serves refreshments at command. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -This programme is of such historical value that I reproduce it in full. -It will show that this particular mechanical trick is by no means the -most important feature of Garnerin's répertoire. In fact his fame is -based on his ballooning, and he is said to have been the inventor of -the parachute. The ascension of the nocturnal balloon, also scheduled on -this programme, is an imitation of the one which Garnerin arranged in -honor of Bonaparte's coronation in 1805. On that occasion the balloon -started at Paris and descended in Rome, a distance of five hundred miles -which was covered in twenty-two hours. - -Garnerin was a contemporary of both Pinetti and Robertson and was with -them in Russia when Pinetti dissipated his fortune in balloon -experiments. In their correspondence, both Pinetti and Robertson spoke -slightingly of Garnerin, but the Frenchman's programmes all indicate -that he was not only a successful aëronaut, but a magician who could -present a diverting entertainment. - -[Illustration: A Gyngell poster of 1816, featuring the Russian Inn, with -service of various kinds of liquor. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1816 the elder Gyngell featured the trick on his programmes as "The -Russian Inn," and in 1823 he changed it to "The Confectioner's Shop." -These programmes are reproduced as the most convincing evidence against -the claims of Robert-Houdin. - -The Gyngell family is one of the most interesting in the history of -magic. The Christian name of the founder of the family I have never been -able to ascertain, though programmes give the initial as G. He was -celebrated as a Bartholomew Fair conjurer. His career started about -1788, and his contemporaries were Lane, Boaz, Ball, Jonas, Breslaw, and -Flocton. At one time Gyngell and Flocton worked together, and Thomas -Frost in his book, "The Lives of Conjurers," claims that at Flocton's -death Gyngell received a portion of the former's wealth. - -[Illustration: The original Gyngell, a portrait reproduced from the book -on magic written by this famous Bartholomew Fair conjurer. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Associated with him in his performances were his brother, two sons, and -a daughter. The latter was not only a clever rope-dancer but a musician -of more than ordinary ability and she often constituted the entire -"orchestra." - -On Gyngell's programme offered in 1827 he proves himself a great -showman, for he features Herr Schmidt's "Mechanical Automatons, -Phantasmagoria, a laughing sketch entitled Wholesale Blunders, his son -on the flying wire, during which he would throw a somersault through a -balloon of real fire, a broadsword dance by Miss Louise and Master -Gyngell, and Miss Louise's performance on the tight rope, clowned by -Master Lionel." - -On a programme used in Hull, October 29th, 1827, a lottery was featured -as follows: "On which occasion the first hundred persons paying for the -gallery will be entitled by ticket to a chance of a Fat Goose, and the -same number in the pit to have the same chance for a fat turkey. To be -drawn for on the stage, in the same manner as the State Lottery." - -According to Thomas Frost, Gyngell died in 1833 and was buried in the -Parish Church, Camberwell. His children, however, continued the work so -excellently planned by their father. - -The programmes herewith reproduced I purchased from Henry Evanion, who -secured them directly from the last of the Gyngell family, as the -accompanying letter, now a part of my collection, will show: - -DOVER, February 10th, 1867. - -MR. EVANION: - - DEAR SIR--Yours of the 5th inst. I received just as I was leaving - Folkestown, and it was forwarded from Guilford. - - I am sorry I have not one of my old bills with me, neither do I - think any of my family could find one at home. I may have some - among my old conjuring things, and when I return to Guilford I will - look them over and send you what I can find. I was sorry I was not - at home when you were in Guilford, for I feel much pleasure in - meeting a responsible professional. I am not certain when I shall - return, but most likely not for six weeks. I will keep your - address; so should you change your residence, write to me about - that time. - - I was looking over some old papers some time last summer, and found - a bill of my father's, nearly 60 years ago, when his great trick - was cutting off the cock's head and restoring it to life again. And - a great wonder it was considered and brought crowded rooms. - - I was Master Gyngell, the wonderful performer on the slack wire; - and now in my 71st year I am lecturer, pyrotechnist, and high-rope - walker, for I did that last summer. My life has been a simple one - of ups and downs. - - I am, dear sir, yours truly, - -J. D. G. GYNGELL. - -[Illustration: A Gyngell programme of 1823, advertising "A -Confectioner's Shop," whose attendant will serve automatically any sort -of confectionery demanded. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The signature of this letter, "J. D. G. Gyngell," clears up considerable -uncertainty regarding the names of the two Gyngell sons. At times the -clever young tight-rope performer has been spoken of as Joseph, and at -others as Gellini. It is quite probable that the two names were really -part of one, and the full baptismal name was "Joseph D. Gellini." It was -as Gellini Gyngell that he met Henry Evanion at Deal, February 20th, -1862, when the latter was performing as a magician at the Deal and -Walmer Institute, while Gellini Gyngell gave an exhibition of fireworks -and a magic-lantern display on the South Esplanade. A fine notice of -both performances was published in the Deal _Telegram_ of February 23d, -when the hope was expressed that Gyngell's collection, taken among those -who enjoyed his outdoor performance, repaid him for his admirable -entertainment. Gyngell was landlord of the Bowling Green Tavern at this -time, and travelled as an entertainer only at intervals. - -The next appearance of the trick is in a book published by M. Henry, a -ventriloquist, who played London and the provinces from 1820 to 1828. -During an engagement at the Adelphia Theatre, London, which according to -the programme was about 1822, Henry published a book entitled -"Conversazione; or, Mirth and Marvels," in which he interspersed witty -conversation with descriptions of his various tricks. On page 11 he -thus describes the automaton under consideration: - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a rare old colored lithograph in three -sections. This section represents Gyngell. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"Illusion Third. A curious mechanical trick; an inn, from which issues -the hostess for orders, upon receiving which, she returns into the inn -and brings out the various liquors as called for by the audience, and at -last waiting for the money, which, having received, goes in and shuts -the door. Mr. Henry says he has produced the inn in preference to -palaces, though more stupendous and magnificent, thinking, as a certain -author wrote, the heartiest welcome is to be found at the inn." - -In the same year Henry issued a challenge open to the whole world, -defying any performer to equal his manipulation of the cup and ball -trick. He also employed as an adjunct of his conjuring performances -Signor de Fedori of Rome, an armless wonder, who used his feet to play -the drum, violin, and triangle. - -A contemporary of Henry was Charles, the great ventriloquist, who varied -his performance as did all ventriloquists of his day, by presenting -"Philosophical and Mechanical Experiments" to make up a -two-hour-and-a-half performance. Charles made several tours of the -English provinces, and played in London at intervals. On a London -programme which is undated, but which announces M. Charles as playing at -Mr. Wigley's Large Room, Spring Gardens, the second automaton on his -list is described as "The Russian Inn, out of which comes a little Woman -and brings the Liquor demanded for." Two of his programmes dated Theatre -Royal, Hull, April, 1829, now in my collection, carry a pathetic -foot-note written in the handwriting of the collector through whom they -came into my possession: "The audiences on both the evenings were -extremely small, and the money was refunded." - -By referring to the chapter on the writing and drawing figure, Chapter -III, Page 113, a Schmidt programme of 1827 will be found, in which he -features "The Enchanted Dutch Coffee-House, an elegant little building. -On the traveller ringing the bell, the door opens, the hostess attends -and provides him with any liquor he may call for." - -[Illustration: A Charles poster dated about 1829 in which the Russian -Inn and its obedient little figure are featured. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Schmidt seems to have confined his exhibitions to London and the -provinces and was often connected with other magicians, including -Gyngell and Buck. The latter was an English conjurer, best known as the -man who was horribly injured when presenting "The Gun Delusion." This -consisted of having a marked bullet shot at the performer, who caught it -between his teeth on a plate, or on the point of a needle or knife. Some -miscreant loaded the gun with metal after Buck had it prepared for the -trick, and the unfortunate performer's right cheek was literally shot -away. - -In 1828 Jules de Rovere, a French conjurer, whose fame rests principally -on the fact that he coined the new title "prestidigitator," appeared at -the Haymarket Theatre, London, and also toured the English provinces. A -clipping from the Oxford _Herald_ of that year includes this description -of his automaton: "One of the clowns vanishes from the box, and -instantly at the top of the hall a little lady, in a little hotel -brilliantly illuminated, gives out wines and liquors to them who ask for -them, without any apparent communication with the artiste, and yet the -lady is only six inches high." - -In the late 30's Rovere made his headquarters in Paris, and there he and -Robert-Houdin met. The latter refers to this meeting on page 153 of his -"Memoirs," when writing of the misfortunes which had overtaken Father -Roujol, whose shop had once been headquarters for conjurers: "Still I -had the luck to form here the acquaintance of Jules de Rovere, the first -to employ a title now generally given to fashionable conjurers." - -And after Rovere, Phillippe, who is by far the most important presenter -of the Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal, as bearing upon Robert-Houdin's -claims. - -For Phillippe's early history we must depend largely upon -Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs." According to these, Phillippe started life as -a confectioner or maker of sweets, and his real name was Phillippe -Talon. According to an article published in _L'Illusionniste_ in -January, 1902, he was born in Alias, near Nîmes, December 25th, 1802, -and died in Bokhara, Turkey, June 27th, 1878. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of pastel portrait of Phillippe. Only known -likeness of the conjurer in existence. Made for him by a Vienna artist. -Original now in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Like many a genius and successful man, his early history was written in -a minor key. According to Robert-Houdin his sweets did not catch the -Parisian fancy, and he went to London, where at that time French bonbons -were in high favor. But for some reason he failed in London, and went -on to Aberdeen, Scotland, where he was very soon reduced to sore -straits. In his hour of extremity his cleverness saved the day. In -Aberdeen at the same time was a company of actors almost as unfortunate -as himself. They were presenting a pantomime which the public refused -to patronize. The young confectioner approached the manager of the -pantomime and suggested that they join forces. In addition to the -regular admission to the pantomime each patron was to pay sixpence and -receive in return a paper of mixed sugar plums and a lottery ticket by -which he might gain the first prize of the value of five pounds. In -addition, Talon promised not only to provide the sweets free of cost to -the management, but to present a new and startling feature at the close -of the performance. - -The novel announcement crowded the house, the pantomime and the bonbons -alike found favor, but the significant feature of the performance was -young Talon's appearance in the finale in the rôle of "Punch," for which -he was admirably made up. He executed an eccentric dance, at the finish -of which he pretended to fall and injure himself. In a faint voice he -demanded pills to relieve his pain, and a fellow-actor brought on pills -of such enormous size that the audience stopped sympathizing with the -actor and began to laugh. But the pills all disappeared down the -dancer's throat, for Talon was not only an able confectioner and an -agile dancer, but a sleight-of-hand performer. From that hour he -exchanged the spoon of the confectioner for the wand of the magician. -The fortunes of both the pantomime and Phillippe, as he now called -himself, improved. Quite probably he remained with the pantomime company -until the close of the season and then struck out as an independent -performer. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Phillippe during his engagement at the -Strand Theatre, London, 1845-46. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Another story which is gleaned from a biography of John Henry Anderson, -the Wizard of the North, tells how Phillippe started his career as a -pastry cook in the household of one Lord Panmure, and I quote this -literally from the Anderson book, because I believe it to be truthful, -as material gathered from Anderson literature has proved to be: - -"It was at this time that he came in contact with a person who -afterward, under the designation of M. Phillippe, became celebrated in -France as a magician. Phillipee (for so was he named in Scotland) was -originally a cook in the services of the late Lord Panmure. Leaving that -employment, he settled down and remained for a number of years in -Aberdeen. He heard of the fame of the youthful magician, was induced to -visit his 'temple,' and was struck with his performances; and having -made the acquaintance of Mr. Anderson, he solicited from him and -obtained an insight into his profession, and fac-similes of his then -humble apparatus. Phillippe improved to such a degree upon the knowledge -he thus acquired that, leaving England for France, he earned the -reputation of being one of the most accomplished magicians ever seen in -the country." - -The date of his initial performance is not known, but he must have -remained in Scotland, perfecting his act, for the earliest Phillippe -programme in my collection is dated February 3d, 1837, when he opened at -Waterloo Rooms, Edinburgh, and announced: - -"The high character which Mons. Phillippe has obtained from the -Aberdeen, Glasgow, Greenock and Paisley Press, being the only four towns -in Britain where he has made his appearance, is a sufficient guarantee -to procure him a visit from the inhabitants of this enlightened -Metropolis, where talent had always been supported when actually -deserved." - -[Illustration: Phillippe and his Scotch assistant, Domingo. The latter -became famous as a magician under the name of Macallister, introducing -in America Phillippe's gift show. From a lithograph in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Evidently, however, Phillippe made rapid progress, for a programme dated -Saturday, April 21st, 1838, shows that his last daytime or matinée -performance in Waterloo Rooms was given under the patronage of such -members of the nobility as the Right Honorable Lady Gifford, the Right -Honorable Lady H. Stuart Forbes, etc. In an Edinburgh programme, dated -probably 1837, he is shown as performing his tricks, clad in peculiar -evening clothes, knickerbockers and waistcoat matching, with a mere -suggestion of the swallow-tail coat. In his 1838 bill he is shown clad -in the flowing robes of the old-time magician, and he advertises the -Chinese tricks, notably the gold-fish trick, which demanded voluminous -draperies. - -According to Robert-Houdin, Phillippe built a small wooden theatre in -Glasgow. Humble as this building was, however, it brought a significant -factor into Phillippe's life. This was a young bricklayer named Andrew -Macallister who had a natural genius for tricks and models, and who -became Phillippe's apprentice, later appearing as Domingo, his assistant -on the stage, wearing black make-up. - -In either Edinburgh or Dublin Phillippe met the Chinese juggler or -conjurer who taught him the gold-fish trick and the secret of the -Chinese rings. - -Armed with these two striking tricks, Phillippe determined to satisfy -his yearning to return to his native land, and in 1841 he appeared at -the Salle Montesquieu, Paris. Later, the Bonne-Nouvelle, a temple of -magic, was opened for Phillippe in Paris, and there he enjoyed the -brilliant run to which Robert-Houdin refers in his "Memoirs." - -Phillippe was an indefatigable worker and traveller, and one brilliant -engagement followed another. During the 40's he appeared, according to -my collection of programmes, all over Continental Europe, and in most of -his programmes this paragraph is featured: - - "PART III. - -"An unexpected present at once gratuitous and laughable, composed of -twelve prizes, nine lucky and three unfortunate, in which the general -public will participate." - -He also continued to distribute bonbons from an inexhaustible source, -probably a cornucopia, calling this trick "a new system of making -sweetmeats, or Le Confiseur Moderne." - -During his first engagement in Vienna he had painted for advertising -purposes a pastel portrait, showing him clad in his magician's robes at -the finale of the gold-fish trick. From this picture his later cuts were -made. By some mistake he left the original pastel in Vienna, where I -bought it at a special sale for my collection. It remains an exquisite -piece of color work, even at this day. So far it is the only real -likeness of Phillippe I have been able to unearth. - -In 1845-46 he was at the height of his popularity in London, where he -had a tremendous run. In June, 1845, we find him playing at the St. -James Theatre, under Mitchell's direction, and on September 29th, under -his own management, he moves to the Strand, where he is still found in -January of 1846. During all this time he featured The Pastry Cook of the -Palais Royal under the title of "Le Confiseur Galant." - -[Illustration: 1. Cuisine de Parafaragamus; 2. Le Chapelier de 1943; 3. -Le Paon magique; 4. La Bouteille enchantée; 5. La Chaîne hydonstaine; 6. -La Tête infernale; 7. Le Chapeau merveilleux; 8. L'Arlequin savant; 9. -Le Confiseur galant et le Liquoriste impromptu; 10. Le Bassin de Neptune -ou les poissons d'or et la ménagerie prodigieuse; 11. Éclairage de tout -le théâtre improvisé par un coup de pistolet. - -Reproduction of a large lithograph showing all of Phillippe's tricks, -including "Le Confiseur Galant" scheduled as No. 9. From the original -lithograph dated 1842 now in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As proofs that Phillippe used the pastry-cook trick both before and -during Robert-Houdin's career as a magician, I offer several programmes -containing accurate descriptions of the automaton, and also a page -illustration from a current publication dated Paris, 1843, which shows -the confectioner or pastry-cook standing in the doorway of his house, -while the key explaining the various tricks reads: "No. 9. Le Confiseur -galant et le Liquoriste impromptu." - -Robert-Houdin devotes nearly an entire chapter to the history of -Phillippe and a description of his tricks and automata, yet curiously -forgets to mention the pastry cook, which he later claims as his own -invention. - -Ernest Basch, formerly of Basch Brothers, conjurers, and the richest -manufacturer of illusions in the world, claims that the original trick -is now in his possession. Herr Basch is located in Hanover, Germany, -where he builds large illusions only. The wonderful mechanical house -passed to Basch by a bequest on the death of Baron von Sandhovel, a -wealthy resident of Amsterdam, Holland. Von Sandhovel had bought the -trick from the heirs of Robert-Houdin on the death of the latter, -because he believed it to be the brain and handwork of Opre, a Dutch -mechanician of great talent. Ernest Basch shares this belief, and with -other well-read conjurers thinks that Opre was Robert-Houdin's assistant -and built most of his automata, including The Pastry Cook of the Palais -Royal, The Windmill or Dutch Inn, Auriel and Debureau, The French -Gymnasts, The Harlequin, and The Chausseur. - -Opre was a man of ability, but lacked presence and personality properly -to present his inventions. So far I have found his name in three places -only: On the frontispiece of a Dutch book on magic, published in -Amsterdam; in Ernest Basch's correspondence about conjurers; and on page -77 of Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," when he speaks of Opre as the maker of -the Harlequin figure which Torrini asked Robert-Houdin to repair during -their travels. - -[Illustration: Ernest Basch and "Le Confiseur Galant," which he claims -is the original Robert-Houdin "Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal." From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -With such convincing proof, some of which was contemporary, that other -men had exhibited The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal in its identical -or slightly different guise, it was daring indeed of Robert-Houdin to -claim it as his own invention. - -[Illustration: David Leendert Bamberg, of the second generation of the -Bamberg family. Born 1786; died 1869. The above daguerrotype was -presented to the author by Herr Ernest Basch, and is the only one in -existence.] - -The most direct information regarding Opre comes through that eminent -family of conjurers known as the Bambergs of Holland. At this writing, -"Papa" (David) Bamberg, of the fourth generation, is prominent on the -Dutch stage, and his son Tobias David, known as Okito, of the fifth -generation, is a cosmopolitan magician, presenting a Chinese act. - -According to the family history, traceable by means of handbills, -programmes, and personal correspondence, the original Bamberg (Eliazar) -had a vaulting figure in his collection of automata in 1790, fifty years -before Robert-Houdin became a professional entertainer. This figure was -made by Opre, to whom all conjurers of that time looked for automata and -apparatus. David Leendert Bamberg, of the second generation, who also -had the vaulting figure, was the intimate friend and confidant of Opre -and was authority for the statement that Opre's son sold in Paris the -various automata made by his father, which later Robert-Houdin claimed -as his own invention. It may be noted that Robert-Houdin never invented -a single automaton after he went on the stage in 1845, and as Opre died -in 1846, the coincidence is nothing if not significant. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE OBEDIENT CARDS--THE CABALISTIC CLOCK--THE TRAPEZE AUTOMATON - -_The Obedient Cards._ - - -To trace here the history of three very common tricks claimed by -Robert-Houdin as his own inventions would be sheer waste of time, if the -exposure did not prove beyond doubt that in announcing the various -tricks of his répertoire as the output of his own brain he was not only -flagrant and unscrupulous, but he did not even give his readers credit -for enough intelligence to recognize tricks performed repeatedly by his -predecessors whom they had seen. Not satisfied with purloining tricks so -important that one or two would have been sufficient to establish the -reputation of any conjurer or inventor, he must needs lay claim to -having invented tricks long the property of mountebanks as well as -reputable magicians. - -The tricks referred to are the obedient card, the cabalistic clock, and -the automaton known as Diavolo Antonio or Le Voltigeur au Trapèze. - -[Illustration: Card trick as featured by Anderson in 1836-37. From a -poster in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The obedient-card trick, mentioned on page 245 of the American edition -of his "Memoirs," as "a novel experiment invented by M. Robert-Houdin," -can be found on the programme of every magician who ever laid claim to -dexterity of hand. Whether they accomplished the effect by clock-work -or with a black silk thread or a human hair, the result was one and the -same. It has also been worked by using a fine thread with a piece of wax -at the end. The wax is fastened to the card, and the thread draws it up. -The simplest method of all is to place the thread over and under the -cards, weaving it in and out as it were, and then, by pulling the -thread, to bring the different cards selected into view. - -So common was the trick that its description was written in every work -on magic published from 1784 to the date of Robert-Houdin's first -appearance, and in at least one volume printed as early as 1635. The -majority of French encyclopædias described the trick and exposed it -according to one method or another, and Robert-Houdin admits having been -a great reader of encyclopædias. - -The trick first appears in print in various editions of "Hocus Pocus," -twenty in all, starting with 1635. The majority contain feats with -cards, showing how to bring them up or out of a pack with a black -thread, a hair spring, or an elastic. - -In 1772 the rising-card trick was shown in Guyot's "Physical and -Mathematical Recreations," also in the Dutch or Holland translations of -the same work. In 1791 it was minutely explained by Hofrath von -Eckartshausen, who wrote five different books on the subject of magic. -The fourth, being devoted principally to the art of the conjurer, was -entitled "Die Gauckeltasche, oder vollständiger Unterricht in -Taschenspieler u. s. w.," which translated means "The Conjurer's Pocket -or Thorough Instructions in the Art of Conjuring." The title was due to -the fact that in olden days conjurers worked with the aid of a large -outside pocket. The five books, published under the general title of -"Aufschlüsse zur Magie," bear date of Munich, Germany. - -On page 138 of the third edition of Gale's "Cabinet of Knowledge," -published in London in 1800, will be found a description of the -rising-card trick as done with pin and thread, and the same book shows -how it is accomplished with wax and a hair. This book seems to have been -compiled from Philip Breslaw's work on magic, "The Last Legacy," -published in 1782. Benton, who published the English edition of -Decremps' famous work on magic, exposing Pinetti's répertoire, also -described the trick. "Natural Magic," by Astley, the circus man, and -Hooper's "Recreations," in four volumes, published in 1784, expose the -same trick. - -[Illustration: CONJURER UNMASKED - -OR - -_the Art of Sleight of hand_ - -Reproduction of frontispiece in Breslaw's book on magic, "The Last -Legacy," published in 1782. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As to magicians who performed the trick, their names are legion, and -only a few of the most prominent conjurers will be mentioned in this -connection. - -[Illustration: J. H. Anderson's birth place as drawn by him from memory. -The following is written under the sketch in his own handwriting: "A -rough sketch of the farm house called 'Red Stanes,' on the estate of -Craigmyle, Parish of Kincardine O'Neil, Aberdeenshire. The house was -built by my grandfather, John Robertson, in the year 1796, and in it I -was born on the 15th day of July, 1814. John Henry Anderson." -Photographed from the original now in the possession of Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, by the author.] - -The man who obtained the best effects with this trick was John Henry -Anderson, who startled the world of magic and amusements by his -audacity, in 1836, nine years before Robert-Houdin trod the stage as a -professional entertainer. - -Anderson was born in Kincardine, Scotland, in 1814, and started his -professional career as an actor. He must have been a very poor one, too, -for he states that he was once complimented by a manager for having -brought bad acting to the height of perfection. - -[Illustration: John Henry Anderson, wife and son, from a rare photograph -taken in 1847 or 1848. Said to be an especially good likeness of Mrs. -Anderson and the only one extant. Photograph loaned by Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, daughter-in-law of the "Wizard of the North."] - -[Illustration: Very rare poster of 1838 in which John Henry Anderson is -billed as "The Great Magician." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Cover design of Anderson's book, exposing the Davenport -Brothers; now a very rare book. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Anderson was first known as the Caledonian magician, then assumed the -title of the Wizard of the North, which he said was bestowed on him by -Sir Walter Scott. Thomas Frost belittles this statement, on the grounds -that Scott was stricken with paralysis in 1830. However, Anderson became -famous in 1829, so he should be given the benefit of the doubt. He was -the greatest advertiser that the world of magic has ever known, and he -left nothing undone that might boom attendance at his performances. He -started newspapers, gave masked balls, and donated thousands of dollars -to charities. He was known in every city of the world, and, when so -inclined, built his own theatres. He sold books on magic during his own -performances, and would sell any trick he presented for a nominal sum. -His most unique advertising dodge was to offer $500 in gold as prizes -for the best conundrums written by spectators during his performances. -To make this scheme more effective, he carried with him his own -printing-press and set it up back of the scenes. While the performance -was under way, the conundrums handed in by the spectators were printed, -and, after the performance, any one might buy a sheet of the questions -and puns at the door. As every one naturally wanted to see his conundrum -in print, Anderson sold millions of these bits of paper. In 1852, while -playing at Metropolitan Hall, New York City, he advertised his conundrum -contest and sold his book of tricks, etc., and such notables as Jenny -Lind and General Kossuth entered conundrums. - -He was among the first performers to expose the Davenport Brothers, -whose spiritualistic tricks and rope-tying had astonished America. -Directly on witnessing a performance and solving their methods, Anderson -hurried back to England and exposed the tricks. - -To sum up his history, he stands unique in the annals of magic as a doer -of daring things. He rushed into print on the slightest pretext, was a -hard fighter with his rivals and aired his quarrels in the press, and he -was a game loser when trouble came his way. Not a brilliant actor or -performer, he yet had the gift of securing excellent effects in his -_mise en scène_. He made and lost several fortunes, generally recouping -as quickly as he lost. He was burned out several times, the most notable -fire being that of Covent Garden, London, in 1856. He was liked in -spite of his eccentricities, but when he died, February 3d, 1874, his -fortune was small. - -[Illustration: Anderson billing of 1838, featuring obedient cards as -"Napoleon's Trick." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Jacobs poster, featuring "The Travelling Card." From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Anderson had numerous imitators, including M. Jacobs, "Barney" Eagle, -and E. W. Young, all of whom used the rising-or obedient-card trick. -They copied not only his tricks, but the very names he had used and the -style of his billing. All three of these men were professional magicians -before Robert-Houdin appeared, and Anderson was his very active -contemporary. - -A Jacobs bill is here reproduced, showing the card trick featured among -other attractions. The lithograph of Jacobs used in this connection is -an actual likeness and I believe it to be as rare as it is timely. - -[Illustration: Lithograph used by E. W. Young, who copied all of John -Henry Anderson's billing and featured the obedient-card trick. This -setting shows how cumbersome was the apparatus employed by magicians -before Wiljalba Frikell proved that he could score with apparently no -apparatus. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Eagle's book, in which he exposes -Anderson's gun delusion. Said by Henry Evanion, who knew Eagle, to be a -fine likeness. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Young's name has been handed down in history because he made money on -Anderson's reputation, by the boldest of imitations, assuming the title -of Wizard of the North with his own name in small type. One of his bills -is also reproduced. - -Barnedo or "Barney" Eagle is the man of the trio of the imitators who -deserves more than passing notice. He became Anderson's bitterest enemy, -and their rivalry made money for the printers. - -Eagle could neither read nor write, but having a quick brain he hired a -clever writer to indite his speeches and duplicated Anderson's show so -closely that Anderson's pride was hurt. He therefore decided to expose -Eagle, and thousands of bills, constituting a virulent attack upon his -imitator, were distributed. One of these is reproduced. It is so rare -that I doubt whether another is in existence. - -[Illustration: An Anderson poster, exposing "Barney" Eagle's tricks. -Only bill of this sort in existence. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Window poster issued by Anderson to belittle his imitator -"Barney" Eagle and show how the latter secured royal patronage. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As Eagle had advertised that he was patronized by royalty, Anderson had -another bill printed, showing Eagle playing before the King at the Ascot -race-track, and an assistant passing the hat in mountebank fashion. In -revenge, Eagle had a book published, in which he exposed Anderson's best -drawing trick, The Gun Delusion, in which the magician allowed any one -from the audience to shoot a gun at him using marked bullets. These -bullets were caught in his mouth or on the point of a knife. This trick -became as common as the obedient-card trick. - -In the face of such overwhelming evidence, Robert-Houdin's claim to -having invented the obedient-card trick is nothing short of farcical. - -[Illustration: A "Barney" Eagle poster on which the obedient-card trick -is featured as "The Walking Cards." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - - _The Cabalistic or Obedient - Clock_ - -There might be said to exist a very reasonable doubt as to the exact -date at which Robert-Houdin produced the cabalistic clock which he -included among his other doubtful claims to inventions. - -On page 250 of the American edition of his "Memoirs" he has the -Cabalistic Clock on his opening programme for July 3d, 1845, but in the -appendix of the French edition he states that the clock first made its -appearance at the opening of the season of 1847. In nearly all his -statements he is equally inaccurate. - -The mysterious clock might be termed the obedient clock, for the trick -consists in causing the hand or hands to obey the will of the conjurer -or the wishes of the audience. - -The hands will point to a figure, move with rapidity, or as slowly as -possible, or in time to music. In fact the performer has full control of -the hands--he can make them do his every bidding. - -The mysterious clock is a trick as old as the obedient-card trick, if -not older. It was explained according to various methods in books before -Robert-Houdin's appearance on the stage. In fact, the majority of -old-time conjuring books explain mysterious clocks carefully. - -Before electricity was introduced, magnets were employed, but the -earliest method was to make use of thread wound about the spindle of the -clock hand, and that method is still the very best used to-day, owing to -its simplicity. The clock, on being presented to the audience, may be -hung or placed in the position best suited to the particular method by -which it is being "worked." - -It shows a transparent clock face, such as you see in any jewelry shop. -Some magicians utilize only one hand, which permits the easy use of -electricity or magnet, while others employ two and even three hands. -When more than one hand is used the hours and minutes are indicated -simultaneously and, if cards are pasted on the clock face, the largest -hand is used to find the chosen cards. - -The clock may be placed on a pedestal, in an upright position, or hung -in midair on two ribbons or strings. It can be hung on a stand made -expressly for the purpose, on the style of a music stand, or it can be -swung in a frame. In fact, as stated before, it is usually placed so as -to facilitate the method of working. - -[Illustration: M. Jacobs, magician, ventriloquist, and bold imitator of -John Henry Anderson. From a rare lithograph now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -When the cabalistic clock is taken off the hook or the stand on which it -is placed, and handed to one of the spectators to hold, the latter -places the hand on the pin in the centre of the glass face, and -revolves it. The arrow or hand is worked by a counterweight, controlled -by the performer, who has it fixed before he hands it to the innocent -spectator. The clock can be purchased from any reliable dealer of -conjuring apparatus, in almost any part of the world. - -For a clock worked by counterweight the hand of thin brass is prepared -in the centre, where there is a weight of peculiar shape which has at -the thin or tapering end a small pin. This pin is fixed permanently to -the weight and can be revolved about the small plate on which it is -riveted. Through this plate there is a hole, exactly in the centre. This -hand has all this covered with a brass cap, and, to make the arrow point -to any given number, you simply move the weight with your thumb. The pin -clicks and allows you to feel it as it moves from one hole to another. -With very little practice you can move this weight, while in the act of -handing it to some one to place it on the centre of the clock face; and -when spun, the weight, of its own accord, will land on the bottom, -causing the hand to point where it is forced by the law of gravity. The -plate on which the weight is fastened is grooved or milled, so that it -answers to the slightest movement of your thumb. - -When the clock is on the stage and the hand moves simply by the command -of the performer or audience, it is manipulated by an assistant behind -the scenes, either by the aid of electricity or by an endless thread -which is wrapped about the spindle and runs through the two ribbons or -strings that hold the clock in midair. Some conjurers work the clock so -arranged as to make a combination trick; first by having it worked by -the concealed confederate; then, taking the clock off the stand and -bringing it down in the midst of the audience. But for this trick you -can use only one hand. - -[Illustration: The above diagram exposes the magic clock trick, as -offered in the time of Hofrath von Eckartshausen, a German writer on -magic in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Fig. 15 shows the -clock in position for the trick, hung against the rear wall or "drop." -Gaily-colored ribbons hide thin leather tubes through which run two sets -of stout silk thread or catgut, connecting with the hour and minute -hands. The thread then passes through the two iron rings, p and o in -Figures 17 and 19, which are screwed to the ceiling; thence to the -hidden confederate, who manipulates the clock hands as the hour and -minute are announced by magician or spectator. Fig. 16 shows the two -faces of the clock, with the fine connecting rod around which the string -is wound to manipulate the hands. This mechanism is hidden by a flat -brass band which encircles the edges of the two transparent faces. From -Eckartshausen's "The Conjurer's Pocket," edition of 1791.] - -Years ago when I introduced this trick in my performance, I called a -young man on my stage and asked him to place the hand on the spindle. It -would then revolve and stop at any number named. But first I made him -inform the audience the number he had chosen, which gave me time to fix -the weight with my thumb. I then gave him the hand, but he was a skilled -mechanic, and possibly knew the trick. Instead of holding the clock by -the ring at the top, which was there for that purpose, he grasped the -dial at the bottom, causing the number 6 instead of 12 to be on top. -When the hand started to turn, of course it would have stopped at the -wrong number. I managed to escape humiliation by pretending I was afraid -he would break the clock by letting it fall, so took it away from him, -holding it myself. - -[Illustration: Newspaper clipping of 1782, showing that Katterfelto used -the cabalistic clock. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Reproduction of rare engraving of Johann Nep. Hofzinser, -who invented the clock worked by a counter-weight, and who was one of -the world's greatest card tricksters. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -The mechanic walked off the stage winking at me in the most roguish -manner. - -Robert-Houdin worked The Mystic Bell trick in connection with The Clock. -This was manipulated in the same way. The bell was worked with thread, -pulling a small pin, which in turn caused the handle to fall against the -glass bell. Naturally, having electricity at his command at that time, -he made use of that force whenever it suited his fancy. - -I am positive that Robert-Houdin presented the electrical clock, because -T. Bolin, of Moscow, visited Paris and bought the trick from Voisin, the -French manufacturer of conjuring apparatus. The trick which -Robert-Houdin presented, according to his claims, was with the clock -hanging in midair to prove that it was not electrically connected, but -the truth of the matter is that the strings which held the clock -suspended in midair concealed the wires through which his electrical -current ran. - -In my library of old conjuring books the thread method is ably described -by Hofrath von Eckartshausen, mentioned earlier in this chapter. In fact -in the pictorial appendix of this work he gives this trick prominence by -minutely illustrating the same. He makes use of two hands, and to make -the trick infallible he explains that the best way would be to use two -glass disks, have them held together by a brass rim, and your threads -will work with absolute certainty. The spectators imagine that they are -seeing only one glass clock. - -Johann Conrad Gutle, the well-known delver after secrets of natural -magic, also explains several cabalistic clock tricks in his book -published in 1802. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a triple colored lithograph. This section -features Breslaw in stage costume. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -I am reproducing herewith a number of programmes describing the effect -of the trick and proving that it was no novelty when Robert-Houdin -"invented" it. In fact the trick was so common that only the supreme -egotism of the man can explain his having introduced it into the pages -of his book as an original trick. The mysterious clock worked by the -counterweight, which has been described, is credited as having been the -invention of Johann Nep. Hofzinser. - -[Illustration: Katterfelto, the bombastic conjurer, who is famous for -having sold sulphur matches in 1784, before the Lucifer match is -supposed to have been discovered. Reproduced from a rare copy of "The -European Magazine," dated June, 1783, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -In an advertisement, published in the _London Post_ of May 23d, 1778, -included in my collection, this announcement, among others of much -interest, will be found: - -"PART II.--Breslaw will exhibit many of his newly invented deceptions -with a grand apparatus and experiments and particularly the Magic Clock, -Sympathetic Bell, and Pyramidical Glasses in a manner entirely new." - -In 1781, while showing at Greenwood's Rooms, Haymarket, London, Breslaw -heavily advertised, "Particularly an experiment on a newly invented -mechanical clock will be displayed, under the direction of Sieur -Castinia, just arrived from Naples, the like never attempted before in -this metropolis." - -There is every reason to believe that Katterfelto, the greatest of -bombastic conjurers, used the electrical clock in his performances, as -he made a feature of the various late discoveries, and in his programme -of 1782 he advertises "feats and experiments in Magnetical, Electrical, -Optical, Chymical, Philosophical, Mathematical, etc., etc." Among -implements and instruments or articles mentioned I found Watches, -Caskets, Dice, Cards, Mechanical Clocks, Pyramidical Glasses, etc., etc. - -Gyngell, Sr., the celebrated Bartholomew Fair conjurer, whose career -started about 1788, had on his early programmes, "A Pedestal Clock, so -singularly constructed that it is obedient to the word of command." On -the same programme (Catherine Street Theatre, London, February 15th, -1816) I find "The Russian Inn," "The Confectioner's Shop," and "The -Automaton Rope Vaulter." This programme is reproduced in full in Chapter -IV. - -Without devoting further space to Robert-Houdin's absurd claim to having -invented this clock, we will proceed to discuss his claims to the -automaton rope walker, which he called a trapeze performer. - - _The Trapeze Automaton_ - -Though "Diavolo Antonio" or "Le Voltigeur Trapeze" was not a simple -trick, but a cleverly constructed automaton, worked by a concealed -confederate, it was a common feature on programmes long before -Robert-Houdin claimed it as his invention. Yet with the daring of one -who believes that all proof has been destroyed, he announces on page 312 -of the American edition of his "Memoirs" that he invented "The Trapeze -Performer" for his season of 1848. In the illustrated appendix of his -French edition he states that the figure made its first appearance at -his Paris theatre, October 1st, 1849. He thus describes the automaton: - -[Illustration: Copy of a poster used by Robert-Houdin to advertise his -trapeze performer. This proves how accurately he duplicated the Pinetti -figure, even to the arrangement of floral garlands. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -"The figure is the size of an infant, and I carry the little artist on -my arm in a box. I put him on the trapeze and ask him questions, which -he answers by moving his head. Then he bows gracefully to the audience, -turning first this way, then that; suspends himself by his hands and -draws himself up in time to the music. He also goes through the motions -of a strong man, hangs by his head, hands, and feet, and with his legs -making the motions of aërial telegraphy." - -[Illustration: Reproduction of an illustration in "Aufschlüsse zur -Magie," by Hofrath von Eckartshausen, showing the automatic rope vaulter -as exhibited in 1784 by Pinetti. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: A Bologna bill of 1812, featuring the automatic rope -dancers. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Decremps in his exposé, "The Conjurer Unmasked," published in 1784, thus -describes the automaton and its work: "Our attention was next called to -observe an automaton figure, that vaulted upon a rope, performing all -the postures and evolutions of the most expert tumblers, keeping exact -time to music. By seeing Mr. Van Estin wind up the figures, and being -shown the wheels and levers contained in the body of the automaton, -caused us to believe it moved by its own springs, when Mr. Van Estin -thus explained the deception: 'To make a figure of this kind depends a -great deal on the proportion and the materials with which it is -composed: The legs and thighs are formed out of heavy wood, such as ash -or oak; the body of birch or willow, and made hollow, and the head, -for lightness, of papier-maché. The figure is joined by its hands to a -bar of iron, that passes through a partition, and is turned by a -confederate; the arms are inflexible at the elbows, but move freely at -the shoulders by means of a bolt that goes through the body; and the -thighs and legs move in the same manner at the hips and knees, and are -stayed by pieces of leather to prevent them from bending in the wrong -way. The bar is covered with hollow twisted tubes, and ornamented with -artificial flowers, so as no part of it can be seen to turn; the -confederate by giving the handle a quarter of a turn to the left, the -automaton, whose arms are parallel to the horizon, lift themselves by -little and little, till they become vertical and parallel to the rest of -the body; if in following the same direction, the other part of the body -moves forward; and by watching the motions through a hole, he seizes the -instant that a leg passes before the bar, to leave the automaton -astride; afterward he balances it by jerks, and causes it to take a turn -around, keeping time with the music as if it was sensible of harmony. - -"N.B.--Three circumstances concur here to favor the illusion: First, by -the assistance of a wire, the confederate can separate the bar from the -automaton, which, falling to the ground, persuades one it loses itself -by real machinery. Secondly, in winding up the levers shown in the body, -confirms the spectators in the idea that there is no need of a -confederate. Thirdly, the tubes that are twisted around the bar, except -where the automaton is joined to it, seem to be the rope itself, and -being without motion, as is seen by the garlands which surround them, it -cannot be suspected that the bar turns in the inside, from whence it is -concluded that the figure moves by its own machinery." - -According to one of de Philipsthal's advertisements, page 103, the -trapeze automaton which he featured was six feet in height. But Pinetti -programmes show that he had a smaller figure known as the rope vaulter. -This is probably the trick exposed in Decremps' book. - -On page 108 will be found a Louis programme of 1815, on which a figure -is thus featured: - - "TWO ELEGANT AUTOMATA - -As large as nature, the one representing a beautiful POLONNESE, the -other a little boy. - -Nothing can surpass the admirable construction of these Pieces. The -large figure seems almost endowed with human Faculties, exhibiting the -usual feats of a Rope-Dancer, in the fullest imitation of life. The -small Figure is invested with equally astonishing powers of action. To -such ladies as are spectators it must be a very pleasing circumstance -that these exertions do not excite those disagreeable sensations which -arise from the sight of Figures fraught with life, performing feats -attended with so much danger." - -By referring to page 113 the reader will find a Schmidt programme, dated -1827, on which the figure is featured as follows: - - "THE ROPE DANCER, - -Whose surprising performances surpass, in agility, attitudes, and -evolutions, every Professor of the art, keeping correct time to the -music of the machinery." - -A Gyngell programme, dated 1823, which is reproduced in the chapter -devoted to "The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal," page 125, reads as -follows: "Two automatons, one of which will execute wonderful feats on -the tight rope, and the other dance a characteristic hornpipe." - -As Gyngell figured in the amusement world from 1788 to 1844, the little -figure must have been tolerably well known to the magic-loving public of -England by the time Robert-Houdin appeared in London in 1848. - -[Illustration: A de Philipsthal programme of 1806 on which both the -automatic tight-rope performer and the magnetic clock were featured. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: A Thiodon bill of 1825, in which he claims the invention -of a figure that could be lifted on or off the stage or pole. This was -twenty-five years before Robert-Houdin claimed the same invention. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -A magician named York, who appeared in London in 1844, the year before -Robert-Houdin made his professional début, featured under date of -January 29th "two automatons, one of which will execute wonderful feats -on the Tight Rope, and the other dance a characteristic Hornpipe." - -Bologna announced for his performance at the Sans Pareil Theatre, -Strand, London, under date of March 18th, 1812, "The Two Automaton Rope -Dancers from St. Petersburg, whose Feats of Agility were never equalled, -and cannot be surpassed, will perform together in a style of Excellence -hitherto unknown in this country." - -De Philipsthal also featured a pair of automatic tight-rope performers -from 1804 until his death; and in the early 30's the figures were -exhibited by his widow. By referring to Chapter III. a De-Philipsthal -programme of 1806 is reproduced as evidence. - -From 1825 to 1855 J. F. Thiodon played London and the provinces, -advertising on his programmes: - -"FOURTH PIECE.--The Wonderful and Unrivalled Automaton on the Flying -Rope. The only one of this construction in the Kingdom; and forms a more -extraordinary Novelty from the circumstances of its not being fastened -on the Rope by the Hands, like others hitherto exhibited. The Rope will -be in continual Motion, and the Figure will sit perfectly easy and in a -graceful attitude while on the Swing, and perform the most surprising -Evolutions, scarcely to be distinguished from a Living Performer, as it -moves with the utmost Correctness, without any apparent Machinery." - -From this overwhelming evidence it can be argued beyond doubt that if -Robert-Houdin even constructed the automaton he merely copied figures -presented by both his predecessors and his contemporaries, and he was -fully aware of the existence of several such automata when he advertised -his as an original invention. They were made by many mechanicians. - -In the illustrated appendix of the French edition of his "Memoirs" he -goes further; he deliberately misrepresents the mechanism of the figure -and insinuates that the automaton is a self-working one. This is not -true, as it was worked by a concealed confederate, as described above by -Decremps. - -Robert-Houdin even used the garlands of flowers to hide the moving bars -as Pinetti and others of his predecessors had done. The truth was not in -him. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE - - -While Robert-Houdin claims to have invented "The Inexhaustible Bottle" -for a special programme designed to create a sensation at the opening of -his season of 1848, in the illustrated appendix of the original French -edition of his "Memoirs" he states that it had its premier presentation -December 1st, 1847. These discrepancies occur with such frequency that -it is difficult to refute his claims in chronological order. Perhaps he -adopted this method intentionally, to confuse future historians of -magic, particularly concerning his own achievements. - -In order to emphasize the brilliancy of this trick, Robert-Houdin turned -boastful in describing it. On page 348 of the American edition of his -"Memoirs," he states that the trick had created such a sensation and was -so much exploited in the London newspapers that the fame of his -inexhaustible bottle spread to the provinces, and on his appearance in -Manchester with the bottle in his hand the workmen who made up the -audience nearly mobbed him. In fact, the description of this scene is -the most dramatic pen-picture in his "Memoirs." - -The truth, sad to state, is that the bottle trick did not create the -sensation he claims for it in London, nor did the press eulogize it. It -was classed with other ordinary tricks, and twenty London papers bear -mute testimony to this fact. In a complete collection of press clippings -regarding his first London appearance, only four of the London papers -mention the trick. _The Times_, the great conservative English paper, in -reviewing Robert-Houdin's performance in its issue of May 3d, 1847, -ignored the trick entirely. The four London papers which made mention of -the bottle trick, and then only in a passing comment, were _The -Chronicle_, _The Globe_, _The Lady's Newspaper_, and _The Court -Journal_. Any one acquainted with the two last-named periodicals will -know that they rarely reach the hands of the humble artisans in -Manchester. _Punch_, London's great comic paper, gave the trick some -space, however. - -The trick of pouring several sorts of liquors from the same bottle has -been presented in various forms and under different names. To prove the -futility of Robert-Houdin's claims I will explain the mystery of this -trick, which is of an interesting nature. - -To all intents and purposes the bottle used looks like glass; but it is -invariably made of tin, heavily japanned. Ranged around the central -space, which is free from deception, are five compartments, each -tapering to a narrow-mouthed tube which terminates about an inch or an -inch and a half from within the neck of the bottle. A small pinhole is -drilled through the outer surface of the bottle into each compartment, -the holes being so placed that when the bottle is grasped with the hand -in the ordinary way, the performer covers all but one of the pinholes -with his fingers and thumb. The centre section is left empty, but the -other compartments are filled with a funnel which has a tapering nozzle -made specially for this purpose. - -The trick is generally started by proving to the audience that the -bottle is empty. It is then filled with water, which is immediately -poured out again, all this time the five pinholes being covered tightly -with the hand or fingers which are holding the bottle. When a liquor is -called for, the performer raises the finger over the air-hole above that -particular liquor, and the liquor will flow out. When a large number of -liquors may be called for, the performer has one compartment filled with -a perfectly colorless liquor, which he pours into glasses previously -flavored with strong essences. Certain gins and cordials can be -simulated in this fashion. - -Various improvements have been made in this bottle trick. For instance, -after the bottle has yielded its various sorts of liquors, it is broken, -and from the bottle the performer produces some borrowed article which -has been "vanished" in a previous trick and then apparently forgotten. -This may have been a ring, glove, or handkerchief, which will be -discovered tied around the neck of a small guinea-pig or dove taken from -the broken bottle. - -This is accomplished by having the bottle especially constructed. Its -compartments end a few inches above the bottom of the bottle and the -portion below having a wavy or cracked appearance, is made to slip on -and off. The conjurer goes through the motions of actually breaking the -bottle by tapping it near the bottom with a small hammer or wand, and -the appearance of the guinea-pig or lost article causes surprise, so -that the pretended breaking of the bottle passes unnoticed. - -Again, this bottle can be genuine, with no loose bottom at all, and a -small article can be inserted, but this makes a great deal of trouble, -and the effect is not greatly increased. In doing the trick thus, I was -always compelled to have an optician cut the bottom from the bottle, and -then at times even he would break it. - -To explain further how the article is "loaded" into the bottle, the -performer borrows several articles, for example a ring and two watches. -He will place the ring and watches into a funnel at the end of a large -horse-pistol, and shoot them at the target. The two watches appear on -the target or in a frame or any place that he may choose. In obtaining -the articles, he may have wrapped them up in a handkerchief which he has -hidden in the front of his vest. Alexander Herrmann was exceptionally -clever in making this exchange, his iron nerve and perpetual smile being -great aids in the trick. - -The performer now places the duplicate handkerchief on the table in full -view of the audience, and walks to another table for a gun. While -reaching for this gun, he places the original articles which he borrowed -behind his table on a servante, so that his hidden assistant may reach -for them, place the two watches on the "turn-about target," tie the ring -on the neck of the guinea-pig, shove him into the bottle, and insert the -false bottom. The trick is then ready in its entirety. - -The magician calls for something to use as a target, and the assistant -responds with the revolving target or frame. When the conjurer shoots, -the two watches appear on the target or in the frame. This part of the -trick is accomplished by having the centre of the target revolve, or, -if the frame is used, by having a black velvet curtain pulled up by -rapid springs or strong rubbers. - -While all this is going on, some one has brought on the stage the loaded -bottle, and as no attention is called to this, by the time the watches -have been restored to the owners the conjurer introduces the bottle -trick, pours out the various liquors, and eventually breaks the bottle -and reproduces the borrowed article tied about the neck of the -guinea-pig or dove. - -Many names have been given to this trick. The old-time magicians who -remained for months in one theatre had to change their programmes -frequently, so for one night they would present the bottle without -breaking it, and on the next they would break the bottle, so as to vary -the trick. - -This bottle trick originated in "The Inexhaustible Barrel." The first -trace that I can find of this wonderful barrel is in "Hocus Pocus, Jr., -The Anatomie of Legerdemain," written by Henry Dean in 1635 (Second -Edition). On page 21 is described a barrel with a single spout, from -which can be drawn three different kinds of liquors. This was worked -precisely on the same principle as was the inexhaustible bottle trick -centuries later, by shutting up the air-holes of compartments from which -liquors were not flowing. - -Its first public appearance, according to the data in my collection, -clipped from London papers of 1707 and 1712, was when the "famous -water-works of the late ingenious Mr. Henry Winstanly" were exhibited by -his servants for the benefit of his widow; and the exhibition included -a view of "the Barrel that plays so many Liquors and is broke in pieces -before the Spectators." - -In 1780 Dr. Desaguliers presented in London a performance entitled "A -Course of Experimental Philosophy wherein the Principles of Mechanics, -Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, and Optics are proved and demonstrated by more -than 300 Experiments." - -In the course of these lectures he produced a sort of barrel, worked by -holding the fingers over the air-holes. He also exposed the real source -of strength of the notorious strong man of his day, John Carl von -Eckeberg, who allowed horses to pull against him, permitted heavy stones -to be broken on his bare chest, and who broke heavy ropes simply by -stretching or straightening his knees. These lectures and exposés made -Dr. Desaguliers so famous that he has been given considerable space in -Sir David Brewster's "Letters on Natural Magic," published in London in -1851, in which book the various deceptions used by strong men are fully -described. In fact the book is one that should be in every conjurer's -library. - -The old Dutch books explain the barrel trick, and in 1803 Charles -Hutton, professor of Woolwich Royal Academy, translated four books from -Ozanam and Montucla, exposing quite a number of old conjuring tricks. -The barrel trick will be found on page 94 of Volume II. - -The first use of "The Inexhaustible Bottle" by modern conjurers I found -in an announcement of Herr Schmidt, a German performer, who for a time -controlled the original writing and drawing figure, as will be found by -reference to Chapter III., which is devoted to the history of that -automaton. The programme published in that chapter is dated 1827, and -does not include the famous bottle, because it was no longer a novelty -in Herr Schmidt's répertoire; but the advertisement reproduced herewith, -dated 1821, schedules the bottle trick thus: "The Bottle of Sobriety and -Inebriety, proving the inutility of a set of decanters, when various -liquors can be produced by one." Thus Schmidt antedated Houdin's -offering of the trick by more than a quarter of a century. - -[Illustration: A Schmidt programme of 1821, featuring the "Bottle of -Sobriety and Inebriety." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Next the bottle turned up in 1835 in London, where it was presented by a -German who styled himself "Falck of Koenigsberg, Pupil of the celebrated -Chevalier Pinnetty," and who introduced the programme with which Döbler -made such a sensation in 1842. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Falck of Koenigsberg in 1835, featuring -the trick of exchange of wine. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Mr. Falck opened at the Queen's Bazaar, Oxford Street, London, November -8th, 1835. Before opening, however, he gave a private performance for -the press, and received quite a number of notices. A half-column -clipping in my collection, dated November 4th, 1835, which I think is -cut from _The Chronicle_ or _The Globe_, mentions the trick among other -effects like "Flora's Gift," "The Card in the Pocket," etc., and adds -that the "exchange of wine was so that if once in Mr. Falck's company, -we should not wish to exchange it, for he poured three sorts of wine, -Port, Sherry, and Champagne, out of one bottle. Then he put them -together, and from such a mixture produced sherry in one glass, and port -in another." - -From this notice it will be seen that Falck had "The Inexhaustible -Bottle," and had some method of returning all the liquors not drunk back -into the bottle and then pouring out two different kinds of liquor. - -Perhaps he resorted to chemicals, but one thing is evident--the bottle -was used for six different kinds of liquors at one and the same time. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Phillippe during his Edinburgh engagement -in 1838, featuring "The Infernal Bottle." From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Phillippe from 1836 to 1838 featured "An Infernal Bottle" trick, also -"The Inexhaustible Bottle" trick. The trick also was seen on programmes -used by John Henry Anderson, the Wizard of the North, in the same years. -According to these programmes Phillippe and Anderson showed the bottle -empty, filled it with water, and then served five different liquors. - -On April 30th, 1838, Anderson thus announced the trick on a programme -used at Victoria Rooms, Hull: - -"Handkerchiefs will be borrowed from three gentlemen; the magician will -load his mystic gun, in which he will place the handkerchiefs; he will -fire a bottle containing wine, the bottle will be broken and the -handkerchiefs will appear." - -Programmes in my collection show that Anderson presented the trick, -serving various sorts of liquors, when he played London in 1840, but -little attention was drawn to the wonderful bottle. In 1842 Ludwig -Döbler, Germany's best-beloved magician, came to London and featured -what he termed "The Travelling Bottle." - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a political cartoon in _Punch_, published -during Anderson's London engagement, April, 1843, proving that the -"Inexhaustible Bottle Trick" was used by Anderson before Robert-Houdin -was a professional entertainer. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Ludwig Döbler in his prime, taken about 1839. The -original of this rare picture was discovered by the author in a small -print shop in Moscow, Russia. It is now a part of his Collection.] - -Ludwig Leopold Döbler was born in Vienna in 1801. He was the -best-beloved magician who ever trod the stage. He started life as an -engraver of metals, but his fancy turned to necromancy. He gave his best -performances in his native city. In 1841 he was touring Holland, and in -a letter now in my possession, which he wrote to a director and editor -in Vienna under date of March 15th, 1842, he informs his friend that he -has sent all his baggage to London from Amsterdam, and is on a visit to -Paris. He regrets that he has not all of his apparatus with him, but has -given several performances, and mentions the fact that "to-morrow I am -engaged to give a performance in the private parlor of Rothschild and -then by the Count Montaliset, minister of the King's mansions." He -also informs his friend that he expects to visit Paris the next season -and build his own theatre. He states a fact most interesting to all -magicians, namely, that he has rented the St. James Theatre in London -for two thousand francs ($400) a night, or more than $2,400 rent for one -week. Döbler drew such big audiences and made so much money that he -refused to give private performances, only breaking this rule when -presenting his show before H. M. Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. - -[Illustration: A Döbler programme from the Evanion collection, dated -1842, now in the possession of the author.] - -He played the provinces, then went over to Dublin, where, although -unable to speak English, he was a veritable sensation. In 1844 Döbler -played a return date at the St. James Theatre, London, and this time he -had Anderson as a rival at the Théâtre Royal Adelphia. - -Döbler amassed a fortune very rapidly; in fact he retired in 1847, and -never again appeared on the stage. He always explained his early -retirement by saying: "The public loves me, and I want it to always love -me. I may return and be a failure, so it is best to know just when to -stop." He died in a little village near Tunitz, on April 17th, 1864, -when one of God's noblemen was laid to rest. - -"The Travelling Bottle" alluded to by Döbler in his programmes was -nothing more or less than "The Inexhaustible Bottle." The following -excerpt from the London _Chronicle_ during Döbler's engagement at the -St. James Theatre, April, 1842, is illuminating: - -[Illustration: Döbler's farewell programme in verse, used when he played -his last engagement in the Josephstadter Theatre, Vienna. Original given -by Döbler personally to Henry Evanion; now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Ludwig Döbler in his prime, offering his most popular -trick, "The Creation of Flowers." From a rare lithograph in the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -"DÖBLER--ST. JAMES THEATRE.--Among the illusions that more particularly -struck our fancy was one entitled 'The Travelling Bottle,' where Herr -Döbler, filling a common bottle with water, transformed this water into -a collection of wines of all countries, amicably assembled together in -one receptacle, and he fills out first a glass of sherry, then one of -port, then one of champagne, and so on." - -The critic then describes how the bottle was broken, and the borrowed -handkerchief was found inside the bottle. - -[Illustration: Döbler programme with illustrations of his tricks, used -during his engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -Probably because of the prominence which Herr Döbler gave to this trick -it attracted more attention when Anderson presented it during his London -run of 1843. He announced it as "Water vs. Wine, or Changing Water into -Different Liquids--Sherry, Port, Champagne, Gin, Milk, Rum, and Water." - -[Illustration: Programme used by Macallister at the Bowery Theatre, -August 11th, 1852, during his second engagement in New York City. -Featuring the "Magic Bottle" from which twenty-two kinds of liquor could -be drawn. Careful reading will unearth Macallister's ill-will toward -Anderson. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The London _Sun_ of April 18th, 1843, says: - -"Mr. Anderson, besides the feats by which his reputation was established -in his former exhibitions in the metropolis, performed with perfect ease -and success some of greater difficulty than those by which Herr Döbler -astonished the world, such as serving several kinds of wines from the -same bottle." - -_The Morning Advertiser_ (London) of the same date said: - -"With the utmost ease he produced from an empty bottle wine, water, -port, sherry, and champagne, and immediately afterward, under a blaze of -wax and gas, he broke the same bottle and produced from it half a dozen -cambric handkerchiefs, which had previously been deposited under lock -and key at a considerable distance." - -[Illustration: Andrew Macallister as he appeared during his engagement -in the United States. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Macallister, the Scotch brick-mason, who became the pupil and assistant -of Phillippe, as described in the chapter on "The Pastry Cook of the -Palais Royal," also claimed the bottle trick as his invention. I have -been unable to obtain any of the early programmes used by Macallister, -but I am reproducing the one he utilized during his engagement at the -Bowery Theatre, New York City, in 1852. This was not his first -appearance in New York, however. In December, 1848, and January, 1849, -he played at the same theatre, and announced that he had just concluded -a successful engagement at the Grand Theatre Tacon, Havana, Cuba. - -[Illustration: The original Compars Herrmann, who was Robert-Houdin's -very active rival during the latter's first engagement in London. Best -portrait now in existence, and only one showing Herrmann in his prime. -Original photograph loaned for this work by James L. Kernan, of -Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.] - -Although Macallister claims to have invented "The Inexhaustible Bottle" -trick, it is more likely that, having been connected so long with -Phillippe, he knew the secret several years before Robert-Houdin -appeared in public. But as Macallister also claimed to have invented the -peacock and the harlequin automata, both of which are recognized as the -inventions of his predecessors, his claim cannot be given serious -consideration. - -He advertised to produce twenty-two kinds of liquors from one bottle, -and therefore he must have utilized the essence glasses in connection -with the bottle. - -What must have been Robert-Houdin's feeling when, on arriving in London -in 1848, he found another magician, Compars Herrmann, heavily advertised -at the Théâtre Royal, and already offering each and every trick included -by the Frenchman in his répertoire. Even the much-vaunted bottle was in -Herrmann's list of tricks. No one seems able to tell where Compars -Herrmann obtained the tricks he used, but he must be given credit for -never advertising them as his own inventions. His record in this respect -was clean throughout his life as a mysterious entertainer. - -The programme presented by Herrmann at the Théâtre Royal during -Robert-Houdin's opening week at the St. James Theatre is herewith -reproduced. Herrmann remained some time in London, playing at the -Adelphia, then at the Royal Princess, and finally at the Surrey -Theatre. A bill used by Herrmann at the Princess is reproduced on page -232. It evidently proved satisfactory to the public and he used it -without change for many years. - -[Illustration: Billing used by Compars Herrmann when he played in -opposition to Robert-Houdin on the latter's arrival in London. This -shows that Herrmann duplicated all of Robert-Houdin's tricks. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Probably the most notable warfare waged over the honor of having -invented this trick arose between Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin, who -were contemporaries. - -[Illustration: A Herrmann programme dated April, 1848, showing that -Herrmann presented the inexhaustible bottle two months before -Robert-Houdin appeared in London.] - -[Illustration: Henri Robin, generally conceded to have been the most -polished conjurer in the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Robin, whose right name was Dunkell, was of Holland birth and died in -Paris in 1874. He was at his prime about 1839-40, when he toured the -Continent. He was popular in London, Paris, and both the English and -French provinces. A polished man, famous for the elegance of his speech -and manners, he conducted his performance and all his business in a -quiet, conservative fashion. In both Paris and London, he had playhouses -named temporarily in his honor, Salle de Robin, and at one time in -London he also appeared at the Egyptian Hall. He published his own -magazine, _L'Almanach d'Cagliostro_, an illustrated periodical which was -quite pretentious. - -Robin presented all the tricks and automata that Robert-Houdin claimed -as his original inventions, and in the famous controversy, Robert-Houdin -came out second best. Robin proved that he had used the bottle trick -before Robert-Houdin did, by showing back numbers of his magazine, whose -illustrations pictured Robin performing the trick at his theatre in -Milan, Italy, July 6th, 1844, or three years before Robert-Houdin -presented it in Paris. - -Robin, however, never wrote an autobiography nor any exhaustive work -dealing with the history of magic, while Robert-Houdin did. The latter -set forth his claims over other magicians so skilfully that for more -than half a century the intelligent and thoughtful reading public has -been deceived and has accepted his statements as authoritative. -According to an article published in _L'Illusionniste_, scientists to -this day, in explaining the law of physics as operated by the use of -air-holes in the inexhaustible bottle, refer to it as the "Robert-Houdin -bottle," when in reality the honor of its invention belongs to some -obscure mechanic or magician whose name must remain forever unsung by -writers on magic. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -SECOND SIGHT - - -Evidently second sight was the foundation-stone of Robert-Houdin's -success. Reading between the lines of his autobiography, one finds that -this was the trick which carried him into the salons of fashion and -royalty. Before he introduced second sight into his répertoire, his -tricks were so commonplace that they did not arouse the interest of the -court circle, whose approval furnished the seal of success. - -This trick of second sight he claims body and soul, as the favorite -child of his brain. He even goes as far as to relate a story to prove -that the trick came to him in the form of an inspiration. I quote -directly from the American edition of his "Memoirs," page 255: - -"My two children were playing one day in the drawing-room at a game they -had invented for their own amusement; the younger had bandaged his elder -brother's eyes and made him guess the objects that he touched, and when -the latter happened to guess right they changed places. This simple game -suggested to me the most complicated idea that ever crossed my mind. -Pursued by the notion, I ran and shut myself in my workshop, and was -fortunately in that happy state when the mind follows easily the -combinations traced by fancy. I rested my head in my hands, and in my -excitement laid down the first principles of second sight." - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin and his son Emile, presenting second sight. -Here the bell is used as it was by Henri Robin. From an illustration in -the original French edition of the Robert-Houdin "Memoirs."] - -Then, picking up the long idle quill of Baron Munchausen, he proceeds to -explain the methods by which he perfected the trick and trained his son. -To the layman these methods read most entertainingly. To the experienced -conjurer or his humblest assistant they appeal as absurd and impossible, -a sheer waste of time, of which a man who reproduced the tricks of his -predecessors as rapidly as Robert-Houdin did, would not be guilty. - -[Illustration: Robert and Haidee Heller from photographs taken at the -time that they were presenting second sight according to the -Robert-Houdin method by an electric code. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -He claims to have trained the eye and memory of his son, by leading the -latter past shop windows, and after allowing him one glance, demanding -the names of articles seen at this single glance. When the boy could -mention forty things after passing the window, his education was -pronounced good. Robert-Houdin also tells in his "Memoirs" of spending -hours with his son in poring over an enormous collection of coins, -medals, etc., which severe lesson helped them both in future -performances. To the conjurer, this tale is farcical. Not only was there -no need of forcing the boy to become a coin expert, but the task was one -which could not be accomplished in the brief time which Robert-Houdin -allowed himself for perfecting the trick. - -The only knowledge required about coins is to recognize a coin when you -see it. Some one may hand a coin of peculiar stamp, and the operator -must signal to his medium the metal and all he knows about it. Of -course, if both know the various coins, then they can understand each -other with less signaling than if the coins were unfamiliar to either. - -Inaudi, the French calculator, can look at a blackboard filled with -numbers for a few seconds, then turn his back upon them and add the -entire amount that he has just seen and memorized. But let the reader -understand that Inaudi is peculiarly gifted by nature, while second -sight is a trick in which the person on the stage known as the medium is -assisted by words, signs, prearranged movements, or articles or figures -in rotation, which to the layman have the appearance of being -unprepared. At a familiar cue, however, the operator touches articles -that have been memorized, a ring, a watch, a scarf-pin, a lady's fan, an -opera glass, all in rotation. At a snap of the fingers the medium will -know that the articles are to be named in consecutive order, and only -after the snap of the fingers or another cue agreed upon. - -[Illustration: Programme used by Robert Heller in 1851-52, when he was -about eighteen years of age. Probably the only programme of this date in -existence. Now in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Robert-Houdin presented the trick for the first time at his own -theatre, February 12th, 1846. Unquestionably at this time he employed -the speaking code, wherein the answer is contained in the question asked -of the medium by the performer. As he describes scene after scene in -which he and his son participated, it is almost possible for a conjurer -or any one interested in magic to follow his code. Apparently the -amusement-loving public became familiar with his speaking code, for -three years later, according to the illustrated appendix of the French -edition of his "Memoirs," he adopted a code of signals, which he states -was especially arranged to confuse those whom he terms his "fearless -discoverers." - -A mysterious bell was used in this connection, but he admits that it -mattered not whether the bell struck or was silent, his son could name -the object under consideration or answer the question. While -Robert-Houdin asserts that he did not employ electricity for working his -silent code, investigations make it almost certain that this was the -method used. It is known throughout the world of conjuring that in -1850-51 Robert Heller (William Henry Palmer) reproduced Robert-Houdin's -entire répertoire of tricks, with the exception of the suspension, and -all worked precisely by Robert-Houdin's methods. In the second-sight -trick, which he first presented with a young man as the medium, then -later with Miss Haidee Heller, the medium was seated on a sofa fully -equipped with wires and electric batteries. Heller's second sight was -worked with both the speaking and silent codes. His confederate was -concealed behind the scenes watching Heller through a peep-hole, or -possibly he used another, seated in the audience, and had the wires -strung under his chair, arranging the signal button so that it could -be easily reached on the arm or front part of the seat. The receiving -instrument was attached to the sofa on which the medium was seated. The -latter would be silently informed as to what was being shown and would -answer all questions. As proof that these statements are not mere -hearsay, the Heller sofa can now be seen in the possession of Mr. -Francis J. Martinka, of New York; and Dr. W. Golden Mortimer, who once -presented "Mortimer's Mysteries," a show on the style of Heller's -performance, furnishes the information that when Heller died in -Philadelphia, November 28th, 1878, he engaged the dead magician's chief -assistant, an expert electrician named E. J. Dale, who had acted as -secret confederate, assisting the medium. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert Heller during his Boston engagement -in 1853. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -After travelling with Mortimer some time, Dale eventually returned to -England, and retired from the profession. He opened a large shop in -London under the firm name of H. & E. J. Dale, Manufacturing -Electricians, 4 Little Britain, E. C., in October, 1882. - -It was the easiest thing imaginable for Robert-Houdin to have his -theatre arranged with secret confederates and wires back of the scenes, -where a man with powerful opera-glasses could stand. The place being -small, he could look all over the room and see the minutest article. - -When not making use of the talking code, the simplest method employed by -second-sight artists is to have a confederate in the audience, with -either an electrical push button or a pneumatic bulb, who gives the -medium the signal. This is received by a miniature piston, which -requires only a small hole in the stage, while the medium has a matching -hole in the sole of his shoe. This allows the piston to touch the sole -of the foot whenever the confederate presses the bulb or pushes the -button. - -[Illustration: The author at the long-neglected grave of Robert Heller, -in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, U. S. A. From a photograph in the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -From this array of facts it will be seen that second sight is and always -has been a matter of well-drilled phrases or signals, prearranged -rotation of articles, well-built apparatus or well-trained confederates, -but never a feat of actual thought-transferrence. - -Some of Robert-Houdin's ardent supporters insist that in claiming the -invention or discovery of second sight, the French conjurer was merely -an unconscious plagiarist, having stumbled upon, quite by accident, a -trick which he did not know that others had offered before him. - -Such a statement is illogical and absurd. Books of magic to which -Robert-Houdin had access and which he admits having read describe the -trick in a more or less crude form. Pinetti, whose tricks were fully -described to Robert-Houdin by his old friend Torrini, used the -second-sight mystification with excellent effect. Robert-Houdin could -not have been ignorant of its existence as a trick. In making the claim -to its discovery in his "Memoirs" he simply trusted to the ignorance of -the reading public in the history of magic. - -According to programmes and newspaper clippings in my collection, Philip -Breslaw was the first conjurer to feature second sight in his -performance. Breslaw was a clever German who so established himself in -the hearts of amusement-loving Englishmen that he remained in England -for forty years, dying in Liverpool in 1803. In 1781, while playing at -Greenwood's Rooms, Haymarket, London, he announced as Part One of his -entertainment: - -"Mr. Breslaw will exhibit his new magical deceptions, Letters, Medals, -Dice, Pocket pieces, Rings, etc., etc., and particularly communicate the -thoughts of any person to another without the assistance of speech or -writing." - -Pinetti comes next as an eminent presenter of second sight. Between -these two well-known conjurers there may have been various unimportant, -unchronicled performers who made use of Breslaw's trick, but they have -no place in the history of magic. - -The trick appeared on a Pinetti programme at the Royal Haymarket, -London, England, December 1st, 1784, almost sixty-two years before -Robert-Houdin presented it as his original invention. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, December 1st, 1784, in -which Pinetti featured second sight. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The London _Morning Post and Daily Advertiser_ of December 1st, 1784, -contains the above advertisement, reproduced from my collection. - -The talking code employed by Pinetti was not original with him, as it -dates back to the automaton worked by a concealed confederate who -controlled the piston for the mechanical figure or pulled the strings to -manipulate the dancing coins or moving head. It was novel only in its -application to the supposed thought-transferrence by a human being -instead of an automaton. - -This code is described by various reliable authors. On page 388, Volume -III. of Hooper's "Recreations," edition 1782, it is stated that the -confederate worked the apparatus from another room. "By certain words, -previously agreed on, make it known to the confederate," is the advice -given to would-be conjurers. - -Beckman in his "History of Inventions" relates that he knew an exhibitor -of a "talking figure" whose concealed confederate was cued to answer -certain questions, the answers being given in the manner of putting the -question, also by different signs. These instructions will be found on -page 311 of Volume II., edition of 1817. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of front and back of original handbill -distributed on London streets in 1831, to advertise Master M'Kean. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Decremps undertook to expose Pinetti's method of working the -second-sight trick in his famous book, but in this attempt he scored one -of the few failures which marked the bitter fight he waged against -Pinetti. In his book "La Magie Blanche Dévoilée" (White Magic Exposed), -first edition, 1784, he offers on page 40 "Les Cartes dévinées, les yeux -bandés" (The Divination of Cards with the Eyes Blindfolded). In this -feat Decremps explains that Pinetti would allow cards to be drawn, then -a lady (Signora Pinetti) would appear on the stage, would be -blindfolded, and would name all the cards that were drawn. Decremps -explains the prearranged pack of cards for this trick, also outlining -the manner of giving the medium the cue for certain phrases. For -instance, while explaining to the audience that he will not speak at -all, in the very sentences addressed to the spectators he informs the -medium which cards have been selected. - -Pinetti's code must have been clever, as Decremps was unable to explain -the entire second-sight act. He has omitted the principal part of the -mystification, that is, naming the articles held up for the performer to -see. - -That the card trick was only one test of his second-sight performance, -and that Pinetti's medium did not retire after naming the cards, are -facts shown by the following clipping from one of his announcements: - -"Signora Pinetti will have the special honor and satisfaction of -exhibiting various experiments of new discovery, no less curious than -seemingly incredible, particularly that of her being seated in one of -the front boxes with an handkerchief over her eyes, and guess at -everything imagined and proposed to her by any person in the company." - -Third on the list of second-sight performers, according to the data in -my collection, was Louis Gordon M'Kean, who created a sensation at the -Egyptian Hall Bazaar, Piccadilly, London, in 1831, or fifteen years -before Robert-Houdin, according to his claims, "discovered" second -sight. Young M'Kean was featured as possessing double, not second, -sight, and one of his bills is reproduced on page 212. - -Another programme in my collection, dated the Théâtre Scarboro, Friday -evening, August 4th, 1837, announces "For a limited engagement of three -nights the Three Talented Highlanders and most extraordinary -Second-Sighted Young Highlanders." - -[Illustration: Decoration on the broadside used to advertise a young -Dutchwoman who created a sensation in the early part of the eighteenth -century. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -These lads, I believe, were three brothers, one the original M'Kean, or -the latter working in conjunction with two other boys trained to the -tricks in order to secure more impressive results. The trio appeared -eight years before Robert-Houdin became a professional entertainer. - -Holland also contributed a successful performer of second-sight tricks, -the medium in this case being a Dutchwoman who created a profound -sensation while touring Germany in the early part of the eighteenth -century. The billing used at the yearly fairs is an enormous poster -which would be unintelligible if reduced to a size suitable for -reproduction. - -It is now a part of my collection and reads as follows: - -[Illustration: Reproduction of original billing matter used by the -mysterious lady who offered second sight in the United States in -1841-42-43. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Reproduction of the cut used on the mysterious lady's -handbills, distributed in America in 1841. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"The Holland Maid, Twenty Years of Age, from Amsterdam, whose powers, -both in her residence there and in all other places to which she has -gone, have excited great astonishment and much applause, and she will -also in this place endeavor to obtain the same tribute of public -applause. She will after the exhibition place herself before the eyes of -all the spectators on the outside and gravely stand thereon and at all -times give an answer of assurance to any one present to whom her -judgment in all questions gives the most accurate response. She -contrives also by her acuteness to discover and reply to the least -thought, not until then explored. She guesses the age of every one, -whether they be married or not; how many children they have, of what -sex, and whether they be living or dead at the present time, etc. She -does the like for any one having a chance in the lottery, as to what is -its number, and what will be its share of gains. She also guesses at -every one of the most different sorts of coin, and even at the year with -which they were stamped. She guesses at every number which any one shall -secretly set down, even though it amount to upward a million. She -moreover tells exactly whether any one be in the Army, under how many -Monarchs he has served, in how many battles he has been engaged, and -whether he has ever been wounded and how many wounds he has received. By -throwing the Dice, she will every time exactly tell the very number of -spots which may have been determined on." - -This wordy announcement is signed by W. Sahm, of Holland. - -In my collection there is also an interesting handbill advertising the -tour of "The Mysterious Lady" who offered second-sight tricks in the -eastern part of the United States in 1842-43. Her name was never stated -on the programmes, but the latter, together with a clipping dated -Boston, February 20th, 1843, will suffice to prove my claim that she was -offering second-sight before Robert-Houdin did, and therefore could not -be copying his trick. She also appeared in England fully a year before -Robert-Houdin "discovered" second sight. - -Henri Robin and his wife featured second sight in Italy just when -Robert-Houdin first offered it in Paris. It is barely possible that they -antedated Robert-Houdin in the production of this trick, for I have in -my collection a brochure entitled "Album des Soirées de M. et Mme. -Robin," which contains an engraving of the couple offering second-sight, -a short poem in honor of Mme. Robin's remarkable gifts as a second-sight -artist, and a poem generally eulogistic of M. Robin's talents dated -distinctly February 7th, 1846. Robert-Houdin presented second-sight for -the first time, according to his own "Memoirs," on February 12th, 1846. - -[Illustration: Second sight as offered by M. and Mme. Robin, in which -Robin employed the bell and the goblet. From the latter she sipped -liquor, claiming it tasted like the wine secretly named by a spectator. -Robin's stage was equipped with electrical appliances. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -To prove the utter folly of Robert-Houdin's claims to having trained -his son's eye and memory by patient effort so as to have a mutual -transferrence of thought, I will next show that animals had been trained -for years to do tricks by secret signals before the alleged "discovery" -of second sight. - -Two rare old bills in my collection advertise the marvellous -"mind-reading" performances of a goose and a blindfolded dog -respectively. The first, dated 1789, announces that a Mr. Beckett, a -trunk-maker of No. 31 Haymarket, is exhibiting "a Learned Goose, just -lately arrived from abroad. - -"It performs the following tricks: performing upon cards, money, and -watches, telling the time of the month, year, and date, also the value -of any piece either English or foreign, distinguishing all sorts of -colors and (most prodigiously and certainly unbelieving to those who -know the intellects of a goose) she tells the number of ladies and -gentlemen in the company or any person's thoughts; any lady or gentleman -drawing a card out of the pack, though ever so secret, the Goose, -blindfolded at the same time, will find out the card they drew. -Admittance two shillings each person." - -The second bill features Don Carlo, the Double-Sighted dog, which gave -an exhibition of his mysterious skill at the Pavillion by special -command, before King William and the royal family on December 17th, -1831. This dog was blindfolded and could present almost in duplicate the -second-sight tests offered by the Highland lad who five days later gave -a similar exhibition before the royal family at the same place. - -[Illustration: Rare poster announcing the performance of the learned -goose, one of the first of the second-sight animal artists. Traced from -the original poster in the British Museum by the author.] - -[Illustration: Billing used for Don Carlos, the double-sighted dog. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -This proof regarding the use of animals as "mediums" is offered not to -belittle the human mediums, but to prove that from start to finish, from -the day that Breslaw offered the trick to the present moment, when a -number of skilful so-called mind-readers still mystify the public, some -sort of speaking or signal code has been used. Robert-Houdin used both -the speaking and the signal code, but so did Breslaw, and all evidence -points to the fact that Robert-Houdin merely improved upon the trick -employed by Breslaw, Pinetti, and others among his predecessors in -magic, by utilizing the newly found assistant to the magician, -electricity. In his tiny theatre it would have been entirely feasible to -have had electric wires run from all points of the auditorium to the -stage, thus doing away with both the speaking and ordinary signal codes, -even the pneumatic tube. For this improvement, and this alone, should -Robert-Houdin be given credit. Nearly all magicians improve or redress -tricks or apparatus handed down to them by their predecessors, but -Robert-Houdin was not willing to admit that he owed anything to his -predecessors. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE SUSPENSION TRICK - - -In chapters XVI. and XVII. of the American edition of his "Memoirs," -Robert-Houdin states that he closed his theatre during the months of -July, August, and September, 1847, and devoted his time to producing new -tricks for the coming season. He chronicles as the result of these -labors the following additions to his répertoire: "The Crystal Box," -"The Fantastic Portfolio," "The Trapeze Tumbler," "The Garde Française," -"The Origin of Flowers," "The Crystal Balls," "The Inexhaustible -Bottle," "The Ethereal Suspension," etc. - -Had these inventions really been original with the man who claimed them -as the result of his own brain-work and handicraft, three years would -not have sufficed to bring them to the perfection in which they were -presented at that time. It is not always the actual work that makes a -trick a success, nor the material from which it is constructed, but it -takes time to plan a new trick; and then after you have worked out the -idea, it takes more time to make it practical. The same piece of -apparatus may have to be made dozens of times, in as many shapes, before -it is presentable. Therefore, when Robert-Houdin claims to have invented -and built with his own hands the tricks mentioned in the list given -above, it is time to prove the improbability and falsity of his -statements. - -[Illustration: A Robert-Houdin poster on which his complete repertoire -appears, under date of June 14th, 1852. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert-Houdin during his first London -engagement, featuring suspension. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Inventions are a matter of evolution, but as the tricks which -Robert-Houdin presented in his new répertoire were not new, he was able -to offer them as the result of three months' work. To the expert -mechanician or builder of conjuring apparatus his claim is farcical. The -majority of the tricks mentioned require skilled hands and infinite -patience, if they work in a way that will completely deceive the public. -Particularly is this true of the first suspension apparatus such as -Robert-Houdin must have used. This included a steel corset or frame for -the subject, and both the corset and the supporting rods had to be -strong, invisible to the audience, and still be perfect in mechanism. - -Robert-Houdin, with characteristic ambiguity, does not refer to a -complicated mechanism, but lays stress on his ability to keep his tricks -up-to-date and in line with popular movements of the hour. In writing of -the suspension trick, he gives the impression that but for the sensation -created by the use of ether as an anæsthetic he would never have thought -out the new trick. His own words as presented on page 312 of the -American edition of his "Memoirs" are reproduced in this connection: - -"It will be remembered that in 1847 the insensibility produced by -inhaling ether began to be applied to surgical operations; all the world -talked about the marvellous effect of this anæsthetic and its -extraordinary results. In the eyes of the people it seemed much akin to -magic. Seeing that the surgeons had invaded my domain, I asked myself if -this did not allow me to make reprisals. I did so by inventing my -ethereal suspension, which I believe was far more surprising than any -result obtained by my surgical brethren. This trick was much applauded, -and I am bound to say that my arrangements were excellently made. This -was the first time that I tried to direct the surprise of my spectators -by gradually heightening it up to the next moment, when, so to speak, it -exploded." - -While Robert-Houdin, in his "Memoirs," claims to have invented the trick -for the season of 1847-48, in the illustrated appendix of the French -edition he states that the first production of the trick, with -improvements, was in October, 1849. The improvement consisted of working -the trick with a stool upon a platform, when, previous to this date, he -had used only the ordinary platform and rod. - -During the course of researches covering many years, during which I -visited national libraries in various countries, the first trace of the -suspension trick was discovered in the writings of Ian Batuta, who -flourished about the thirteenth century. He mentions two conjurers who -performed before the court of the Mogul in Delhi. One of the men assumed -the form of a cube and rose into the air, where he remained suspended. -The other man then took off his shoe, struck it against a rock, and it -also rose and hung in midair, close to the suspended conjurer or human -cube. On being touched on the neck, the cube descended to the ground, -and the conjurer resumed his natural form. - -The historical verity of this tale cannot be determined, and it may be -classed with the familiar story which crops up periodically, describing -the ball of cord thrown into the air for a youth to climb into the -clouds. Once out of sight, the youth is said to draw the cord up after -him; then presently a leg falls from the unseen heights, then another, -followed by an arm, a rib or two, and so on until the entire body is -scattered upon the ground, the head coming last with the neck standing -upward. At the command of the magician, the body seems to crawl -together, so runs the tale, and eventually the youth stands up to be -examined by the astonished populace. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of an engraving in an old German -Encyclopædia in the Harry Houdini Collection, which credits to the -Chinese the trick of climbing into the air and having the body fall down -piecemeal and being set together again.] - -These stories belong in the very first of the travellers' tales. In 1356 -Sir John Mandeville, called by some authorities "the Father of English -Prose," after travelling thirty-four years, published a book detailing -some of his marvellous "witnessings." Though many of his stories are -absolutely impossible, yet so popular did his works become that, barring -the Scriptures, more copies and manuscripts of the books containing his -various "Magician Stories" have been handed down to posterity and exist -to-day than any works of his contemporaries. Still, Mandeville did not -mention this suspension trick, which is sometimes attributed to the -Chinese and sometimes to the Hindoos. - -In Cologne, Germany, I purchased an encyclopædia, published in 1684, -from which I reproduce a double-page engraving, which shows the Chinese -magicians doing the tricks previously accredited, in the stories of -travellers, to Hindoo conjurers. - -In "Lives of the Conjurers," Thomas Frost describes the suspension trick -as offered about 1828 or 1829 at Madras by an old Brahmin with no better -apparatus than a piece of plank with four legs. This he had formed into -a stool, and upon it, in a little brass socket, he placed a hollow -bamboo stick in a perpendicular position. Projecting from the stick was -a kind of crutch, covered with a piece of common hide. These properties -he carried with him in a bag, which was shown to all those who desired -to witness his exhibition. The servants of the household then held a -blanket before him, and, when it was withdrawn, he was discovered poised -in midair about four feet from the ground, in a sitting posture, with -the outer edge of one hand merely touching the crutch, while the fingers -deliberately counted beads, and the other hand and arm were held in an -upright position. The blanket was again held up before him, and the -spectators caught a gurgling sound, like that occasioned by wind -escaping from a bladder or tube. When the screen or blanket was again -withdrawn, the conjurer was standing on the ground. - -[Illustration: The Brahmin suspension as shown in an illustration found -in Robin's l'Almanach de Cagliostro.] - -The mystery was supposed to have been solved when Sheshal, commonly -known as "the Brahmin of the Air," exhibited the trick in 1832 in -Madras. It was observed that his stool was ornamented with two inlaid -stars, and it was suggested that one of these might conceal a socket for -a steel rod, passing through the bamboo, and that another rod, screwed -to the perpendicular one and concealed by the piece of hide, might be -connected with a mechanism of the same metal, passing up the sleeve and -down the back, and forming a circular seat. This conjecture probably was -not far from the truth, for while Frost is by no means the greatest of -authorities on magic and magicians, in this particular instance I -believe that his explanation of the trick is correct. - -The next authentic early information I have gathered regarding -suspension concerns that wonderful performer who called himself Ching -Lau Lauro. Presumably he was a Chinaman, and from the programmes in my -collection he evidently appeared first in England, in 1828, when he was -engaged to perform between scenes of various plays, including "Tom and -Jerry," at the Coburg. I reproduce on page 231 one of Ching Lau Lauro's -programmes. - -About 1833, or possibly a year earlier, he cut out some of his singing, -and introduced the suspension with which he closed his performance. At -this time he gave the entire programme. According to his programmes, in -some places he excluded the public from the gallery, so I judge that his -suspension was accomplished by the use of the iron rod from the back, -which would have been in plain sight from the gallery. The stage would -not permit the suspension to be worked out of range of the gallery gods. - -[Illustration: Ching Lau Lauro handbill featuring suspension in 1832. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: A Compars Herrmann programme of 1848 in which suspension -is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -When Robert-Houdin went to London in 1848 he found in the field of -magic a clever rival, Compars Herrmann; a few months later came John -Henry Anderson, the Wizard of the North. Both of these men presented the -suspension trick in precisely the same manner claimed by Robert-Houdin -as his original invention of 1847. Neither Anderson nor Herrmann claimed -the honor of having invented the trick, and it is more than likely that -the mechanician who made their apparatus for the suspension trick made -the one used by Robert-Houdin also. Herrmann, like Robert-Houdin, called -the trick ethereal suspension. Anderson gave it the title of -"Chloriforeene Suspension," as the reproduction of an Anderson -lithograph on page 234 will prove. - -During precisely the same period of time a brilliantly successful German -conjurer, Alexander, was presenting the same trick in America, where he -remained as a professional entertainer for ten years. In my collection, -together with corroborative handbills and programmes, there will be -found this statement from Alexander: - -"The suspension was at first produced by me in 1845 or 1846, after -reading in an Oriental annual, edited by several officers of the Indian -Army, the trick of a fakir who made a companion sit in the air by using -a bamboo stick. My trick had no success, because the sitting was too -near the ground. I then made him stand in the air, and the effect was -marvellous." - -My meeting with Alexander, of which this correspondence was the result, -marked an era in my search for material for this volume. Having read in -a small book on magic, dated 1896, that a man named Heimburger, who had -travelled in America as "Alexander the Conjurer," was living in his -native town of Münster, in Westphalia, I determined to secure an -interview with him if possible. - -[Illustration: "Suspension Chloriforeene," as presented by Anderson and -his son, from a lithograph used by him on his return from the Continent, -December, 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -On March 17th, 1903, while playing in Cologne, I boarded an express -train and arrived in Münster bright and early. From the city directory I -learned that one Heimburger resided in Krumpentippen, 16. Hailing a -passing droschke I was soon carried to my destination, where a -bright-faced German girl opened the door and ushered me, without -formality, into the presence of the man to whom I desired to pay my -respects. - -An old man, bent with years, snow-white of beard and gray of head, came -forward slowly to greet me. Finding that he was quite deaf, I raised my -voice and fairly trumpeted my mission, adding that I felt especially -honored to stand in the presence of the only magician who, up to that -date, had ever appeared at the White House, Washington, by request of -the President of the United States, my native land. Alexander had been -asked to entertain President Polk and his guests on several occasions, -and the fact that I knew this seemed to please the old conjurer and pave -the way to a pleasant and profitable interview. - -In a few moments we were sitting side by side, and he was adding to my -store of information by relating the most fascinating experiences, -stories of fellow-magicians long since dead, and tales which he could -corroborate by his own collection of bills, programmes, etc., his diary, -and his personal correspondence. He had known Robert-Houdin, Frikell, -Bosco, Count Pererilli, John Henry Anderson, Blitz, the original Bamberg -of Amsterdam, Compars Herrmann, and many lesser lights among the -old-time magicians. Robert-Houdin had told him personally that being -pressed for time he had entrusted the writing of his "Memoirs" to a -Parisian journalist. - -[Illustration: Mrs. Leona A. Anderson, daughter-in-law of John Henry -Anderson, as she appeared with him in the suspension trick about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As he warmed up to these reminiscences, he held me spellbound. Had he -risen from the grave to tell of his contemporaries, he could not have -riveted my attention more securely. - -Here was a man of eighty-four, whose memory quickened at the coming of -one interested in his beloved art, whose eye brightened with each fresh -detail of a long and successful professional life, and who, in fifty -years of retirement, had not only written a book, but had kept in touch -with the world of magic, giving me information which the most exhaustive -encyclopædia could not yield, answering questions on topics never yet -discussed in dusty parchments and fading scripts. It was like having the -history of magic unrolled before my eager eyes, in a living, -palpitating, human scroll. - -It had been my intention to remain but a few hours in Münster, but the -old master held me as if hypnotized and the hours fairly drifted past. -Letter after letter, clipping after clipping, token after token, he -spread before my fascinated eyes; and I allowed him to speak without -question or interruption of any sort. Early in our interview he had -remarked that he was beginning to feel old and that only the impetus of -my presence was responsible for his unusual strength of speech. For over -seventy years he had been collecting books on conjuring and kindred -topics, which he was able to read in English, French, Spanish, and -German. - -The dinner hour found us still engrossed in conversation, and Frau -Heimburger extended a most hospitable and cordial invitation for me to -join the family circle. But my hunger was purely mental, and the true -savor of the meal was the reminiscent chat of Herr Heimburger, who, from -his post at the head of his household, looked as hale and hearty as if -he had found the Elixir of Life which so many of his charlatan -predecessors claimed to have "discovered." - -[Illustration: Alexander Heimburger, a veteran conjurer who presented -the suspension trick in 1845-46 during his American tour. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1904 I paid the old master a second visit. To his professions of -pleasure at meeting me once more, he added the gift of several rare -programmes now in my collection, and when our hands met in a farewell -clasp he told me that he had set all things in order and was ready for -the coming of the Grim Reaper. Soon after that visit, however, I -received a card with the following melancholy message: - - MY DEAR FRIEND--Have not been very well of late, and have been - expecting my last days. All preparations have been made and Death - the Visitor arrived, but instead of calling for me, he has taken - away my beloved wife. I am not capable of writing more. God be with - you. From your old friend, - -ALEXANDER HEIMBURGER. - -Alexander Heimburger or, as he was billed, Alexander the Conjurer, was -born December 4th, 1818. From 1844 to 1854 he toured North and South -America, returning to his native country with the intention of there -following his calling as a professional entertainer. But his fame had -preceded him, and, as his fortune was large, his souvenirs and tales of -travel many and interesting, he was taken up by the world of fashion and -lionized. This practically closed his career as a conjurer, for in those -days magicians occupied no such reputable position in the professional -world as they do to-day, and to have returned to his stage work would -have closed the doors of aristocracy to him. He married one of Münster's -prettiest girls, who bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. -So he passed the remainder of his days, living modestly but comfortably -on the money he had amassed in America, entertained by a large circle of -appreciative friends, and well content to live thus, far from the -madding crowd in which the professional entertainer must move. - -While the recollections of his public career and his meetings with other -magicians, as well as notable men in other walks of life, were fresh, he -wrote his book, "Der Moderne Zauberer" (The Modern Magician), which he -claims, with much justice, is rated as one of the gems of German -literature, as well as the best book ever written by a conjurer. It is -built from extracts from his diary and is on the style of Sig. Blitz's -book, but is far more diversified and interesting. - -[Illustration: Alexander Heimburger, known in conjuring as Alexander the -Conjurer, from a quaint illustration in "The North American," published -in Mexico.] - -His scrap-book also told a most romantic tale of vicissitudes. A -half-page article in the New York _Tribune_, dated October, 1845, showed -Alexander arrayed in a Chinese costume, and producing huge bowls of -water, flowers, and various sorts of heavy articles. This proves -conclusively that Ching Ling Foo was not the first conjurer to offer -this Chinese trick in America, as it is generally supposed. Alexander -added that all the old-timers would change their programmes by -introducing the Chinese tricks, and, to verify his statement, readers -need only to see the following files in Astor Library, New York City: -New York _Herald_, New York _Tribune_, and New York _Evening Gazette_ of -November 6th, 1845. - -Herr Alexander had arrived in New York almost penniless, after a -disastrous tour of other American cities. He tried to hire Niblo's -Garden, but was informed that the auditorium was never opened in winter. -Through the intercession of Mrs. Niblo, however, he finally secured it -at a rental of twenty dollars per night. He opened to a small house and -for three nights did not even pay expenses, but the fourth night -witnessed a change in his fortunes and for three months he played -literally to standing room. Then because he had no new tricks to offer, -and his pride forbade his presenting his old répertoire until receipts -grew lighter, he closed his New York season. - -While playing in Saratoga, Alexander was approached by the late P. T. -Barnum, who was accompanied by Gen. Tom Thumb. Alexander declined Mr. -Barnum's offer because he thought to join the Barnum staff of -entertainers would injure his professional rating. Barnum's admission -fee was 25 cents, while Alexander charged 50 cents and $1. - -About this time the fame of Alexander attracted the attention of no less -a personage than S. F. B. Morse, of telegraphic fame; and Alexander had -on his programme one trick which mystified Morse, who honestly believed -that the conjurer had discovered some new law of nature that might be of -service to scientists. - -[Illustration: Alexander Heimburger presenting the suspension trick -during his engagement in Brazil. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Alexander called this trick "The Spirit Bell," and, worked by one method -or another, it has been used by many magicians. Some employ a thread and -hook, causing the clapper to strike by pulling the thread which runs -through an innocent-looking ribbon on which the bell hangs. Others use -an electric magnet. Herr Alexander placed his bell on top of a fancy -case which he could set anywhere, and the bell would ring at command. -The secret was a small bird, trained to jump from one rung of a tiny -ladder to another, at word of command or the waving of a stick or wand -which the bird could see from its point of imprisonment. Every time that -it jumped from one rung to another, it would pull down a step which was -so arranged that by the smallest overweight it would release a catch, -which in turn would throw the hammer against the glass. When the bird -stepped off, the hammer would again come back to its original position -and be ready for the second blow. This bird he bought from a street -fortune-teller, who had trained it to go up different steps of a ladder -and select envelopes containing variously printed fortunes. - -Alexander enjoyed personal acquaintance with President Polk, Henry Clay, -Daniel Webster, Calhoun, and their fellow-statesmen in the United -States. Through his friendship with President Polk he carried to the -West Indies and Brazil letters so influential that the aristocracy in -these countries opened its doors to him. He was welcomed at the palace -of Dom Pedro, and has in his possession letters from both the King and -his consort, dated 1850. - -So much for the history of a man who was brave enough to admit that he -developed the suspension trick from principles laid down by humble -Indian fakirs. - -The crudest method used for accomplishing the suspension trick consisted -of a steel corset, an iron rod painted to resemble wood, and a platform. -The steel rod was fitted into a special place in the corset, also in -the platform. This method was improved, first to make it a self-raising -suspension, then eventually with a steel rod from the back of the stage, -eliminating the use of both rods under the arms. - -Spectators and reviewers commented on the rigid, almost painful, -carriage of Robert-Houdin's son during the performance, which they laid -to the effect of ether. Unquestionably Robert-Houdin used this crude -corset-and-rod method of working the trick. - -The fumes of ether which reached the audience, he admits, were caused by -pouring a little ether over hot irons in the wings. - -But whatever the method employed by Robert-Houdin to secure the effects -of "suspension éthéréenne," he was merely introducing a century-old -trick, which other contemporary magicians were also exhibiting. The name -of the real maker of the apparatus may never be known, but some clever -mechanician supplied Robert-Houdin, Compars Herrmann, and John Henry -Anderson with precisely the same method of working the trick, at -precisely the same time. Robert-Houdin alone was audacious enough to -claim the invention as his own. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF - - -Supreme egotism and utter disregard for the truth may be traced in all -of Robert-Houdin's writings, but they reached a veritable climax when he -indited chapter XVI. of his "Memoirs." During the course of this chapter -he described the so-called invention and first production of the -disappearing-handkerchief trick. - -According to the American edition of his "Memoirs," page 303, he -received a command to appear before Louis Philippe and his family at St. -Cloud in November, 1846. During the six days intervening between the -official invitation and his appearance before the royal family, he -arranged a trick from which, he states, he had every reason to expect -excellent results. On page 305 he goes even further in his claims and -announces: - -"All my tricks were favorably received, and the one I had invented for -the occasion gained me unbounded applause." - -He then gives the following description of the trick and its -performance: - -"I borrowed from my noble spectators several handkerchiefs, which I made -into a parcel, and laid on the table. Then, at my request, different -persons wrote on the cards the names of places whither they desired -their handkerchiefs to be invisibly transported. - -"When this had been done, I begged the King to take three of the cards -at hazard, and choose from them the place he might consider most -suitable. - -"'Let us see,' Louis Philippe said, 'what this one says: "I desire the -handkerchiefs to be found beneath one of the candelabra on the -mantelpiece." That is too easy for a sorcerer; so we will pass to the -next card: "The handkerchiefs are to be transported to the dome of the -Invalides." That would suit me, but it is much too far, not for the -handkerchiefs, but for us. Ah, ah!' the King added, looking at the last -card, 'I am afraid, M. Robert-Houdin, I am about to embarrass you. Do -you know what this card proposes?' - -"'Will your Majesty deign to inform me?' - -"'It is desired that you should send the handkerchiefs into the chest of -the last orange-tree on the right of the avenue.' - -"'Only that, Sire? Deign to order, and I shall obey.' - -"'Very good, then; I should like to see such a magic act: I, therefore, -choose the orange-tree chest.' - -"The King gave some orders in a low voice, and I directly saw several -persons run to the orange-tree, in order to watch it and prevent any -fraud. - -"I was delighted at this precaution, which must add to the effect of my -experiment, for the trick was already arranged, and the precaution hence -too late. - -"I had now to send the handkerchiefs on their travels, so I placed them -beneath a bell of opaque glass, and, taking my wand, I ordered my -invisible travellers to proceed to the spot the King had chosen. - -"I raised the bell; the little parcel was no longer there, and a white -turtle-dove had taken its place. - -"The King then walked quickly to the door, whence he looked in the -direction of the orange-tree, to assure himself that the guards were at -their post; when this was done, he began to smile and shrug his -shoulders. - -"'Ah! M. Robert-Houdin,' he said, somewhat ironically, 'I much fear for -the virtue of your magic staff.' Then he added, as he returned to the -end of the room, where several servants were standing, 'Tell William to -open immediately the last chest at the end of the avenue, and bring me -carefully what he finds there--if he does find anything.' - -"William soon proceeded to the orange-tree, and, though much astonished -at the orders given him, he began to carry them out. - -"He carefully removed one of the sides of the chest, thrust his hand in, -and almost touched the roots of the tree before he found anything. All -at once he uttered a cry of surprise as he drew out a small iron coffer -eaten by the rust. - -"This curious find, after having been cleaned from the mould, was -brought in and placed on a small ottoman by the King's side. - -"'Well, M. Robert-Houdin,' Louis Philippe said to me, with a movement of -impatient curiosity, 'here is a box; am I to conclude it contains the -handkerchiefs?' - -"'Yes, Sire,' I replied with assurance, 'and they have been there, too, -for a long period.' - -"'How can that be? The handkerchiefs were lent you scarce a quarter of -an hour ago.' - -"'I cannot deny it, Sire; but what would my magic powers avail me if I -could not perform incomprehensible tricks? Your Majesty will doubtless -be still more surprised when I prove to your satisfaction that this -coffer as well as its contents was deposited in the chest of the -orange-tree sixty years ago.' - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a very rare pastel portrait of -Cagliostro. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"'I should like to believe your statement,' the King replied with a -smile; 'but that is impossible, and I must, therefore, ask for proofs of -your assertion.' - -"'If your Majesty will be kind enough to open this casket they will be -supplied.' - -"'Certainly; but I shall require a key for that.' - -"'It only depends on yourself, Sire, to have one. Deign to remove it -from the neck of this turtle dove, which has just brought it to you.' - -"Louis Philippe unfastened a ribbon that held a small rusty key with -which he hastened to unlock the coffer. The first thing that caught the -King's eye was a parchment, on which he read the following statements: - -"'This day, the sixth of June, 1786, this iron box, containing six -handkerchiefs, was placed among the roots of an orange tree by me, -Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro, to serve in performing an act of magic -which will be executed on the same day sixty years hence before Louis -Philippe of Orléans and his family.' - -"'There is, decidedly, witchcraft about this,' the King said, more and -more amazed. 'Nothing is wanting, for the seal and signature of the -celebrated sorcerer are placed at the foot of this statement, which, -Heaven pardon me, smells strongly of sulphur.' - -"At this jest the audience began to laugh. - -"'But,' the King added, taking out of the box a carefully sealed packet, -'can the handkerchiefs, by possibility, be in this?' - -"'Indeed, Sire, they are; but, before opening the parcel, I would -request your Majesty to notice that it, also, bears the impression of -Cagliostro's seal.' - -"This seal, once rendered so famous by being placed on the celebrated -alchemist's bottles of elixir and liquid gold, I had obtained from -Torrini, who had been an old friend of Cagliostro's. - -"'It is certainly the same,' my royal spectator answered, after -comparing the two seals. Still, in his impatience to learn the contents -of the parcel, the King quickly tore open the envelope, and soon -displayed before the astonished spectators the six handkerchiefs, which, -a few moments before, were still on my table." - -While the use of the Cagliostro seal really formed no part of the trick, -its possession by Robert-Houdin goes to show how indefatigably he -collected conjuring curios and how quick he was to utilize any part of -his collection, and score thereby a brilliant showing. - -Cagliostro seals were by no means rare. This prince of charlatans had -seals, like adventures, in great variety; and in this connection, it is -not out of place to tell something of Cagliostro and thus explain why -the parchment bearing his seal created such a sensation at St. Cloud. - -Cagliostro has no match in the annals of magic. Not a conjurer in the -sense of being a public entertainer, he yet mystified and bewitched his -thousands. Something of a physician, more of an alchemist, and -altogether a charlatan, he left behind him a trail of brilliant -chicanery, daring adventure, and ignominious failure and undoing -unequalled in the history of Europe. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a rare portrait of Seraphinia Feliciani, -Comtesse de Cagliostro, wrongfully called Lorenzo in the Encyclopædia -Britannica. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Cagliostro was born Joseph Balsamo, in Palermo, Italy, June 8th, 1743. -His parents were in humble circumstances and he started his career as a -novice in the Convent of Benfratelli, from which he was expelled for -incorrigibility. Then he plunged into a life of dissipation and -cleverly planned, ofttimes brilliantly executed crimes. He fled Palermo -after forging theatre tickets and a will, and duping a goldsmith out of -sixty pieces of gold. At Messina he fell in with an alchemist named -Althotas, a man of some learning who spoke a variety of languages. -These two adventurers travelled in Egypt, and when Althotas died -Cagliostro went to Naples and Rome, where he married a beautiful -girdle-maker named Seraphinia Feliciani. This woman shared both his -triumphs and his disgrace. In 1776 they arrived in London, where he -announced himself as the Count di Cagliostro. The title was assumed, the -name was borrowed from his mother's side of the house. Here for the -first time Cagliostro announced himself also a worker of miracles or -wonders. - -He exhibited two mysterious substances, "Materia Prima," with which he -transmuted all baser metals into gold, and "Egyptian Wine," with which -he claimed to prolong life. His wife, who was just past twenty, he -declared was more than sixty, her youthful appearance being due to the -use of his elixir. He founded a spurious Egyptian rite in connection -with the Masonic order which has been recognized as a blot upon Masonic -history, and he claimed thousands of Masonic dupes. All over the -Continent he and his beautiful wife travelled, now healing the poor for -nothing, now duping the rich, but always living in a most picturesque, -voluptuous fashion. He dipped into spiritualism and mesmerism, but -wherever he went his converts followed after. - -[Illustration: Very rare Testot handbill printed about 1800, presented -by Testot to Henry Evanion. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1789, while in Rome, he was seized by that invincible power, the Holy -Inquisition, and was condemned to death. Later Pope Pius VI. changed the -sentence to life imprisonment. Confinement made him more daring than -ever. He asked for a confessor, and when a Capuchin monk was permitted -to enter his cell in this capacity Cagliostro endeavored to choke him -and escape in his robes. The monk fought for his life so effectually -that it was he, and not Cagliostro, who escaped. Cagliostro was -literally buried alive in a subterranean dungeon, as punishment for his -final offence, and his wife immured herself in a Roman convent, where -she died in 1794. - -[Illustration: Testot programme, featuring "Cabalistic Art" in 1826. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In Paris, perhaps, Cagliostro enjoyed his greatest triumphs of -charlatanism, and it is not remarkable that the appearance of his seal -in the midst of Robert-Houdin's trick should seem almost uncanny to the -royal family. - -But to return to the disappearing-handkerchief trick. Robert-Houdin did -not invent this trick. It was presented by a number of conjurers before -Robert-Houdin was known in the world of magic. Robert-Houdin simply -employed the trick familiar to both his predecessors and contemporaries -and redressed it to tickle the fancy of his royal patron. - -In England this trick was known among old conjurers as "The Ne Plus -Ultra of the Cabalistic Art." In 1826 one M. Félix Testot, who claimed -to be a compatriot of Robert-Houdin, presented the trick in the British -provinces, and one of his bills I am reproducing because it shows that -the trick he offered the provincial Britons and the trick which -Robert-Houdin offered the royal family at St. Cloud were identical. It -also proves that London had seen the trick; and what London had seen, -Paris, including Robert-Houdin, had heard of. - -[Illustration: Marriot programme featuring "Cabalistic Art" in 1831, or -fifteen years before Robert-Houdin claims to have invented the -disappearing handkerchief trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -A programme used by "The Celebrated Mr. Marriot, Professor of Recreative -Philosophy," in 1831, contains word for word the announcement of the -trick used on Testot's bill, which goes to show that a popular test was -to have articles passed from the Adelphia Theatre to the gun which was -being watched by a sentinel. - -[Illustration: Jefferini handbill, dated 1833, in which he announces -that any article will be made to fly 500 miles a minute.] - -February 22d, 1833, found a Mr. Jefferini at the Royal Clarence Theatre, -Liverpool Street, King's Cross, Liverpool. He agreed to make "an article -fly at the rate of five hundred miles an hour, from King's Cross to the -Centre of Greece." - -The original Buck featured on his programme a similar trick which he -called "The Loaf Trick." On a bill dated October 26th, 1840, it is -announced as follows: "Watch in a loaf. The magician will command any -gentleman's watch to disappear. It will be found in a loaf at any -baker's shop in Town." The senior Ingleby changed the trick somewhat, -sending out to any market for a shoulder of mutton, which, on being -cut, would yield up a card previously drawn by some spectator. He thus -describes his trick in his book "Whole Art of Legerdemain," published in -London in 1815: - -"TRICK FOUR. - -"To cut out of a Shoulder of Mutton a Card which one of the Company had -previously drawn out of the Pack. - -[Illustration: Only known portrait of the clever English conjurer, Buck. -From an engraving in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"Having desired a person to draw a Card out of several which you hold to -him, and to remember it, which he promises to do, you tell him it shall -be in a shoulder of mutton which you will send for. - -"Accordingly you desire a servant to go to the butcher's and bring one. -When brought, it is examined, and then ordered to be put down to roast. -After performing some tricks, you recollect the shoulder of mutton, -which is immediately brought half-roasted, and after cutting it for some -time you at length find the card, and produce it. - -[Illustration: Ingleby handbill, dated 1808. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"Explanation: - -"Having forced a card on one of the company, your confederate has an -opportunity, when the mutton is sent to be roasted, of conveying a thin -duplicate of that card folded into a narrow compass into the fleshy part -near the shank, which can be easily done by means of a sharp penknife. - -"This trick, though remarkably simple, has created universal -astonishment at the Minor Theatre, where it was frequently exhibited by -Mr. Ingleby." - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Ingleby's book, "Whole Art of -Legerdemain," said to be an excellent likeness of the conjurer-author. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The method of performing the trick was so familiar to conjurers of -Robert-Houdin's time and earlier that Henry Evans Evanion was able to -describe it to me from actual witnessings. Acting on his explanation, on -my return to America I offered the trick, without any great amount of -preparation and without a hitch, at a matinée entertainment given by a -secret organization. I will describe precisely how this was done, and -allow my readers to judge of the similarity of the trick offered years -ago by humble travelling magicians whose names have been written most -faintly in the annals of conjuring, and the much-vaunted trick -"invented" by Robert-Houdin for the entertainment of his sovereign. - -The hall in which the matinée was given was located in Harlem, Borough -of Manhattan, New York City, and I had decided that the handkerchiefs -which were to make the flying journey should be "desired" by some one -present to appear under the top step of the winding staircase in the -Statue of Liberty, which is located in New York Harbor. This meant a -half-hour ride from the hall to the boat in a Subway train; then a run -across New York Harbor to the Statue. These boats left the dock on the -hour and the half-hour, so I timed my performance to fill just half an -hour, starting with some sleight-of-hand, the egg-bag trick, and -swallowing a package of needles and bringing them up threaded, which -latter trick was introduced into magical performances in Europe by K. K. -Kraus in 1816. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a rare Buck handbill, dated 1844. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Just before 3:30 o'clock I borrowed three handkerchiefs and tied them -together for easier handling. I had three handkerchiefs, similarly tied -together, under my vest, and just at 3:30, I switched the two sets of -handkerchiefs, so that the handkerchiefs furnished by the spectators -were under my vest and the bogus handkerchiefs in my hand. First I -dropped the bogus handkerchiefs on the table-trap, picking up the opaque -glass cover with which they were to be hidden, and, by a carefully -rehearsed bit of carelessness, dropped and broke it. Then, leaving the -bogus handkerchiefs on the table trap, I stepped toward the wings, -apparently to secure another glass bell or cover. To all intents and -purposes, I did not pass from the view of the audience, for fully half -of my body was on the stage, but as my assistant handed me a new glass -cover, he deftly extracted the real handkerchiefs from under my vest. -Then, while I returned to the stage with my patter and description of -the flight the handkerchiefs were about to make, my assistant, with the -handkerchiefs in his pocket, walked unnoticed from the door, and, once -out of sight, ran madly to the Subway station. There he boarded an -express and reached the boat landing just in time to catch the 4 o'clock -boat. At the Statue, my brother and a tinsmith were waiting for him. -The handkerchiefs were placed in the tin box, securely soldered, and -then this box was placed inside a second iron box, which was locked. The -"plant" was then taken upstairs and hidden under the top step. - -In the mean time, with my thoughts following my assistant every step of -his trip, I was playing out my end of the game. The audience was -supplied with blank cards on which they might write the name of the -place where the handkerchiefs should reappear. This, of course, took -some time, and when the cards, each folded to hide the writing thereon, -were collected in a hat, I shook them up thoroughly, and then turned -them out upon a plate, deftly adding, on the top, three cards which I -had concealed in my hand. This was sleight-of-hand purely, and I next -picked out those three prepared cards on each of which was written "Can -you send the handkerchiefs under the top step of the Statue of Liberty?" -Explaining that I had in my hand three cards chosen at haphazard, I -wished the final choice to be made by a disinterested party. A baby was -finally chosen to select the card. Naturally, I refused even to take the -slip of paper from the baby's hand, and one of the lodge members read -the question. - -Murmurs of surprise and incredulity echoed from all over the hall. The -test was too difficult! I then announced that if the audience would -select its own committee, making sure to pick out men who could not be -bribed, I would accompany them, and we would surely return with the -handkerchiefs, sealed in double boxes, as found under the famous -stairway. As an elaborate course luncheon was to be served, the -committee had time to act, and away we went, leaving the lodge to its -feast. So much time had been lost in selecting the committee that we -reached the wharf just in time to catch the 5 o'clock boat. On landing I -received a prearranged signal from my assistants that all was well, and -as I watched my committee dash up the stairs I knew that their quest -would be rewarded. - -When the committee and the writer returned to the lodge-room, a mechanic -was required to pry open the box. There lay the identical handkerchiefs -furnished by my spectators, who could hardly believe their eyes. - -On other occasions I have asked my audience to select a spokesman, who -in a loud voice would announce the point at which the handkerchiefs -would be found, and then my man, waiting just outside the door, would -mount his bicycle and pedal like mad for the hiding-place, naturally -outstripping any committee appointed. But the first method, that of -selecting the place beforehand and having all arrangements made, even to -the three prepared cards, is safest and is probably the one used by -Robert-Houdin to deceive the French monarch. I doubt if he even had -three different cards prepared, as he claims. I believe he exaggerated -his feat, for that would have been taking long chances. - -For this trick I claim not an iota of originality. I simply fitted it to -the time, the place, and the audience, and that I believe is all -Robert-Houdin did when he "invented" the disappearing handkerchief trick -for the amusement of his sovereign. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BETRAYED BY HIS OWN PEN - - -Statements in Robert-Houdin's various works on the conjurer's art -corroborate my claim that he was not a master-magician, but a clever -purloiner and adapter of the tricks invented and used by his -predecessors and contemporaries. Whenever, in these books, he attempts -to explain or expose a trick which was not part of his répertoire, he -betrays an ignorance which would be impossible in a conjurer versed in -the finer and more subtle branches of his art. Neither do these -explanations show that he was clever enough as a mechanic to have -invented the apparatus which he claimed as his handiwork. He states that -practice and still more practice are essential, yet no intelligent -performer, amateur or professional, can study my collection of -Robert-Houdin programmes, handbills, and press notices without realizing -that his répertoire contained little or no trace of what should be the -foundation of successful conjuring, sleight-of-hand. Changing his -fingers over the various air-holes of the inexhaustible bottle was as -near as he ever came to sleight-of-hand, even when he was in the height -of his success. - -According to the press notices he had a pleasing stage presence, and -also dressed and set forth his tricks richly, but it must be borne in -mind that then, as often to-day, the man sent by an editor to criticise -a conjurer's performance knew little or nothing about the art and could -not institute comparisons between different magicians. To-day -Robert-Houdin would shine as an exhibitor of illusions or mechanical -toys. A pistol shot, a puff of smoke--and his confederate or assistant -has done the real work behind the scenes. - -His lack of finesse as a sleight-of-hand performer is nowhere more -clearly shown than in his own writings. On page 37 of his French exposé -of the secrets of magic, entitled "Comment on Devient Sorcier" (page 51 -of the English translation by Professor Hoffmann, "The Secrets of -Conjuring and Magic"), he thus naïvely describes his masterpiece of -coin-palming: - -"I myself practised palming long and perseveringly, and acquired thereat -a very considerable degree of skill. I used to be able to palm two -five-franc pieces at once, the hand, nevertheless, remaining as freely -open as though it held nothing whatever." - -An amateur of his own day would have blushed to admit that he could palm -but two coins. Men like T. Nelson Downs, "The Koin King," think nothing -of palming twenty five-franc or silver dollars, or forty half-dollars, -and even this record has been broken. - -Even two writers who contributed to the translation and editing of his -works, R. Shelton Mackenzie and Professor Hoffmann (Angelo J. Lewis), -and who have drawn rich royalties for the same, apologize for his -flagrant mis-statements, which, they realize, any man or woman with but -a slight knowledge of conjuring must recognize. - -His first contribution to the history of magic was his "Memoirs"; and -while he does not feature exposures of tricks in this work, he offers, -in passing, explanations of tricks and automata presented by other -magicians. For the most part these explanations are obviously incorrect, -and so prove that he was ignorant of certain fundamental principles of -the art in which he claimed to have shone. - -In the introduction of the American edition, published in 1850, Mr. -Mackenzie, the editor, thus apologizes for one of Robert-Houdin's most -flagrant mistakes in tracing the history of magic: - -"One error which M. Houdin makes must not be passed over. His account of -M. de Kempelen's celebrated automaton chess-player (afterward Maëlzel's) -is entirely wrong. This remarkable piece of mechanism was constructed in -1769, and not in 1796; it was the Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria who -played with it, and not Catherine II. of Russia; it was in 1783 that it -first visited Paris, where it played at the Café de la Regence; it was -not taken to London until 1784, and again in 1819; it was brought to -America in 1825, by M. Maëlzel, and visited our principal cities, its -chief resting-place being Philadelphia; M. Maëlzel's death was in 1838, -on the voyage from Cuba to the United States, and not, as M. Houdin -says, on his return to France; and the automaton, so far from being -taken back to France, was sold by auction here, finally purchased by the -late Dr. J. K. Mitchell, of Philadelphia, reconstructed by him, and -finally deposited in the Chinese Museum (formerly Peale's), where it was -consumed in the great fire which destroyed the National Theatre (now the -site of the Continental Hotel, corner of Ninth and Chestnut Streets), -and, extending to the Chinese Museum, burnt it down on July 5th, 1854. -An interesting account of the Automaton Chess-Player, written by Prof. -George Allen, of this city, will be found in 'The Book of the First -American Chess Congress,' recently published in New York." - -Signor Blitz, in his book "Fifty Years in the Magic Circle," -corroborates the Mackenzie correction, by telling how he saw Maëlzel in -Havana, Cuba, where the famous German met his professional Waterloo, -first in small audiences, then in the death of his faithful confederate, -Schlomberg. Finally, broken in health and spirit, Maëlzel sailed from -Havana for Philadelphia, but death overtook him at sea. His body was -consigned to the ocean's depths, and his few effects were sold to -liquidate the cost of passage and other debts. - -That Robert-Houdin should make an error concerning a world-famous -automaton the history of which could be traced through contemporary -periodicals and libraries, is almost inconceivable and proves the -carelessness with which he gathered and presented facts. - -His inability to grasp the principles on which other performers built -their tricks is shown most clearly when he attempts to describe and -explain the performances of the Arabian mountebanks whom he saw during -his stay in Algiers. These tricks have been handed down from one -generation to another, and now that Arabian conjurers and acrobats are -imported for hippodrome and vaudeville performances in all civilized -countries, the tricks described by Robert-Houdin are familiar to the -general public. They are also copied by performers of other -nationalities, and can be seen in circus side-shows and at fairs, as -well as in the better grade of houses. Having worked on the same bill -with genuine Arabian performers, I know just how the tricks are -accomplished. - -Robert-Houdin undertakes to explain these tricks in chapter XXII. of the -American edition of his "Memoirs." So long as he quotes reliable -authorities like the _Journal des Sciences_, the explanations are -correct. Directly he attempts an independent exposure, he strikes far -from the correct explanation. - -On page 424 he states: - -"In the following experiment, two Arabs held a sabre, one by the hilt, -the other by the point; a third then came forward, and after raising his -clothes so as to leave the abdomen quite bare, laid himself flat on the -edge of the blade, while a fourth mounted on his back, and seemed to -press the whole weight of his body on him. - -"This trick may be easily explained. - -"Nothing proves to the audience that the sabre is really sharpened, or -that the edge is more cutting than the back, although the Arab who holds -it by the point is careful to wrap it up in a handkerchief--in this, -imitating the jugglers who pretend they have cut their fingers with one -of the daggers they use in their tricks. - -"Besides, in performing this trick, the invulnerable turned his back on -the audience. He knew the advantage to be derived from this -circumstance; hence, at the moment when about to lay himself on the -sabre, he very adroitly pulled back over his stomach that portion of his -clothing he had raised. Lastly, when the fourth actor mounted on his -back, he rested his hands on the shoulders of the Arabs who held the -sabre. The latter apparently maintained his balance, but, in reality, -they supported the whole weight of his body. Hence, the only requirement -for this trick is to have the stomach more or less pressed in, and I -will explain presently that this can be effected without any danger or -injury." - -[Illustration: A Rannin lithograph, showing him doing the sword-walking -act which Robert-Houdin claimed to have been a fraud. Rannin is still -working in Germany, imitated by many, equalled by none. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In this explanation Robert-Houdin is entirely wrong. The real secret of -lying on top of a sharp-edged razor, sword, or sabre rests on the fact -that the performer does actually lie upon it in a perfectly motionless -position. Were he to move but the width of a hair, backward or forward -or sidewise, the weapon would slice his body, resulting in instant death -or horrible mutilation. I have watched cheap performers of this class of -work, in dime museums or fairs, walk up a ladder of sharp swords which I -had previously held in my hand. They would place the foot down with -infinite precision and then press it into place. This position will not -result in cutting, but let the performer slip or slide and the flesh -would be cut instantly. I have also seen an acrobat, working in a -circus, select two razors in first-class condition, place them on a -socket with the edges of the razors uppermost, and with his bare hands -he would do what is known as a hand-stand on the keen edges of the -blades. This trick of absolute balance is acquired by persistent -practice from youth up. - -Again Robert-Houdin errs wofully in comparing the sabre-swallower to the -swallower of broken bottle-heels and stones. Sabre-swallowing is one -trick, swallowing pebbles and broken glass belongs in quite a different -class. And when I say this I do not mean powdered glass, but pieces of -glass first broken, then chewed, and finally swallowed. - -On page 426 Robert-Houdin puts the two tricks in the same class, as -follows: - -"When the trick of swallowing bottle-heels and pebbles was to be done, -the Aïssaoua really put them in his mouth, but I believe, I may say -certainly, that he removed them at the moment when he placed his head in -the folds of the Mokadem's burnous. However, had he swallowed them, -there would have been nothing wonderful about this, when we compare it -with what was done some thirty years back in France by a mountebank -called 'the Sabre-Swallower.' - -"This man, who performed in the streets, threw back his head so as to -form a straight line with his throat, and really thrust down his gullet -a sabre, of which only the hilt remained outside his mouth. - -"He also swallowed an egg without cracking it, or even nails and -pebbles, which he caused to resound, by striking his stomach with his -fist. - -"These tricks were the result of a peculiar formation in the -mountebank's throat, but, if he had lived among the Aïssaoua, he would -have assuredly been the leading man of the company." - -The sabre-swallower never releases his hold on the weapon. The pebble -and bottle-heel swallower does--but brings them up again, by a system of -retching which results from long practice. The Japanese have an -egg-swallowing trick in which they swallow either small-sized ivory -balls or eggs, and reproduce them by a retching so unnoticeable that -they could easily show the mouth empty. - -This trick dates back to the offerings of that celebrated water-spouter, -Blaise Manfrede, or de Manfre, who travelled all over Europe. This man -could swallow huge quantities of water and then eject it in streams or -in small quantities or fill all sorts of glasses. In fact this one trick -made him famous. _The European Magazine_, London, March, 1765, pages -194-5, gives a most diverting description of his trick, taken from an -old letter, and here quoted: - -"I have seen, at the September fair in Francfort, a man who professed -drinking fifty quarts of water in a day, and indeed proved that he was -capable of executing what he pretended to. I saw him perform frequently, -and remember it as well as if it was but yesterday. He said he was an -Italian; he was short and squat, his chest, face, forehead, eyes, and -mouth very large. He pretended to be fifty years old, though he did not -seem forty. - -[Illustration: Blasius de Manfre or Blaise Manfrede, from a rare old -woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"He was called the famous Blaise Manfrede, a native of Malta. At -Francfort he frequently performed three times a day: for, besides his -performances twice a day on the public stage (which nobody approached -without paying), he attended private houses when called upon by great -people. - -"He called for a large bucket of fair warm water, and twenty little -glass bottles, flat like cupping glasses, so that they could stand -topside turvy. Some of these he filled with water, plunging them into -the bucket with a good deal of ceremony, and usually swallowed two or -three to wash his mouth and gargle his throat. He threw up the water -again immediately, to shew the spectators that he had no drugs between -his teeth, whence he could be suspected to derive any advantage. - -"After this plausible prelude, he made an Italian harangue, which I -cannot acquaint you with the merits of, because I am a stranger to the -language.... After his harangue he usually took off two dozen of his -little bottles, which he filled from the bucket, and a moment afterwards -returned the liquor through his mouth. But what is most extraordinary is -that this water, which he threw out with violence, appeared red like -wine. And when he had discharged it into two different bottles, it was -red in one and russet like beer in the other; as soon as he shifted the -bottles to the contrary sides, they changed their complexion -respectively to that of wine or beer, and so successively so long as he -continued vomiting; in the mean time, I observed that the water grew -less discolored in proportion as he continued to discharge. This was the -first act. Then he ranged his two dozen of bottles opposite to him on a -table, and exposed to everybody's view. Then he took an equal number of -bottles, plunged them anew into the bucket, swallowed them too, and -returned them in water very transparent, rose-water, -orange-flower-water, and brandy. - -"I have smelt the several odours of his liquors; nay, I have seen him -set fire to a handkerchief dipt in that which smelt like brandy, and it -burnt blue like spirituous liquors.... Nay, he frequently promised at -Venice to give the water back again in milk and oil. But I think he did -not keep his word. In short, he concluded this scene with swallowing -successfully thirty or forty glasses of water, always from the same -bucket, and after having given notice to the company by his man (who -served as an interpreter) that he was going to disembogue, he threw his -head back, and spouting out the fair water, he made it spring up with an -impetuosity like that of the strongest _jet d'eau_. This last feat -delighted the people infinitely more than all the rest, and during the -month he was at Francfort numbers from all parts came to see this -slovenly exercise. Though he repeated it more than once a day he had -more than four hundred spectators at a time. Some threw their -handkerchiefs, and some their gloves upon the stage, that he might wet -them with the water he had cast up, and he returned them differently -perfumed, sometimes with rose-water, sometimes with orange-flower-water, -and sometimes with brandy." - -Another famous juggler and water-spouter was Floram Marchand, whose -picture is herewith reproduced. Judging from his dress, he antedated -Manfrede. - -Bell's _Messenger_ of July 16th, 1816, tells of a sword-swallower whose -work is extremely pertinent to this discussion, and the clipping is -quoted verbatim: - -[Illustration: Floram Marchand. From an old, undated English publication -in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"The French papers give a curious account of one James de Falaise, a -Norman, about fifty years of age, living in the Rue St. Honoré. It is -said that this extraordinary man will swallow whole walnuts, shell and -all, a tobacco pipe, three cards rolled together, a rose with all its -leaves, long stalk, and thorns, a living bird, and a living mouse, and, -lastly, a live eel. Like to the Indian jugglers, he swallows the blade -of a sabre about thirteen inches long of polished steel. This operation -he performs very slowly, and with some precaution; though he evinces no -symptom of pain. After every solid body that he swallows, he always -takes a small dose of wine expressly prepared for him. He does not seem -to make any effort to kill the living animals that he takes in his -mouth, but boasts that he feels them moving in his stomach." - -[Illustration: Position taken by the subject in the Indian basket trick -before he is covered by the sheet.] - -In my collection is the handbill of a stone-swallower who exhibited at -No. 10 Cockspur Street, London, charging an admission fee of -half-a-crown. - -[Illustration: Indian fakir seated in the basket after the subject has -been "vanished."] - -These performers actually swallowed the water, stones, pebbles, etc., -and retched them up again so cleverly and at such carefully selected -instants that the audience did not know that the disgorging had been -accomplished. - -Swallowing glass was a different matter, and the modern human ostriches -have all wound up at city hospitals where surgeons have removed broken -glass, knife blades, and other foreign matter by means of an operation. - -I quote the above instances simply to prove that the stones were -actually swallowed and then disgorged, and not hidden, as Robert-Houdin -claims, in the folds of the Mokadem's burnous. - -In this one chapter alone Robert-Houdin quotes six authorities in -explaining the tricks he witnessed, which fact only strengthens my -belief that he borrowed his tricks, as well as his explanations, from -able and graphic writers on the art of magic. - -The next work descriptive of the conjurer's art offered by Robert-Houdin -was "Les Secrets de la Prestidigitation et de la Magie." Under the title -of "The Secrets of Conjuring and Magic; or, How to Become a Wizard," it -was translated and edited by Professor Hoffmann and published in 1878 by -George Routledge & Co., London and New York. - -Absolutely no originality is displayed in this book, and the majority of -the tricks explained can be found in French books of a similar character -which appeared before Robert-Houdin turned author. The proof of this -statement can be found by reading any of the following works upon which -Robert-Houdin patently drew for his material: - -"Nouvelle Magie Blanche Dévoilée et Cours Complet de Prestidigitation," -in two volumes, by J. N. Ponsin, published in Paris in 1853; "Grande -Initiation au vraie Pratique des Célèbres Physiciens-Prestidigitateurs," -Paris, 1855; "Nouveau Manuel Complet Sorciers, les scènes de -Ventriloquie exécutées et communiquées par M. Conte, Physicien du Roi," -Paris, 1837; "Anciens et Nouvaux Tours d'Escamotage," of which there are -innumerable editions; "Le Manuel des Sorciers. Recréations Physiques, -Mathématiques, Tours de Cartes et de Gibecière; suivre, des Jeux de -Société," Paris, 1802. - -[Illustration: Position of the "vanished" Hindoo while concealed in the -basket. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -His third work, "Magie et Physique Amusante," translated by Professor -Hoffmann under the title of "The Secrets of Stage Conjuring," and -published in English in 1881, is marred by an almost continuous strain -of mis-statements, incorrect explanations, and downright falsification. - -On page 17 of the American edition Robert-Houdin starts his dramatic -tale of inventing a detector lock by which he protected a rich neighbor, -M. de l'Escalopier, from robbery, and incidentally in return secured -funds with which to open his theatre in the Palais Royal. In his -"Mémoirs" Robert-Houdin states that the opening of the theatre was made -possible by the invention of the writing and drawing automaton whose -history has been traced in chapter III. The reader can choose between -the two stories. One is as plausible as the other. - -But to return to the detector lock. Count or M. De l'Escalopier having -complained grievously to his humble neighbor, the watchmaker -Robert-Houdin, that he and his family were being robbed, begged that the -latter suggest some means of catching the thief. Robert-Houdin then -recalled a childish device by which he had caught his school-fellows in -the act of pilfering his desk, etc., and he proposed to the Count that -the same device, elaborated to meet the strength of a full-grown man, be -attached to his wealthy patron's desk. As first planned, the detector -lock was to shoot off a pistol on being tampered with, and then brand -the hand of the thief with nitrate of silver. Count de l'Escalopier -objected to branding a man for life, so Robert-Houdin substituted for -the nitrate of silver a sort of cat's claw which would clamp down on the -robber's hand and draw blood. The Count deposited ten thousand francs in -his desk and caught the robber, his confidential servant, red-handed. -The ten thousand francs he presented to Robert-Houdin as a reward for -stopping the thefts. - -A charming tale this makes, but, unfortunately for Robert-Houdin's -claims to originality, the detector lock was not a novelty in his day. -The lock which would first alarm the household by setting off a pistol -and then brand the thief's hand, is described by the Marquis of -Worcester in his book "Centurie of Inventions." As locks and -locksmithing form my hobby, while in England I purchased the entire set -of patent-books, to add to a collection of locks and fastenings from -every known country of the world. In the introduction of the first book -of patents for inventions relating to locks, latches, bolts, etc., from -A.D. 1774 to 1866, the following quotation will be found: - -"The Marquis of Worcester in his 'Centurie of Inventions' thus describes -the first detector lock invented, A.D. 1640, by some mechanical genius -of that day: 'This lock is so constructed that, if a stranger attempts -to open it, it catches his hand as a trap catches a fox, though not as -far as maiming him for life, yet so far marketh him that if suspected he -might easily be detected.'" - -It appears that to this lock was fitted a steel barb which, if a certain -tumbler was overlifted in the act of picking or otherwise, was projected -against the hand of the operator by a spring. I have seen such a lock as -this in the collection of Hobbs, Hart & Co., London, who have had it in -their possession many years. In every respect it answers the description -of the invention claimed by Robert-Houdin as his own. - -Chapter VII. of "Secrets of Stage Conjuring" is devoted to -Robert-Houdin's very incorrect explanation of the famous Indian Basket -Trick. Even his own translator, Professor Hoffmann, takes issue with -Robert-Houdin, as will be seen by reading his foot-note on page 104: -"We will not venture to question the fact vouched for by so high an -authority as Robert-Houdin, that the Indian Basket Trick may sometimes -be performed after the manner above described, but we doubt very much -whether such is the usual or customary method." - -[Illustration: A Ramo Samee handbill, featuring his stone-swallowing -act. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Handbill used by the original Indian jugglers in England -during 1818, in which the sword-swallowing trick is featured. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Robert-Houdin states that the child is placed in the basket, and the -Indian fastens down the lid with leather straps. To facilitate this -operation, he rests his knees against the basket, and the bottom of -the latter thus being turned toward the audience, the boy slips out -through a cunningly contrived trap and quickly conceals himself under -the robe of the magician, whose attitude favors this concealment. - -As the basket trick is the Hindoo magician's most wonderful offering, a -truthful account of his methods of performing the same may be -interesting. In the first place, Robert-Houdin's explanation is -impossible and unreasonable because the Hindoo magician does not wear -flowing robes in which the child could be concealed. Every Hindoo -performer I have ever seen wore short trousers and was barefooted. - -The correct method of performing the trick, which has been handed down -through generations of Hindoos, is as follows: The boy subject is placed -in a net in which he is firmly tied, after having had his big toes and -thumbs fastened down with bandages. Then, with many a grunt and a groan, -he is lifted into the basket. The subject, however, pretends that the -basket is too small, so he is really seated on one side and keeps his -back in the air. This is done to give the appearance eventually that it -was impossible for him to crouch down or around the basket. The lid of -the basket is now placed on his back, and a large sheet is thrown over -the entire apparatus, which conceals from the audience every movement -made by the subject. - -Now commences the Hindoo "patter," in reality yells, groans, and -incantations, while the magician and his assistant strike the basket -with swords or canes, stamp on the ground, gnash their teeth, etc. -Gradually the cover of the basket sinks until the basket seems empty, -to the spectators at least. The fakir now takes off the cover of the -basket, leaving the sheet over it, however. Then he jumps into the -presumably empty basket, stamps all around, and takes out the net in -which are found the turban worn by the subject and the thumb tie. To -prove further that the basket is still empty, the fakir seats himself in -the basket, as shown in the illustration. The lid of the basket is now -replaced, and under this friendly cover the sheet is taken off and the -basket tied up. - -Now commences the true Hindoo magic. The magician is a real actor. He -apparently adjures Mahomet. He gets very angry and with fierce looks, -ejaculations, and muttered curses he grabs up a sword or cane and jabs -it through different parts of the basket. During all this time the -subject, who is something of a contortionist, is wriggling about on the -bottom of the basket, keeping out of reach of the sword, and in fact -often guiding its thrusts between his legs, as every movement on the -part of the fakir has been carefully thought out and rehearsed in -advance. - -By this time the fakir has convinced his audience that the basket is -empty. To be sure he has not allowed any spectators to come too near him -or the basket, nor has any hand save his touched it, but his clever -acting almost persuades even an intelligent or sceptical onlooker that -the basket is empty. - -With the lid of the basket replaced, this time above the friendly sheet, -and the basket tied, he resumes his weird incantations. He screams and -runs back and forth, playing on a small instrument with a hideous tone -which is a cross between the whistle of a locomotive with a cold, and a -sawed-off and hammered-down flute in which has been inserted a tin -whistle. As this nerve-racking music holds the spectators under its -awful spell, the basket begins to rock, the contortionist-subject -gradually raises himself inside the basket, and when the noise is at its -height he straightens up in the basket and raises it with his back as -far as it will go. To the uninitiated it actually appears as if he had -returned to an empty basket in his original position. The trick is a -marvellous deception, but only a Hindoo can exhibit it with success, for -no white person would ever indulge in the screechings, imbecilities, and -contortions which are the spectacular and convincing features of the -trick. - -Sometimes the trick is varied. Instead of the subject being found in his -original position he is seen running toward the crowd as from a -distance. This is accomplished by having two subjects, one in the basket -and one hidden on the outskirts of the crowd, who are "doubles" or at -least who show a marked resemblance and are dressed exactly alike. - -The earliest programmes of Hindoo jugglers in my collection are dated -1818. The "Mr. Ramosamee" featured on this bill later split his name -thus, "Ramo Samee," and was engaged to perform alone between the acts of -"The Broken Heart" at the Garrick Theatre, London. From Ramo Samee, -Continental and British magicians learned the trick of juggling brass -balls. - -On page 135 Professor Hoffmann, in a foot-note, commends Robert-Houdin -for the very impartial manner in which he approaches the question of -spiritualism and spiritualistic manifestations, in his day a -comparative novelty: "In default of absolute certainty, he wisely -reserves his opinion. Where, however, as in the case of the Davenport -Brothers, he had an opportunity of personally observing the alleged -'phenomena,' he has neither difficulty in penetrating nor hesitation in -denouncing the imposture. We venture to believe that any of the -so-called spiritualistic manifestations which had come under the test of -Robert-Houdin's examination would have met a similar fate." - -With this commendation I cannot agree. Robert-Houdin once had all the -leeway he wished at a most remarkable manifestation and made no attempt -to hide the fact that he was baffled by the "phenomena." The "Memoirs of -Marquis de Mirville" contain a Robert-Houdin letter in which he admits -that he could find no explanation of tests just witnessed. The letter, -translated from "Die Magie des XIX. Jahrhunderts von Uriarte," 1896, -published in Berlin, Germany, by Heusers Verlag, is herewith quoted: "I -returned from the séance as greatly astonished as it was possible for me -to be, and I am thoroughly convinced that it was entirely out of the -possibility, and no chance whatever, that it was either by accident or -practised trickery to produce such wonderful materializations. -Robert-Houdin, May 18th, 1847." - -He further shows his ignorance of séances as offered in his times, by -his attempt to describe the methods employed by the Davenport Brothers, -to whom he devotes chapter XIII., which might be described as a chapter -of errors. - -These picturesque American entertainers, the Davenport Brothers, hailed -from Buffalo, N. Y., U.S.A. Ira Erastus was born September 17th, 1839, -and William Henry, February 1st, 1841. They fairly startled the world by -their so-called manifestations of spiritualism during the 60's, and were -alternately lauded and reviled for their performances. - -[Illustration: The Davenport Brothers in their prime, from photographs -furnished by them to the contemporary press, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Both were below medium height, rather handsome men, and, as will be seen -from the accompanying engraving, looked much alike. Their career, which -started in America, ran from about 1853 to the early 70's. They made a -trip to Europe in 1864, remaining until August, 1869. Both married -abroad; Ira a daughter of France, Mlle. Louise Toulet, and William Henry -a Polish girl, Miss Matilda Mag. On the whole, their foreign tour was -most profitable, though in some cities they paid a high price for their -notoriety. In England they waged bitter warfare with John Henry -Anderson, Tolmaque, and Professor Redmond. - -On the occasion of their Paris opening at the Salle Herz they claimed -that the hoodlum element mobbed the theatre and broke up their -performance at the instigation of Henri Robin, who was playing in -opposition. Hamilton, who had succeeded to the management of -Robert-Houdin's theatre, in a letter published after witnessing their -initial performance announced that he shared this belief; but as -Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin were bitter rivals, I believe Hamilton's -letter was the result of two things: first the intense ill-will he -harbored against Robin, and second, as he had Robert-Houdin as his -mentor, he was really ignorant of the Davenport methods and therefore -not in a position to defend them. The letter, which is given in full, -appeared in _Gazette des Étrangers_, Paris, September 27th, 1865: - -"Messrs. Davenport: Yesterday I had the pleasure of being present at the -séance you gave, and I came away from it convinced that jealousy alone -was the cause of the outcry raised against you. The phenomena produced -surpassed my expectations, and your experiments were full of interest to -me. I consider it my duty to add that these phenomena are inexplicable; -and the more so by such persons as have thought themselves able to guess -your supposed secret, and who are, in fact, far indeed from having -discovered the truth. Hamilton." - -[Illustration: The cabinet trick offered by the Davenport Brothers. From -an old print in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -After their return to America the Davenport Brothers retired from -public life, purchased a farm, and rested on their laurels and a -corpulent bank account. One of them is said to have admitted that all -their work was skilful manipulation and not spiritualistic -manifestations. Nevertheless, their names will live so long as -spiritualism is talked of or cabinet effects tolerated by the public. - -The trick as offered by the Davenport Brothers consisted of their being -tied hand and foot at opposite ends of the cabinet, which was hung with -musical instruments, bells, etc. The two men slipped in and out of the -ropes without delay or apparent damage to the ropes, and musical -instruments were played with arms presumably in bondage. - -Robert-Houdin, in attempting to expose the trick, makes two flagrant -errors. First he claims that "by dint of special practice on the part of -our mediums, the thumb is made to lie flat in the hand, when the whole -assumes a cylindrical form of scarcely greater diameter than the wrist"; -and second that the Davenport Brothers had trained themselves to see in -the dark. - -[Illustration: Announcement used by the Davenport Brothers on their -return to London, England, after their tour of the Continent in April, -1868. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As releasing myself from fastenings of all sorts, from ropes to -strait-jackets, has been my profession for twenty years, I am in a -position to contradict Robert-Houdin's first claim positively. I have -met thousands of persons who claimed that the rope, as well as the -handcuff trick, was accomplished by folding the hand together or making -the wrist larger than the hand, but never have I met men or women who -could make their hands smaller than their wrists. I have even gone so -far as to have iron bands made and press my hands together, hoping -eventually to make my hands smaller than my wrists, but this has -failed, too. Even if the entire thumb were cut away, I believe it would -still be impossible to slip a rope that was properly bound around the -wrist. You may take any cuff of the adjustable make, or a ratchet cuff, -place it about a small woman's wrist, and you will find that even she -will be unable to slip her wrists. I do not mean by this any hand-cuff -that will not come to any size, or the common cuffs which when locked -will lock only to a certain size, but I mean a cuff that can be locked -and adjusted to any size of wrist. - -In rope-tying, the principal trick is to allow yourself to be tied -according to certain methods of crossing your hands or wrists, so that -by eventually straightening your hands you have made enough room to -allow them to slip out very easily. It is not always the size of the -wrist that counts. It is the manner of holding your hands when the knots -are being tied. - -The gift of seeing in the dark, with which Robert-Houdin endowed the -Davenports, is equally preposterous. Professor Hoffmann defends -Robert-Houdin by citing instances of prisoners who had been confined in -cells for an indefinite period and who had learned to see in the dark. -This is quite true, but they did not alternate daylight and darkness. -Eminent opticians and oculists inform me that the faculty of seeing in -the dark cannot be acquired by parties like the Davenports, who spent -most of their time in the light. - -While the Davenports were pioneers in rope-tying and cabinet séances, -had Robert-Houdin been the clever sleight-of-hand performer and inventor -he claims to have been, these tricks would have been clear and solvable -to him. But as he obviously joined the ranks of the amazed and -bewildered masses, making only a futile attempt to explain the -performances, he convicts himself of ignorance regarding his own art. - -A man who has made a fortune in the world of magic and who desires to -hand down to posterity a clean record of his attainments will be clever -enough and manly enough to avoid any attempt to explain that which he -does not understand. By his flagrant mis-statements regarding the tricks -of his predecessors and contemporaries, Robert-Houdin, however, convicts -himself of ignorance regarding the fundamental principles of magic, and -arouses in the minds of broad, intelligent readers doubts regarding his -claims to the invention of the various tricks and automata which he -declares to have been the output of his brain, the production of his own -deft hands. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S "MEMOIRS" - - -The charm of true memoirs lies far beyond the printed pages, in the -depth and breadth of the writer's soul. The greatest of all -autobiographies are those which detail not only the lives of the men who -penned them, but which abound in diverting anecdotes and character -studies of the men and women among whom the writer moved. They are not -autobiographies alone, but vivid, broad-minded pen-pictures of the -period in which the writer was a vigorous, respect-compelling figure. -Memoirs written with a view to settling old scores seldom live to -accomplish their ends. The narrowness and pettiness of the writer, which -intelligent reading of history is bound to disclose, destroy all other -charms which the book may possess. - -At personal exploitation Robert-Houdin is a brilliant success. As a -writer of memoirs he is a wretched failure. Whenever he writes of -himself, his pen seems fairly to scintillate. Whenever he refers to -other magicians of his times, his pen lags and drops on the pages blots -which can emanate only from a narrow, petty, jealous nature. - -Even when he writes of his own family, this peculiar trait of petty -egotism may be read between the lines. He mentions the name of his son -Émile, apparently because the lad shared his stage triumphs. His other -children he never mentions by name. The second wife, who, he grudgingly -admits, stood valiantly by him in his days of poverty and -disappointment, he does not honor by so much as stating her name before -marriage. Rather, he refers to her as a person whom he was constrained -to place in charge of his household in order that he might continue his -experiments and his work on automata. A less gracious tribute to wifely -devotion was never penned. - -But it is in dealing with contemporary magicians or those whose -handiwork in bygone years he cleverly purloined and proclaimed as his -original inventions, that the petty jealousy of the man comes to the -surface. Whenever he desires to claim for himself credit due a -predecessor in the world of magic, he either ignores the man's very -existence or writes of his competitor in such a manner that the latter's -standing as man and magician is lowered. Not that he makes broad, -sweeping statements. Rather, he indulges in the innuendo which is far -more dangerous to the party attacked. He never strikes a pen-blow which, -because of its brutality, might arouse the sympathy of his readers for -the object of his attack. Here, in the gentle art of innuendo and -belittling, if not in the conjurer's art, Robert-Houdin is a master. - -[Illustration: Wiljalba Frikell in his youth, showing the peculiar -costume worn by conjurers at that time. The author secured this portrait -a few weeks before Frikell's death and sent it to the veteran conjurer, -who was amazed to learn that this print was in existence. Now in the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In writing his "Memoirs" he deliberately ignores Compars Herrmann, Henri -Robin, Wiljalba Frikell, M. Jacobs, and P. T. Barnum, all of whom he -knew personally. He might have written most entertainingly of these men, -but in each case he had an object in avoiding reference to the -acquaintance. P. T. Barnum knew the true history of the writing and -drawing figure, as reference to chapter III. of this book will show. -Frikell was the pioneer in dispensing with cumbersome stage draperies. -Robert-Houdin claimed this innovation as the product of his own -ingenuity. Compars Herrmann was playing in London when Robert-Houdin -made his English début under Mitchell's direction, and was presenting, -trick for trick, the répertoire claimed by Robert-Houdin as original -with him. Henri Robin disputed Robert-Houdin's claim to having invented -the inexhaustible bottle, and proved his case, as will be seen by -reference to chapter VIII. Jacobs was one of Anderson's cleverest -imitators and a rival of Robert-Houdin in the English provinces. - -The adroit manner in which Robert-Houdin flays Pinetti, Anderson, and -Bosco would arouse admiration were his pen-lashings devoted to men who -deserved such treatment. Under existing circumstances--his debt to Bosco -and Pinetti, whose tricks he filched remorselessly, and the fact that -Anderson's popularity outlived his own in England--his efforts to -belittle these men are unworthy of one who called himself a man and a -master magician. The truly great and successful man rises above petty -jealousy and personalities. This, Robert-Houdin could not do, even when -he sat pen in hand, in retirement, with the fear of competition removed. - -It seems almost incredible that Robert-Houdin should ignore Henri Robin -in his "Memoirs," for Robin was one of the most interesting characters -of that day. He still stands in magic's history as the Chesterfield of -conjuring, a man of many gifts, charming address, and broad education. -Even in his dispute with Robert-Houdin regarding the invention of the -inexhaustible bottle, he never forgot his dignity, but proved his case -by that most potent of arguments, a well-edited magazine published under -his direction, in which an illustration showed him actually performing -the trick in 1844, or a full three years before it appeared on -Robert-Houdin's programme. - -Robert-Houdin was indebted to Robin for another trick, the Garde -Française, introduced by Robert-Houdin in October, 1847. Henri Robin had -precisely the same figure, doing precisely the same feats, in the garb -of an Arab. An illustration from Robin's magazine, _L'Almanach -Cagliostro_, shows Robin offering this figure in March, 1846, or a year -and seven months before it was presented by Robert-Houdin. Yet the only -reference made by Robert-Houdin to this popular and gifted contemporary -is in "The Secrets of Stage Conjuring" where he remarks slightingly that -Robin spoiled Mr. Pepper's business by giving a poor imitation of the -latter's ghost show. - -Again, in ignoring Herrmann, he proves his narrowness of mind, his utter -unwillingness to admit any ability in his rivals. Compars Herrmann was -no ordinary trickster or mountebank, but a conjurer who remained in -London almost a year, playing the very best houses, and later scoring -equal popularity in the provinces. He was decorated by various monarchs -and was famous for his large gifts to charities. Even the present -generation, including theatre-goers and students of magic, remembers the -name of Herrmann, when Robert-Houdin is forgotten or would be but for -his cleverly written autobiography. - -Wiljalba Frikell, to whom should go the credit of cutting out heavy -stage draperies, never claimed the innovation as a carefully planned -conceit, but as an accident. His paraphernalia were destroyed in a fire, -but he desired to live up to his contract and give a performance as -announced. He therefore offered sleight-of-hand, pure and simple, with -the aid of a few tables, chairs, and other common properties which were -absolutely undraped. He was also compelled to don regulation, severely -plain, evening clothes. The absence of draperies, which naturally aid a -conjurer in attaining results, created so pleasing a sensation that -Frikell never again draped his stage nor wore fancy raiment. Had -Robert-Houdin told the truth about his so-called innovation, he must -have given Frikell credit, wherefore he conveniently ignores Frikell -completely. - -It is entirely characteristic of Robert-Houdin that he did not openly -assail Pinetti in the pages of his "Memoirs." With cleverness worthy of -a better cause, he quotes the bitter verbal attack as issuing from the -lips of the friend and mentor of his youth, Signor Torrini. - -The major portion of chapter VI., pages 92 to 104 inclusive, American -edition of his autobiography, is devoted to assailing Pinetti's -abilities as a conjurer and his reputation as a man. Granted that -Pinetti did put Torrini to shame on the Neapolitan stage, such revenge -for a wholesale duplication of the magician's tricks might be termed -almost human and natural. Had a minor magician, amateur or professional, -dogged the footsteps of Robert-Houdin, copying his tricks, the entire -répertoire upon which he depended for a livelihood, thus endangering his -future, I doubt that even the author of "Confidences d'un -Prestidigitateur" would have hesitated to unmask and undo his rival. - -In fact, by reference to the editorial note, foot of page 421, American -edition of Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," it will be seen that in 1850 -Robert-Houdin appealed to the law for protection in just such a case. An -employee was sent to prison for two years, as judgment for selling to an -amateur some of his master's secrets. - -[Illustration: Bartolomeo Bosco in his prime. From an engraving in the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -But in attacking Pinetti, Robert-Houdin goes a step too far and -falsifies, not directly but by innuendo, when he permits the impression -to go forth that Pinetti was hounded and ruined both financially and -professionally by Torrini, as is set forth on page 104. He pictures -Torrini as dogging the footsteps of Pinetti through all Italy and -finally driving him in a state of abject misery to Russia, where he died -in the home of a nobleman, who sheltered him through sheer compassion. -Robert-Houdin must have known this was absolutely untrue, for he quotes -Robertson, who published Pinetti's true experiences in Russia. Pinetti -took a fortune with him to Russia, acquired more wealth there, and then -lost his entire financial holdings through his passion for balloon -experiments, as is set forth in chapter II. of this book. - -Then, to show his own inconsistency, after picturing Pinetti in his -"Memoirs" as a charlatan, a conjurer of vulgar, uncouth pretensions -rather than as a good showman of real ability, Robert-Houdin is forced -to admit on page 25 of "Secrets of Magic" that later conjurers employed -Pinetti programmes as a foundation upon which their performances were -built! Even here, however, Robert-Houdin fails to acknowledge an iota of -the heavy debt which he personally owed the despised Chevalier Pinetti. - -Robert-Houdin devotes the greater part of chapter X., American edition -of his autobiography, to belittling Bosco, a conjurer whose popularity -all over Europe was long-lived. First, he pictures Bosco as a most cruel -creature who literally tortured to death the birds used in his -performances. Here, as in his attack on Pinetti, Robert-Houdin throws -the responsibility for criticism on the shoulders of another. His old -friend Antonio accompanies him to watch Bosco's performance, and it is -Antonio throughout the narrative who inveighs against Bosco's cruelty -and Antonio who insists upon leaving before the performance closes, -because the cruelty of the conjurer nauseates him. - -At that time no society for the protection of animals existed, and, even -if it had, I doubt whether Bosco's performance would have come under the -ban. Certain magicians of to-day employ many of Bosco's tricks in which -birds and even small animals are used, but the conjuring is so deftly -done that the public of 1907, like that of 1838, thinks it is all -sleight-of-hand work and that the birds are neither hurt nor killed. -Even in Bosco's time the bird trick was not in his répertoire -exclusively. All English magicians employed it. Apparently the head of -the fowl was amputated, but often in reality it was tucked under the -wing, and the head and neck of another fowl was shown by -sleight-of-hand. Quite probably the Parisian public did not consider -Bosco cruel. Robert-Houdin and his friend Antonio, being versed in -sleight-of-hand and conjuring methods, read cruelty between the deft -movements. Certain it is that the name of Bosco has not been handed down -to posterity by other writers as a synonym of cruelty. - -The animus of Robert-Houdin's attack on Bosco is evident at every point -of the narrative. Now he accuses him of bad taste in appearing in the -box-office. Again he suggests that the somewhat impressive opening of -Bosco's act savors of both charlatanism and burlesque, when in reality -the secret of showmanship consists not of what you really do, but what -the mystery-loving public thinks you do. Bosco undoubtedly secured -precisely the effect he desired, because Robert-Houdin devotes more than -a page to a most unnecessary attempt to explain away what he considered -Bosco's undeserved popularity. - -Bosco was not only a clever magician, but a man of many adventures, so -that his life reads like a romance. This soldier of fortune, Bartolomeo -Bosco, was born of a noble Piedmont family, on January 11th, 1793, in -Turin, Italy. From boyhood he showed great ability as a necromancer, but -at the age of nineteen he was forced to serve under Napoleon I. in the -Russian campaign. He was a fusilier in the Eleventh Infantry, and at the -battle of Borodino was injured in an engagement with Cossacks. Pierced -by a lance, he lay upon the ground apparently dead. A Cossack callously -roamed among the dead and dying, rifling pockets and belts. When he came -to the form of Bosco, that youth feigned death, knowing that resistance -to the ghoul meant a death wound. But while the Cossack robbed the -Italian soldier, the latter stealthily raised his unwounded arm and by -sleight-of-hand rifled the well-filled pockets of the ghoul, which fact -was not discovered by the Cossack until he was far from the field of the -dead and dying, where he had left one of the enemy considerably better -off, thanks to Bosco's conjuring gifts. - -Later Bosco was sent captive to Siberia, where he perfected his -sleight-of-hand while amusing fellow-prisoners and jailers. In 1814 he -was released and returned to his native land, where he studied medicine, -but eventually decided to become a public entertainer. He was not only a -clever entertainer, but a good business man, and he planned each year on -saving enough money to insure a life of ease in his old age. But events -intervened to ruin all his well-laid plans. The sins of his youth -brought their penalty. An illegitimate son, Eugene, became a heavy drag -upon the retired magician, who was compelled to pay large sums to the -young man in order to prevent his playing in either France or Germany or -assuming the name of Bosco. In a German antiquary's shop at Bonn on the -Rhine I found an agreement in which Bosco agreed to pay this youth five -thousand francs for not using the name of Bosco. This agreement is too -long for reproduction in this volume, but unquestionably it is genuine -and tells all too eloquently the troubles which beset Bosco in his old -age. - -Eugene was said to be the superior of his famous father in -sleight-of-hand, but he was wild and given to excesses. Women and wine -checked what might have been a brilliant professional career. Disabled, -poverty-stricken, and respected by none, he soon disappeared from the -conjuring world, and according to Carl Willman in the "Zauberwelt" he -died miserably in Hungary in 1891. - -[Illustration: Only photograph of Madame Bosco, given to the author by -Mrs. Mueller, Madame Bosco's niece, at the funeral of Wiljalba Frikell.] - -[Illustration: The author at the grave of Bosco. From a photograph in -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In the mean time, Bosco and his wife lived in poverty in Dresden, where -the once brilliant conjurer died March 2nd, 1863. His wife died three -years later and was interred in the grave with her husband in a cemetery -on Friedrichstrasse. There was nothing on the tombstone to indicate the -double interment, and I discovered the fact only by investigating the -municipal and cemetery records. Here I also learned that the grave had -merely been leased, and as the lease was about to expire the bones of -the great conjurer and his faithful wife might soon be disinterred and -reburied in a neglected corner of the graveyard devoted to the poor and -unclaimed dead. To prevent this, I purchased the lot and tombstone, and -presented the same to the Society of American Magicians, of which -organization, at the present writing, I am a member. - -A man of noble birth and brilliant attainments was the original Bosco, -and his name became a by-word all over the Continent as the synonym, not -of cruelty, but of clever deception, yet never has posterity put the -name of a great performer to such ignoble uses. For who has not heard -the cry of the modern Bosco, "Eat-'em-alive"? - -To-day I can close my eyes and summon two visions. First I see myself -standing bareheaded before a neglected grave in the quiet cemetery on -Friedrichstrasse, Dresden, the sunlight pouring down upon the tombstone -which bears not only the cup-and-balls and wand, insignia of Bosco's -most famous trick, but this inscription: "Ici repose le célèbre -Bartolomeo Bosco.--Né à Turin le 11 Janvier, 1793; décédé à Dresden le 2 -Mars, 1863." The history of this clever conjurer, with all its lights -and shadows, sweeps before me like a mental panorama. - -The second vision carries me into the country, to the fairs of England -and the side-shows of America: - -"Bosco! Bosco! Eat-'em-alive Bosco. You can't afford to miss this -marvel. Bosco! Bosco!" - -Follow me into the enclosure and gaze down into a den. There lies a -half-naked human being. His hair is long and matted, a loin cloth does -wretched duty as clothing. Torn sandals are on his feet. The eulogistic -lecturer dilates upon the powers of this twentieth-century Bosco, but -you do not listen. Your fascinated gaze is fixed on various hideous, -wriggling, writhing forms on the floor of the den. Snakes--scores of -them! Now the creature, half-animal, half-human, glances up to make sure -that attention is riveted upon him, then grasps one of the serpents in -his hideous hands and in a flash bites off its head. The writhing body -falls back to the ground. - -You grip the railing in a sudden faintness. Has your brain deceived your -eyes, or your eyes your brain? If you are a conjurer you try to convince -yourself that it is all a clever sleight-of-hand exhibition, but in your -heart you know it is not true. This creature, so near a beast, has -debauched his manhood for a few paltry dollars, and in dragging himself -down has dragged down the name of a worthy, a brilliant, a world-famous -performer. - -Of the twentieth-century Boscos there are, alas, many. You will find -them all over the world, in street carnivals, side-shows, fair-booths, -and museums, and why the public supports such debasing exhibitions I -have never yet been able to understand. I have seen half-starved -Russians pick food from refuse-barrels. I have seen besotted Americans -creep out from low dives to draw the dregs of beer-barrels into tomato -cans. I have seen absinthe fiends in Paris trade body and soul to obtain -their beloved stimulant. I have heard morphine fiends in Russia promise -to exhibit the effect of the needle in return for the price of an -injection. But never has my soul so risen in revolt as at sight of this -bestial exhibition with which the name of Bosco, a nobleman and a -conjurer of merit, has been linked. - -[Illustration: Anderson's opening programme at the Strand Theatre, -Christmas week, 1848, showing that he duplicated the tricks offered by -Robert-Houdin, who, in his "Memoirs," claims that Anderson's programme -was stale and uninteresting by comparison with his own.] - -Even more despicable than his attack upon Bosco is Robert-Houdin's -flaying of John Henry Anderson. In this he is both unmanly and -untruthful. Hinging his attack on his surprise at the press methods -and advertising adopted in England as opposed to the less spectacular -means employed in France, he insinuates that Anderson's entire success -was built not upon merit, ability, originality, or diversified -programmes, but solely upon sensational advertising. On page 325 of the -American edition of his "Memoirs" Robert-Houdin writes thus of his -competitor: - -"On my arrival in England a conjurer of the name of Anderson, who -assumed the title of Great Wizard of the North, had been performing for -a long period at the little Strand Theatre. - -"This artist, fearing, doubtlessly, that public attention might be -divided, tried to crush the publicity of my performances; hence he sent -out on London streets a cavalcade thus organized: - -"Four enormous carriages, covered with posters and pictures representing -all sorts of witchcraft, opened the procession. Then followed -four-and-twenty merry men, each bearing a banner on which was painted a -letter a yard in height. - -"At each cross-road the four carriages stopped side by side and -presented a bill some twenty-five yards in length, while all the men (I -should say letters), on receiving the word of command, drew themselves -up in a line, like the vehicles. - -"Seen in front the letters formed this phrase: - - THE CELEBRATED ANDERSON ! ! ! - -While on the other side of the banners could be read: - - THE GREAT WIZARD OF THE NORTH. - -[Illustration: Handbill used by Anderson in Germany. January, 1848, when -Robert-Houdin claimed that he was playing in the English provinces. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"Unfortunately for the Wizard, his performances were attacked by a -mortal disease; too long a stay in London had ended by producing -satiety. Besides, his repertory was out-of-date, and could not contend -against the new tricks which I was offering. What could he present to -the public in opposition to the second sight, the suspension, and the -inexhaustible bottle? Hence he was obliged to close his theatre and -start for the provinces, where he managed, as usual, to make excellent -receipts, owing to his powerful means of notoriety." - -In the first place, Robert Houdin insinuates that when they played in -opposition John Henry Anderson's répertoire was stale and uninteresting. -Is it possible that Robert-Houdin could not read Anderson's bills, or -were his statements deliberate falsehoods, emanating from a malicious, -wilful desire to injure Anderson? - -What did Anderson have to offer in opposition to Robert-Houdin's -much-vaunted Suspension, Second Sight, and Inexhaustible Bottle? Consult -the Anderson programme, reproduced, and you will find that the great -Wizard of the North duplicated the French conjurer's répertoire. "The -Ethereal Suspension" of Robert-Houdin's programme was "Suspension -Chloroforeene" on Anderson's. Second Sight appeared on both bills. "The -Inexhaustible Bottle" had wisely been dropped by Anderson because he had -been using it in one form or another for ten years preceding the date of -Robert-Houdin's appearance in London, as is proven in chapter IX. of -this book. - -Therefore, if Anderson's programme was passé and uninteresting, so also -must have been the one offered by Robert-Houdin! - -[Illustration: Poster used by Anderson during his closing week at the -Strand Theatre, London, January 11th, 1848. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Second, John Henry Anderson was not in London when Robert-Houdin arrived -there in May, 1848. He was on the Continent, and a bill reproduced will -show that he was in Germany in January, 1848, and did not open at the -Strand Theatre until December 26th, 1848. Then it was Robert-Houdin who -had just returned from the provinces, not Anderson. Anderson had been -playing the capitals of Europe. Robert-Houdin had been in Manchester, -England. - -Robert-Houdin again skilfully twists the truth to suit his own ends. He -actually states that Anderson, returning from a tour of the provinces, -used a new poster, a caricature of the famous painting, "Napoleon's -Return from Elba": - -"In the foreground Anderson was seen affecting the attitude of the great -man; above his head fluttered an enormous banner bearing the words 'The -Wonder of the World'; while, behind him and somewhat lost in the shade, -the Emperor of Russia and several other monarchs stood in a respectful -posture. As in the original picture, the fanatic admirers of the Wizard -embraced his knees, while an immense crowd received him triumphantly. In -the distance could be seen the equestrian statue of the Iron Duke, who, -hat in hand, bowed before him, the Great Wizard; and lastly, the very -dome of St. Paul's bent towards him most humbly. - -"At the bottom was the inscription, - - RETURN OF THE NAPOLEON OF NECROMANCY. - -"Regarded seriously, this picture would be found a puff in very bad -taste; but as a caricature it is excessively comic. Besides, it had the -double result of making the London public laugh and bringing a great -number of shillings into the skilful puffer's pockets." - -[Illustration: Eugene Bosco, son of the original Bosco. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -Reference to my collection of Anderson programmes and press clippings -proves that while on the Continent his performances had created such a -sensation that, according to the ethics and etiquette of his profession, -Anderson was quite justified in assuming the title of "The Napoleon of -Necromancy" and in depicting even kings and noblemen admiring his -abilities as a conjurer. But, alas, Robert-Houdin had played only before -English and French monarchs, not before the other crowned heads of -Europe, including the Czar of Russia and the German Kaiser! - -It required weeks and months of browsing in old book- and print-shops, -national libraries, and rare collections on my part to prove that -Anderson had really played these engagements, when his bitter rival, -Robert-Houdin, his heart eaten with jealousy until his sense of honor -and truth was hopelessly blunted, was claiming that Anderson had just -returned from a trip in the English provinces. - -It will be noted by reference to the Anderson programme that he had been -engaged only for the Christmas holidays, but despite Robert-Houdin's -claim that he was a failure and was obliged to close and seek new fields -of conquest in the provinces, Anderson's engagement was extended. He -remained at the Strand until January 11th, 1848, then after a brief -provincial tour he actually returned to London and played to big -receipts. Again and again he appeared in London. Far from being the -unpopular, forgotten ex-magician pictured by Robert-Houdin, he performed -with great success at the St. James Theatre, London, in 1851. -Robert-Houdin appeared in London for the last time in 1853, but in 1865 -"the despised and forgotten Anderson" was there again, creating a furor -in his exposure of the Davenport Brothers. - -[Illustration: John Henry Anderson as he appeared in his later years. -From a cut in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Robert-Houdin might have been justified in criticising Anderson's -sensational advertising methods, for these were entirely opposed to the -more elegant and conservative methods employed by the French conjurer. -But certainly he was not justified in picturing his rival as one who -had passed his prime, whose popularity had waned, whose répertoire no -longer attracted the public. For, in addition to duplicating -Robert-Houdin's entire répertoire, Anderson offered tricks of which -Robert-Houdin knew nothing, and for years to come he constantly -reconstructed his programmes, keeping them strictly up-to-date. - -Anderson did die a poor man, but this was not because the -amusement-loving public had wearied of him. A popular performer, like so -many of his class he did not know how to invest his huge earnings. It is -known that he gave $20,000 to various charities, while no record of -Robert-Houdin's charities exists. He was burned out several times. He -lost money through a bad contract made for his Australian tour. Certain -investments dropped in value because of the Civil War in the United -States, during which England sympathized with the South. Finally, during -his American tour after the Civil War, Anderson played the Southern -States, then steeped in bitterness toward the North, and was unfortunate -enough to bill himself as "The Great Wizard of the North." This roused -the Southern prejudice to white heat, he was almost mobbed, and was -finally driven from that section of the country. He went into -bankruptcy, November 19th, 1866, and died at Darlington, County Durham, -England, Feb. 3rd, 1874. His remains were interred, in accordance with -his dying request, at Aberdeen, Scotland. - -So ends the true history of Robert-Houdin. The master-magician, -unmasked, stands forth in all the hideous nakedness of historical proof, -the prince of pilferers. That he might bask for a few hours in public -adulation, he purloined the ideas of magicians long dead and buried, and -proclaimed these as the fruits of his own inventive genius. That he -might be known to posterity as the king of conjurers, he sold his -birthright of manhood and honor for a mere mess of pottage, his -"Memoirs," written by the hand of another man, who at his instigation -belittled his contemporaries, and juggled facts and truth to further his -egotistical, jealous ambitions. - -But the day of reckoning is come. Upon the history of magic as -promulgated by Robert-Houdin the searchlight of modern investigation has -been turned. Credit has been given where it belongs, to those magicians -who preceded Robert-Houdin and upon whose abilities and achievements -Robert-Houdin built his unearned, unmerited fame. The dust of years has -been swept from names long forgotten, which should forever shine in the -annals of magic. - -Thus end, also, my researches, covering almost two decades of time, -researches in which my veneration for old-time magicians grew with each -newly discovered bit of history; researches during which my respect for -the profession of magic has grown by leaps and bounds. And the fruits of -these researches I now lay before the only true jury, the great reading -public. My task is finished. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -Inventions and and Discoveries=> Inventions and Discoveries {pg 14} - -from his autobigraphy=> from his autobiography {pg 34} - -is supposed so have been engraved=> is supposed to have been engraved -{pg 59 illustration caption} - -is his autobiography=> in his autobiography {pg 89 illustration caption} - -woudn=> wound {pg 160} - -perfomances=> performances {pg 187} - -though as far as maiming him for life=> though not as far as maiming him -for life {pg 281} - -the frontispiese=> the frontispiece {pg 48 illustration caption} - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, by Harry Houdini - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN *** - -***** This file should be named 42723-8.txt or 42723-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/2/42723/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Libraries and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin - -Author: Harry Houdini - -Release Date: May 16, 2013 [EBook #42723] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Libraries and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<br /> -<a href="images/cover_lg.jpg"> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="343" height="500" alt="bookcover" title="" /> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_001_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_001_sml.jpg" width="221" height="383" alt="Harry Houdini - -Frontispiece" title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Harry Houdini<br /> -Frontispiece</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a></p> - -<h1>THE UNMASKING<br /> -<br /> -<i><small><small>OF</small></small></i><br /> -<br /> -ROBERT-HOUDIN<br /> -<br /> -<small><small>BY</small></small><br /> -<br /> -<small>HARRY HOUDINI</small></h1> - -<p class="c"> -<img src="images/illpg_002.jpg" width="16" height="18" alt="" title="" /> -<br /><br /><br /> -<i>NEW YORK</i><br /> -<i>THE PUBLISHERS PRINTING CO.</i><br /> -<i>1908</i></p> - -<p><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a> </p> - -<p class="c"><small> -<i>Copyright, 1906</i><br /> -<i>Copyright, 1907</i><br /> -<i>Copyright, 1908</i><br /> -<i>By HARRY HOUDINI</i><br /> -———<br /> -<i>Entered at Stationer’s Hall, London, England</i><br /> -<i>All rights reserved</i><br /> -<br /> -<span class="ov">Composition, Electrotyping and Printing by</span><br /> -The Publishers Printing Company<br /> -New York, N.Y., U.S.A.</small></p> - -<p><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a> </p> - -<p class="cb"><span class="eng">Dedication</span></p> - -<p class="c"> -<i>This Book is affectionately dedicated to the memory of<br /> -my father,<br /> -Rev. M. S. Weiss, Ph.D., LL.D.,<br /> -who instilled in me love of study and patience in research</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a> </p> - -<p><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td colspan="3" align="right"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td>Introduction,</td><td> </td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_007">7</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td> Significant Events in the Life of Robert-Houdin,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_033">33</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td> The Orange-tree Trick,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_051">51</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td> The Writing and Drawing Figure,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_083">83</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td> The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_116">116</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td> The Obedient Cards—The Cabalistic Clock—The Trapeze Automaton,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_141">141</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td> The Inexhaustible Bottle,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_176">176</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td> Second Sight,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_200">200</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td> The Suspension Trick,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_222">222</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td> The Disappearing Handkerchief,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_245">245</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td> Robert-Houdin’s Ignorance of Magic as Betrayed by His Own Pen,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_264">264</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td> The Narrowness of Robert-Houdin’s Memoirs,"</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_295">295</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a> </p> - -<p><a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HIS book is the natural result of the moulding, dominating influence -which the spirit and writings of Robert-Houdin have exerted over my -professional career. My interest in conjuring and magic and my -enthusiasm for Robert-Houdin came into existence simultaneously. From -the moment that I began to study the art, he became my guide and hero. I -accepted his writings as my text-book and my gospel. What Blackstone is -to the struggling lawyer, Hardee’s “Tactics†to the would-be officer, or -Bismarck’s life and writings to the coming statesman, Robert-Houdin’s -books were to me.</p> - -<p>To my unsophisticated mind, his “Memoirs†gave to the profession a -dignity worth attaining at the cost of earnest, life-long effort. When -it became necessary for me to take a stage-name, and a fellow-player, -possessing a veneer of culture, told me that if I would add the letter -“i†to Houdin’s name, it would mean, in the French language, “like -Houdin,†I adopted the suggestion with enthusiasm. I asked nothing more -of life than to become in my profession “like Robert-Houdin.â€</p> - -<p>By this time I had re-read his works until I could recite passage after -passage from memory. Then, when Fate turned kind and the golden pathway -of success led me into broader avenues of work, I determined that my -first tour abroad should be dedicated to adding new<a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a> laurels to the fame -of Robert-Houdin. By research and study I would unearth history yet -unwritten, and record unsung triumphs of this great inventor and -artiste. The pen of his most devoted student and follower would awaken -new interest in his history.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width:134px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_008_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_008_sml.jpg" width="134" height="217" alt="Robert-Houdin in his prime, immediately after his -retirement. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Robert-Houdin in his prime, immediately after his -retirement. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Alas for my golden dreams! My investigations brought forth only -bitterest disappointment and saddest of disillusionment. Stripped of his -self-woven veil of romance, Robert-Houdin stood forth, in the -uncompromising light of cold historical facts, a mere pretender, a man -who waxed great on the brainwork of others, a mechanician who had boldly -filched the inventions of the master craftsmen among his predecessors.</p> - -<p>“Memoirs of Robert-Houdin, Ambassador, Author and Conjurer, Written by -Himself,†proved to have been the penwork of a brilliant Parisian -journalist, employed by Robert-Houdin to write his so-called -autobiography. In the course of his “Memoirs,†Robert-Houdin,<a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a> over his -own signature, claimed credit for the invention of many tricks and -automata which may be said to have marked the golden age in magic. My -investigations disproved each claim in order. He had announced himself -as the first magician to appear in regulation evening clothes, -discarding flowing sleeves and heavily draped stage apparatus. The -credit for this revolution in conjuring belonged to Wiljalba Frikell. -Robert-Houdin’s explanation of tricks performed by other magicians and -not included in his repertoire, proved so incorrect and inaccurate as to -brand him an ignoramus in certain lines of conjuring. Yet to the great -charm of his diction and the romantic development of his personal -reminiscences later writers have yielded unquestioningly and have built -upon the historically weak foundations of his statements all the later -so-called histories of magic.</p> - -<p>For a time the disappointment killed all creative power. With no laurel -wreath to carve, my tools lay idle. The spirit of investigation -languished. Then came the reaction. There was work to be done. Those who -had wrought honestly deserved the credit that had been taken from them. -In justice to the living as well as the dead the history of the magic -must be revised. The book, accepted for more than half a century as an -authority on our craft, must stand forth for what it is, a clever -romance, a well-written volume of fiction.</p> - -<p>That is why to-day I offer to the profession of magic, to the world of -laymen readers to whom its history has always appealed, and to the -literary savants who dip into it as a recreation, the results of my -investigations. These, I believe, will show Robert-Houdin’s true place -in the<a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a> history of magic and give to his predecessors, in a profession -which in each generation becomes more serious and more dignified, the -credit they deserve.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_010_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_010_sml.jpg" width="156" height="220" alt="Frontispiece of “Hocus Pocus,†Second Edition, 1635, one -of the earliest works on magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Frontispiece of “Hocus Pocus,†Second Edition, 1635, one<br /> -of the earliest works on magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>My investigations cover nearly twenty years of a busy professional -career. Every hour which I could spare from my professional work was -given over to study in libraries, to interviews with retired magicians -and collectors, and to browsing in old bookstores and antique<a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a> shops -where rare collections of programs, newspapers, and prints might be -found.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_011_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_011_sml.jpg" width="137" height="181" alt="John Baptist Porta, the Neapolitan writer on magic. From -an old woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">John Baptist Porta, the Neapolitan writer on magic. From -an old woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In order to conduct my researches intelligently, I was compelled to pick -up a smattering of the language of each country in which I played. The -average collector or proprietor of an old bookshop is a canny, -suspicious individual who must accept you as a friend before he will -uncover his choicest treasures.</p> - -<p>As authorities, books on magic and kindred arts are practically -worthless. The earliest books, like the magician stories written by Sir -John Mandeville in 1356, read like prototypes of to-day’s dime novels. -They are thrill<a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a>ing tales of travellers who witnessed magical -performances, but they are not authentic records of performers and their -work.</p> - -<p>One of the oldest books in my collection is “Natural and Unnatural -Magic†by Gantziony, dated 1489. It is the author’s script, exquisite in -its German chirography, artistic in its illuminated illustrations, but -worthless as an historical record, though many of the writer’s -descriptions and explanations of old-time tricks are most interesting.</p> - -<p>Early in the seventeenth century appeared “Hocus Pocus,†the most widely -copied book in the literature of magic. The second edition, dated 1635, -I have in my library. I have never been able to find a copy of the first -edition or to ascertain the date at which it was published.</p> - -<p>A few years later, in 1658, came a very important contribution to the -history of magic in “Natural Magick in XX. Bookes,†by John Baptist -Porta, a Neapolitan. This has been translated into nearly every -language. It was the first really important and exhaustive work on the -subject, but, unfortunately, it gives the explanation of tricks, rather -than an authentic record of their invention.</p> - -<p>In 1682, Simon Witgeest of Amsterdam, Holland, wrote an admirable work, -whose title reads “Book of Natural Magic.†This work was translated into -German, ran through many an edition, and had an enormous sale in both -Holland and Germany.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_013_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_013_sml.jpg" width="216" height="341" alt="Frontispiece from Simon Witgeest’s “Book of Natural -Magic†(1682), showing the early Dutch conception of conjuring. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Frontispiece from Simon Witgeest’s “Book of Natural -Magic†(1682), showing the early Dutch conception of conjuring. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In 1715, John White, an Englishman, published a work entitled “Art’s -Treasury and Hocus Pocus; or a Rich Cabinet of Legerdemain Curiosities.†-This is<a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a><a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a> fully as reliable a book as the earlier “Hocus Pocus†books, -but it is not so generally known.</p> - -<p>Richard Neve, who was a popular English conjurer just before the time of -Fawkes, published a book on somewhat similar lines in 1715.</p> - -<p>Germany contributed the next notable works on magic. First came Johann -Samuel Halle’s “Magic or the Magical Power of Nature,†printed in -Berlin, in 1784. One of his compatriots, Johann Christian Wiegleb, wrote -eighteen books on “The Natural Magic†and while I shall always contend -that the German books are the most complete, yet they cannot be accepted -as authorities save that, in describing early tricks, they prove the -existence of inventions and working methods claimed later as original by -men like Robert-Houdin.</p> - -<p>English books on magic were not accepted seriously until the early part -of the nineteenth century. In Vol. III. of John Beckmann’s “History of -Inventions and Discoveries,†published in 1797, will be found a chapter -on “Jugglers†which presents interesting matter regarding magicians and -mysterious entertainers. I quote from this book in disproving -Robert-Houdin’s claims to the invention of automata and second-sight.</p> - -<p>About 1840, J. H. Anderson, a popular magician, brought out a series of -inexpensive, paper-bound volumes, entitled “A Shilling’s Worth of -Magic,†“Parlor Magic,†etc., which are valuable only as giving a -glimpse of the tricks contemporary with his personal successes. In 1859 -came Robert-Houdin’s “Memoirs,†magic’s classic. Signor Blitz, in 1872, -published his reminiscences, “Fifty Years in the Magic Circle,†but -here<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a><a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a> again we have a purely local and personal history, without -general value.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_015_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_015_sml.jpg" width="201" height="336" alt="John White, an English writer on magic and kindred arts -in the early part of the eighteenth century. Only portrait in existence -and published for the first time since his book was issued in 1715. From -the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">John White, an English writer on magic and kindred arts -in the early part of the eighteenth century.<br /> -Only portrait in existence -and published for the first time since his book was issued in 1715.<br />From -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Thomas Frost wrote three books relating to the history of magic, -commencing about 1870. This list included “Circus Life and Circus -Celebrities,†“The Old Showmen and the Old London Fairs,†and “Lives of -the Conjurers.†These were the best books of their kind up to the time -of their publication, but they are marked by glaring errors, showing -that Frost compiled rather than investigated, or, more properly -speaking, that his investigations never went much further than Morley’s -“Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair.â€</p> - -<p>Charles Bertram who wrote “Isn’t it Wonderful?†closed the -nineteenth-century list of English writers on magic, but his work is -marred by mis-statements which even the humblest of magicians could -refute, and, like Frost, he drew heavily on writers who preceded him.</p> - -<p>So far, in the twentieth century, the most notable contribution to the -literature of magic is Henry Ridgely Evans’ “The Old and the New Magic,†-but Mr. Evans falls into the error of his predecessors in accepting as -authoritative the history of magic and magicians furnished by -Robert-Houdin. He has made no effort whatever to verify or refute the -statements made by Robert-Houdin, but has merely compiled and re-written -them to suit his twentieth-century readers.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_017_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_017_sml.jpg" width="193" height="310" alt="Frontispiece from Richard Neve’s work on magic, showing -him performing the egg and bag trick about 1715. Photographed from the -original in the British Museum by the author." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Frontispiece from Richard Neve’s work on magic, showing -him performing the egg and bag trick about 1715. Photographed from the -original in the British Museum by the author.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_018_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_018_sml.jpg" width="160" height="235" alt="Signor Antonio Blitz, author of “Fifty Years in the Magic -Circle†(1872). Original negative of this photograph is in the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Signor Antonio Blitz, author of “Fifty Years in the Magic -Circle†(1872). Original negative of this photograph is in the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>The true historian does not compile. He delves for facts and proofs, and -having found these he arrays his indisputable facts, his -uncontrovertible proofs, to refute the statements of those who have -merely compiled. That is what I have done to prove my case against -Robert-Houdin.<a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a><a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a> I have not borrowed from the books of other writers on -magic. I have gone to the very fountain head of information, records of -contemporary literature, newspapers, programmes and advertisements of -magicians who preceded Robert-Houdin, sometimes by a century. It would -cost fully a million dollars to forge the collection of evidence now in -my hands. Men who lived a hundred years before Robert-Houdin was born -did not invent<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a> posters or write advertisements in order to refute the -claims of those who were to follow in the profession of magic. These -programmes, advertisements, newspaper notices, and crude cuts trace the -true history of magic as no romancer, no historian of a single -generation possibly could. They are the ghosts of dead and gone -magicians, rising in this century of research and progress to claim the -credit due them.<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_019_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_019_sml.jpg" width="148" height="233" alt="Philip Astley, Esq., an historical circus director, a -famous character of Bartholomew Fair days, and author of “Natural Magic†-(1784). From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Philip Astley, Esq., an historical circus director, a -famous character of Bartholomew Fair days, and author of “Natural Magic†-(1784). From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_020_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_020_sml.jpg" width="145" height="226" alt="Charles Bertram (James Bassett), the English author and -conjurer, who wrote “Isn’t it Wonderful?†Born 1853, died Feb. 28th, -1907. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Charles Bertram (James Bassett), the English author and -conjurer, who wrote “Isn’t it Wonderful?†Born 1853, died Feb. 28th, -1907. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Often when the bookshops and auction sales did not yield fruit worth -plucking, I had the good fortune to meet a private collector or a -retired performer whose assistance proved invaluable, and the histories -of these meetings read almost like romances, so skilfully did the Fates -seem to juggle with my efforts to secure credible proof.</p> - -<p>To the late Henry Evans Evanion I am indebted for<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a> many of the most -important additions to my collection of conjuring curios and my library -of magic, recognized by fellow-artistes and litterateurs as the most -complete in the world.</p> - -<p>Evanion was an Englishman, by profession a parlor magician, by choice -and habit a collector and savant. He was an entertainer from 1849 to the -year of his death. For fifty years he spent every spare hour at the -British Museum collecting data bearing on his marvellous collection, and -his interest in the history of magic was shared by his excellent wife -who conducted a “sweet shop†near one of London’s public schools.</p> - -<p>While playing at the London Hippodrome in 1904 I was confined to my room -by orders of my physician. During this illness I was interviewed by a -reporter who, noticing the clippings and bills with which my room was -strewn, made some reference to my collection in the course of his -article. The very day on which this interview appeared, I received from -Henry Evanion a mere scrawl stating that he, too, collected programmes, -bills, etc., in which I might be interested.</p> - -<p>I wrote at once asking him to call at one o’clock the next afternoon, -but as the hour passed and he did not appear, I decided that, like many -others who asked for interviews, he had felt but a passing whim. That -afternoon about four o’clock my physician suggested that, as the day was -mild, I walk once around the block. As I stepped from the lift, the -hotel porter informed me that since one o’clock an old man had been -waiting to see me, but so shabby was his appearance, they had not dared -send him up to my room. He pointed to a bent figure,<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a><a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a> clad in rusty -raiment. When I approached the old man he rose and informed me that he -had brought some clippings, bills, etc., for me to see. I asked him to -be as expeditious as possible, for I was too weak to stand long and my -head was a-whirl from the effects of la grippe.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_022_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_022_sml.jpg" width="247" height="364" alt="Last photograph of Henry Evans Evanion, conjurer and -collector, taken especially for this book in which he was deeply -interested. Died June 17th, 1905. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Last photograph of Henry Evans Evanion, conjurer and -collector, taken especially for this book in which he was deeply -interested. Died June 17th, 1905. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>With some hesitancy of speech but the loving touch of a collector he -opened his parcel.</p> - -<p>“I have brought you, sir, only a few of my treasures, sir, but if you -will call—â€</p> - -<p>I heard no more. I remember only raising my hands before my eyes, as if -I had been dazzled by a sudden shower of diamonds. In his trembling -hands lay priceless treasures for which I had sought in vain—original -programmes and bills of Robert-Houdin, Phillippe, Anderson, Breslaw, -Pinetti, Katterfelto, Boaz, in fact all the conjuring celebrities of the -eighteenth century, together with lithographs long considered -unobtainable, and newspapers to be found only in the files of national -libraries. I felt as if the King of England stood before me and I must -do him homage.</p> - -<p>Physician or no physician, I made an engagement with him for the next -morning, when I was bundled into a cab and went as fast as the driver -could urge his horse to Evanion’s home, a musty room in the basement of -No. 12 Methley Street, Kennington Park Road, S.E.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_024_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_024_sml.jpg" width="233" height="286" alt="Very rare and extraordinarily fine lithograph of -Robert-Houdin, which he gave only to his friends. It depicts him among -his so-called inventions. His son, Emile, doing second sight, is behind -him. The writing and drawing figure is on his left. On his right under -the clockwork is a drawing which, on close examination of the original, -shows the suspension trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Very rare and extraordinarily fine lithograph of -Robert-Houdin, which he gave only to his friends. It depicts him among -his so-called inventions. His son, Emile, doing second sight, is behind -him. The writing and drawing figure is on his left. On his right under -the clockwork is a drawing which, on close examination of the original, -shows the suspension trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In the presence of his collection I lost all track of time. Occasionally -we paused in our work to drink tea which he made for us on his -pathetically small stove. The drops of the first tea which we drank -together can yet be found on certain papers in my collection. His<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a> -wife, a most sympathetic soul, did not offer to disturb us, and it was -3:30 the next morning, or very nearly twenty-four hours after my arrival -at his home, when my brother, Theodore Weiss (Hardeen), and a thoroughly -disgusted physician appeared on the scene and dragged me, an unwilling -victim, back to my hotel and medical care.</p> - -<p>Such was the beginning of my friendship with Evanion. In time I learned -that some of his collection had been left to him by James Savren, an -English barber, who was so interested in magic that at frequent -intervals he dropped his trade to work without pay for famous magicians, -including Döbler, Anderson, Compars Herrmann, De Liska, Wellington -Young, Cornillot, and Gyngell. From these men he had secured a -marvellous collection, which was the envy of his friendly rival, -Evanion. Savren bequeathed his collection to Evanion, and bit by bit I -bought it from the latter, now poverty stricken, too old to work and -physically failing. These purchases I made at intervals whenever I -played in London, and on June 7th, 1905, while playing at Wigan, I -received word that Evanion was dying at Lambeth Infirmary.</p> - -<p>After the show, I jumped to London, only to find that cancer of the -throat made it almost impossible for him to speak intelligibly. I soon -discovered, however, that his chief anxiety was for the future of his -wife and then for his own decent burial. When these sad offices had been -provided for, he became more peaceful, and when I rose to leave him, -knowing that we had met probably for the last time, he drew forth his -chiefest treasure, a superb book of Robert-Houdin’s programmes, his one<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a> -legacy, which is now the central jewel in my collection. Evanion died -ten days later, June 17th, and within a short time his good wife -followed him into the Great Unknown.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 136px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_026_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_026_sml.jpg" width="136" height="352" alt="Poster used by James Savren. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by James Savren. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Even more dramatic was my meeting with the widow of Frikell, the great -German conjurer.</p> - -<p>I had heard that Frikell and not Robert-Houdin was the first magician to -discard cumbersome, draped stage apparatus, and to don evening clothes, -and I was most anxious to verify this rumor, as well as to interview him -regarding equally important data bearing on the history of magic. Having -heard that he lived in Kötchenbroda, a suburb of Dresden, I wrote to him -from Cologne, asking for an interview. I received in reply a curt note:<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a> -“Herr verreist,†meaning “The master is on tour.†This, I knew, from his -age, could not be true, so I took a week off for personal investigation. -I arrived at Kötchenbroda on the morning of April 8th, 1903, at 4 -o’clock, and was directed to his home, known as “Villa Frikell.†Having -found my bearings and studied well the exterior of the house, I returned -to the depot to await daylight. At 8:30 I reappeared at his door, and -was told by his wife that Herr Frikell had gone away.</p> - -<p>I then sought the police department from which I secured the following -information: “Dr.†Wiljalba Frikell was indeed the retired magician whom -I was so anxious to meet. He was eighty-seven years old, and in 1884 had -celebrated his golden anniversary as a conjurer. Living in the same town -was an adopted daughter, but she could not or would not assist me. The -venerable magician had suffered from domestic disappointments and had -made a vow that he would see no one. In fact he was leading a -hermit-like life.</p> - -<p>Armed with this information, I employed a photographer, giving him -instructions to post himself opposite the house and make a snap shot of -the magician, should he appear in the doorway. But I had counted without -my host. All morning the photographer lounged across the street and all -morning I stood bareheaded before the door of Herr Frikell, pleading -with his wife who leaned from the window overhead. With that peculiar -fervency which comes only when the heart’s desire is at stake, I begged -that the past master of magic would lend a helping hand to one ready to -sit at his feet and learn. I urged<a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a> the debt which he owed to the -literature of magic and which he could pay by giving me such direct -information as I needed for my book.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_028_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_028_sml.jpg" width="372" height="257" alt="The Author standing in front of Villa Frikell at -Kötchenbroda, Germany, where the master magician, Wiljalba Frikell, -spent the last years of his life. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The Author standing in front of Villa Frikell at -Kötchenbroda, Germany, where the master magician, Wiljalba Frikell, -spent the last years of his life. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Frau Frikell heard my pleadings with tears running down her cheeks, and -later I learned that Herr Frikell also listened to them, lying grimly on -the other side of the shuttered window.</p> - -<p>At length, yielding to physical exhaustion, I went away, but I was still -undaunted. I continued to bombard Herr Frikell with letters, press -clippings regarding my work, etc., and finally in Russia I received a -letter from him. I might send him a package containing a certain brand -of Russian tea of which he was particularly fond. You may be sure I lost -no time in shipping the little gift, and shortly I was rewarded by the -letter for which I longed. Having decided that I cared more for him than -did some of his relatives, he would receive me when next I played near -Kötchenbroda.</p> - -<p>With this interview in prospect, I made the earliest engagement -obtainable in Dresden, intending to give every possible moment to my -hardly-won acquaintance. But Fate interfered. One business problem after -another arose, concerning my forthcoming engagement in England, and I -had to postpone my visit to Herr Frikell until the latter part of the -week. In the mean time, he had agreed to visit a Dresden photographer, -as I wanted an up-to-date photograph of him and he had only pictures -taken in his more youthful days. On the day when he came to Dresden for -his sitting, he called at the theatre, but the attachés, without -informing me, refused to give him the name of the hotel where I was -stopping.<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_030_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_030_sml.jpg" width="363" height="248" alt="Last photograph of Herr and Frau Frikell, taken -especially for this work. Frikell died Oct. 8th, 1903, the day after -this photograph was taken. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Last photograph of Herr and Frau Frikell, taken -especially for this work. Frikell died Oct. 8th, 1903, the day after -this photograph was taken. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p><p><a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a></p> - -<p>After the performance I dropped into the König Kaffe and was much -annoyed by the staring and gesticulations of an elderly couple at a -distant table. It was Frikell with his wife, but I did not recognize -them and, not being certain on his side, he failed to make himself -known. That was mid-week, and for Saturday, which fell on October 8th, -1903, I had an engagement to call at the Villa Frikell. On Thursday, the -Central Theatre being sold out to Cleo de Merode, who was playing -special engagements in Germany with her own company, I made a flying -business trip to Berlin, and on my return I passed through Kötchenbroda. -As the train pulled into the station I hesitated. Should I drop off and -see Herr Frikell, or wait for my appointment on the morrow? Fate turned -the wheel by a mere thread and I went on to Dresden. So does she often -dash our fondest hopes!</p> - -<p>My appointment for Saturday was at 2 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>, and as my train landed me in -Kötchenbroda a trifle too early I walked slowly from the depot to the -Villa Frikell, not wishing to disturb my aged host by arriving ahead of -time.</p> - -<p>I rang the bell. It echoed through the house with peculiar shrillness. -The air seemed charged with a quality which I presumed was the intense -pleasure of realizing my long cherished hope of meeting the great -magician. A lady opened the door and greeted me with the words: “You are -being waited for.â€</p> - -<p>I entered. He was waiting for me indeed, this man who had consented to -meet me, after vowing that he would never again look into the face of a -stranger. And Fate had forced him to keep that vow. Wiljalba Frikell was -dead. The body, clad in the best his wardrobe afforded,<a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a> all of which -had been donned in honor of his expected guest, was not yet cold. Heart -failure had come suddenly and unannounced. The day before he had cleaned -up his souvenirs in readiness for my coming and arranged a quantity of -data for me. On the wall above the silent form were all of his gold -medals, photographs taken at various stages of his life, orders -presented to him by royalty—all the outward and visible signs of a -vigorous, active, and successful life, the life of which he would have -told me, had I arrived ahead of Death. And when all these were arranged, -he had forgotten his morbid dislike of strangers. The old instincts of -hospitality tugged at his heart strings, and his wife said he was almost -young and happy once more, when suddenly he grasped at his heart, -crying, “My heart! What is the matter with my heart? O——†That was -all!</p> - -<p>There we stood together, the woman who had loved the dear old wizard for -years and the young magician who would have been so willing to love him -had he been allowed to know him. His face was still wet from the cologne -she had thrown over him in vain hope of reviving the fading soul. On the -floor lay the cloths, used so ineffectually to bathe the pulseless face, -and now laughing mockingly at one who saw himself defeated after weary -months of writing and pleading for the much-desired meeting.</p> - -<p>I feel sure that the personal note struck in these reminiscences will be -forgiven. In no other way could I prove the authoritativeness of my -collection, the thoroughness of my research, and the incontrovertibility -of the facts which I desire to set forth in this volume.<a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a></p> - -<h1><small>THE UNMASKING OF</small><br /> -ROBERT-HOUDIN</h1> - -<p class="cb">———</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -<small>SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">R</span>OBERT-HOUDIN was born in Blois, France, December 6th, 1805. His real -name was Jean-Eugene Robert, and his father was Prosper Robert, a -watchmaker in moderate circumstances. His mother’s maiden name was Marie -Catherine Guillon. His first wife was Josephe Cecile Eglantine Houdin, -whose family name he assumed for business reasons. He was married the -second time to Françoise Marguerite Olympe Naconnier. His death, caused -by pneumonia, occurred at St. Gervais, France, on June 13th, 1871.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_034_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_034_sml.jpg" width="136" height="218" alt="Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. Photograph taken—about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. Photograph taken—about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Barring the above facts, which were gleaned from the register of the -civil authorities of St. Gervais, all information regarding his life -previous to his first public appearance in 1844 must be drawn from his -own works, particularly from his autobiography, published in the form of -“Memoirs.†Because of his supreme egotism, his obvious desire to make -his autobiography picturesque and interesting rather than historically -correct, and his utter indifference to dates, exact names of places, -theatres, books, etc., it is extremely hard to present logical and -con<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a>sistent statements regarding his life. Such discrepancies arise as -the mention of three children in one chapter and four in another, while -he does not give the names of either wife, though he admits his -obligation to both good women.</p> - -<p>According to his autobiography, Jean-Eugene Robert was sent to college -at Orleans at the tender age of eleven, and remained there until he was -eighteen. He was then placed in a notary’s office to study law, but his -mechanical<a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a> tastes led him back to his father’s trade, watchmaking. -While working for his cousin at Blois, he visited a bookshop in search -of Berthoud’s “Treatise on Clockmaking,†but by mistake he was given -several volumes of an old encyclopædia, one of which contained a -dissertation on “Scientific Amusements,†or an exposition of magic. This -simple incident, he asserts, changed the entire current of his life. At -eighteen, he first turned his attention to magic. At forty, he made his -first appearance as an independent magician or public performer.</p> - -<p>On page 44 of his “Memoirs,†American edition, Robert-Houdin refers to -this book as an encyclopædia, but several times later he calls it “White -Magic.†In all probability it was the famous work by Henri Decremps in -five volumes, known as “La Magie Banche Dévoilée,†or “White Magic -Exposed.†This was written by Decremps to injure Pinetti, and it exposed -all the latter’s tricks, including the orange tree, the vaulting trapeze -automaton, and in fact the majority of the tricks later claimed by -Robert-Houdin as his own inventions.</p> - -<p>In 1828, while working for M. Noriet, a watchmaker in Tours, Jean-Eugene -Robert was poisoned by improperly prepared food, and in his delirium -started for his old home in Blois. He was picked up on the roadside by -Torrini, a travelling magician, who nursed him back to health in his -portable theatre. Just as young Jean recovered Torrini was injured in an -accident, and his erstwhile patient remained to nurse his benefactor and -later to help Torrini’s assistant present the programme of magic by -which they made their living. His first public appearance as the -representative of Torrini was made at Aubusson.<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_036_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_036_sml.jpg" width="340" height="235" alt="The only Robert-Houdin poster showing his complete stage -setting. This lithograph was made in France. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The only Robert-Houdin poster showing his complete stage -setting. This lithograph was made in France. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_037_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_037_sml.jpg" width="241" height="367" alt="Programme for the opening of Robert-Houdin’s theatre in -Paris. Reproduced from the American edition of his “Memoirs."" title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Programme for the opening of Robert-Houdin’s theatre in -Paris. Reproduced from the American edition of his “Memoirs."</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_038_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_038_sml.jpg" width="231" height="190" alt="Robert-Houdin’s favorite lithograph for advertising -purposes. Used on the majority of his posters and in the original -edition of his “Memoirs.†From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Robert-Houdin’s favorite lithograph for advertising -purposes. Used on the majority of his posters and in the original -edition of his “Memoirs.†From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Torrini was an Italian whose real name was Count Edmond de Grisy. He was -a contemporary of Pinetti. In all probability, during the long summer of -their intimate companionship, Torrini not only initiated his fascinated -young guest into his own methods of performingtricks, but also into the -secrets of Pinetti’s tricks. In his “Memoirs,†Robert-Houdin makes no -secret of the fact that both Comus and Pinetti, together with their -tricks, were topics of conversation between himself and Torrini.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_039_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_039_sml.jpg" width="171" height="341" alt="A very rare, and possibly the only, programme in -existence, chronicling Robert-Houdin’s first appearance before Queen -Victoria, July 19th, 1848. The original, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection, was presented to James Savren by Robert-Houdin." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A very rare, and possibly the only, programme in -existence, chronicling Robert-Houdin’s first appearance before Queen -Victoria, July 19th, 1848. The original, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection, was presented to James Savren by Robert-Houdin.</span> -</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 82px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_040_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_040_sml.jpg" width="82" height="198" alt="Poster used by Robert-Houdin during an Easter engagement -at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Robert-Houdin during an Easter engagement -at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>When Torrini was able to resume his performances,<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a><a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a> Jean-Eugene returned -to his family in Blois. During the next few years he mixed amateur -acting with his daily labor, leaning more and more toward the profession -of public entertainer. But his ambitions along this line were nipped in -the bud by marriage. Mademoiselle Houdin, whose father was a celebrated -watchmaker in Paris, visited old friends in Blois, their native town, -and became the fiancée of young Robert. As the new son-in-law was to -share the elder Houdin’s business and naturally wished to secure such -benefits as might accrue from so celebrated a family of watch and clock -makers, he applied to the council of state and secured the right to -annex “Houdin†to his name, Jean-Eugene Robert, and thereafter was known -only as Robert-Houdin.</p> - -<p>His life between 1838 and 1844 was divided between reading every work -obtainable on magic, and his duties in his father-in-law’s shop, where -he not only made and repaired clocks, but built and repaired automata of -various sorts. His family shared with him many financial vicissitudes, -and about 1842-43 his first wife died, leaving him with three young -children to raise. Earlier in his “Memoirs†he speaks of having four -children, so it is more<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a> than likely that one died before his wife. He -married again soon, and though he gives his second wife great credit as -a helpmate he does not state her name.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_041_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_041_sml.jpg" width="202" height="247" alt="Robert-Houdin as he appeared to the English critics. -Reproduced from the Illustrated London News, December 23d, 1848." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Robert-Houdin as he appeared to the English critics. -Reproduced from the Illustrated London News, December 23d, 1848.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_042_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_042_sml.jpg" width="160" height="249" alt="ROBERT HOUDIN’S SOIREES FANTASTIQUES - -Poster used in 1848 in London by Robert-Houdin. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ROBERT HOUDIN’S SOIREES FANTASTIQUES - -Poster used in 1848 in London by Robert-Houdin. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>By this time he had acquired more than passing fame as a repairer of -automata, and in 1844 he mended Vaucanson’s marvellous duck, one of the -most remarkable automata ever made. Doubtless other automata found<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a> -their way to his workshop and aided him in his study of a profession -which he still hoped to follow. During these discouraging times he was -often assisted financially by one Monsieur G——, who either advanced -money on his automata or bought them outright. In the same year, 1844, -he retired to a suburb of Paris, and there,<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a> he asserts, he built his -famous writing and drawing figure.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 97px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_043_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_043_sml.jpg" width="97" height="206" alt="Poster for the Emile-Houdin benefit at St. James’s -Theatre in 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster for the Emile-Houdin benefit at St. James’s -Theatre in 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>The next year, 1845, he was assisted by Count de L’Escalopier, a devotee -of conjuring and automata, who advanced the money to fit up and furnish -a small theatre in the Palais Royal. Robert-Houdin went about the work -of decorating and furnishing this theatre with a view to securing the -most dramatic and brilliant effects, surrounding his simple tricks with -a setting that made them vastly different from the same offerings by his -predecessors. He was what is called to-day an original producer of old -ideas. On June 25th, 1845, he gave his first private performance before -a few friends. On July 3d of the same year his theatre of magic was -opened formally to the public. The programme of this performance is -shown on page 37.</p> - -<p>It will be noted that the famous writing and drawing figure was not then -included in Robert-Houdin’s répertoire, nor does it ever appear on any -of his programmes. He exhibited it at the quinquennial exhibition in -1844, received a silver medal for it, and very soon sold it to the late -P. T. Barnum, who exported it to America.<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_044_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_044_sml.jpg" width="154" height="248" alt="Poster used by Robert-Houdin when he played at Sadler’s -Wells, London, in 1853. He never refers to this engagement in his -writings because he was not proud of having appeared in a second-class -theatre, while his rival, Anderson, held the fashionable audiences at -the St. James’s, where Robert-Houdin had worn out his welcome. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Robert-Houdin when he played at Sadler’s -Wells, London, in 1853. He never refers to this engagement in his -writings because he was not proud of having appeared in a second-class -theatre, while his rival, Anderson, held the fashionable audiences at -the St. James’s, where Robert-Houdin had worn out his welcome. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>This question naturally arises: If Robert-Houdin built the original -writing and drawing figure, why could he not make a duplicate and -include it in his programme? Surely it was one of the most remarkable of -the automata which he claims as the creations of his brain and hands.<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a></p> - -<p>In 1846 he claims to have invented second sight, and at the opening of -the season in 1847 he presented as his own creation the suspension -trick. During the interim he played an engagement in Brussels which was -a financial failure.</p> - -<p>In 1848 the Revolution closed the doors of Parisian theatres, -Robert-Houdin’s among the rest, and he returned to clockmaking and -automata building, until he received from John Mitchell, who had met -with great success in managing Ludwig Döbler and Phillippe, an offer to -appear in London at the St. James’s Theatre. This engagement was a -brilliant success and for the first time in his career Robert-Houdin -reaped big financial returns.</p> - -<p>Later Robert-Houdin toured the English provinces under his own -management and made return trips to London, but his tour under Mitchell -was the most notable engagement of his career.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_046_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_046_sml.jpg" width="131" height="186" alt="Robert-Houdin’s grave, in the cemetery at Blois, France. -From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now -in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Robert-Houdin’s grave, in the cemetery at Blois, France. -From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now -in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In 1850, while playing in Paris, he decided to retire, and to turn over -his theatre and tricks to one Hamilton. A contemporary clipping, taken -from an English newspaper of 1848, goes to prove that Hamilton was an -Englishman who entered Robert-Houdin’s employ. Hamilton signed a dual -contract, agreeing to produce Robert-Houdin’s tricks as his acknowledged -successor and to marry Robert-Houdin’s sister, thus keeping the tricks -and the theatre in the family. During the next two years Robert-Houdin -spent part of his time instructing his brother-in-law in all the -mysteries of his art. In July, 1852, he played a few engagements in -Germany, including Berlin and various bathing resorts, and then -formally<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a> retired to his home at St. Gervais. Here he continued to work -along mechanical and electrical lines, and in 1855 he again came into -public notice, winning awards at the Exhibition for electrical power as -applied to mechanical uses. In 1856, according to his autobiography, he -was summoned from his retirement by the Government to make a trip to -Algeria and there intimidate revolting Arabs by the exhibition of his -sleight-of-hand tricks. These were greatly superior to the work of the -Marabouts or Arabian magicians, whose influence was often held -responsible for revolts. What Robert-Houdin received for<a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a> performing -this service is not set forth in any of his works. He spent the fall of -1856 in Algeria.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_047_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_047_sml.jpg" width="136" height="182" alt="Bas-relief on Robert-Houdin tombstone. From a photograph -taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Bas-relief on Robert-Houdin tombstone. From a photograph -taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>From the date of his return to St. Gervais to the time of his death, -June 13th, 1871, Robert-Houdin devoted his energies to improving his -inventions and writing his books, though, as stated before, it was -generally believed by contemporary magicians that in the latter task he -entrusted most of the real work to a Parisian journalist whose name was -never known.</p> - -<p>He was survived by a wife, a son named Emile, and a step-daughter. Emile -Houdin managed his father’s theatre until his death in 1883, when the -theatre was<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a> sold for 35,000 francs. The historic temple of magic still -stands under the title of “Théâtre Robert-Houdin,†under the management -of M. Melies, a maker of motion picture films.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_048_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_048_sml.jpg" width="136" height="197" alt="The last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as -the frontispiece for the original French edition of his “Memoirs,†-published in 1868." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as -the frontispiece for the original French edition of his “Memoirs,†-published in 1868.</span> -</p> - -<p>During my investigations in Paris, I was shocked to find how little the -memory of Robert-Houdin was revered and how little was known of France’s -greatest magician. In fact, I was more than once informed that -Robert-Houdin was still alive and giving performances at the theatre -which bears his name.<a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a></p> - -<p>Contemporary magicians of Robert-Houdin and men of high repute in other -walks of life seem to agree that Robert-Houdin was an entertainer of -only average merit. Among the men who advanced this theory were the late -Henry Evanion of whose deep interest in magic I wrote in the -introduction, Sir William Clayton who was Robert-Houdin’s personal -friend in London, Ernest Basch who saw Robert-Houdin in Berlin, and T. -Bolin of Moscow, Russia, who bought all his tricks in Paris and there -saw Robert-Houdin and studied his work as a conjurer.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin’s contributions to literature, all of which are eulogistic -of his own talents, are as follows:</p> - -<p>“Confidence et Révélations,†published in Paris in 1858 and translated -into English by Lascelles Wraxall, with an introduction by R. Shelton -Mackenzie.</p> - -<p>“Les Tricheries des Grecs†(Card-Sharping Exposed), published in Paris -in 1861.</p> - -<p>“Secrets de la Prestidigitation†(Secrets of Magic), published in Paris -in 1868.</p> - -<p>“Le Prieuré†(The Priory, being an account of his electrically equipped -house), published in Paris in 1867.</p> - -<p>“Les Radiations Lumineuses,†published in Blois in 1869.</p> - -<p>“Exploration de la Rétinue,†published in Blois, 1869.</p> - -<p>“Magic et Physique Amusante†(Å“uvre posthume), published in Paris in -1877, six years after Robert-Houdin’s death.</p> - -<p>In his autobiography, Robert-Houdin makes specific claim to the honor of -having invented the following tricks: The Orange Tree, Second Sight, -Suspension, The Cabalistic Clock, The Inexhaustible Bottle, The<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a> Pastry -Cook of the Palais Royal, The Vaulting Trapeze Automaton, and the -Writing and Drawing Figure.</p> - -<p>His fame, which has been sung by writers of magic without number since -his death, rests principally on the invention of second sight, -suspension, and the writing and drawing automaton. It is my intention to -trace the true history of each of these tricks and of all others to -which he laid claim as inventor, and show just how small a proportion of -the credit was due to Robert-Houdin and how much he owed to magicians -who preceded him and whose brain-work he claimed as his own.<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -<small>THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">R</span>OBERT-HOUDIN, on page 179 of the American edition of his “Memoirs,†-thus describes the orange-tree trick, which he claims as his invention: -“The next was a mysterious orange-tree, on which flowers and fruit burst -into life at the request of the ladies. As the finale, a handkerchief I -borrowed was conveyed into an orange purposely left on the tree. This -opened and displayed the handkerchief, which two butterflies took by the -corners and unfolded before the spectators.â€</p> - -<p>On page 245 of the same volume he presents the programme given at the -first public performance in the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, stating:</p> - -<p>“The performance will be composed of entirely novel Experiments invented -by M. Robert-Houdin. Among them being The Orange-Tree, etc.â€</p> - -<p>Now to retrace our steps in the history of magic as set forth in -handbills and advertisements of earlier and contemporaneous newspaper -clippings describing their inventions.</p> - -<p>Under the title of “The Apple-Tree†this mechanical trick appeared on a -Fawkes programme dated 1730. This was 115 years before Robert-Houdin -claimed it as his invention. In 1732, just before Pinchbeck’s death, it<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a> -appeared on a programme used by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., and the -younger Fawkes. In 1784 it was included in the répertoire of the Italian -conjurer, Pinetti, in the guise of “Le Bouquet-philosophique.†In 1822 -the same trick, but this time called “An Enchanted Garden,†was featured -by M. Cornillot, who appeared in England as the pupil and successor of -Pinetti.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 89px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_052_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_052_sml.jpg" width="89" height="139" alt="Diagram of the orange-tree trick, from Wiegleb’s “The -Natural Magic,†published in 1794." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Diagram of the orange-tree trick, from Wiegleb’s “The -Natural Magic,†published in 1794.</span> -</div> - -<p>The trick was first explained in public print by Henri Decremps in 1784 -when his famous exposé of Pinetti was published under the title of “La -Magie Blanche Dévoilée,†and in 1786-87 both Halle and Wiegleb exposed -the trick completely in their respective works on magic.</p> - -<p>That Robert-Houdin was an omnivorous reader is proven by his own -writings. That he knew the history and tricks of Pinetti is proven by -his own words, for in Chapter VI. of his “Memoirs†he devoted fourteen -pages to Pinetti and the latter’s relations with Torrini.</p> - -<p>Now to prove that the tree tricks offered by Fawkes, Pinchbeck, Pinetti, -Cornillot, and Robert-Houdin were practically one and the same, and to -tell something of the history of the four magicians who featured the -trick before Robert-Houdin had been heard of:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_053_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_053_sml.jpg" width="268" height="371" alt="Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr. This is the oldest and rarest -authentic mezzotint in the world pertaining to the history of magic. -From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr. This is the oldest and rarest -authentic mezzotint in the world pertaining to the history of magic. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_054_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_054_sml.jpg" width="152" height="187" alt="Clipping from the London Daily Post of November 30th, -1728. Used by Christopher Pinchbeck before he joined Fawkes. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Daily Post of November 30th, -1728. Used by Christopher Pinchbeck before he joined Fawkes. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Unquestionably, the real inventor of the mysterious tree was Christopher -Pinchbeck, who was England’s<a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a><a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a> leading mechanical genius at the close of -the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. He was a -man of high repute, whose history is not that of the charlatan, compiled -largely from tradition, but it can be corroborated by court records, -biographical works, and encyclopædias, as well as by contemporaneous -newspaper clippings.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_055_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_055_sml.jpg" width="148" height="203" alt="Advertisement from the London Daily Post during 1730, -showing the orange tree as offered by the senior Fawkes, just previous -to his death. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Advertisement from the London Daily Post during 1730, -showing the orange tree as offered by the senior Fawkes, just previous -to his death. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>According to Vol. XLV. of the “Dictionary of National Biography,†edited -by Sidney Lee and published in 1896 by Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo -Place, London: “Christopher Pinchbeck was born about 1670, possibly<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a> in -Clerkenwell, London. He was a clockmaker and inventor of the copper and -zinc alloy called after his name. He invented and made the famous -astronomico-musical clock. In Appleby’s <i>Weekly Journal</i> of July 8th, -1721, it was announced that ‘Christopher Pinchbeck, inventor and maker -of the astronomico-musical clock, is removed, from St. George’s Court -(now Albion Place) to the sign of the “Astronomico-Musical Clock†in -Fleet Street, near the Leg Tavern. He maketh and selleth watches of all -sorts and clocks as well for the exact indication of the<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a> time only as -astronomical, for showing the various motions and phenomena of planets -and fixed stars.’ Mention is also made of musical automata in imitation -of singing birds and barrel organs for churches, as among Pinchbeck’s -manufactures.</p> - -<p>“Pinchbeck was in the habit of exhibiting collections of his automata at -fairs, sometimes in conjunction with a juggler named Fawkes, and he -entitled his stall ‘The Temple of the Muses,’ ‘Grand Theatre of the -Muses,’ or ‘Multum in Parvo.’ The <i>Daily Journal</i> of August 27th, 1729, -announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales went to the Bartholomew -Fair to see his exhibition, and there were brief advertisements in <i>The -Daily Post</i> of June 12th, 1729, and the <i>Daily Journal</i> of August 22d -and 23d, 1729. There is still a large broadside in the British Museum -(1850 c. 10-17) headed ‘Multum in Parvo,’ relating to Pinchbeck’s -exhibition, with a blank left for place and date, evidently intended for -use as a poster. He died November 18th, 1732; was buried November 21st, -in St. Denison’s Church, Fleet Street.</p> - -<p>“In a copy of the <i>Gentlemen’s Magazine</i>, printed 1732, page 1083, there -is an engraved portrait by I. Faber, after a painting by Isaac Wood, a -reproduction of which appears in ‘Britten’s Clock and Watch Maker,’ page -122. His will, dated November 10th, 1732, was proved in London on -November 18th.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_057_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_057_sml.jpg" width="266" height="339" alt="A very rare mezzotint of Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., -combining the work of Cunningham, the greatest designer, and William -Humphrey, the greatest portrait etcher of his day. From the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A very rare mezzotint of Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., -combining the work of Cunningham, the greatest designer, and William -Humphrey, the greatest portrait etcher of his day. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>During one of his engagements at the Bartholomew Fair, Pinchbeck -probably met Fawkes, the cleverest sleight-of-hand performer that magic -has ever known, and the two joined forces. Pinchbeck made all the -automata and apparatus thereafter used by Fawkes, and, in<a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a> Fawkes, he -had a master-producer of his tricks. Christopher Pinchbeck never -appeared on the program used by Fawkes, save as the maker of the -automata or apparatus, but directly after the death of the elder Fawkes, -and a few months before his own, the elder Pinchbeck appeared with the -son of his deceased partner, and was advertised as doing “the Dexterity -of Hand†performance. This indicates that he was inducting young Fawkes -into all the mysteries of the profession at which the two elder men, as -friends and business partners, had done so well.</p> - -<p>Christopher Pinchbeck was survived by two sons, Edward and Christopher, -Jr. Edward, the elder, succeeded to his father’s shop and regular -business. He was born about 1703, and was well along in years when he -entered into his patrimony, which he advertised in <i>The Daily Post</i> of -November 27th, 1732, as follows: “The toys made of the late Mr. -Pinchbeck’s curious metal are now sold only by his son and sole -executor, Mr. Edward Pinchbeck.â€</p> - -<p>This announcement settles forever the oft-disputed question as to -whether the alloy of copper and zinc which bears the name of Pinchbeck -was invented by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., or by his son Christopher, -Jr.</p> - -<p>All newspaper and magazine descriptions of the automata invented by the -elder Pinchbeck indicate that his hand was as cunning as his brain was -inventive, for they showed the most delicate mechanism, and included -entire landscapes with figures of rare grace in motion.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_059_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_059_sml.jpg" width="143" height="259" alt="The best portrait of Isaac Fawkes in existence. The -original, now in the Harry Houdini Collection, is supposed to have been -engraved by Sutton Nichols. It is said that there is only one more of -these engravings extant." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The best portrait of Isaac Fawkes in existence. The -original, now in the Harry Houdini Collection, is supposed to have been -engraved by Sutton Nichols. It is said that there is only one more of -these engravings extant.</span> -</p> - -<p>“Christopher, the second son of Christopher Pinchbeck the elder,†-continues the biographical sketch, “was born about 1710 and possessed -great mechanical ingenuity.<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a> While the elder son, Edward, was made -executor and continued his father’s trade in a quiet, conservative -fashion, the younger son struck out along new lines and became even more -famous as an inventor than his brilliant father had been.<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_060_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_060_sml.jpg" width="148" height="136" alt="An early Fawkes advertisement, clipped from a London -paper of 1725. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">An early Fawkes advertisement, clipped from a London -paper of 1725. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“He was a member and at one time president of the Smeatonian Society, -the precursor of the Institution of Civil Engineers. In 1762 he devised -a self-acting pneumatic brake for preventing accidents to the men -employed in working wheel-cranes. In <i>The Gentlemen’s Magazine</i> for -June, 1765, page 296, it is recorded that Messrs. Pinchbeck and Norton -had made a complicated astronomical clock for the Queen’s house, some of -the calculations of the wheel having been made by James Ferguson, the -astronomer. There is no proof that Pinchbeck and Norton were ever in -partnership, and there are now two clocks answering to the description -at Buckingham Palace, one by Pinchbeck, with four dials and of a very -complicated construction, and another by Norton.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_061_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_061_sml.jpg" width="151" height="138" alt="A clipping from the Daily Post, London showing that -Fawkes combined forces with Powel, the famous Bartholomew Fair puppet -man. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A clipping from the Daily Post, London showing that -Fawkes combined forces with Powel, the famous Bartholomew Fair puppet -man. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“Pinchbeck took out three patents: the first (No. 892), granted 1768, -was for an improved candlestick with a<a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a> spring socket for holding the -candle firmly, and an arrangement whereby the candle always occupied an -upright position, however the candlestick might be held. In 1768 (patent -No. 899) he patented his nocturnal remembrancer, a series of tablets -with notches, to serve as guides for writing in the dark. His snuffers -(No. 1119) patented 1776, continued to be made in Birmingham until the -last forty years or so, when snuffers began to go out of use. In 1774 he -presented to the Society of Arts a model of a plough for mending roads. -Pinchbeck’s name first appears in the London directory in 1778, when it -replaced that of Richard Pinchbeck, toyman, of whom nothing is recorded.</p> - -<p>“Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., was held in considerable esteem by George -III., and he figures in Wilkes’ London<a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a> Museum (ii-33) in 1770 in the -list of the party who called themselves the King’s friends. He died -March 17th, 1783, aged 73, and was buried in St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields. -His will, which was very curious, is printed in full in <i>The Horological -Journal</i> of November, 1895. One of his daughters married William Hebb, -who was described as ‘son-in-law and successor of the late Mr. Pinchbeck -at his shop in Cockspur Street’ (imprinted on Pinchbeck’s portrait), -whose son Christopher Henry Hebb (1772-1861) practised as a surgeon in -Worcester. There is in existence a portrait of Christopher Pinchbeck the -younger, by Cunningham, engraved by W. Humphrey.â€</p> - -<p>The mezzotints of the Pinchbecks, father and son, herewith reproduced, -are extremely rare, and when I unearthed them in Berlin I felt myself -singularly favored in securing two such treasures of great value to the -history of magic. S. Wohl, the antiquarian and dealer from whom they -were purchased, acquired them during a tour of old book and print shops -in England, and thought them portraits of one and the same person; but -by studying the names of the artists and the engravers on the two -pictures, it will be seen that they set forth the features of father and -son, as indicated by the biographical notes quoted above.</p> - -<p>Of the early history of Fawkes, whose brilliant stage performance lent -to the Pinchbeck automata a new lustre, little is known. It is -practically impossible to trace his family history. His Christian name -was never used on his billing nor published in papers or magazines, and -after repeated failures I was about to give up the task of discovering -it, when in 1904, aided by R. Bennett,<a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a> the clerk of St. -Martin’s-in-the-Fields Parish Church, Trafalgar Square, London, England, -I came upon the record of his burial. This record, which I found after -many days’ search among musty, faded parchments, showed that his -Christian name was Isaac, and that he died May 25th or 29th, 1731, and -was buried in St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields Parish Church.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_063_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_063_sml.jpg" width="152" height="107" alt="Clipping from the London Post during 1728, showing the -oldest evidence procurable of the original “Two a Night†performance. -From the Harry Houdini Collection: - -At FAWKES’s Booth in the Upper Moorfields, will be presented the -following Entertainments, - -First his Famous Posture-Master, that for his wonderful dexterity of -Body exceeds all Europe. 2. The Musical Temple of Arts, with two moving -Pictures, the one a Concert of Musick, the other the Siege and Bay of -Gibraltar, being the finest Piece of Clock-work in the World. 3d. -Another Machine with three moving Pictures, the first represents the -Hill of Parnassus, with Apollo and the Nine Muses playing on various -Instruments of Musick, with next a beautiful View of a River, with Swans -and other Fowls and Fish, sporting as tho’ Alive. The last gives a -Prospect of the New Palace Yard, with the whole Procession of the late -Coronation of their preseat Majesties marching from the Hall to the -Abbey, - -Note, Half the Performance can’t be express’d in this advertisement. - -Note, We show twice every Evening, the First beginning at Five, the -other at Seven." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Post during 1728, showing the -oldest evidence procurable of the original “Two a Night†performance. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>The records further show that he was buried in the church vault, the -coffin being carried by six men. Prayers were said in the church, -candles were used, and the great bell was tolled. As the fees amounted -to £6 12s., a goodly sum for those days, all signs indicate that the -funeral was on a scale more costly and impressive than the ordinary.</p> - -<p>Fawkes was worth at his death £10,000, which was considered an enormous -sum in those days. Every penny of this he made performing at the fairs.</p> - -<p>The earliest announcements of Fawkes’ performance in my collection are -dated 1702 and include advertise<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>ments headed “Fawkes and Powel,†-“Fawkes and Phillips,†and “Fawkes and Pinchbeck.†Powel was the famous -puppet man, Phillips a famous posture master (known to-day as -contortionist), and Pinchbeck was the greatest of mechanicians. Fawkes -seems to have possessed a singular gift for picking out desirable -partners.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_064_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_064_sml.jpg" width="148" height="160" alt="Clipping from the London Post, February 7th, 1724, in -which Fawkes announces his retirement and offers to teach his tricks to -all comers. Below this announcement is the advertisement of Clench, -famous as an imitator and an instrumentalist." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Post, February 7th, 1724, in -which Fawkes announces his retirement and offers to teach his tricks to -all comers. Below this announcement is the advertisement of Clench, -famous as an imitator and an instrumentalist.</span> -</p> - -<p>From this mass of evidence I am producing various clippings. By a -peculiar coincidence one of these I believe offers the most authentic -and earliest record of “two a night†performances in England.</p> - -<p>In my collection are a number of other clippings from the press of the -same year, in April and May, 1728, but none of them says “twice a -night,†therefore I judge<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a> that the custom of giving two performances in -a night was tried previously to April, 1728, and then abandoned, or -after the first of May.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_065_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_065_sml.jpg" width="150" height="104" alt="Clipping from the London Daily Post of August, 1735, in -which Fawkes advertises his admission price as twelvepence. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Daily Post of August, 1735, in -which Fawkes advertises his admission price as twelvepence. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In the London <i>Post</i> of February 7th, 1724, Fawkes announced an -exhibition “in the Long Room over the piazza at the Opera House in the -Haymarket.†At this time he also advertised the fact that he was about -to retire and was exposing all his tricks. The clipping of that date -from my collection has the following foot-note: “Likewise he designs to -follow this business no longer than this season; so he promises to learn -any lady or gentleman his fancies in dexterity of hand for their own -diversion.â€</p> - -<p>When Fawkes was not in partnership with some puppet showman, he always -advertised his own puppets as “A court of the richest and largest -figures ever shown in England, being as big as men and women!†His -admission charges varied, but 12 pence seemed his favorite<a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a> figure. -About six years before his death he had his own theatre in James Street, -near the Haymarket, in which he exhibited for months at a time before -and after fairs.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_066_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_066_sml.jpg" width="147" height="99" alt="Clipping from the London Post, showing that young -Fawkes collaborated with Pinchbeck and together they offered the -orange-tree trick in 1732. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Post, showing that young -Fawkes collaborated with Pinchbeck and together they offered the -orange-tree trick in 1732. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>I reproduce a clipping from my collection showing Fawkes’ last program. -Here it will be seen that his first trick was causing a tree to grow up -in a flower-pot on the table, and bear fruit in a minute’s time. In <i>The -Gentlemen’s Magazine</i>, that oft-quoted and most reliable periodical, of -February 15th, 1731, readers were informed that the Algerian Ambassadors -witnessed Fawkes’ performance.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_067_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_067_sml.jpg" width="156" height="187" alt="Clipping from the London Post, August 16th, 1736, when -young Fawkes was playing alone. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Post, August 16th, 1736, when -young Fawkes was playing alone. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>At their request he showed them “a prospect of Algiers, and raised up an -apple-tree which bore ripe fruit in less than a minute’s time, which -several of the company tasted of.â€</p> - -<p>Fawkes, too, had a son, and thus the partnership and the friendship -which had existed between the elder Fawkes and the elder Pinchbeck were -carried on by the <a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a>second generation. All of the marvellous apparatus -made by Pinchbeck the elder, for Fawkes, may have been bequeathed by the -latter to his son, but, in 1732, Pinchbeck the elder and Fawkes the -younger were in a booth together, and Pinchbeck was advertised as doing -“the dexterity of hand†performances. After Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., -died, young Fawkes started out on his own account. In 1746, according to -an advertisement in my collection, a Fawkes and a Pinchbeck were -together again, so the son of Pinchbeck must have joined the younger -Fawkes for exhibition purposes. The accompanying clippings from -contemporary publications trace the history of young Fawkes, and prove -that the tree<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a> which bore fruit in a minute’s time was still on his -programme.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_068_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_068_sml.jpg" width="135" height="173" alt="Reproduction of page 1226 of Hone’s “Every-Day Book†in -the Harry Houdini Collection. This is a portrait of Fawkes, engraved on -a fan by Setchels in 1721 or 1728. Fans like these were distributed at -the Bartholomew Fair." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of page 1226 of Hone’s “Every-Day Book†in -the Harry Houdini Collection. This is a portrait of Fawkes, engraved on -a fan by Setchels in 1721 or 1728. Fans like these were distributed at -the Bartholomew Fair.</span> -</p> - -<p>For many years it was supposed that only one portrait of Fawkes was in -existence, but it now seems that three were made. I publish them all, -something which no one has ever before been able to do. One was taken -from a Setchels fan published about 1728, although some authorities say -1721. It appeared in Hone’s “Every-Day Book,†page 1226. Another, I -believe, was engraved by Sutton Nicols, as Hone mentions it in his -description of Fawkes. In the fan engraving, it will be noticed that -there appears a man wearing a star on his<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a> left breast. It is said that -this is Sir Robert Walpole, who was Prime Minister while Fawkes was at -the height of his success, and who was one of the conjurer’s great -admirers. Hogarth also placed Fawkes in one of his engravings as the -frontispiece of a most diverting brochure on “Taste,†in which he -belittles Burlington Gate. This makes the third portrait from my -collection herewith reproduced.</p> - -<p>According to an article contributed by Mons. E. Raynaly in the -<i>Illusionniste</i> of June, 1903, the orange tree next appeared in the -répertoire of a remarkable peasant conjurer, whose billing Mons. Raynaly -found among “Affiches de Paris.†This performer was billed as the -Peasant of North Holland, and gave hourly performances at the yearly -fairs at Saint-Germain.</p> - -<p>It is more than possible that he purchased this trick from Fawkes or -Pinchbeck, having seen it at the Bartholomew Fair in England.</p> - -<p>He featured the orange tree as follows: “He has a Philosophical Flower -Pot, in which he causes to grow on a table in the presence of the -spectators trees which flower, and then the flowers fall, and fruit -appears absolutely ripe and ready to be eaten.â€</p> - -<p>His posters are dated 1746-47 and 1751.</p> - -<p>The next programme on which the mysterious tree appears is a Pinetti -handbill, dated in London, 1784, when the following announcement was -made:</p> - -<p>“Signore Pinetti will afterwards present the assembly with a Tree called -Le Bouquet-philosophique composed of small branches of an orange-tree, -the leaves appearing green and natural. He will put it under a bottle, -and at<a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a><a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a> some distance, by throwing some drops of water of his own -composition, the leaves will begin to change and the bouquet will -produce natural flowers and various fruits.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_070_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_070_sml.jpg" width="311" height="225" alt="Masquerade and opera at Burlington Gate. Reproduction of -Hogarth’s engraving entitled “Taste,†belittling the artistic taste of -London. This caricature verifies the Fawkes advertisement, reproduced on -page 64, for here the conjurer is pictured leaning from the window of -the “long room†and calling attention to his performances. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Masquerade and opera at Burlington Gate. Reproduction of -Hogarth’s engraving entitled “Taste,†belittling the artistic taste of -London. This caricature verifies the Fawkes advertisement, reproduced on -page 64, for here the conjurer is pictured leaning from the window of -the “long room†and calling attention to his performances. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Pinetti is one of the most fascinating and picturesque figures in the -history of magic. His full name was Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, and, -like Pinchbeck and Fawkes, he was a man of parts and readily made -friends with the nobility. In fact, there is some question as to whether -he did not come of a noble family.</p> - -<p>He was born in 1750 in Orbitelle, a fortified town once claimed by -Tuscany. What can be gleaned regarding his early history goes to prove -that his family connections were excellent and his education of the -best. One of his portraits, reproduced herewith, shows a half-crown of -laurel decorating the frame, and on one side of the bust is a globe, -while in the rear of the picture is a stack of books. This would -establish his claim that he was once a professor of physics and -geography. In fact, the legend beneath the portrait, being translated -from the French, runs:</p> - -<p>“I. I. Pinetti Willedal de Merci, Professor and Demonstrator of Physics, -Chevalier of the Order of St. Philipe, Geographical Engineer, Financial -Counselor of H.R.H. Prince of Linbourg Holstein, Born in Orbitelle in -1750.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_072_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_072_sml.jpg" width="143" height="228" alt="A wood-cut used by Pinetti during his engagement at -Hamburg, Germany, in October, 1796. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A wood-cut used by Pinetti during his engagement at -Hamburg, Germany, in October, 1796. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>As it has so often happened in the history of savants and students, -there ran in Pinetti’s blood a love of the mysterious with that peculiar -strain of charalatanism which went to make up the clever performer in -old-time magic. Evidently he resigned his duties as a professor for the -more picturesque life of the travelling magician, and he is first heard -from in this capacity in the French provinces<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a> in 1783. His fame quickly -carried him to Paris, where in 1784 he appeared before the court of -Louis XVI. His arrival was most opportune, for just then all Paris and, -for that matter, all Europe had been aroused to a new interest in magic -by the brilliant Cagliostro.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_073_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_073_sml.jpg" width="151" height="261" alt="The only authentic portrait of Pinetti in existence, the -only known copy extant being in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The only authentic portrait of Pinetti in existence, the -only known copy extant being in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>From Paris he went to London, playing at the Haymarket and creating a -sensation equal to that which he made in France. Later he toured -Germany, playing in<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a> Berlin and Hamburg. Next he went back to his native -land, Italy, but later returned to Germany for a second engagement. In -1789 he appeared in Russia and never left that country. There he married -a Russian girl, daughter of a carriage manufacturer. They had two -children. Pinetti would have left enormous wealth, but<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a> in his later -years he became interested in ballooning, the sensation of the hour, and -spent his entire fortune on balloon experiments. He died in Bartichoff, -Volhinie, aged fifty years.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_074_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_074_sml.jpg" width="219" height="208" alt="Henri Decremps, the French author who exposed and -endeavored to ruin Pinetti, but succeeded only in immortalizing him." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Henri Decremps, the French author who exposed and -endeavored to ruin Pinetti, but succeeded only in immortalizing him.</span> -</p> - -<p>Pinetti was a man of rare inventive genius and almost reconstructed the -art of conjuring, so numerous were his inventions. For half a century -after his death his successors drew upon Pinetti’s inventions and -répertoire for their programmes. Naturally such ability aroused bitter -jealousies, especially as Pinetti made no attempt to con<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a>ciliate his -contemporaries, either magicians or writers on magic. He issued one -book, whose title-page reads:</p> - -<p>“Amusements Physiques et Differentes Expériences Divertissements, -Composées et Executées, tant à Paris que dans les diverses Courts de -l’Europe. Par M. Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, Romain, Chevalier de -l’Ordre Mérite de Saint-Phillipe, Professeur de Mathématiques et de -Physiques, Protégé par toute la Maison Royale de France, Pensionnaire de -la Cour de Prusse, etc., 1785.â€</p> - -<p>The work, however, was not a clear and lucid explanation of his methods -and tricks. In fact some of his contemporaries claimed that he -deliberately misrepresented his methods of performing tricks. Among -these writers was Henri Decremps, a brilliant professor of mathematics -and physics in Paris, who proceeded to expose all of Pinetti’s tricks in -the book referred to in the preceding chapter, “La Magie Blanche -Dévoilée.†This work was in five volumes and was so popular in its day -that it was translated into nearly every modern language. The following -explanation of the trick is taken from page 56 of the English -translation, entitled “The Conjurer Unmasked":</p> - -<p>“The branches of the tree may be made of tin or paper, so as to be -hollow from one end to the other in order that the air which enters at -the bottom may find its exit at the top of the branch. These branches -are so adjusted that at intervals there appear twigs made from brass -wire, but the whole so decorated with leaves made from parchment that -the ensemble closely resembles nature.</p> - -<p>“The end of each branch is dilated to contain small pieces of gummed -silk or very fine gold-beater’s skin,<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a> which are to catch the figures of -the flowers and fruit when the latter expand by the air driven through -the branches to which they were fastened by a silk thread.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 86px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_076_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_076_sml.jpg" width="86" height="67" alt="Decremps’s signature written by himself on the last page -of a copy of his book now in the Harry Houdini Library." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Decremps’s signature written by himself on the last page -of a copy of his book now in the Harry Houdini Library.</span> -</div> - -<p>“The tree or nosegay is then placed on a table, through which runs a -glass tube to supply air from beneath the stage, where a confederate -works this end of the trick, and causes the tree to ‘grow’ at the -prearranged signal.â€</p> - -<p>Later it was described as being accomplished entirely by springs, and -real oranges were first stuck on the tree by means of pegs or pins, and -the leaves were so secured around them that at first appearance they -could not be seen. Then a piston was used to spread all the leaves, -another that forced the blossom up through the hollow branches, etc.</p> - -<p>Pinetti’s personality was almost as extraordinary as his talents. A -handsome man who knew how to carry himself, acquiring the graces and the -dress of the nobility, he became rather haughty, if not arrogant, in his -bearing. He so antagonized his contemporaries in the fields of magic and -literature that he was advertised as much by his bitter enemies as by -his loving friends. Many of his methods of attracting attention to -himself were singularly like those employed by modern press agents of -theatrical stars. He never trusted to his performances in theatres and -drawing-rooms to advertise his abilities, but demonstrated his art -wherever he appeared, from barber-shops to cafés.<a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a></p> - -<p>Perhaps the best pen pictures of Pinetti and his methods are furnished -by E. G. Robertson in his “Memoirs.†Robertson was a contemporary of -Pinetti, and, like him, a pioneer in ballooning. His “Memoirs,†written -in the French language, were published in 1831. The following extracts -from this interesting book tell much of Pinetti’s life in Russia and of -his professional history as tradition and actual acquaintance had -presented it to M. Robertson:</p> - -<p>“Pinetti had travelled a great deal and for a long time had enjoyed a -great European reputation. He had done everything to attain it. There -was never a man that carried further the art of the ‘charlatisme.’ When -he arrived in a town where he intended to give a show, he took good care -to prepare his public by speeches, which would keep it in suspense. In -St. Petersburg great and incredible examples of mystification and of -prestidigitation were told about him.</p> - -<p>“One day he went to a barber-shop to get shaved, sat down in the chair, -had the towel tied around his neck, and laid his head back ready for the -lather. The barber left him in this position to get hot water, and when -he returned, guided by force of habit, he applied the lather where the -chin should be, but he found feet, arms, hands, and body in a coat, but -no head! Such lamentations! No more head! What could it mean? He opened -the door, and, frightened to death, ran away. Pinetti then went to the -window and called the barber back. He had put his head in his coat in -such a clever way, covering it with his handkerchief, that the surprise -and the fright of the barber were quite natural. Of course this barber<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a> -did not fail to spread over the whole town that he had shaved a man who -could take his head off and on to his wish.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_078_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_078_sml.jpg" width="213" height="338" alt="Frontispiece of Pinetti’s book, “Amusements Physiques,†-published in Paris, 1785, one of the first treasures of the Evanion -Collection purchased by the author." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Frontispiece of Pinetti’s book, “Amusements Physiques,†-published in Paris, 1785, one of the first treasures of the Evanion -Collection purchased by the author.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_079_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_079_sml.jpg" width="243" height="126" alt="Pinetti’s autograph, written by him on the back of the -frontispiece, reproduced on page 78. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Pinetti’s autograph, written by him on the back of the -frontispiece, reproduced on page 78. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“Pinetti met in a summer-garden a young Russian who sold small cakes. He -bought a few cakes, bit into them, and complained of finding a hard -substance. The youth protested, but Pinetti opened the cake before him -and found inside a gold piece. The magician pocketed the gold piece, -bought another cake, then a third cake, and in each case found a new -gold piece inside. He tried to buy the rest of the cakes. The passers-by -had in the mean time come round the seller, and everybody wanted to buy -as well. The market seemed to be all right, a ducat for a kopeck! Twelve -francs for a cent! The young man refused to sell any more, hurried away, -and when alone opened the cakes that were left. He found only the -substances of which the cakes were made—nothing else.<a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a> He had two left, -so he hurried back to offer these to Pinetti. Pinetti bought them from -him, opened them and showed in each one the gold piece, which the young -man could not find in the two dozen cakes which he had spoilt. The poor -boy bit his lips and looked at Pinetti with wondering, frightened eyes. -This little adventure was advertised here, there, and everywhere, and -was told in the clubs and in the society gatherings, and very soon the -name of Pinetti gave the key to the enigma, and Pinetti was in demand by -everybody.</p> - -<p>“When Pinetti came on the stage, he had the knack of attracting members -of the nobility around his table, by letting them learn some small -secrets. This would render them confederates in working his tricks. He -would appear in rich suits, embroidered in gold, which he changed three -and four times in the evening. He would not hesitate to deck himself in -a quantity of foreign decorations. In Berlin it was told how Pinetti -would go through the streets, in a carriage drawn by four white horses. -He was clad in fine embroidery and decorated with medals of all nations. -Several times it happened that, as he passed by, the soldiers would call -arms and salute, taking him for a prince. One day the King of Prussia -rode out in his modest carriage drawn by two horses. Ahead of him drove -the supposed prince. When the King witnessed the mistake made by his -soldiers, he made inquiries as to the rank of this man to whom his men -were paying such honor, then gave the Cavalier Pinetti twenty-four hours -to get beyond Prussia’s borders.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_081_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_081_sml.jpg" width="152" height="192" alt="Reproduction of a handbill distributed on the streets of -London in September, 1822. The orange-tree trick is on the bill under -the name of “Enchanted Garden.†From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of a handbill distributed on the streets of -London in September, 1822. The orange-tree trick is on the bill under -the name of “Enchanted Garden.†From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Whatever may be said of Pinetti’s charlatanism, it must be admitted that -he gave to the art of conjuring a<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a> great impetus which was felt for -several generations. It is not remarkable, therefore, that when the -French magician Cornillot appeared in London in 1822 he announced -himself as the pupil and successor of Pinetti. This was when -Robert-Houdin was seventeen years of age, twenty-three years before he -made his professional début, and on Cornillot’s programme we find -another version of the now famous and almost familiar tree trick. As -will be seen from the accompanying reproduction of a Cornillot handbill, -the tree now appears as “An Enchanted Garden,†and, if the wording of -the bill is to be<a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a> believed, Cornillot had improved the trick and was -using more than one tree or plant.</p> - -<p>Cornillot remained in England for some time and is classed among the -conjurers of good repute. Another bill in my collection shows that he -played at the Theatre of Variety, Catherine Street, Strand, in October, -1823. He was then assisted by several singers and dancers, including the -famous Misses Hamilton and Howe, pupils of M. Corri. In his company was -also an Anglo-Chinese juggler, who, in addition to feats of juggling, -“swallows an egg, a sword, and a stone, a la Ramo Samee.â€</p> - -<p>To sum up the evidence against Robert-Houdin in this particular trick: -Four magicians of high repute gave public performances before -Robert-Houdin knew and operated the orange-tree trick. Three eminent -writers exposed it clearly and accurately. Robert-Houdin, as an -indefatigable student of the history of magic, must have known of the -trick and its <i>modus operandum</i>. He may have purchased it from -Cornillot, or as a clever mechanician he had only to reproduce the trick -invented by his predecessors, train his confederate in its -operation—and—by his cleverly written autobiography—attempt to -establish his claim to its invention.<a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -<small>THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N his “Memoirs†Robert-Houdin eulogizes the various automata which he -claims to have invented. The picturesque fashion in which he describes -the tremendous effort put forth ere success crowned his labors would -render his arguments most convincing—if stern historical facts did not -contradict his every statement.</p> - -<p>One of the most extraordinary mechanical figures which he exploits as -his invention was the writing and drawing figure, which he exhibited at -the Quinquennial Exhibition in 1844, but never used in his public -performances, though he asserts that he planned to exhibit it between -performances at his own theatre. This automaton, he says, laid the -foundation of his financial success and opened the way to realizing his -dream of appearing as a magician.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_084_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_084_sml.jpg" width="146" height="137" alt="Writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin as -his invention. From Manning’s Robert-Houdin brochure." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin as -his invention. From Manning’s Robert-Houdin brochure.</span> -</p> - -<p>On page 196 of his “Memoirs,†American edition, he starts his romantic -description of its conception and manufacture. According to this he had -just planned what promised to be the most brilliant of his mechanical -inventions when financial difficulties intervened. He was obliged to -raise two thousand francs to meet a pressing debt. He applied to the -ever-convenient Monsieur G——, who had bought automata from him before. -He described the writing and drawing figure minutely to his patron,<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a> who -immediately agreed to advance two thousand five hundred francs, and if -the figure was completed in eighteen months, two thousand five hundred -francs more were to be paid for it, making five thousand francs in all. -If the figure was never completed, then Monsieur G—— was to reimburse -himself for the amount advanced by selecting automatic toys from -Robert-Houdin’s regular stock.</p> - -<p>After liquidating his debt, Robert-Houdin retired to Belleville, a -suburb of Paris, where for eighteen months he worked upon the figure, -seeing his family only twice a week, and living in the most frugal -fashion.</p> - -<p>He employed a wood-carver to make the head, but the result was so -unsatisfactory that in the end he was obliged, not only to make all the -complicated machinery which operated the figure, but to carve the head -itself,<a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a> which, he adds, in some miraculous fashion, resembled himself. -This resemblance, however, cannot be traced in existing cuts of the -figure.</p> - -<p>The chapter devoted to this particular automaton is so diverting that I -quote literally from its pages, thus giving my readers an opportunity to -take the true measure of the writer and the literary style of his -“Memoirs.†Here is his description of his moment of triumph:</p> - -<p>“I had only to press a spring in order to enjoy the long-waited-for -result. My heart beat violently, and though I was alone I trembled at -the mere thought of this imposing trial. I had just laid the first sheet -of paper before my writer and asked him this question: ‘Who is the -author of your being?’ I pressed the spring, and the clockwork -started—began acting. I dared hardly breathe through fear of disturbing -the operations. The automaton bowed to me, and I could not refrain from -smiling on it as on my own son. But when I saw the eyes fix an attentive -glance on the paper—when the arm, a few seconds before numb and -lifeless, began to move and trace my signature in a firm hand—the tears -started in my eyes and I fervently thanked Heaven for granting me -success. And it was not alone the satisfaction I experienced as an -inventor, but the certainty I had of being able to restore some degree -of comfort to my family, that caused my deep feeling of gratitude.</p> - -<p>“After making my Sosia repeat my signature a thousand times, I gave it -this question: ‘What o’clock is it?’ The automaton, acting in obedience -to the clock, wrote, ‘It is two in the morning.’ This was a timely -warning. I profited by it and went straight to bed.<a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a>â€</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 127px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_086_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_086_sml.jpg" width="127" height="126" alt="Specimens of penmanship executed by the Droz writing -automaton in 1796 and 1906 respectively. From the brochure issued by the -Society of History and Archæology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Specimens of penmanship executed by the Droz writing -automaton in 1796 and 1906 respectively. From the brochure issued by the -Society of History and Archæology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.</span> -</div> - -<p>Robert-Houdin injects a little humor into this chapter, for he relates -that as Molière and J. J. Rousseau consulted their servants, he decided -to do likewise; so early the next morning he invited his portress and -her husband, Auguste, a stone-mason, to be present at the first -performance of the figure. The mason’s wife chose the question, “What is -the emblem of fidelity?†The automaton replied by drawing a pretty -little greyhound, lying on a cushion. The stone-mason wished to see the -works, saying: “I understand about that sort of thing, for I have always -greased the vane on the church steeple, and have even taken it down -twice.â€</p> - -<p>When the work was completed, according to page 208 of the American -edition of his “Memoirs,†he returned to Paris, collected the remaining -two thousand five hundred francs due him from Monsieur G——, to whom he -delivered the figure, and two thousand francs more on an automatic -nightingale made for a rich merchant of St. Petersburg. Incidentally he -mentions that during his absence his business had prospered, but he -fails to state who managed it for him, and here is where I believe -credit should be given Opre,<a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a> the Dutch inventor, who was unquestionably -Robert-Houdin’s assistant for years.</p> - -<p>In 1844 he claims to have borrowed the writing and drawing figure from -the obliging Monsieur G—— to exhibit it at the Quinquennial -Exposition, where it attracted the attention of Louis Philippe and his -court, thus insuring its exhibitor the silver medal.</p> - -<p>At this point Robert-Houdin deliberately drops the writing and drawing -figure, leaving his readers to believe that it was returned to its -rightful owner, Monsieur G——, but, unfortunately for his claims, -another historian steps in here to cast reflections on Monsieur G—— ‘s -ownership of the figure. This writer is the world’s greatest showman, -the late P. T. Barnum, who purchased the figure at this same exposition -of 1844, paying for it a goodly sum, and this incident is one of the -significant omissions of the Robert-Houdin “Memoirs.†Either -Robert-Houdin sold the figure to Mr. Barnum for Monsieur G——, or such -a person as Monsieur G—— never existed, for in his own book Mr. Barnum -writes:</p> - -<p>“When I was abroad in 1844 I went to Paris expressly to attend the -‘Quinquennial Exposition’—an exhibition then held every five years. I -met and became well acquainted with a celebrated conjurer, as he called -himself, Robert-Houdin, but who was not only a prestidigitateur and -legerdemain performer, but a mechanic of absolute genius. I bought at -the exposition the best automaton he exhibited and for which he obtained -a gold medal. I paid a round price for this most ingenious little -figure, which was an automaton writer and artist. It sat on a small -table, pencil in hand; and, if asked, for instance,<a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a> for an emblem of -‘fidelity,’ it would instantly draw the picture of a handsome dog; if -love was wanted, a cupid was exquisitely pencilled. The automaton would -also answer many questions in writing. I took this curiosity to London, -where it was exhibited for some time at the Royal Adelaide Gallery, and -then I sent it across the Atlantic to my American Museum, where it -attracted great attention from the people and the press. During my -visit, Houdin was giving evening legerdemain performances,<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a> and by his -pressing invitation I frequently was present. He took great pains, too, -to introduce me to other inventors and exhibitors of moving figures, -which I liberally purchased, making them prominent features in the -attractions of the American Museum.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_088_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_088_sml.jpg" width="137" height="211" alt="The late P. T. Barnum, the world’s greatest showman, who -bought the writing and drawing figure from Robert-Houdin, and wrote at -length of the French conjurer in his autobiography. Born July 5, 1810. -Died April 7, 1891. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The late P. T. Barnum, the world’s greatest showman, who -bought the writing and drawing figure from Robert-Houdin, and wrote at -length of the French conjurer in his autobiography. Born July 5, 1810. -Died April 7, 1891. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_089_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_089_sml.jpg" width="149" height="89" alt="The figure of Cupid as executed by the Droz drawing -figure. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The figure of Cupid as executed by the Droz drawing -figure. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.</span> -</p> - -<p>Barnum then continued to describe Robert-Houdin’s greatness and his -cleverness in the use of electricity. The showman was always a welcome -guest at the magician’s house, and he relates how, at luncheon time, -Robert-Houdin would touch a knob and through the floor would rise a -table, laden with inviting viands. These details in the Barnum book make -it all the more inexplicable that Robert-Houdin should omit all mention -of the great showman’s name in his “Memoirs.â€</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 118px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_090_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_090_sml.jpg" width="118" height="246" alt="Hanger advertising the Professor Faber talking machine, -exhibited by P. T. Barnum during 1873 in his museum department. This -automaton was the first talking figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Hanger advertising the Professor Faber talking machine, -exhibited by P. T. Barnum during 1873 in his museum department. This -automaton was the first talking figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Just at this time the amusement-seeking public seemed greatly interested -in automata, so it was only natural that Barnum, great showman that he -was, should scour Europe for mechanical figures. Soon after he purchased -the writing and drawing figure claimed by<a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a> Robert-Houdin, he brought to -America a talking figure invented by Professor Faber of Vienna, to which -he refers most entertainingly in his address to the public dated 1873:</p> - -<p>“The Museum department contains 100,000 curiosities, including Professor -Faber’s wonderful talking machine, costing me $20,000 for its use for -six months; also the National Portrait Gallery of one hundred life-size -paintings, including all the Presidents of the United States, etc.; John -Rogers’ groups of historic statuary; almost an endless variety of -curiosities, including numberless automaton musicians, mechanicians, and -moving scenes, etc., etc., made in Paris and Geneva.â€</p> - -<p>It can be imagined how wonderful this talking machine must have been -when Barnum gave it special emphasis, selecting it from the hundreds of -curios he had on exhibition. As this talking machine is probably -forgotten, I will reproduce<a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a> the bill used at the time of its appearance -in London, England.</p> - -<p>When Barnum was in London in 1844, with Gen. Tom Thumb, who was then -performing at the Egyptian Hall, he first saw the automatic talking -machine and engaged it to strengthen his show. Thirty years later Prof. -Faber’s nephew was the lecturer who explained to the American public the -automaton’s mechanism and also the performer who manipulated the -machine.</p> - -<p>Barnum always speaks of the talking automaton as being a life-size -figure, but the pictures used for advertising purposes show that it was -only a head.</p> - -<p>The fate of both the talking automaton and the writing and drawing -figure is shrouded in mystery. If they were in the Barnum Museum when -the latter was swept by fire in 1865, they were destroyed. If they had -been taken back to Europe, they may now be lying in some cellar or loft, -moth-eaten and dust-covered, ignominious end for such ingenious -brain-work and handicraft.</p> - -<p>So much for the claims of Robert-Houdin. Now to disprove them.</p> - -<p>The earliest record of a writing figure I have found is in the -“Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines,†compiled by Andrew Ure, -M.D., and published in New York in 1842 by Le Roy Sunderland, 126 Fulton -Street. On page 83, under the heading of “Automaton,†is this statement:</p> - -<p>“Frederick Von Knauss completed a writing machine at Vienna in the year -1760. It is now in the model cabinet of the Polytechnic Institute, and -consists of a globe two feet in diameter, containing the mechanism, upon -which<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a> sits a figure seven inches high and writes, upon a sheet of paper -fixed to a frame, whatever has been placed beforehand upon a regulating -cylinder. At the end of each line it raises and moves its hand sideways, -in order to begin a new line.â€</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 115px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_092_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_092_sml.jpg" width="115" height="241" alt="Portrait and autograph of Pierre Jacquet-Droz. Born 1721, -died 1790. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Portrait and autograph of Pierre Jacquet-Droz. Born 1721, -died 1790. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.</span> -</div> - -<p>This does not answer the description of the figure which Robert-Houdin -claims, but it is interesting as showing that mechanical genius ran -along such lines almost a hundred years before Robert-Houdin claims to -have invented the famous automaton.</p> - -<p>The writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin as his original -invention can be traced back directly to the shop door of Switzerland’s -most noted inventor, Pierre Jacquet-Droz, who with his son, Henri-Louis, -laid the foundation of the famous Swiss watch-and music-box industry.</p> - -<p>In the latter part of the eighteenth century, probably about 1770, the -Jacquet-Drozes turned out a drawing<a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a> figure which also inscribed a few -set phrases or titles of the drawings. In mechanism, appearance, and -results it tallies almost exactly with the automaton claimed by -Robert-Houdin as originating in his brain. The Jacquet-Droz figure -showed a child clad in quaint, flowing garments, seated at a desk. The -Robert-Houdin figure was modernized, and showed a court youth in knee -breeches and powdered peruque, seated at a desk. The Jacquet-Droz figure -drew a dog, a cupid, and the heads of reigning monarchs. The -Robert-Houdin figure, made seventy-five years later, by some -inexplicable coincidence drew a dog as the symbol of fidelity, a cupid -as the emblem of love, and the heads of reigning monarchs.</p> - -<p>The history of the Jacquet-Drozes is written in the annals of -Switzerland as well as the equally reputable annals of scientific -inventions, and cannot be refuted.</p> - -<p>Pierre Jacquet-Droz was born July 28th, 1721, in a small village, -La-Chaux-de-Fonds, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland. According to some -authorities, his father was a clock-maker, but the brochure issued by -“Société d’Histoire et d’Archéologie†of the city of Neuchâtel, which -has recently acquired many of the Jacquet-Droz automata, states that he -was the son of a farmer and was sent to a theological seminary at Basle. -Here the youth’s natural talent for mechanics overbalanced his interest -in “isms†and “ologies,†and he spent every spare moment at work with -his tools. On his return to his native town he turned his attention -seriously to clock- and watch-making, constructing a marvellous clock -with two peculiar hands which, in passing each other, touched the dial -and rewound the clock.<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 100px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_094_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_094_sml.jpg" width="100" height="124" alt="Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz, son of Pierre Jacquet-Droz, and -the superior of his father as a mechanician. Born Oct. 13th, 1752, died -November 15th, 1791. From the Jaquet-Droz brochure, issued by the -Neuchâtel Society of History and Archæology." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz, son of Pierre Jacquet-Droz, and -the superior of his father as a mechanician. Born Oct. 13th, 1752, died -November 15th, 1791. From the Jaquet-Droz brochure, issued by the -Neuchâtel Society of History and Archæology.</span> -</div> - -<p>At this time his work attracted the attention of Lord Keith, Governor of -Neuchâtel, then a province of Prussia, who induced the young inventor to -visit the court of Ferdinand VI. of Spain, providing the necessary -introductions. Pierre Jacquet-Droz remained for some time in Madrid and -made a clock of most complicated pattern. This was a perpetual calendar. -For hands, he utilized artificial sunbeams, shooting out from the sun’s -face which formed the dial, to denote the hours, days, etc. With the -money received from the Spanish monarch he returned to Switzerland to -find that his son, Henri-Louis, had inherited his remarkable inventive -gifts. He sent his boy to Nancy to study music, drawing, mechanics, and -physics. During his son’s absence in all probability he produced the -first of the marvellous automata which made the Jacquet-Drozes famous -the modern world over, namely, the writing figure.</p> - -<p>With the return of Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz from college commenced what -may be termed the golden age of mechanics in Switzerland. Associated -with father and son were the former’s pupils or apprentices, -Jean-Frédéric Leschot, Jean-David Maillardet, and Jean Pierre Droz, a -blood relation who afterward became director of<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a> the mint at Paris and a -mechanician of rare talent. Jean Pierre Droz is credited with having -invented a machine for cutting, stamping, and embossing medals on the -face and on the edges at one insertion.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 90px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_095_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_095_sml.jpg" width="90" height="94" alt="Jean-Frédéric Leschot. Born 1747, died 1824. Portrait -published by Société des Arts de Genève. Presented to the author by -Mons. Blind (Magicus) of Geneva." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Jean-Frédéric Leschot. Born 1747, died 1824. Portrait -published by Société des Arts de Genève. Presented to the author by -Mons. Blind (Magicus) of Geneva.</span> -</div> - -<p>The output of this shop and its staff of gifted workers included the -first Swiss music box, the singing birds which sprang from watches and -jewel caskets, the drawing figure which was an improvement on the -writing figure, the spinet player, and the grotto with its many -automatic animals of diminutive size but exquisite workmanship. Years -were spent in perfecting the various automata, and none of them have -been equalled or even approached by later mechanicians and inventors.</p> - -<p>Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz was conceded to be the superior of his father, -Pierre Jacquet-Droz. In a German encyclopædia which I found at the -King’s Library, Munich, it is stated that when Vaucanson, celebrated as -the inventor of “The Flute Player,†“The Mechanical Duck,†“The Talking -Machine,†etc., saw the work of the younger Droz, he cried loudly, “Why, -that boy commences where I left off!â€</p> - -<p>According to the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, and an article contributed by Dr. -Alfred Gradenwits to <i>The Scientific American</i> of June 22d, 1907, the<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> -writing and drawing figures are made and operated as follows:</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 138px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_096_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_096_sml.jpg" width="138" height="212" alt="The Jacquet-Droz writing automaton. From the brochure -issued by the Society of History and Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, -Switzerland." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The Jacquet-Droz writing automaton. From the brochure -issued by the Society of History and Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, -Switzerland.</span> -</div> - -<p>“The writer represented a child of about four years of age, sitting at -his little table, patiently waiting with the pen in his hand until the -clockwork is started. He then sets to work and, after looking at the -sheet of paper before him, lifts his hand and moves it toward the -ink-stand, in which he dips the pen. The little fellow then throws off -an excess of ink and slowly and calmly, like an industrious child, -begins writing on the paper the prescribed sentence. His handwriting is -careful, conscientiously distinguishing between hair strokes and ground -strokes, always observing the proper intervals between letters and words -and generally showing the sober and determined character of the -handwriting usual at the time in the country of Neuchâtel. In order, for -instance,<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a> to write a T, the writer begins tracing the letter at the -top, and after slightly lifting his hand halfway, swiftly traces the -transversal dash, and continues writing the original ground stroke.</p> - -<p>“How complicated a mechanism is required for insuring these effects will -be inferred from the illustration, in which the automaton is shown with -its back opened. In the first place a vertical disk will be noticed -having at its circumference as many notches as there are letters and -signs. Behind this will be seen whole columns of cam-wheels, each of a -special shape, placed one above another, and all together forming a sort -of spinal column for the automaton.</p> - -<p>“Whenever the little writer is to write a given letter, a pawl is -introduced into the corresponding notch of the disk, thus lifting the -wheel column and transmitting to the hand, by the aid of a complicated -lever system and Cardan joints arranged in the elbow, the requisite -movements for tracing the letter in question. The mechanism comprises -five centres of motion connected together by chains.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_098_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_098_sml.jpg" width="252" height="326" alt="View of the mechanism which operates the Jacquet-Droz -writing automaton. From the brochure issued by the Society of History -and Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">View of the mechanism which operates the Jacquet-Droz -writing automaton. From the brochure issued by the Society of History -and Archæology, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.</span> -</p> - -<p>“In the ‘Draftsman,’ the mechanism is likewise arranged in the body -itself, as in the case of the ‘Writer.’ The broad chest thus entailed -also required a large head, which accounts for the somewhat bulky -appearance of the two automatons. With the paper in position and a -pencil in hand, the ‘Draftsman’ at first traces a few dashes and then -swiftly marks the shadows, and a dog appears on the paper. The little -artist knowingly examines his work, and after blowing away the dust and -putting in a few last touches, stops a moment and then quickly signs, -‘Mon Toutou’ (My pet dog). The motions<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a><a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a> of the automaton are quite -natural, and the outlines of his drawings extremely sharp. The automaton -when desired willingly draws certain crowned heads now belonging to -history; for example, a portrait of Louis XV., of Louis XVI., and of -Marie Antoinette.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_099_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_099_sml.jpg" width="142" height="178" alt="Clipping from the London Post, 1776, advertising the -writing and drawing figures, exhibited by their inventor, Mr. -Jacquet-Droz. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Post, 1776, advertising the -writing and drawing figures, exhibited by their inventor, Mr. -Jacquet-Droz. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>The automata made by the Jacquet-Drozes and their confrères were -exhibited in all the large cities of Great Britain and Continental -Europe. According to the programmes and newspaper notices in my -collection, Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz acted as their first exhibitor. As -proof I am reproducing a Droz programme from the London <i>Post</i>, dated -1776.<a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a></p> - -<p>In support of this advertisement, note what the same paper says in what -is probably a criticism of current amusements:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_100_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_100_sml.jpg" width="138" height="85" alt="Heads of King George and Queen Charlotte, executed in -their presence by the Jacquet-Droz drawing figure in 1774. From the -brochure issued by the Society of History and Archæology, Canton of -Neuchâtel, Switzerland." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Heads of King George and Queen Charlotte, executed in -their presence by the Jacquet-Droz drawing figure in 1774. From the -brochure issued by the Society of History and Archæology, Canton of -Neuchâtel, Switzerland.</span> -</p> - -<p>“This entertainment consists of three capital mechanical figures and a -pastoral scene, with figures of an inferior size. The figure on the -left-hand side, a beautiful boy as large as life, writes anything that -is dictated to him, in a very fine hand. The second on the right hand, -of the same size, draws various landscapes, etc., etc., which he -finishes in a most accurate and masterly style. The third figure is a -beautiful young lady who plays several elegant airs on the harpsichord, -with all the bass accompaniments; her head gracefully moving to the -tune, and her bosom discovering a delicate respiration. During her -performance, the pastoral scene in the centre discovers a variety of -mechanical figures admirably grouped, all of which seem endued, as it -were, with animal life, to the admiration of the spectator. The last -curiosity is a canary bird in a cage, which whistles two or three airs -in<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a> the most natural manner imaginable. Upon the whole, the united -collection strikes us as the most wonderful exertion of art which ever -trod before so close on the heels of nature. The ingenious artist is a -young man, a native of Switzerland.â€</p> - -<p>The inventory of Jacquet-Droz, Jr., dated 1786, quotes the “Piano -Player†as valued at 4,800 livres, the “Drawing Figure†at 7,200 livres, -while the “Writer†had been ceded to him by his father for 4,800 livres, -in consideration of certain improvements and modifications which -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz made in the original invention. This shows that -while the elder Droz did not die until 1790, his son controlled the -automata previous to this date, for exhibition and other purposes.</p> - -<p>During his later years Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz was induced to take the -automata to Spain. His tour was under the direction of an English -manager, who, possibly for the purpose of securing greater -advertisement, announced the figures as possessed of supernatural power. -This brought them under the ban of the Inquisition, and Jacquet-Droz was -thrown into prison. Eventually he managed to secure his freedom, and, -breathing free air once more, like the proverbial Arab, he silently -folded his tent and stole away, leaving the automata to their fate. -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz died in Naples, Italy, in 1791, a year after -his father’s death.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_102_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_102_sml.jpg" width="318" height="195" alt="A de Philipsthal programme of 1803 before the writing and -drawing figure came under his control. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<a href="images/illpg_103_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_103_sml.jpg" width="319" height="191" alt="A de Philipsthal programme of 1803 before the writing and -drawing figure came under his control. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A de Philipsthal programme of 1803 before the writing and -drawing figure came under his control. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width:118px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_104_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_104_sml.jpg" width="118" height="276" alt="Poster used, March 22nd, 1811, by de Philipsthal and -Maillardet during their partnership, on which the writing and drawing -figure is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used, March 22nd, 1811, by de Philipsthal and -Maillardet during their partnership, on which the writing and drawing -figure is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>The English manager, however, tarried in Spain. The figures were “tried†-and as they proved motionless the case was dropped. The Englishman then -claimed the automata as his property and sold them to a French nobleman. -Their owner did not know how to operate<a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a> them, so their great value -was never realized by his family. After his death, during a voyage to -America, they lay neglected in the castle of Mattignon, near Bayonne. -After changing hands many times, about 1803 they passed into the hands -of an inventor named Martin, and were controlled by his descendants for -nearly a hundred years. One of his family, Henri Martin, of Dresden, -Germany, exhibited them in many large cities, and advertised them for -sale at 15,000 marks in the <i>Muenchener</i> Blaetter of May 13th, 1883. -After Martin’s death, his widow succeeded in disposing of them to Herr -Marfels, of Berlin, who had them repaired with such good results that in -the fall of 1906 he sold them for 75,000 francs, or about $15,000, to -the Historical Society of Neuchâtel. In April, 1907, the writing figure, -the drawing figure, and the spinet player were on exhibition in Le -Locle, Chaux-de-Fonds, and Neuchâtel.<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a></p> - -<p>So far we have traced only the original writing and drawing figure. This -has been done purely to show that even if Robert-Houdin had been capable -of building such an automaton, he would not have been its real inventor, -but would merely have copied the marvellous work of the Jacquet-Drozes. -Now to trace the figure which in 1844 he claimed as his invention.</p> - -<p>With the fame of the Neuchâtel shop spreading and the demand for Swiss -watches increasing, Maillardet and Jean Pierre Droz, apprentices or -perhaps partners of Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz, -removed to London and there set up a watch factory. About this time -Maillardet invented a combination writing and drawing figure which was -pronounced by experts of the day slightly inferior to the work of the -two Jacquet-Drozes. However, it must have been worthy of exhibition, for -it appeared at intervals for the next fifty years in the amusement -world, particularly in London. At first Maillardet was not its exhibitor -nor was his name ever mentioned on the programmes and newspaper notices, -but later his name appeared as part owner and exhibitor. As the Swiss -watches had created a veritable sensation and were snatched up as fast -as produced, it is quite likely that he had no time to play the rôle of -showman.</p> - -<p>The figure first appeared in London in 1796, when the London <i>Telegraph</i> -of January 2nd carried the advertisement reproduced on the next page.</p> - -<p>Haddock had no particular standing in the world of magic, and it is more -than likely that he rented the automata which he exhibited, or merely -acted as showman for the real inventors.<a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_106_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_106_sml.jpg" width="155" height="370" alt="Haddock advertisement in the London Telegraph, January, -1796, in which he features the writing automaton as an androide. From -the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Haddock advertisement in the London Telegraph, January, -1796, in which he features the writing automaton as an androide. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_107_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_107_sml.jpg" width="152" height="84" alt="Clipping from the London Telegraph in March, 1812, -proving the partnership of de Philipsthal and Maillardet in an -“Automatical Theatre.†The Mr. Louis mentioned in the advertisement as -assistant engineer later secured possession of the writing and drawing -figure. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Telegraph in March, 1812, -proving the partnership of de Philipsthal and Maillardet in an -“Automatical Theatre.†The Mr. Louis mentioned in the advertisement as -assistant engineer later secured possession of the writing and drawing -figure. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In quite a few works on automata, notably Sir David Brewster’s “Letters -on Natural Magic,†Collinson is quoted as having interviewed Maillardet -as the inventor of the combination writing and drawing figure. <i>The -Franklin Journal</i> of June, 1827, published in Philadelphia, Pa., credits -this figure to Maillardet and gives the following description: “It was -the figure of a boy kneeling on one knee, holding a pencil in his hand, -with which he executed not only writing but drawings equal to those of -the masters. When the figure began to work, an attendant dipped the -pencil in ink, and fixed the paper, when, on touching a spring, the -figure wrote a line, carefully dotting and stroking the letters.â€</p> - -<p>The Robert-Houdin figure did not kneel, but this change could be made by -a mechanician of ordinary ability.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_108_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_108_sml.jpg" width="147" height="355" alt="A Louis programme of April 3rd, 1815, in which the -writing and drawing figure is advertised as a juvenile artist. It also -features a bird of paradise automaton which Robert-Houdin claimed to -have invented thirty years later. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Louis programme of April 3rd, 1815, in which the -writing and drawing figure is advertised as a juvenile artist. It also -features a bird of paradise automaton which Robert-Houdin claimed to -have invented thirty years later. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>The writing and drawing figure does not reappear on amusement programmes -in my collection until 1812, when it was featured by De Philipsthal, the -inventor of “Phantasmagoria.â€<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>[ The nature of the inventions grouped -under this title can best be judged from the reproduction of a De -Philipsthal programme, dated 1803-04, and reproduced in the course of -this chapter. All evidence goes to prove, however, that De Philipsthal -did not control the writing and drawing figure exclusively, but that it -was the joint property of himself and his partner, Maillardet. One of -their joint programmes is also reproduced. Wherever De Philipsthal -appears as an independent entertainer, the writing and drawing figure is -missing from his billing. Later the writing and drawing automaton came -into the possession of a Mr. Louis, who, as it will be seen from the -billing, acted as assistant engineer to De Philipsthal and Maillardet. -Louis evidently controlled the wonderful little automaton in the years -1814-15.</p> - -<p>The last De Philipsthal programme in my possession is dated Summer -Theatre, Hull, September 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, 1828, when he -advertises only “rope dancers and mechanical peacock,†and features -“special uniting fire and water†and “firework experiments.†He must -have died between that date and April, 1829, for a programme dated at -the latter time announces a benefit at the Théâtre Wakefield for the -widow and children of De Philipsthal, “the late proprietor of the Royal -Mechanical and Optical Museum.†This benefit programme contains no -allusion to the writing and drawing figure, which goes to prove that it -had not been his property, or it would have been handed down to his -estate.</p> - -<p>In May, 1826, an automaton was exhibited at 161 Strand, a bill regarding -which is reproduced. This mechanical figure, however, should not be -confounded<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a> with the original and genuine writing and drawing figure. It -seems to have lacked legitimacy and, from what I can learn from -newspaper clippings, was worked like “Zoe,†with a concealed -confederate, or, like the famous “Psycho†featured by Maskelyne, it was -worked by compressed air. This bill is interesting solely because I -believe that this fake automaton exhibited at 161 Strand was the first -figure of the sort foisted on the public after the Baron Von Kemplen -chess-player, which is described in Halle’s work on magic, published in -1784.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_110_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_110_sml.jpg" width="122" height="372" alt="Poster announcing a benefit for the widow and children of -de Philipsthal at Wakefield, in April, 1829, which proves that writing -and drawing figure formed no part of the estate left by the deceased -showman. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster announcing a benefit for the widow and children of -de Philipsthal at Wakefield, in April, 1829, which proves that writing -and drawing figure formed no part of the estate left by the deceased -showman. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_111_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_111_sml.jpg" width="154" height="262" alt="Handbill advertising the fake automatic artist, exhibited -also at 161 Strand, London, May 7th, 1826. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Handbill advertising the fake automatic artist, exhibited -also at 161 Strand, London, May 7th, 1826. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In 1901, while in Germany, I saw a number of these automaton artists, -all frauds. The figure sat in a small<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a> chair before an easel, ready to -draw portraits in short order. The figure was shown to the audience, -then replaced on the chair, whereupon a man under the platform would -thrust his arm through the figure and draw all that was required of the -automaton. The fake was short-lived, even at the yearly fairs, and now -has sunk too low for them.<a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a></p> - -<p>During this interim, that is between 1821 and 1833, the famous little -figure seems to have been in the possession of one Schmidt, who, -according to the programmes in my collection, exhibited it regularly.</p> - -<p>In 1833 Schmidt is programmed in London, playing at the Surrey Theatre, -when the writing and drawing figure is one of twenty-four automatic -devices. A program, which, judging from its printing, is of a still -later date, announces Mr. Schmidt and the famous figure at New Gothic -Hall, 7 Haymarket, for a short period previous to the removal of the -exhibit to St. Petersburg. The dates of other programmes in my -collection can be judged only from the style of printing which changed -at different periods of the art’s development. Some of these indicate -that the writing and drawing figure was on exhibition during the early -40’s in London at Paul’s Head Assembly Rooms, Argyle Rooms, Regent -Street, etc.</p> - -<p>It is more than likely, according to Robert-Houdin’s own admission -regarding his study of automata and his opportunities to repair those -left at his shop, that at some time the writing and drawing figure was -brought to Paris to be exhibited, needed repairing, and thus reached his -shop. Whether it was bought by Monsieur G——, whose interest in -automata is featured in Robert-Houdin’s “Memoirs,†and brought to -Robert-Houdin to repair, or whether Robert-Houdin bought it for a song, -and repaired it to sell to advantage to his wealthy patron, cannot be -stated, but I am morally certain that Robert-Houdin never constructed, -in eighteen months, a complicated mechanism on which the Jacquet-Drozes -spent six years of<a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a> their inventive genius and efforts. Modern -mechanicians agree that such a performance would have been a physical -impossibility, even had Robert-Houdin been the expert mechanician he -pictured himself.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_113_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_113_sml.jpg" width="160" height="353" alt="Programme used by Mr. Schmidt in 1827, when he had -possession of the writing and drawing figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Programme used by Mr. Schmidt in 1827, when he had -possession of the writing and drawing figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_114_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_114_sml.jpg" width="173" height="232" alt="Poster used by Mr. Schmidt in advertising the writing and -drawing figure in London just before his departure for St. Petersburg, -Russia. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Mr. Schmidt in advertising the writing and -drawing figure in London just before his departure for St. Petersburg, -Russia. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>To sum up the evidence: The writing and drawing figure as turned out by -the Jacquet-Drozes was known all over Europe. It is not possible that a -man so well read and posted in magic and automata as Robert-Houdin<a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a> did -not know of its existence and mechanism. And if Robert-Houdin had -invented the same mechanism it is hardly possible that his design would -have run in precisely the same channel as that of Jacquet-Droz and -Maillardet, in having the figure draw the dog, the cupid, and the heads -of monarchs.</p> - -<p>In those days humble mechanicians, however well they were known in their -own trade, were not exploited by the public press. Nor did they employ -clever journalists to write memoirs lauding their achievements. And so -it happened that for years the names of Jacquet-Droz and Maillardet were -unsung; their brainwork and handicraft were claimed by Robert-Houdin, -who had mastered the art of self-exploitation. To-day, after a century -and a half of neglect, the laurel wreath has been lifted from the brow -of Robert-Houdin, where it never should have been placed, and has been -laid on the graves of the real inventors of the writing and drawing -figure, Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz and Jean-David -Maillardet.<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -<small>THE PASTRY COOK OF THE PALAIS ROYAL</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">C</span>ONCERNING this trick, which Robert-Houdin claims as his invention, he -writes on page 79 of his “Memoirs,†American edition: “The first was a -small pastry cook, issuing from his shop door at the word of command, -and bringing, according to the spectator’s request, patties and -refreshments of every description. At the side of the shop, assistant -pastry cooks might be seen rolling paste and putting it in the oven.â€</p> - -<p>By means of handbills, programmes, and newspaper notices of magical and -mechanical performances, this trick in various guises can be traced back -as far as 1796. Nine reputable magicians offered it as part of their -repertoire, and at times two men presented it simultaneously, showing -that more than one such automaton existed. The dates of the most notable -programmes or handbills selected from my collection are as follows:</p> - -<p>1, Haddock, 1797. 2, Garnerin, 1815. 3, Gyngell, 1816 and 1823. 4, -Bologna, 1820. 5, Henry, 1822. 6, Schmidt, 1827. 7, Rovere, 1828. 8, -Charles, 1829. 9, Phillippe, 1841.</p> - -<p>In 1827 Schmidt and Gyngell joined forces, yet both before and after -this date each performer had the wonderful little piece of mechanism on -his programme. In 1841,<a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a> four years before Robert-Houdin appeared as a -public performer, Phillippe created a sensation in Paris, presenting -among other automata “Le Confiseur Galant.†In 1845, when Robert-Houdin -included “The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal†in his initial programme -at his own theatre in Paris, Phillippe was presenting precisely the same -trick at the St. James Theatre, London.</p> - -<p>Of this goodly company, however, Rovere and Phillippe deserve more than -passing notice, as both were the contemporaries of Robert-Houdin, and -Rovere was his personal friend. Both also appear in Robert-Houdin’s -“Memoirs.â€</p> - -<p>The trick appears first, not as a confectioner’s shop with small figures -at work, but as a fruitery, then again as a Dutch Coffee-House and a -Russian Inn, from which ten sorts of liquor are served. Finally, in -1823, it is featured under the name that later made it famous, the -Confectioner’s Shop.</p> - -<p>Haddock, the Englishman who had the writing and drawing figure in his -possession for some time, featured the fruitery on his programmes dated -1796. One of his advertisements from the London <i>Telegraph</i> is -reproduced on page 106, in connection with the history of the writing -and drawing figure, but for convenience I am quoting here Haddock’s own -description of the fruitery trick, which was even more complicated than -the famous Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_118_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_118_sml.jpg" width="151" height="229" alt="A Bologna poster of 1820 which features an automatic -distiller who draws eight different liquors from one cask. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Bologna poster of 1820 which features an automatic -distiller who draws eight different liquors from one cask. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“A model of the neat rural mansion, and contains the following figures: -First, the porter, which stands at the gate, and on being addressed, -rings the bell, when the door opens, the fruiteress comes out, and any -lady or<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a> gentleman may call for whatever fruit they please, and the -figure will return and bring the kind required, which may be repeated -and the fruit varied as often as the company orders: it will likewise -receive flowers, or any small article, carry them in, and produce them -again as called for. As the fruits are brought out, they will be given -in charge of a watch-dog, which sits in front of the house, and on any -person taking or touching them will<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a> begin to bark, and continue to do -so until they are returned. The next figure belonging to this piece is -the little chimney-sweeper, which will be seen coming from behind the -house, will enter the door, appear at the top of the chimney, and give -the usual cry of ‘Sweep’ several times, descend the chimney, and come -out with his bag full of soot.â€</p> - -<p>In 1820, Haddock’s programme, including the fruitery, appears with only -a few minor changes as the répertoire of Bologna, a very clever conjurer -who afterward became the assistant of Anderson, the Wizard of the North, -and who made most of the latter’s apparatus. On the Bologna programme, -for a performance to be given at the Great Assembly Room, Three Tuns -Tavern, the shop trick is described thus: “A curious Mechanical -Fruiterer and Confectioner’s Shop, kept by Kitty Comfit, who will -produce at Command such Variety of Fruit and Sweetmeats as may be asked -for.â€</p> - -<p>The marvellous little shop does not appear again on programmes of magic -until 1815, when Garnerin features it as “The Dutch Coffee-House.†On -the programme used by Garnerin in that year for a benefit which he gave -for the General Hospital at Birmingham, England, it is featured as No. -10: “A Dutch Coffee-House, a very surprising mechanical piece, in which -there is the figure of a Girl, six inches high, which presents, at the -Command of the Spectators, ten different sorts of Liquors.â€</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 132px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_120_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_120_sml.jpg" width="132" height="352" alt="A Garnerin poster of 1815, advertising “A Dutch Coffee -House,†whose automatic hostess serves refreshments at command. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Garnerin poster of 1815, advertising “A Dutch Coffee -House,†whose automatic hostess serves refreshments at command. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>This programme is of such historical value that I reproduce it in full. -It will show that this particular mechanical trick is by no means the -most important feature of Garnerin’s répertoire. In fact his fame is -based on his<a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a> ballooning, and he is said to have been the inventor of -the parachute. The ascension of the nocturnal balloon, also scheduled on -this programme, is an imitation of the one which Garnerin arranged in -honor of Bonaparte’s coronation in 1805. On that occasion the balloon -started at Paris and descended in Rome, a distance of five hundred miles -which was covered in twenty-two hours.</p> - -<p>Garnerin was a contemporary of both Pinetti and Robertson and was with -them in Russia when Pinetti dissipated his fortune in balloon -experiments. In their correspondence, both Pinetti and Robertson spoke -slightingly of Garnerin, but the Frenchman’s programmes all indicate -that he was not only a successful aëronaut, but a magician who could -present a diverting entertainment.<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a></p> - -<div class="figright" style="width:139px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_121_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_121_sml.jpg" width="139" height="313" alt="A Gyngell poster of 1816, featuring the Russian Inn, with -service of various kinds of liquor. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Gyngell poster of 1816, featuring the Russian Inn, with -service of various kinds of liquor. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>In 1816 the elder Gyngell featured the trick on his programmes as “The -Russian Inn,†and in 1823 he changed it to “The Confectioner’s Shop.†-These programmes are reproduced as the most convincing evidence against -the claims of Robert-Houdin.</p> - -<p>The Gyngell family is one of the most interesting in the history of -magic. The Christian name of the founder of the family I have never been -able to ascertain, though programmes give the initial as G. He was -celebrated as a Bartholomew Fair conjurer. His career started about -1788, and his contemporaries were Lane, Boaz, Ball, Jonas, Breslaw, and -Flocton. At one time Gyngell and Flocton worked together, and Thomas -Frost in his book, “The Lives of Conjurers,†claims that<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a> at Flocton’s -death Gyngell received a portion of the former’s wealth.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_122_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_122_sml.jpg" width="308" height="218" alt="The original Gyngell, a portrait reproduced from the book -on magic written by this famous Bartholomew Fair conjurer. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The original Gyngell, a portrait reproduced from the book -on magic written by this famous Bartholomew Fair conjurer. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Associated with him in his performances were his brother, two sons, and -a daughter. The latter was not only a clever rope-dancer but a musician -of more than ordinary ability and she often constituted the entire -“orchestra.â€</p> - -<p>On Gyngell’s programme offered in 1827 he proves himself a great -showman, for he features Herr Schmidt’s “Mechanical Automatons, -Phantasmagoria, a laughing sketch entitled Wholesale Blunders, his son -on the flying wire, during which he would throw a somersault through a -balloon of real fire, a broadsword dance by Miss Louise and Master -Gyngell, and Miss Louise’s performance on the tight rope, clowned by -Master Lionel.â€</p> - -<p>On a programme used in Hull, October 29th, 1827, a lottery was featured -as follows: “On which occasion the first hundred persons paying for the -gallery will be entitled by ticket to a chance of a Fat Goose, and the -same number in the pit to have the same chance for a fat turkey. To be -drawn for on the stage, in the same manner as the State Lottery.â€</p> - -<p>According to Thomas Frost, Gyngell died in 1833 and was buried in the -Parish Church, Camberwell. His children, however, continued the work so -excellently planned by their father.</p> - -<p>The programmes herewith reproduced I purchased from Henry Evanion, who -secured them directly from the last of the Gyngell family, as the -accompanying letter, now a part of my collection, will show:<a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Dover</span>, February 10th, 1867.</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Mr. Evanion</span>:<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>—Yours of the 5th inst. I received just as I was leaving -Folkestown, and it was forwarded from Guilford.</p> - -<p>I am sorry I have not one of my old bills with me, neither do I -think any of my family could find one at home. I may have some -among my old conjuring things, and when I return to Guilford I will -look them over and send you what I can find. I was sorry I was not -at home when you were in Guilford, for I feel much pleasure in -meeting a responsible professional. I am not certain when I shall -return, but most likely not for six weeks. I will keep your -address; so should you change your residence, write to me about -that time.</p> - -<p>I was looking over some old papers some time last summer, and found -a bill of my father’s, nearly 60 years ago, when his great trick -was cutting off the cock’s head and restoring it to life again. And -a great wonder it was considered and brought crowded rooms.</p> - -<p>I was Master Gyngell, the wonderful performer on the slack wire; -and now in my 71st year I am lecturer, pyrotechnist, and high-rope -walker, for I did that last summer. My life has been a simple one -of ups and downs.</p> - -<p>I am, dear sir, yours truly,</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">J. D. G. Gyngell</span>.</p></div> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 130px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_125_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_125_sml.jpg" width="130" height="350" alt="A Gyngell programme of 1823, advertising “A -Confectioner’s Shop,†whose attendant will serve automatically any sort -of confectionery demanded. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Gyngell programme of 1823, advertising “A -Confectioner’s Shop,†whose attendant will serve automatically any sort -of confectionery demanded. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>The signature of this letter, “J. D. G. Gyngell,†clears up considerable -uncertainty regarding the names of the two Gyngell sons. At times the -clever young tight-rope performer has been spoken of as Joseph, and at -others as Gellini. It is quite probable that the two names were really -part of one, and the full baptismal name was “Joseph D. Gellini.†It was -as Gellini Gyngell that he met Henry Evanion at Deal, February 20th, -1862, when the latter was performing as a magician at the Deal and -Walmer Institute, while Gellini Gyngell gave an exhibition of fireworks -and a magic-lantern display on the<a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a> South Esplanade. A fine notice of -both performances was published in the Deal <i>Telegram</i> of February 23d, -when the hope was expressed that Gyngell’s collection, taken among those -who enjoyed his outdoor performance, repaid him for his admirable -entertainment. Gyngell was landlord of the Bowling Green Tavern at this -time, and travelled as an entertainer only at intervals.</p> - -<p>The next appearance of the trick is in a book published by M. Henry, a -ventriloquist, who played London and the provinces from 1820 to 1828. -During an engagement at the Adelphia Theatre, London, which according to -the programme was about 1822, Henry published a book entitled -“Conversazione; or, Mirth and Marvels,†in which he interspersed witty -conversation with descriptions of his various<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a> tricks. On page 11 he -thus describes the automaton under consideration:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_126_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_126_sml.jpg" width="172" height="255" alt="Reproduction of a rare old colored lithograph in three -sections. This section represents Gyngell. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of a rare old colored lithograph in three -sections. This section represents Gyngell. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“Illusion Third. A curious mechanical trick; an inn, from which issues -the hostess for orders, upon receiving which, she returns into the inn -and brings out the various liquors as called for by the audience, and at -last waiting<a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a> for the money, which, having received, goes in and shuts -the door. Mr. Henry says he has produced the inn in preference to -palaces, though more stupendous and magnificent, thinking, as a certain -author wrote, the heartiest welcome is to be found at the inn.â€</p> - -<p>In the same year Henry issued a challenge open to the whole world, -defying any performer to equal his manipulation of the cup and ball -trick. He also employed as an adjunct of his conjuring performances -Signor de Fedori of Rome, an armless wonder, who used his feet to play -the drum, violin, and triangle.</p> - -<p>A contemporary of Henry was Charles, the great ventriloquist, who varied -his performance as did all ventriloquists of his day, by presenting -“Philosophical and Mechanical Experiments†to make up a -two-hour-and-a-half performance. Charles made several tours of the -English provinces, and played in London at intervals. On a London -programme which is undated, but which announces M. Charles as playing at -Mr. Wigley’s Large Room, Spring Gardens, the second automaton on his -list is described as “The Russian Inn, out of which comes a little Woman -and brings the Liquor demanded for.†Two of his programmes dated Theatre -Royal, Hull, April, 1829, now in my collection, carry a pathetic -foot-note written in the handwriting of the collector through whom they -came into my possession: “The audiences on both the evenings were -extremely small, and the money was refunded.â€</p> - -<p>By referring to the chapter on the writing and drawing figure, Chapter -III, Page 113, a Schmidt programme of 1827 will be found, in which he -features “The En<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>chanted Dutch Coffee-House, an elegant little building. -On the traveller ringing the bell, the door opens, the hostess attends -and provides him with any liquor he may call for.â€</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 127px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_128_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_128_sml.jpg" width="127" height="239" alt="A Charles poster dated about 1829 in which the Russian -Inn and its obedient little figure are featured. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Charles poster dated about 1829 in which the Russian -Inn and its obedient little figure are featured. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Schmidt seems to have confined his exhibitions to London and the -provinces and was often connected with other magicians, including -Gyngell and Buck. The latter was an English conjurer, best known as the -man who was horribly injured when presenting “The Gun Delusion.†This -consisted of having a marked bullet shot at the performer, who caught it -between his teeth on a plate, or on the point of a needle or knife. Some -miscreant loaded the gun with metal after Buck had it prepared for the -trick, and the unfortunate performer’s right cheek was literally shot -away.</p> - -<p>In 1828 Jules de Rovere, a French conjurer, whose fame rests principally -on the fact that he coined the new title “prestidigitator,†appeared at -the Haymarket Theatre,<a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a> London, and also toured the English provinces. A -clipping from the Oxford <i>Herald</i> of that year includes this description -of his automaton: “One of the clowns vanishes from the box, and -instantly at the top of the hall a little lady, in a little hotel -brilliantly illuminated, gives out wines and liquors to them who ask for -them, without any apparent communication with the artiste, and yet the -lady is only six inches high.â€</p> - -<p>In the late 30’s Rovere made his headquarters in Paris, and there he and -Robert-Houdin met. The latter refers to this meeting on page 153 of his -“Memoirs,†when writing of the misfortunes which had overtaken Father -Roujol, whose shop had once been headquarters for conjurers: “Still I -had the luck to form here the acquaintance of Jules de Rovere, the first -to employ a title now generally given to fashionable conjurers.â€</p> - -<p>And after Rovere, Phillippe, who is by far the most important presenter -of the Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal, as bearing upon Robert-Houdin’s -claims.</p> - -<p>For Phillippe’s early history we must depend largely upon -Robert-Houdin’s “Memoirs.†According to these, Phillippe started life as -a confectioner or maker of sweets, and his real name was Phillippe -Talon. According to an article published in <i>L’Illusionniste</i> in -January, 1902, he was born in Alias, near Nîmes, December 25th, 1802, -and died in Bokhara, Turkey, June 27th, 1878.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_130_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_130_sml.jpg" width="235" height="267" alt="Reproduction of pastel portrait of Phillippe. Only known -likeness of the conjurer in existence. Made for him by a Vienna artist. -Original now in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of pastel portrait of Phillippe. Only known -likeness of the conjurer in existence. Made for him by a Vienna artist. -Original now in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Like many a genius and successful man, his early history was written in -a minor key. According to Robert-Houdin his sweets did not catch the -Parisian fancy, and he went to London, where at that time French bonbons -were in high favor. But for some reason he failed in<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a> London, and went -on to Aberdeen, Scotland, where he was very soon reduced to sore -straits. In his hour of extremity his cleverness saved the day. In -Aberdeen at the same time was a company of actors almost as unfortunate -as himself. They were presenting a pantomime<a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a> which the public refused -to patronize. The young confectioner approached the manager of the -pantomime and suggested that they join forces. In addition to the -regular admission to the pantomime each patron was to pay sixpence and -receive in return a paper of mixed sugar plums and a lottery ticket by -which he might gain the first prize of the value of five pounds. In -addition, Talon promised not only to provide the sweets free of cost to -the management, but to present a new and startling feature at the close -of the performance.</p> - -<p>The novel announcement crowded the house, the pantomime and the bonbons -alike found favor, but the significant feature of the performance was -young Talon’s appearance in the finale in the rôle of “Punch,†for which -he was admirably made up. He executed an eccentric dance, at the finish -of which he pretended to fall and injure himself. In a faint voice he -demanded pills to relieve his pain, and a fellow-actor brought on pills -of such enormous size that the audience stopped sympathizing with the -actor and began to laugh. But the pills all disappeared down the -dancer’s throat, for Talon was not only an able confectioner and an -agile dancer, but a sleight-of-hand performer. From that hour he -exchanged the spoon of the confectioner for the wand of the magician. -The fortunes of both the pantomime and Phillippe, as he now called -himself, improved. Quite probably he remained with the pantomime company -until the close of the season and then struck out as an independent -performer.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_132_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_132_sml.jpg" width="148" height="265" alt="Poster used by Phillippe during his engagement at the -Strand Theatre, London, 1845-46. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Phillippe during his engagement at the -Strand Theatre, London, 1845-46. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Another story which is gleaned from a biography of John Henry Anderson, -the Wizard of the North, tells<a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a> how Phillippe started his career as a -pastry cook in the household of one Lord Panmure, and I quote this -literally from the Anderson book, because I believe it to be truthful, -as material gathered from Anderson literature has proved to be:<a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a></p> - -<p>“It was at this time that he came in contact with a person who -afterward, under the designation of M. Phillippe, became celebrated in -France as a magician. Phillipee (for so was he named in Scotland) was -originally a cook in the services of the late Lord Panmure. Leaving that -employment, he settled down and remained for a number of years in -Aberdeen. He heard of the fame of the youthful magician, was induced to -visit his ‘temple,’ and was struck with his performances; and having -made the acquaintance of Mr. Anderson, he solicited from him and -obtained an insight into his profession, and fac-similes of his then -humble apparatus. Phillippe improved to such a degree upon the knowledge -he thus acquired that, leaving England for France, he earned the -reputation of being one of the most accomplished magicians ever seen in -the country.â€</p> - -<p>The date of his initial performance is not known, but he must have -remained in Scotland, perfecting his act, for the earliest Phillippe -programme in my collection is dated February 3d, 1837, when he opened at -Waterloo Rooms, Edinburgh, and announced:</p> - -<p>“The high character which Mons. Phillippe has obtained from the -Aberdeen, Glasgow, Greenock and Paisley Press, being the only four towns -in Britain where he has made his appearance, is a sufficient guarantee -to procure him a visit from the inhabitants of this enlightened -Metropolis, where talent had always been supported when actually -deserved.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_134_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_134_sml.jpg" width="216" height="284" alt="Phillippe and his Scotch assistant, Domingo. The latter -became famous as a magician under the name of Macallister, introducing -in America Phillippe’s gift show. From a lithograph in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Phillippe and his Scotch assistant, Domingo. The latter -became famous as a magician under the name of Macallister, introducing -in America Phillippe’s gift show. From a lithograph in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Evidently, however, Phillippe made rapid progress, for a programme dated -Saturday, April 21st, 1838, shows that his last daytime or matinée -performance in Waterloo<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a> Rooms was given under the patronage of such -members of the nobility as the Right Honorable Lady Gifford, the Right -Honorable Lady H. Stuart Forbes, etc. In an<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a> Edinburgh programme, dated -probably 1837, he is shown as performing his tricks, clad in peculiar -evening clothes, knickerbockers and waistcoat matching, with a mere -suggestion of the swallow-tail coat. In his 1838 bill he is shown clad -in the flowing robes of the old-time magician, and he advertises the -Chinese tricks, notably the gold-fish trick, which demanded voluminous -draperies.</p> - -<p>According to Robert-Houdin, Phillippe built a small wooden theatre in -Glasgow. Humble as this building was, however, it brought a significant -factor into Phillippe’s life. This was a young bricklayer named Andrew -Macallister who had a natural genius for tricks and models, and who -became Phillippe’s apprentice, later appearing as Domingo, his assistant -on the stage, wearing black make-up.</p> - -<p>In either Edinburgh or Dublin Phillippe met the Chinese juggler or -conjurer who taught him the gold-fish trick and the secret of the -Chinese rings.</p> - -<p>Armed with these two striking tricks, Phillippe determined to satisfy -his yearning to return to his native land, and in 1841 he appeared at -the Salle Montesquieu, Paris. Later, the Bonne-Nouvelle, a temple of -magic, was opened for Phillippe in Paris, and there he enjoyed the -brilliant run to which Robert-Houdin refers in his “Memoirs.â€</p> - -<p>Phillippe was an indefatigable worker and traveller, and one brilliant -engagement followed another. During the 40’s he appeared, according to -my collection of programmes, all over Continental Europe, and in most of -his programmes this paragraph is featured:<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a></p> - -<p class="c"> -“<span class="smcap">Part III.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>“An unexpected present at once gratuitous and laughable, composed of -twelve prizes, nine lucky and three unfortunate, in which the general -public will participate.â€</p> - -<p>He also continued to distribute bonbons from an inexhaustible source, -probably a cornucopia, calling this trick “a new system of making -sweetmeats, or Le Confiseur Moderne.â€</p> - -<p>During his first engagement in Vienna he had painted for advertising -purposes a pastel portrait, showing him clad in his magician’s robes at -the finale of the gold-fish trick. From this picture his later cuts were -made. By some mistake he left the original pastel in Vienna, where I -bought it at a special sale for my collection. It remains an exquisite -piece of color work, even at this day. So far it is the only real -likeness of Phillippe I have been able to unearth.</p> - -<p>In 1845-46 he was at the height of his popularity in London, where he -had a tremendous run. In June, 1845, we find him playing at the St. -James Theatre, under Mitchell’s direction, and on September 29th, under -his own management, he moves to the Strand, where he is still found in -January of 1846. During all this time he featured The Pastry Cook of the -Palais Royal under the title of “Le Confiseur Galant.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_137_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_137_sml.jpg" width="310" height="205" alt="1. Cuisine de Parafaragamus; 2. Le Chapelier de 1943; 3. -Le Paon magique; 4. La Bouteille enchantée; 5. La Chaîne hydonstaine; 6. -La Tête infernale; 7. Le Chapeau merveilleux; 8. L’Arlequin savant; 9. -Le Confiseur galant et le Liquoriste impromptu; 10. Le Bassin de Neptune -ou les poissons d’or et la ménagerie prodigieuse; 11. Éclairage de tout -le théâtre improvisé par un coup de pistolet. - -Reproduction of a large lithograph showing all of Phillippe’s tricks, -including “Le Confiseur Galant†scheduled as No. 9. From the original -lithograph dated 1842 now in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">1. Cuisine de Parafaragamus; 2. Le Chapelier de 1943; 3. -Le Paon magique; 4. La Bouteille enchantée; 5. La Chaîne hydonstaine; 6. -La Tête infernale; 7. Le Chapeau merveilleux; 8. L’Arlequin savant; 9. -Le Confiseur galant et le Liquoriste impromptu; 10. Le Bassin de Neptune -ou les poissons d’or et la ménagerie prodigieuse; 11. Éclairage de tout -le théâtre improvisé par un coup de pistolet. - -Reproduction of a large lithograph showing all of Phillippe’s tricks, -including “Le Confiseur Galant†scheduled as No. 9. From the original -lithograph dated 1842 now in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>As proofs that Phillippe used the pastry-cook trick both before and -during Robert-Houdin’s career as a magician, I offer several programmes -containing accurate descriptions of the automaton, and also a page -illustration from a current publication dated Paris, 1843, which shows -the<a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a> confectioner or pastry-cook standing in the doorway of his house, -while the key explaining the various tricks reads: “No. 9. Le Confiseur -galant et le Liquoriste impromptu.<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>â€</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin devotes nearly an entire chapter to the history of -Phillippe and a description of his tricks and automata, yet curiously -forgets to mention the pastry cook, which he later claims as his own -invention.</p> - -<p>Ernest Basch, formerly of Basch Brothers, conjurers, and the richest -manufacturer of illusions in the world, claims that the original trick -is now in his possession. Herr Basch is located in Hanover, Germany, -where he builds large illusions only. The wonderful mechanical house -passed to Basch by a bequest on the death of Baron von Sandhovel, a -wealthy resident of Amsterdam, Holland. Von Sandhovel had bought the -trick from the heirs of Robert-Houdin on the death of the latter, -because he believed it to be the brain and handwork of Opre, a Dutch -mechanician of great talent. Ernest Basch shares this belief, and with -other well-read conjurers thinks that Opre was Robert-Houdin’s assistant -and built most of his automata, including The Pastry Cook of the Palais -Royal, The Windmill or Dutch Inn, Auriel and Debureau, The French -Gymnasts, The Harlequin, and The Chausseur.</p> - -<p>Opre was a man of ability, but lacked presence and personality properly -to present his inventions. So far I have found his name in three places -only: On the frontispiece of a Dutch book on magic, published in -Amsterdam; in Ernest Basch’s correspondence about conjurers; and on page -77 of Robert-Houdin’s “Memoirs,†when he speaks of Opre as the maker of -the Harlequin figure which Torrini asked Robert-Houdin to repair during -their travels.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_139_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_139_sml.jpg" width="186" height="258" alt="Ernest Basch and “Le Confiseur Galant,†which he claims -is the original Robert-Houdin “Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal.†From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Ernest Basch and “Le Confiseur Galant,†which he claims -is the original Robert-Houdin “Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal.†From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>With such convincing proof, some of which was contemporary,<a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a> that other -men had exhibited The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal in its identical -or slightly different guise, it was daring indeed of Robert-Houdin to -claim it as his own invention.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 115px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_140_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_140_sml.jpg" width="115" height="163" alt="David Leendert Bamberg, of the second generation of the -Bamberg family. Born 1786; died 1869. The above daguerrotype was -presented to the author by Herr Ernest Basch, and is the only one in -existence." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">David Leendert Bamberg, of the second generation of the -Bamberg family. Born 1786; died 1869. The above daguerrotype was -presented to the author by Herr Ernest Basch, and is the only one in -existence.</span> -</div> - -<p>The most direct information regarding Opre comes<a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a> through that eminent -family of conjurers known as the Bambergs of Holland. At this writing, -“Papa†(David) Bamberg, of the fourth generation, is prominent on the -Dutch stage, and his son Tobias David, known as Okito, of the fifth -generation, is a cosmopolitan magician, presenting a Chinese act.</p> - -<p>According to the family history, traceable by means of handbills, -programmes, and personal correspondence, the original Bamberg (Eliazar) -had a vaulting figure in his collection of automata in 1790, fifty years -before Robert-Houdin became a professional entertainer. This figure was -made by Opre, to whom all conjurers of that time looked for automata and -apparatus. David Leendert Bamberg, of the second generation, who also -had the vaulting figure, was the intimate friend and confidant of Opre -and was authority for the statement that Opre’s son sold in Paris the -various automata made by his father, which later Robert-Houdin claimed -as his own invention. It may be noted that Robert-Houdin never invented -a single automaton after he went on the stage in 1845, and as Opre died -in 1846, the coincidence is nothing if not significant.<a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -<small>THE OBEDIENT CARDS—THE CABALISTIC CLOCK—THE TRAPEZE AUTOMATON</small><br /> -<small><i>The Obedient Cards.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>O trace here the history of three very common tricks claimed by -Robert-Houdin as his own inventions would be sheer waste of time, if the -exposure did not prove beyond doubt that in announcing the various -tricks of his répertoire as the output of his own brain he was not only -flagrant and unscrupulous, but he did not even give his readers credit -for enough intelligence to recognize tricks performed repeatedly by his -predecessors whom they had seen. Not satisfied with purloining tricks so -important that one or two would have been sufficient to establish the -reputation of any conjurer or inventor, he must needs lay claim to -having invented tricks long the property of mountebanks as well as -reputable magicians.</p> - -<p>The tricks referred to are the obedient card, the cabalistic clock, and -the automaton known as Diavolo Antonio or Le Voltigeur au Trapèze.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_142_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_142_sml.jpg" width="218" height="185" alt="Card trick as featured by Anderson in 1836-37. From a -poster in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Card trick as featured by Anderson in 1836-37. From a -poster in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>The obedient-card trick, mentioned on page 245 of the American edition -of his “Memoirs,†as “a novel experiment invented by M. Robert-Houdin,†-can be found on the programme of every magician who ever laid claim to -dexterity of hand. Whether they accomplished the effect<a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a> by clock-work -or with a black silk thread or a human hair, the result was one and the -same. It has also been worked by using a fine thread with a piece of wax -at the end. The wax is fastened to the card, and the thread draws it up. -The simplest method of all is to place the thread over and under the -cards, weaving it in and out as it were, and then, by pulling the -thread, to bring the different cards selected into view.</p> - -<p>So common was the trick that its description was written in every work -on magic published from 1784 to the date of Robert-Houdin’s first -appearance, and in at least one volume printed as early as 1635. The -majority<a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a> of French encyclopædias described the trick and exposed it -according to one method or another, and Robert-Houdin admits having been -a great reader of encyclopædias.</p> - -<p>The trick first appears in print in various editions of “Hocus Pocus,†-twenty in all, starting with 1635. The majority contain feats with -cards, showing how to bring them up or out of a pack with a black -thread, a hair spring, or an elastic.</p> - -<p>In 1772 the rising-card trick was shown in Guyot’s “Physical and -Mathematical Recreations,†also in the Dutch or Holland translations of -the same work. In 1791 it was minutely explained by Hofrath von -Eckartshausen, who wrote five different books on the subject of magic. -The fourth, being devoted principally to the art of the conjurer, was -entitled “Die Gauckeltasche, oder vollständiger Unterricht in -Taschenspieler u. s. w.,†which translated means “The Conjurer’s Pocket -or Thorough Instructions in the Art of Conjuring.†The title was due to -the fact that in olden days conjurers worked with the aid of a large -outside pocket. The five books, published under the general title of -“Aufschlüsse zur Magie,†bear date of Munich, Germany.</p> - -<p>On page 138 of the third edition of Gale’s “Cabinet of Knowledge,†-published in London in 1800, will be found a description of the -rising-card trick as done with pin and thread, and the same book shows -how it is accomplished with wax and a hair. This book seems to have been -compiled from Philip Breslaw’s work on magic, “The Last Legacy,†-published in 1782. Benton, who published the English edition of -Decremps’ famous work on magic, exposing Pinetti’s répertoire, also -described the trick. “Natural Magic,†by<a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a> Astley, the circus man, and -Hooper’s “Recreations,†in four volumes, published in 1784, expose the -same trick.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_144_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_144_sml.jpg" width="187" height="317" alt="Conjurer Unmasked - -OR - -the Art of Sleight of hand - -Reproduction of frontispiece in Breslaw’s book on magic, “The Last -Legacy,†published in 1782. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of frontispiece in Breslaw’s book on magic, “The Last -Legacy,†published in 1782. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>As to magicians who performed the trick, their names are legion, and -only a few of the most prominent conjurers will be mentioned in this -connection.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_145_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_145_sml.jpg" width="143" height="92" alt="J. H. Anderson’s birth place as drawn by him from memory. -The following is written under the sketch in his own handwriting: “A -rough sketch of the farm house called ‘Red Stanes,’ on the estate of -Craigmyle, Parish of Kincardine O’Neil, Aberdeenshire. The house was -built by my grandfather, John Robertson, in the year 1796, and in it I -was born on the 15th day of July, 1814. John Henry Anderson.†-Photographed from the original now in the possession of Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, by the author." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">J. H. Anderson’s birth place as drawn by him from memory. -The following is written under the sketch in his own handwriting: “A -rough sketch of the farm house called ‘Red Stanes,’ on the estate of -Craigmyle, Parish of Kincardine O’Neil, Aberdeenshire. The house was -built by my grandfather, John Robertson, in the year 1796, and in it I -was born on the 15th day of July, 1814. John Henry Anderson.†-Photographed from the original now in the possession of Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, by the author.</span> -</p> - -<p>The man who obtained the best effects with this trick was John Henry -Anderson, who startled the world of magic and amusements by his -audacity, in 1836, nine years before Robert-Houdin trod the stage as a -professional entertainer.</p> - -<p>Anderson was born in Kincardine, Scotland, in 1814, and started his -professional career as an actor. He must have been a very poor one, too, -for he states that he was once complimented by a manager for having -brought bad acting to the height of perfection.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_146_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_146_sml.jpg" width="252" height="334" alt="John Henry Anderson, wife and son, from a rare photograph -taken in 1847 or 1848. Said to be an especially good likeness of Mrs. -Anderson and the only one extant. Photograph loaned by Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, daughter-in-law of the “Wizard of the North."" title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">John Henry Anderson, wife and son, from a rare photograph -taken in 1847 or 1848. Said to be an especially good likeness of Mrs. -Anderson and the only one extant. Photograph loaned by Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, daughter-in-law of the “Wizard of the North."</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_147_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_147_sml.jpg" width="157" height="230" alt="Very rare poster of 1838 in which John Henry Anderson is -billed as “The Great Magician.†From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Very rare poster of 1838 in which John Henry Anderson is -billed as “The Great Magician.†From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_148_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_148_sml.jpg" width="372" height="220" alt="Cover design of Anderson’s book, exposing the Davenport -Brothers; now a very rare book. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /><br /> -<img src="images/illpg_148a_sml.jpg" width="220" height="372" alt="Cover design of Anderson’s book, exposing the Davenport -Brothers; now a very rare book. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Cover design of Anderson’s book, exposing the Davenport -Brothers; now a very rare book. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Anderson was first known as the Caledonian magician, then assumed the -title of the Wizard of the North, which<a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a> he said was bestowed on him by -Sir Walter Scott. Thomas Frost belittles this statement, on the grounds -that Scott was stricken with paralysis in 1830. However, Anderson became -famous in 1829, so he should be given the benefit of the doubt. He was -the greatest advertiser that the world of magic has ever known, and he -left nothing undone that might boom attendance at his performances. He -started newspapers, gave masked balls, and donated thousands of dollars -to charities. He was known in every<a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a> city of the world, and, when so -inclined, built his own theatres. He sold books on magic during his own -performances, and would sell any trick he presented for a nominal sum. -His most unique advertising dodge was to offer $500 in gold as prizes -for the best conundrums written by spectators during his performances. -To make this scheme more effective, he carried with him his own -printing-press and set it up back of the scenes. While the performance -was under way, the conundrums handed in by the spectators were printed, -and, after the performance, any one might buy a sheet of the questions -and puns at the door. As every one naturally wanted to see his conundrum -in print, Anderson sold millions of these bits of paper. In 1852, while -playing at Metropolitan Hall, New York City, he advertised his conundrum -contest and sold his book of tricks, etc., and such notables as Jenny -Lind and General Kossuth entered conundrums.</p> - -<p>He was among the first performers to expose the Davenport Brothers, -whose spiritualistic tricks and rope-tying had astonished America. -Directly on witnessing a performance and solving their methods, Anderson -hurried back to England and exposed the tricks.</p> - -<p>To sum up his history, he stands unique in the annals of magic as a doer -of daring things. He rushed into print on the slightest pretext, was a -hard fighter with his rivals and aired his quarrels in the press, and he -was a game loser when trouble came his way. Not a brilliant actor or -performer, he yet had the gift of securing excellent effects in his -<i>mise en scène</i>. He made and lost several fortunes, generally recouping -as quickly as he lost. He was burned out several times, the most notable -fire being<a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a> that of Covent Garden, London, in 1856. He was liked in -spite of his eccentricities, but when he died, February 3d, 1874, his -fortune was small.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_150_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_150_sml.jpg" width="254" height="392" alt="Anderson billing of 1838, featuring obedient cards as -“Napoleon’s Trick.†From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Anderson billing of 1838, featuring obedient cards as -“Napoleon’s Trick.†From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 129px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_151_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_151_sml.jpg" width="129" height="344" alt="Jacobs poster, featuring “The Travelling Card.†From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Jacobs poster, featuring “The Travelling Card.†From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Anderson had numerous imitators, including M. Jacobs, “Barney†Eagle, -and E. W. Young, all of whom used the rising-or obedient-card trick. -They copied not only his tricks, but the very names he had used and the -style of his billing. All three of these men were professional magicians -before Robert-Houdin appeared, and Anderson was his very active -contemporary.</p> - -<p>A Jacobs bill is here reproduced, showing the card trick featured among -other attractions. The lithograph of Jacobs used in this connection is -an actual likeness and I believe it to be as rare as it is timely.<a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_152_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_152_sml.jpg" width="374" height="231" alt="Lithograph used by E. W. Young, who copied all of John -Henry Anderson’s billing and featured the obedient-card trick. This -setting shows how cumbersome was the apparatus employed by magicians -before Wiljalba Frikell proved that he could score with apparently no -apparatus. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Lithograph used by E. W. Young, who copied all of John -Henry Anderson’s billing and featured the obedient-card trick. This -setting shows how cumbersome was the apparatus employed by magicians -before Wiljalba Frikell proved that he could score with apparently no -apparatus. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p><p><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_153_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_153_sml.jpg" width="178" height="331" alt="Frontispiece from Eagle’s book, in which he exposes -Anderson’s gun delusion. Said by Henry Evanion, who knew Eagle, to be a -fine likeness. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Frontispiece from Eagle’s book, in which he exposes -Anderson’s gun delusion. Said by Henry Evanion, who knew Eagle, to be a -fine likeness. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p><p><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a></p> - -<p>Young’s name has been handed down in history because he made money on -Anderson’s reputation, by the boldest of imitations, assuming the title -of Wizard of the North with his own name in small type. One of his bills -is also reproduced.</p> - -<p>Barnedo or “Barney†Eagle is the man of the trio of the imitators who -deserves more than passing notice. He became Anderson’s bitterest enemy, -and their rivalry made money for the printers.</p> - -<p>Eagle could neither read nor write, but having a quick brain he hired a -clever writer to indite his speeches and duplicated Anderson’s show so -closely that Anderson’s pride was hurt. He therefore decided to expose -Eagle, and thousands of bills, constituting a virulent attack upon his -imitator, were distributed. One of these is reproduced. It is so rare -that I doubt whether another is in existence.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 136px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_154_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_154_sml.jpg" width="136" height="227" alt="An Anderson poster, exposing “Barney†Eagle’s tricks. -Only bill of this sort in existence. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">An Anderson poster, exposing “Barney†Eagle’s tricks. -Only bill of this sort in existence. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_155_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_155_sml.jpg" width="216" height="180" alt="Window poster issued by Anderson to belittle his imitator -“Barney†Eagle and show how the latter secured royal patronage. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Window poster issued by Anderson to belittle his imitator -“Barney†Eagle and show how the latter secured royal patronage. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>As Eagle had advertised that he was patronized by<a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a> royalty, Anderson had -another bill printed, showing Eagle playing before the King at the Ascot -race-track, and an assistant passing the hat in mountebank fashion. In -revenge, Eagle had a book published, in which he exposed Anderson’s best -drawing trick, The Gun Delusion, in which the magician allowed any one -from the audience to shoot a gun at him using marked bullets. These -bullets were caught in his mouth or on the point of a knife. This trick -became as common as the obedient-card trick.</p> - -<p>In the face of such overwhelming evidence, Robert-Houdin’s claim to -having invented the obedient-card<a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a> trick is nothing short of farcical.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 107px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_156_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_156_sml.jpg" width="107" height="334" alt="A “Barney†Eagle poster on which the obedient-card trick -is featured as “The Walking Cards.†From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A “Barney†Eagle poster on which the obedient-card trick -is featured as “The Walking Cards.†From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p class="c"> -<i>The Cabalistic or Obedient<br /> -Clock</i></p> - -<p>There might be said to exist a very reasonable doubt as to the exact -date at which Robert-Houdin produced the cabalistic clock which he -included among his other doubtful claims to inventions.</p> - -<p>On page 250 of the American edition of his “Memoirs†he has the -Cabalistic Clock on his opening programme for July 3d, 1845, but in the -appendix of the French edition he states that the clock first made its -appearance at the opening of the season of 1847. In nearly all his -statements he is equally inaccurate.</p> - -<p>The mysterious clock might be termed the obedient clock, for the trick -consists in causing the hand or hands to obey the will of the conjurer -or the wishes of the audience.</p> - -<p>The hands will point to a figure, move with rapidity,<a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a> or as slowly as -possible, or in time to music. In fact the performer has full control of -the hands—he can make them do his every bidding.</p> - -<p>The mysterious clock is a trick as old as the obedient-card trick, if -not older. It was explained according to various methods in books before -Robert-Houdin’s appearance on the stage. In fact, the majority of -old-time conjuring books explain mysterious clocks carefully.</p> - -<p>Before electricity was introduced, magnets were employed, but the -earliest method was to make use of thread wound about the spindle of the -clock hand, and that method is still the very best used to-day, owing to -its simplicity. The clock, on being presented to the audience, may be -hung or placed in the position best suited to the particular method by -which it is being “worked.â€</p> - -<p>It shows a transparent clock face, such as you see in any jewelry shop. -Some magicians utilize only one hand, which permits the easy use of -electricity or magnet, while others employ two and even three hands. -When more than one hand is used the hours and minutes are indicated -simultaneously and, if cards are pasted on the clock face, the largest -hand is used to find the chosen cards.</p> - -<p>The clock may be placed on a pedestal, in an upright position, or hung -in midair on two ribbons or strings. It can be hung on a stand made -expressly for the purpose, on the style of a music stand, or it can be -swung in a frame. In fact, as stated before, it is usually placed so as -to facilitate the method of working.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_158_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_158_sml.jpg" width="223" height="276" alt="M. Jacobs, magician, ventriloquist, and bold imitator of -John Henry Anderson. From a rare lithograph now in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">M. Jacobs, magician, ventriloquist, and bold imitator of -John Henry Anderson. From a rare lithograph now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>When the cabalistic clock is taken off the hook or the stand on which it -is placed, and handed to one of the spectators to hold, the latter -places the hand on the pin<a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a> in the centre of the glass face, and -revolves it. The arrow or hand is worked by a counterweight, controlled -by the performer, who has it fixed before he hands it to the innocent -spectator. The clock can be purchased from any<a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a> reliable dealer of -conjuring apparatus, in almost any part of the world.</p> - -<p>For a clock worked by counterweight the hand of thin brass is prepared -in the centre, where there is a weight of peculiar shape which has at -the thin or tapering end a small pin. This pin is fixed permanently to -the weight and can be revolved about the small plate on which it is -riveted. Through this plate there is a hole, exactly in the centre. This -hand has all this covered with a brass cap, and, to make the arrow point -to any given number, you simply move the weight with your thumb. The pin -clicks and allows you to feel it as it moves from one hole to another. -With very little practice you can move this weight, while in the act of -handing it to some one to place it on the centre of the clock face; and -when spun, the weight, of its own accord, will land on the bottom, -causing the hand to point where it is forced by the law of gravity. The -plate on which the weight is fastened is grooved or milled, so that it -answers to the slightest movement of your thumb.</p> - -<p>When the clock is on the stage and the hand moves simply by the command -of the performer or audience, it is manipulated by an assistant behind -the scenes, either by the aid of electricity or by an endless thread -which is wrapped about the spindle and runs through the two ribbons or -strings that hold the clock in midair. Some conjurers work the clock so -arranged as to make a combination trick; first by having it worked by -the concealed confederate; then, taking the clock off the stand and -bringing it down in the midst of the audience. But for this trick you -can use only one hand.<a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_160_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_160_sml.jpg" width="187" height="157" alt="The above diagram exposes the magic clock trick, as -offered in the time of Hofrath von Eckartshausen, a German writer on -magic in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Fig. 15 shows the -clock in position for the trick, hung against the rear wall or “drop.†-Gaily-colored ribbons hide thin leather tubes through which run two sets -of stout silk thread or catgut, connecting with the hour and minute -hands. The thread then passes through the two iron rings, p and o in -Figures 17 and 19, which are screwed to the ceiling; thence to the -hidden confederate, who manipulates the clock hands as the hour and -minute are announced by magician or spectator. Fig. 16 shows the two -faces of the clock, with the fine connecting rod around which the string -is wound to manipulate the hands. This mechanism is hidden by a flat -brass band which encircles the edges of the two transparent faces. From -Eckartshausen’s “The Conjurer’s Pocket,†edition of 1791." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The above diagram exposes the magic clock trick, as -offered in the time of Hofrath von Eckartshausen, a German writer on -magic in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Fig. 15 shows the -clock in position for the trick, hung against the rear wall or “drop.†-Gaily-colored ribbons hide thin leather tubes through which run two sets -of stout silk thread or catgut, connecting with the hour and minute -hands. The thread then passes through the two iron rings, p and o in -Figures 17 and 19, which are screwed to the ceiling; thence to the -hidden confederate, who manipulates the clock hands as the hour and -minute are announced by magician or spectator. Fig. 16 shows the two -faces of the clock, with the fine connecting rod around which the string -is wound to manipulate the hands. This mechanism is hidden by a flat -brass band which encircles the edges of the two transparent faces. From -Eckartshausen’s “The Conjurer’s Pocket,†edition of 1791.</span> -</p> - -<p>Years ago when I introduced this trick in my performance, I called a -young man on my stage and asked him to place the hand on the spindle. It -would then revolve and stop at any number named. But first I made him -inform the audience the number he had chosen, which gave me time to fix -the weight with my thumb. I then gave him the hand, but he was a skilled -mechanic, and possibly knew the trick. Instead of holding the clock by -the ring at the top, which was there for that<a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a> purpose, he grasped the -dial at the bottom, causing the number 6 instead of 12 to be on top. -When the hand started to turn, of course it would have stopped at the -wrong number. I managed to escape humiliation by pretending I was afraid -he would break the clock by letting it fall, so took it away from him, -holding it myself.<a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_161_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_161_sml.jpg" width="184" height="259" alt="Newspaper clipping of 1782, showing that Katterfelto used -the cabalistic clock. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Newspaper clipping of 1782, showing that Katterfelto used -the cabalistic clock. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_162_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_162_sml.jpg" width="237" height="318" alt="Reproduction of rare engraving of Johann Nep. Hofzinser, -who invented the clock worked by a counter-weight, and who was one of -the world’s greatest card tricksters. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of rare engraving of Johann Nep. Hofzinser, -who invented the clock worked by a counter-weight, and who was one of -the world’s greatest card tricksters. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p><p><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a></p> - -<p>The mechanic walked off the stage winking at me in the most roguish -manner.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin worked The Mystic Bell trick in connection with The Clock. -This was manipulated in the same way. The bell was worked with thread, -pulling a small pin, which in turn caused the handle to fall against the -glass bell. Naturally, having electricity at his command at that time, -he made use of that force whenever it suited his fancy.</p> - -<p>I am positive that Robert-Houdin presented the electrical clock, because -T. Bolin, of Moscow, visited Paris and bought the trick from Voisin, the -French manufacturer of conjuring apparatus. The trick which -Robert-Houdin presented, according to his claims, was with the clock -hanging in midair to prove that it was not electrically connected, but -the truth of the matter is that the strings which held the clock -suspended in midair concealed the wires through which his electrical -current ran.</p> - -<p>In my library of old conjuring books the thread method is ably described -by Hofrath von Eckartshausen, mentioned earlier in this chapter. In fact -in the pictorial appendix of this work he gives this trick prominence by -minutely illustrating the same. He makes use of two hands, and to make -the trick infallible he explains that the best way would be to use two -glass disks, have them held together by a brass rim, and your threads -will work with absolute certainty. The spectators imagine that they are -seeing only one glass clock.</p> - -<p>Johann Conrad Gutle, the well-known delver after secrets of natural -magic, also explains several cabalistic clock tricks in his book -published in 1802.<a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_164_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_164_sml.jpg" width="172" height="245" alt="Reproduction of a triple colored lithograph. This section -features Breslaw in stage costume. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of a triple colored lithograph. This section -features Breslaw in stage costume. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>I am reproducing herewith a number of programmes describing the effect -of the trick and proving that it was no novelty when Robert-Houdin -“invented†it. In fact the trick was so common that only the supreme -egotism of the man can explain his having introduced it into the pages -of his book as an original trick. The mysterious clock worked by the -counterweight, which has been<a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a> described, is credited as having been the -invention of Johann Nep. Hofzinser.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_165_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_165_sml.jpg" width="140" height="167" alt="Katterfelto, the bombastic conjurer, who is famous for -having sold sulphur matches in 1784, before the Lucifer match is -supposed to have been discovered. Reproduced from a rare copy of “The -European Magazine,†dated June, 1783, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Katterfelto, the bombastic conjurer, who is famous for -having sold sulphur matches in 1784, before the Lucifer match is -supposed to have been discovered. Reproduced from a rare copy of “The -European Magazine,†dated June, 1783, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In an advertisement, published in the <i>London Post</i> of May 23d, 1778, -included in my collection, this announcement, among others of much -interest, will be found:</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Part II.</span>—Breslaw will exhibit many of his newly invented deceptions -with a grand apparatus and experiments and particularly the Magic Clock, -Sympathetic Bell, and Pyramidical Glasses in a manner entirely new.â€</p> - -<p>In 1781, while showing at Greenwood’s Rooms, Haymarket, London, Breslaw -heavily advertised, “Particularly an experiment on a newly invented -mechanical clock<a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a> will be displayed, under the direction of Sieur -Castinia, just arrived from Naples, the like never attempted before in -this metropolis.â€</p> - -<p>There is every reason to believe that Katterfelto, the greatest of -bombastic conjurers, used the electrical clock in his performances, as -he made a feature of the various late discoveries, and in his programme -of 1782 he advertises “feats and experiments in Magnetical, Electrical, -Optical, Chymical, Philosophical, Mathematical, etc., etc.†Among -implements and instruments or articles mentioned I found Watches, -Caskets, Dice, Cards, Mechanical Clocks, Pyramidical Glasses, etc., etc.</p> - -<p>Gyngell, Sr., the celebrated Bartholomew Fair conjurer, whose career -started about 1788, had on his early programmes, “A Pedestal Clock, so -singularly constructed that it is obedient to the word of command.†On -the same programme (Catherine Street Theatre, London, February 15th, -1816) I find “The Russian Inn,†“The Confectioner’s Shop,†and “The -Automaton Rope Vaulter.†This programme is reproduced in full in Chapter -IV.</p> - -<p>Without devoting further space to Robert-Houdin’s absurd claim to having -invented this clock, we will proceed to discuss his claims to the -automaton rope walker, which he called a trapeze performer.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p class="c"> -<i>The Trapeze Automaton</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>Though “Diavolo Antonio†or “Le Voltigeur Trapeze†was not a simple -trick, but a cleverly constructed automaton, worked by a concealed -confederate, it was a common feature on programmes long before -Robert-Houdin<a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a> claimed it as his invention. Yet with the daring of one -who believes that all proof has been destroyed, he announces on page 312 -of the American edition of his “Memoirs†that he invented “The Trapeze -Performer†for his season of 1848. In the illustrated appendix of his -French edition he states that the figure made its first appearance at -his Paris theatre, October 1st, 1849. He thus describes the automaton:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_167_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_167_sml.jpg" width="235" height="338" alt="Copy of a poster used by Robert-Houdin to advertise his -trapeze performer. This proves how accurately he duplicated the Pinetti -figure, even to the arrangement of floral garlands. From the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Copy of a poster used by Robert-Houdin to advertise his -trapeze performer. This proves how accurately he duplicated the Pinetti -figure, even to the arrangement of floral garlands. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“The figure is the size of an infant, and I carry the little artist on -my arm in a box. I put him on the trapeze and ask him questions, which -he answers by moving his head. Then he bows gracefully to the audience, -turning first this way, then that; suspends himself by his hands and -draws himself up in time to the music. He also goes through the motions -of a strong man, hangs by his head, hands, and feet, and with his legs -making the motions of aërial telegraphy.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_169_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_169_sml.jpg" width="218" height="377" alt="Reproduction of an illustration in “Aufschlüsse zur -Magie,†by Hofrath von Eckartshausen, showing the automatic rope vaulter -as exhibited in 1784 by Pinetti. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of an illustration in “Aufschlüsse zur -Magie,†by Hofrath von Eckartshausen, showing the automatic rope vaulter -as exhibited in 1784 by Pinetti. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_170_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_170_sml.jpg" width="137" height="210" alt="A Bologna bill of 1812, featuring the automatic rope -dancers. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Bologna bill of 1812, featuring the automatic rope -dancers. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Decremps in his exposé, “The Conjurer Unmasked,†published in 1784, thus -describes the automaton and its work: “Our attention was next called to -observe an automaton figure, that vaulted upon a rope, performing all -the postures and evolutions of the most expert tumblers, keeping exact -time to music. By seeing Mr. Van Estin wind up the figures, and being -shown the wheels and levers contained in the body of the automaton, -caused us to believe it moved by its own springs, when Mr. Van Estin -thus explained the deception: ‘To make a figure of this kind depends a -great deal on the proportion and the materials with which it is -composed: The legs and thighs are formed out of heavy wood, such as ash -or oak; the body of birch or willow, and made hollow, and the head,<a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a> -for lightness, of papier-maché. The figure is joined by its hands to a -bar of iron, that passes through a partition, and is turned by a -confederate; the arms are inflexible at the elbows, but move freely at -the shoulders by means of a bolt that goes through the body; and the -thighs and legs move in the same manner at the hips and knees, and are -stayed by pieces of leather to prevent them from bending in the wrong -way. The bar is covered with hollow twisted tubes, and ornamented with -artificial flowers, so as no part of it can be seen to turn; the -confederate<a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a> by giving the handle a quarter of a turn to the left, the -automaton, whose arms are parallel to the horizon, lift themselves by -little and little, till they become vertical and parallel to the rest of -the body; if in following the same direction, the other part of the body -moves forward; and by watching the motions through a hole, he seizes the -instant that a leg passes before the bar, to leave the automaton -astride; afterward he balances it by jerks, and causes it to take a turn -around, keeping time with the music as if it was sensible of harmony.</p> - -<p>“N.B.—Three circumstances concur here to favor the illusion: First, by -the assistance of a wire, the confederate can separate the bar from the -automaton, which, falling to the ground, persuades one it loses itself -by real machinery. Secondly, in winding up the levers shown in the body, -confirms the spectators in the idea that there is no need of a -confederate. Thirdly, the tubes that are twisted around the bar, except -where the automaton is joined to it, seem to be the rope itself, and -being without motion, as is seen by the garlands which surround them, it -cannot be suspected that the bar turns in the inside, from whence it is -concluded that the figure moves by its own machinery.â€</p> - -<p>According to one of de Philipsthal’s advertisements, page 103, the -trapeze automaton which he featured was six feet in height. But Pinetti -programmes show that he had a smaller figure known as the rope vaulter. -This is probably the trick exposed in Decremps’ book.</p> - -<p>On page 108 will be found a Louis programme of 1815, on which a figure -is thus featured:<a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a></p> - -<p> </p> - -<p class="c"> -“<span class="smcap">Two Elegant Automata</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>As large as nature, the one representing a beautiful <span class="smcap">Polonnese</span>, the -other a little boy.</p> - -<p>Nothing can surpass the admirable construction of these Pieces. The -large figure seems almost endowed with human Faculties, exhibiting the -usual feats of a Rope-Dancer, in the fullest imitation of life. The -small Figure is invested with equally astonishing powers of action. To -such ladies as are spectators it must be a very pleasing circumstance -that these exertions do not excite those disagreeable sensations which -arise from the sight of Figures fraught with life, performing feats -attended with so much danger.â€</p> - -<p>By referring to page 113 the reader will find a Schmidt programme, dated -1827, on which the figure is featured as follows:</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p class="c"> -“<span class="smcap">The Rope Dancer</span>,<br /> -</p> - -<p>Whose surprising performances surpass, in agility, attitudes, and -evolutions, every Professor of the art, keeping correct time to the -music of the machinery.â€</p> - -<p>A Gyngell programme, dated 1823, which is reproduced in the chapter -devoted to “The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal,†page 125, reads as -follows: “Two automatons, one of which will execute wonderful feats on -the tight rope, and the other dance a characteristic hornpipe.â€</p> - -<p>As Gyngell figured in the amusement world from 1788 to 1844, the little -figure must have been tolerably well known to the magic-loving public of -England by the time Robert-Houdin appeared in London in 1848.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_173_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_173_sml.jpg" width="270" height="348" alt="A de Philipsthal programme of 1806 on which both the -automatic tight-rope performer and the magnetic clock were featured. -From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A de Philipsthal programme of 1806 on which both the -automatic tight-rope performer and the magnetic clock were featured. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.<br /> -A Thiodon bill of 1825, in which he claims the invention -of a figure that could be lifted on or off the stage or pole. This was -twenty-five years before Robert-Houdin claimed the same invention. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>A magician named York, who appeared in London in<a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a> 1844, the year before -Robert-Houdin made his professional début, featured under date of -January 29th “two automatons, one of which will execute wonderful feats -on the Tight Rope, and the other dance a characteristic Hornpipe.â€</p> - -<p>Bologna announced for his performance at the Sans Pareil Theatre, -Strand, London, under date of March 18th, 1812, “The Two Automaton Rope -Dancers from St. Petersburg, whose Feats of Agility were never equalled, -and cannot be surpassed, will perform together in a style of Excellence -hitherto unknown in this country.â€</p> - -<p>De Philipsthal also featured a pair of automatic tight-rope performers -from 1804 until his death; and in the early 30’s the figures were -exhibited by his widow. By referring to Chapter III. a De-Philipsthal -programme of 1806 is reproduced as evidence.</p> - -<p>From 1825 to 1855 J. F. Thiodon played London and the provinces, -advertising on his programmes:</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Fourth Piece</span>.—The Wonderful and Unrivalled Automaton on the Flying -Rope. The only one of this construction in the Kingdom; and forms a more -extraordinary Novelty from the circumstances of its not being fastened -on the Rope by the Hands, like others hitherto exhibited. The Rope will -be in continual Motion, and the Figure will sit perfectly easy and in a -graceful attitude while on the Swing, and perform the most surprising -Evolutions, scarcely to be distinguished from a Living Performer, as it -moves with the utmost Correctness, without any apparent Machinery.â€</p> - -<p>From this overwhelming evidence it can be argued beyond doubt that if -Robert-Houdin even constructed the<a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a> automaton he merely copied figures -presented by both his predecessors and his contemporaries, and he was -fully aware of the existence of several such automata when he advertised -his as an original invention. They were made by many mechanicians.</p> - -<p>In the illustrated appendix of the French edition of his “Memoirs†he -goes further; he deliberately misrepresents the mechanism of the figure -and insinuates that the automaton is a self-working one. This is not -true, as it was worked by a concealed confederate, as described above by -Decremps.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin even used the garlands of flowers to hide the moving bars -as Pinetti and others of his predecessors had done. The truth was not in -him.<a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small>THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>HILE Robert-Houdin claims to have invented “The Inexhaustible Bottle†-for a special programme designed to create a sensation at the opening of -his season of 1848, in the illustrated appendix of the original French -edition of his “Memoirs†he states that it had its premier presentation -December 1st, 1847. These discrepancies occur with such frequency that -it is difficult to refute his claims in chronological order. Perhaps he -adopted this method intentionally, to confuse future historians of -magic, particularly concerning his own achievements.</p> - -<p>In order to emphasize the brilliancy of this trick, Robert-Houdin turned -boastful in describing it. On page 348 of the American edition of his -“Memoirs,†he states that the trick had created such a sensation and was -so much exploited in the London newspapers that the fame of his -inexhaustible bottle spread to the provinces, and on his appearance in -Manchester with the bottle in his hand the workmen who made up the -audience nearly mobbed him. In fact, the description of this scene is -the most dramatic pen-picture in his “Memoirs.â€</p> - -<p>The truth, sad to state, is that the bottle trick did not create the -sensation he claims for it in London, nor did the press eulogize it. It -was classed with other ordinary<a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a> tricks, and twenty London papers bear -mute testimony to this fact. In a complete collection of press clippings -regarding his first London appearance, only four of the London papers -mention the trick. <i>The Times</i>, the great conservative English paper, in -reviewing Robert-Houdin’s performance in its issue of May 3d, 1847, -ignored the trick entirely. The four London papers which made mention of -the bottle trick, and then only in a passing comment, were <i>The -Chronicle</i>, <i>The Globe</i>, <i>The Lady’s Newspaper</i>, and <i>The Court -Journal</i>. Any one acquainted with the two last-named periodicals will -know that they rarely reach the hands of the humble artisans in -Manchester. <i>Punch</i>, London’s great comic paper, gave the trick some -space, however.</p> - -<p>The trick of pouring several sorts of liquors from the same bottle has -been presented in various forms and under different names. To prove the -futility of Robert-Houdin’s claims I will explain the mystery of this -trick, which is of an interesting nature.</p> - -<p>To all intents and purposes the bottle used looks like glass; but it is -invariably made of tin, heavily japanned. Ranged around the central -space, which is free from deception, are five compartments, each -tapering to a narrow-mouthed tube which terminates about an inch or an -inch and a half from within the neck of the bottle. A small pinhole is -drilled through the outer surface of the bottle into each compartment, -the holes being so placed that when the bottle is grasped with the hand -in the ordinary way, the performer covers all but one of the pinholes -with his fingers and thumb. The centre section is left empty, but the -other compartments are filled with a fun<a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>nel which has a tapering nozzle -made specially for this purpose.</p> - -<p>The trick is generally started by proving to the audience that the -bottle is empty. It is then filled with water, which is immediately -poured out again, all this time the five pinholes being covered tightly -with the hand or fingers which are holding the bottle. When a liquor is -called for, the performer raises the finger over the air-hole above that -particular liquor, and the liquor will flow out. When a large number of -liquors may be called for, the performer has one compartment filled with -a perfectly colorless liquor, which he pours into glasses previously -flavored with strong essences. Certain gins and cordials can be -simulated in this fashion.</p> - -<p>Various improvements have been made in this bottle trick. For instance, -after the bottle has yielded its various sorts of liquors, it is broken, -and from the bottle the performer produces some borrowed article which -has been “vanished†in a previous trick and then apparently forgotten. -This may have been a ring, glove, or handkerchief, which will be -discovered tied around the neck of a small guinea-pig or dove taken from -the broken bottle.</p> - -<p>This is accomplished by having the bottle especially constructed. Its -compartments end a few inches above the bottom of the bottle and the -portion below having a wavy or cracked appearance, is made to slip on -and off. The conjurer goes through the motions of actually breaking the -bottle by tapping it near the bottom with a small hammer or wand, and -the appearance of the guinea-pig or lost article causes surprise, so -that the pretended breaking of the bottle passes unnoticed.<a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a></p> - -<p>Again, this bottle can be genuine, with no loose bottom at all, and a -small article can be inserted, but this makes a great deal of trouble, -and the effect is not greatly increased. In doing the trick thus, I was -always compelled to have an optician cut the bottom from the bottle, and -then at times even he would break it.</p> - -<p>To explain further how the article is “loaded†into the bottle, the -performer borrows several articles, for example a ring and two watches. -He will place the ring and watches into a funnel at the end of a large -horse-pistol, and shoot them at the target. The two watches appear on -the target or in a frame or any place that he may choose. In obtaining -the articles, he may have wrapped them up in a handkerchief which he has -hidden in the front of his vest. Alexander Herrmann was exceptionally -clever in making this exchange, his iron nerve and perpetual smile being -great aids in the trick.</p> - -<p>The performer now places the duplicate handkerchief on the table in full -view of the audience, and walks to another table for a gun. While -reaching for this gun, he places the original articles which he borrowed -behind his table on a servante, so that his hidden assistant may reach -for them, place the two watches on the “turn-about target,†tie the ring -on the neck of the guinea-pig, shove him into the bottle, and insert the -false bottom. The trick is then ready in its entirety.</p> - -<p>The magician calls for something to use as a target, and the assistant -responds with the revolving target or frame. When the conjurer shoots, -the two watches appear on the target or in the frame. This part of the -trick is accomplished by having the centre of the<a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a> target revolve, or, -if the frame is used, by having a black velvet curtain pulled up by -rapid springs or strong rubbers.</p> - -<p>While all this is going on, some one has brought on the stage the loaded -bottle, and as no attention is called to this, by the time the watches -have been restored to the owners the conjurer introduces the bottle -trick, pours out the various liquors, and eventually breaks the bottle -and reproduces the borrowed article tied about the neck of the -guinea-pig or dove.</p> - -<p>Many names have been given to this trick. The old-time magicians who -remained for months in one theatre had to change their programmes -frequently, so for one night they would present the bottle without -breaking it, and on the next they would break the bottle, so as to vary -the trick.</p> - -<p>This bottle trick originated in “The Inexhaustible Barrel.†The first -trace that I can find of this wonderful barrel is in “Hocus Pocus, Jr., -The Anatomie of Legerdemain,†written by Henry Dean in 1635 (Second -Edition). On page 21 is described a barrel with a single spout, from -which can be drawn three different kinds of liquors. This was worked -precisely on the same principle as was the inexhaustible bottle trick -centuries later, by shutting up the air-holes of compartments from which -liquors were not flowing.</p> - -<p>Its first public appearance, according to the data in my collection, -clipped from London papers of 1707 and 1712, was when the “famous -water-works of the late ingenious Mr. Henry Winstanly†were exhibited by -his servants for the benefit of his widow; and the exhibition included<a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a> -a view of “the Barrel that plays so many Liquors and is broke in pieces -before the Spectators.â€</p> - -<p>In 1780 Dr. Desaguliers presented in London a performance entitled “A -Course of Experimental Philosophy wherein the Principles of Mechanics, -Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, and Optics are proved and demonstrated by more -than 300 Experiments.â€</p> - -<p>In the course of these lectures he produced a sort of barrel, worked by -holding the fingers over the air-holes. He also exposed the real source -of strength of the notorious strong man of his day, John Carl von -Eckeberg, who allowed horses to pull against him, permitted heavy stones -to be broken on his bare chest, and who broke heavy ropes simply by -stretching or straightening his knees. These lectures and exposés made -Dr. Desaguliers so famous that he has been given considerable space in -Sir David Brewster’s “Letters on Natural Magic,†published in London in -1851, in which book the various deceptions used by strong men are fully -described. In fact the book is one that should be in every conjurer’s -library.</p> - -<p>The old Dutch books explain the barrel trick, and in 1803 Charles -Hutton, professor of Woolwich Royal Academy, translated four books from -Ozanam and Montucla, exposing quite a number of old conjuring tricks. -The barrel trick will be found on page 94 of Volume II.</p> - -<p>The first use of “The Inexhaustible Bottle†by modern conjurers I found -in an announcement of Herr Schmidt, a German performer, who for a time -controlled the original writing and drawing figure, as will be found by -reference to Chapter III., which is devoted to the his<a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>tory of that -automaton. The programme published in that chapter is dated 1827, and -does not include the famous bottle, because it was no longer a novelty -in Herr Schmidt’s répertoire; but the advertisement reproduced herewith, -dated 1821, schedules the bottle trick thus: “The Bottle of Sobriety and -Inebriety, proving the inutility of a set of decanters, when various -liquors can be produced by one.†Thus Schmidt antedated Houdin’s -offering of the trick by more than a quarter of a century.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width:129px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_182_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_182_sml.jpg" width="129" height="325" alt="A Schmidt programme of 1821, featuring the “Bottle of -Sobriety and Inebriety.†From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Schmidt programme of 1821, featuring the “Bottle of -Sobriety and Inebriety.†From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Next the bottle turned up in 1835 in London, where it was presented by a -German who styled himself “Falck of Koenigsberg, Pupil of the celebrated -Chevalier Pinnetty,†and who introduced the programme with which Döbler -made such a sensation in 1842.<a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_183_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_183_sml.jpg" width="144" height="205" alt="Poster used by Falck of Koenigsberg in 1835, featuring -the trick of exchange of wine. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Falck of Koenigsberg in 1835, featuring -the trick of exchange of wine. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Mr. Falck opened at the Queen’s Bazaar, Oxford Street, London, November -8th, 1835. Before opening, however, he gave a private performance for -the press, and received quite a number of notices. A half-column -clipping in my collection, dated November 4th, 1835, which I think is -cut from <i>The Chronicle</i> or <i>The Globe</i>, mentions the trick among other -effects like “Flora’s Gift,†“The Card in the Pocket,†etc., and adds -that the “exchange of wine was so that if once in Mr. Falck’s company, -we should not wish to exchange it, for he poured<a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a> three sorts of wine, -Port, Sherry, and Champagne, out of one bottle. Then he put them -together, and from such a mixture produced sherry in one glass, and port -in another.â€</p> - -<p>From this notice it will be seen that Falck had “The Inexhaustible -Bottle,†and had some method of returning all the liquors not drunk back -into the bottle and then pouring out two different kinds of liquor.</p> - -<p>Perhaps he resorted to chemicals, but one thing is evident—the bottle -was used for six different kinds of liquors at one and the same time.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width:131px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_184_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_184_sml.jpg" width="131" height="334" alt="Poster used by Phillippe during his Edinburgh engagement -in 1838, featuring “The Infernal Bottle.†From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Phillippe during his Edinburgh engagement -in 1838, featuring “The Infernal Bottle.†From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Phillippe from 1836 to 1838 featured “An Infernal Bottle†trick, also -“The Inexhaustible Bottle†trick. The trick also was seen on pro<a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>grammes -used by John Henry Anderson, the Wizard of the North, in the same years. -According to these programmes Phillippe and Anderson showed the bottle -empty, filled it with water, and then served five different liquors.</p> - -<p>On April 30th, 1838, Anderson thus announced the trick on a programme -used at Victoria Rooms, Hull:</p> - -<p>“Handkerchiefs will be borrowed from three gentlemen; the magician will -load his mystic gun, in which he will place the handkerchiefs; he will -fire a bottle containing wine, the bottle will be broken and the -handkerchiefs will appear.â€</p> - -<p>Programmes in my collection show that Anderson presented the trick, -serving various sorts of liquors, when he played London in 1840, but -little attention was drawn to the wonderful bottle. In 1842 Ludwig -Döbler, Germany’s best-beloved magician, came to London and featured -what he termed “The Travelling Bottle.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_186_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_186_sml.jpg" width="218" height="303" alt="Reproduction of a political cartoon in Punch, published -during Anderson’s London engagement, April, 1843, proving that the -“Inexhaustible Bottle Trick†was used by Anderson before Robert-Houdin -was a professional entertainer. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of a political cartoon in Punch, published -during Anderson’s London engagement, April, 1843, proving that the -“Inexhaustible Bottle Trick†was used by Anderson before Robert-Houdin -was a professional entertainer. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_187_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_187_sml.jpg" width="139" height="222" alt="Ludwig Döbler in his prime, taken about 1839. The -original of this rare picture was discovered by the author in a small -print shop in Moscow, Russia. It is now a part of his Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Ludwig Döbler in his prime, taken about 1839. The -original of this rare picture was discovered by the author in a small -print shop in Moscow, Russia. It is now a part of his Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Ludwig Leopold Döbler was born in Vienna in 1801. He was the -best-beloved magician who ever trod the stage. He started life as an -engraver of metals, but his fancy turned to necromancy. He gave his best -performances in his native city. In 1841 he was touring Holland, and in -a letter now in my possession, which he wrote to a director and editor -in Vienna under date of March 15th, 1842, he informs his friend that he -has sent all his baggage to London from Amsterdam, and is on a visit to -Paris. He regrets that he has not all of his apparatus with him, but has -given several performances, and mentions the fact that “to-morrow I am -engaged to give a performance in the private parlor of Rothschild and -then by the Count<a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a> Montaliset, minister of the King’s mansions.†He -also informs his friend that he expects to visit Paris the next season -and build his own theatre. He states a fact most interesting to all -magicians, namely, that he has rented the St. James Theatre in London -for two thousand francs ($400) a night, or more than $2,400 rent for one -week. Döbler drew such big audiences and made so much money that he -refused to give private performances,<a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a> only breaking this rule when -presenting his show before H. M. Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width:128px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_188_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_188_sml.jpg" width="128" height="198" alt="A Döbler programme from the Evanion collection, dated -1842, now in the possession of the author." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Döbler programme from the Evanion collection, dated -1842, now in the possession of the author.</span> -</div> - -<p>He played the provinces, then went over to Dublin, where, although -unable to speak English, he was a veritable sensation. In 1844 Döbler -played a return date at the St. James Theatre, London, and this time he -had Anderson as a rival at the Théâtre Royal Adelphia.</p> - -<p>Döbler amassed a fortune very rapidly; in fact he retired in 1847, and -never again appeared on the stage. He always explained his early -retirement by saying: “The public loves me, and I want it to always love -me. I may return and be a failure, so it is best to know just when to -stop.†He died in a little village near Tunitz, on April 17th, 1864, -when one of God’s noblemen was laid to rest.</p> - -<p>“The Travelling Bottle†alluded to by Döbler in his programmes was -nothing more or less than “The Inexhaustible Bottle.†The following -excerpt from the London <i>Chronicle</i> during Döbler’s engagement at the -St. James Theatre, April, 1842, is illuminating:<a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_189_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_189_sml.jpg" width="189" height="243" alt="Döbler’s farewell programme in verse, used when he played -his last engagement in the Josephstadter Theatre, Vienna. Original given -by Döbler personally to Henry Evanion; now in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Döbler’s farewell programme in verse, used when he played -his last engagement in the Josephstadter Theatre, Vienna. Original given -by Döbler personally to Henry Evanion; now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_190_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_190_sml.jpg" width="219" height="291" alt="Ludwig Döbler in his prime, offering his most popular -trick, “The Creation of Flowers.†From a rare lithograph in the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Ludwig Döbler in his prime, offering his most popular -trick, “The Creation of Flowers.†From a rare lithograph in the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Döbler—St. James Theatre.</span>—Among the illusions that more particularly -struck our fancy was one entitled ‘The Travelling Bottle,’ where Herr -Döbler, filling a common bottle with water, transformed this water into -a collection of wines of all countries, amicably assembled<a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a> together in -one receptacle, and he fills out first a glass of sherry, then one of -port, then one of champagne, and so on.â€</p> - -<p>The critic then describes how the bottle was broken, and the borrowed -handkerchief was found inside the bottle.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_191_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_191_sml.jpg" width="139" height="222" alt="Döbler programme with illustrations of his tricks, used -during his engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Döbler programme with illustrations of his tricks, used -during his engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Probably because of the prominence which Herr Döbler gave to this trick -it attracted more attention when Anderson presented it during his London -run of 1843. He announced it as “Water vs. Wine, or Changing Water<a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a> into -Different Liquids—Sherry, Port, Champagne, Gin, Milk, Rum, and Water.â€</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 126px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_192_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_192_sml.jpg" width="126" height="298" alt="Programme used by Macallister at the Bowery Theatre, -August 11th, 1852, during his second engagement in New York City. -Featuring the “Magic Bottle†from which twenty-two kinds of liquor could -be drawn. Careful reading will unearth Macallister’s ill-will toward -Anderson. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Programme used by Macallister at the Bowery Theatre, -August 11th, 1852, during his second engagement in New York City. -Featuring the “Magic Bottle†from which twenty-two kinds of liquor could -be drawn. Careful reading will unearth Macallister’s ill-will toward -Anderson. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>The London <i>Sun</i> of April 18th, 1843, says:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Anderson, besides the feats by which his reputation was established -in his former exhibitions in the metropolis, performed with perfect ease -and success some of greater difficulty than those by which Herr Döbler -astonished the world, such as serving several kinds of wines from the -same bottle.â€</p> - -<p><i>The Morning Advertiser</i> (London) of the same date said:</p> - -<p>“With the utmost ease he produced from an empty bottle wine, water, -port, sherry, and champagne, and immediately afterward, under a blaze of -wax and gas, he broke the same bottle and produced from it half a dozen -cambric handkerchiefs, which had pre<a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>viously been deposited under lock -and key at a considerable distance.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_193_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_193_sml.jpg" width="136" height="207" alt="Andrew Macallister as he appeared during his engagement -in the United States. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Andrew Macallister as he appeared during his engagement -in the United States. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Macallister, the Scotch brick-mason, who became the pupil and assistant -of Phillippe, as described in the chapter on “The Pastry Cook of the -Palais Royal,†also claimed the bottle trick as his invention. I have -been unable to obtain any of the early programmes used by Macallister, -but I am reproducing the one he utilized during his engagement at the -Bowery Theatre, New York City, in 1852. This was not his first -appearance in<a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a> New York, however. In December, 1848, and January, 1849, -he played at the same theatre, and announced that he had just concluded -a successful engagement at the Grand Theatre Tacon, Havana, Cuba.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_194_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_194_sml.jpg" width="243" height="378" alt="The original Compars Herrmann, who was Robert-Houdin’s -very active rival during the latter’s first engagement in London. Best -portrait now in existence, and only one showing Herrmann in his prime. -Original photograph loaned for this work by James L. Kernan, of -Baltimore, Md., U. S. A." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The original Compars Herrmann, who was Robert-Houdin’s -very active rival during the latter’s first engagement in London. Best -portrait now in existence, and only one showing Herrmann in his prime. -Original photograph loaned for this work by James L. Kernan, of -Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.</span> -</p> - -<p>Although Macallister claims to have invented “The Inexhaustible Bottle†-trick, it is more likely that, having been connected so long with -Phillippe, he knew the secret several years before Robert-Houdin -appeared in public. But as Macallister also claimed to have invented the -peacock and the harlequin automata, both of which are recognized as the -inventions of his predecessors, his claim cannot be given serious -consideration.</p> - -<p>He advertised to produce twenty-two kinds of liquors from one bottle, -and therefore he must have utilized the essence glasses in connection -with the bottle.</p> - -<p>What must have been Robert-Houdin’s feeling when, on arriving in London -in 1848, he found another magician, Compars Herrmann, heavily advertised -at the Théâtre Royal, and already offering each and every trick included -by the Frenchman in his répertoire. Even the much-vaunted bottle was in -Herrmann’s list of tricks. No one seems able to tell where Compars -Herrmann obtained the tricks he used, but he must be given credit for -never advertising them as his own inventions. His record in this respect -was clean throughout his life as a mysterious entertainer.</p> - -<p>The programme presented by Herrmann at the Théâtre Royal during -Robert-Houdin’s opening week at the St. James Theatre is herewith -reproduced. Herrmann remained some time in London, playing at the -Adelphia, then at the Royal Princess, and finally at the Surrey<a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a> -Theatre. A bill used by Herrmann at the Princess is reproduced on page -232. It evidently proved satisfactory to the public and he used it -without change for many years.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_196_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_196_sml.jpg" width="238" height="293" alt="Billing used by Compars Herrmann when he played in -opposition to Robert-Houdin on the latter’s arrival in London. This -shows that Herrmann duplicated all of Robert-Houdin’s tricks. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Billing used by Compars Herrmann when he played in -opposition to Robert-Houdin on the latter’s arrival in London. This -shows that Herrmann duplicated all of Robert-Houdin’s tricks. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Probably the most notable warfare waged over the<a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a> honor of having -invented this trick arose between Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin, who -were contemporaries.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_197_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_197_sml.jpg" width="256" height="295" alt="A Herrmann programme dated April, 1848, showing that -Herrmann presented the inexhaustible bottle two months before -Robert-Houdin appeared in London." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Herrmann programme dated April, 1848, showing that -Herrmann presented the inexhaustible bottle two months before -Robert-Houdin appeared in London.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_198_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_198_sml.jpg" width="157" height="248" alt="Henri Robin, generally conceded to have been the most -polished conjurer in the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Henri Robin, generally conceded to have been the most -polished conjurer in the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Robin, whose right name was Dunkell, was of Holland <a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>birth and died in -Paris in 1874. He was at his prime about 1839-40, when he toured the -Continent. He was popular in London, Paris, and both the English and -French provinces. A polished man, famous for the elegance of his speech -and manners, he conducted his performance and all his business in a -quiet, conservative fashion. In both Paris and London, he had playhouses -named temporarily in his honor, Salle de Robin, and at one time in<a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a> -London he also appeared at the Egyptian Hall. He published his own -magazine, <i>L’Almanach d’Cagliostro</i>, an illustrated periodical which was -quite pretentious.</p> - -<p>Robin presented all the tricks and automata that Robert-Houdin claimed -as his original inventions, and in the famous controversy, Robert-Houdin -came out second best. Robin proved that he had used the bottle trick -before Robert-Houdin did, by showing back numbers of his magazine, whose -illustrations pictured Robin performing the trick at his theatre in -Milan, Italy, July 6th, 1844, or three years before Robert-Houdin -presented it in Paris.</p> - -<p>Robin, however, never wrote an autobiography nor any exhaustive work -dealing with the history of magic, while Robert-Houdin did. The latter -set forth his claims over other magicians so skilfully that for more -than half a century the intelligent and thoughtful reading public has -been deceived and has accepted his statements as authoritative. -According to an article published in <i>L’Illusionniste</i>, scientists to -this day, in explaining the law of physics as operated by the use of -air-holes in the inexhaustible bottle, refer to it as the “Robert-Houdin -bottle,†when in reality the honor of its invention belongs to some -obscure mechanic or magician whose name must remain forever unsung by -writers on magic.<a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -<small>SECOND SIGHT</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">E</span>VIDENTLY second sight was the foundation-stone of Robert-Houdin’s -success. Reading between the lines of his autobiography, one finds that -this was the trick which carried him into the salons of fashion and -royalty. Before he introduced second sight into his répertoire, his -tricks were so commonplace that they did not arouse the interest of the -court circle, whose approval furnished the seal of success.</p> - -<p>This trick of second sight he claims body and soul, as the favorite -child of his brain. He even goes as far as to relate a story to prove -that the trick came to him in the form of an inspiration. I quote -directly from the American edition of his “Memoirs,†page 255:</p> - -<p>“My two children were playing one day in the drawing-room at a game they -had invented for their own amusement; the younger had bandaged his elder -brother’s eyes and made him guess the objects that he touched, and when -the latter happened to guess right they changed places. This simple game -suggested to me the most complicated idea that ever crossed my mind. -Pursued by the notion, I ran and shut myself in my workshop, and was -fortunately in that happy state when the mind follows easily the -combinations traced by fancy. I rested my head in my hands, and in my -excitement laid down the first principles of second sight.<a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_201_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_201_sml.jpg" width="223" height="159" alt="Robert-Houdin and his son Emile, presenting second sight. -Here the bell is used as it was by Henri Robin. From an illustration in -the original French edition of the Robert-Houdin “Memoirs."" title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Robert-Houdin and his son Emile, presenting second sight. -Here the bell is used as it was by Henri Robin. From an illustration in -the original French edition of the Robert-Houdin “Memoirs."</span> -</p> - -<p>Then, picking up the long idle quill of Baron Munchausen, he proceeds to -explain the methods by which he perfected the trick and trained his son. -To the layman these methods read most entertainingly. To the experienced -conjurer or his humblest assistant they appeal as absurd and impossible, -a sheer waste of time, of which a man who reproduced the tricks of his -predecessors as rapidly as Robert-Houdin did, would not be guilty.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_202_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_202_sml.jpg" width="318" height="224" alt="Robert and Haidee Heller from photographs taken at the -time that they were presenting second sight according to the -Robert-Houdin method by an electric code. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Robert and Haidee Heller from photographs taken at the -time that they were presenting second sight according to the -Robert-Houdin method by an electric code. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>He claims to have trained the eye and memory of his son, by leading the -latter past shop windows, and after allowing him one glance, demanding -the names of articles seen at this single glance. When the boy could -mention forty things after passing the window, his education was -pronounced good. Robert-Houdin also tells in his<a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a> “Memoirs†of spending -hours with his son in poring over an enormous collection of coins, -medals, etc., which severe lesson helped them both in future -performances. To the conjurer, this tale is farcical. Not only was there -no need of forcing the boy to become a coin expert, but the task was one -which could not be accomplished in the brief time which Robert-Houdin -allowed himself for perfecting the trick.</p> - -<p>The only knowledge required about coins is to recognize a coin when you -see it. Some one may hand a coin of peculiar stamp, and the operator -must signal to his medium the metal and all he knows about it. Of -course, if both know the various coins, then they can understand each -other with less signaling than if the coins were unfamiliar to either.</p> - -<p>Inaudi, the French calculator, can look at a blackboard filled with -numbers for a few seconds, then turn his back upon them and add the -entire amount that he has just seen and memorized. But let the reader -understand that Inaudi is peculiarly gifted by nature, while second -sight is a trick in which the person on the stage known as the medium is -assisted by words, signs, prearranged movements, or articles or figures -in rotation, which to the layman have the appearance of being -unprepared. At a familiar cue, however, the operator touches articles -that have been memorized, a ring, a watch, a scarf-pin, a lady’s fan, an -opera glass, all in rotation. At a snap of the fingers the medium will -know that the articles are to be named in consecutive order, and only -after the snap of the fingers or another cue agreed upon.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_204_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_204_sml.jpg" width="161" height="391" alt="Programme used by Robert Heller in 1851-52, when he was -about eighteen years of age. Probably the only programme of this date in -existence. Now in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Programme used by Robert Heller in 1851-52, when he was -about eighteen years of age. Probably the only programme of this date in -existence. Now in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin presented the trick for the first time<a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a> at his own -theatre, February 12th, 1846. Unquestionably at this time he employed -the speaking code, wherein the answer is contained in the question asked -of the medium by the performer. As he describes scene after scene in -which he and his son participated, it is almost possible for a conjurer -or any one interested in magic to follow his code. Apparently the -amusement-loving public became familiar with his speaking code, for -three years later, according to the illustrated appendix of the French -edition of his “Memoirs,†he adopted a code of signals, which he states -was especially arranged to confuse those whom he terms his “fearless -discoverers.â€</p> - -<p>A mysterious bell was used in this connection, but he admits that it -mattered not whether the bell struck or was silent, his son could name -the object under consideration or answer the question. While -Robert-Houdin asserts that he did not employ electricity for working his -silent code, investigations make it almost certain that this was the -method used. It is known throughout the world of conjuring that in -1850-51 Robert Heller (William Henry Palmer) reproduced Robert-Houdin’s -entire répertoire of tricks, with the exception of the suspension, and -all worked precisely by Robert-Houdin’s methods. In the second-sight -trick, which he first presented with a young man as the medium, then -later with Miss Haidee Heller, the medium was seated on a sofa fully -equipped with wires and electric batteries. Heller’s second sight was -worked with both the speaking and silent codes. His confederate was -concealed behind the scenes watching Heller through a peep-hole, or -possibly he used another, seated in the audience, and had the wires -strung under his chair, arranging<a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a><a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a> the signal button so that it could -be easily reached on the arm or front part of the seat. The receiving -instrument was attached to the sofa on which the medium was seated. The -latter would be silently informed as to what was being shown and would -answer all questions. As proof that these statements are not mere -hearsay, the Heller sofa can now be seen in the possession of Mr. -Francis J. Martinka, of New York; and Dr. W. Golden Mortimer, who once -presented “Mortimer’s Mysteries,†a show on the style of Heller’s -performance, furnishes the information that when Heller died in -Philadelphia, November 28th, 1878, he engaged the dead magician’s chief -assistant, an expert electrician named E. J. Dale, who had acted as -secret confederate, assisting the medium.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_206_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_206_sml.jpg" width="175" height="379" alt="Poster used by Robert Heller during his Boston engagement -in 1853. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Robert Heller during his Boston engagement -in 1853. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>After travelling with Mortimer some time, Dale eventually returned to -England, and retired from the profession. He opened a large shop in -London under the firm name of H. & E. J. Dale, Manufacturing -Electricians, 4 Little Britain, E. C., in October, 1882.</p> - -<p>It was the easiest thing imaginable for Robert-Houdin to have his -theatre arranged with secret confederates and wires back of the scenes, -where a man with powerful opera-glasses could stand. The place being -small, he could look all over the room and see the minutest article.</p> - -<p>When not making use of the talking code, the simplest method employed by -second-sight artists is to have a confederate in the audience, with -either an electrical push button or a pneumatic bulb, who gives the -medium the signal. This is received by a miniature piston, which -requires only a small hole in the stage, while the medium has a matching -hole in the sole of his shoe. This allows the<a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a> piston to touch the sole -of the foot whenever the confederate presses the bulb or pushes the -button.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_208_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_208_sml.jpg" width="140" height="189" alt="The author at the long-neglected grave of Robert Heller, -in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, U. S. A. From a photograph in the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The author at the long-neglected grave of Robert Heller, -in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, U. S. A. From a photograph in the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>From this array of facts it will be seen that second sight is and always -has been a matter of well-drilled phrases or signals, prearranged -rotation of articles, well-built apparatus or well-trained confederates, -but never a feat of actual thought-transferrence.</p> - -<p>Some of Robert-Houdin’s ardent supporters insist that in claiming the -invention or discovery of second sight, the French conjurer was merely -an unconscious plagiarist,<a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a> having stumbled upon, quite by accident, a -trick which he did not know that others had offered before him.</p> - -<p>Such a statement is illogical and absurd. Books of magic to which -Robert-Houdin had access and which he admits having read describe the -trick in a more or less crude form. Pinetti, whose tricks were fully -described to Robert-Houdin by his old friend Torrini, used the -second-sight mystification with excellent effect. Robert-Houdin could -not have been ignorant of its existence as a trick. In making the claim -to its discovery in his “Memoirs†he simply trusted to the ignorance of -the reading public in the history of magic.</p> - -<p>According to programmes and newspaper clippings in my collection, Philip -Breslaw was the first conjurer to feature second sight in his -performance. Breslaw was a clever German who so established himself in -the hearts of amusement-loving Englishmen that he remained in England -for forty years, dying in Liverpool in 1803. In 1781, while playing at -Greenwood’s Rooms, Haymarket, London, he announced as Part One of his -entertainment:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Breslaw will exhibit his new magical deceptions, Letters, Medals, -Dice, Pocket pieces, Rings, etc., etc., and particularly communicate the -thoughts of any person to another without the assistance of speech or -writing.â€</p> - -<p>Pinetti comes next as an eminent presenter of second sight. Between -these two well-known conjurers there may have been various unimportant, -unchronicled performers who made use of Breslaw’s trick, but they have -no place in the history of magic.</p> - -<p>The trick appeared on a Pinetti programme at the Royal Haymarket, -London, England, December 1st, 1784,<a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a> almost sixty-two years before -Robert-Houdin presented it as his original invention.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_210_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_210_sml.jpg" width="176" height="277" alt="Clipping from the London Post, December 1st, 1784, in -which Pinetti featured second sight. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Clipping from the London Post, December 1st, 1784, in -which Pinetti featured second sight. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>The London <i>Morning Post and Daily Advertiser</i> of December 1st, 1784, -contains the above advertisement, reproduced from my collection.<a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a></p> - -<p>The talking code employed by Pinetti was not original with him, as it -dates back to the automaton worked by a concealed confederate who -controlled the piston for the mechanical figure or pulled the strings to -manipulate the dancing coins or moving head. It was novel only in its -application to the supposed thought-transferrence by a human being -instead of an automaton.</p> - -<p>This code is described by various reliable authors. On page 388, Volume -III. of Hooper’s “Recreations,†edition 1782, it is stated that the -confederate worked the apparatus from another room. “By certain words, -previously agreed on, make it known to the confederate,†is the advice -given to would-be conjurers.</p> - -<p>Beckman in his “History of Inventions†relates that he knew an exhibitor -of a “talking figure†whose concealed confederate was cued to answer -certain questions, the answers being given in the manner of putting the -question, also by different signs. These instructions will be found on -page 311 of Volume II., edition of 1817.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_212_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_212_sml.jpg" width="328" height="263" alt="Reproduction of front and back of original handbill -distributed on London streets in 1831, to advertise Master M‘Kean. From -the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of front and back of original handbill -distributed on London streets in 1831, to advertise Master M‘Kean. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Decremps undertook to expose Pinetti’s method of working the -second-sight trick in his famous book, but in this attempt he scored one -of the few failures which marked the bitter fight he waged against -Pinetti. In his book “La Magie Blanche Dévoilée†(White Magic Exposed), -first edition, 1784, he offers on page 40 “Les Cartes dévinées, les yeux -bandés†(The Divination of Cards with the Eyes Blindfolded). In this -feat Decremps explains that Pinetti would allow cards to be drawn, then -a lady (Signora Pinetti) would appear on the stage, would be -blindfolded, and would name all the cards that were drawn. Decremps -explains the prearranged pack of<a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a><a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a> cards for this trick, also outlining -the manner of giving the medium the cue for certain phrases. For -instance, while explaining to the audience that he will not speak at -all, in the very sentences addressed to the spectators he informs the -medium which cards have been selected.</p> - -<p>Pinetti’s code must have been clever, as Decremps was unable to explain -the entire second-sight act. He has omitted the principal part of the -mystification, that is, naming the articles held up for the performer to -see.</p> - -<p>That the card trick was only one test of his second-sight performance, -and that Pinetti’s medium did not retire after naming the cards, are -facts shown by the following clipping from one of his announcements:</p> - -<p>“Signora Pinetti will have the special honor and satisfaction of -exhibiting various experiments of new discovery, no less curious than -seemingly incredible, particularly that of her being seated in one of -the front boxes with an handkerchief over her eyes, and guess at -everything imagined and proposed to her by any person in the company.â€</p> - -<p>Third on the list of second-sight performers, according to the data in -my collection, was Louis Gordon M‘Kean, who created a sensation at the -Egyptian Hall Bazaar, Piccadilly, London, in 1831, or fifteen years -before Robert-Houdin, according to his claims, “discovered†second -sight. Young M‘Kean was featured as possessing double, not second, -sight, and one of his bills is reproduced on page 212.</p> - -<p>Another programme in my collection, dated the Théâtre Scarboro, Friday -evening, August 4th, 1837, announces “For a limited engagement of three -nights the Three<a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a> Talented Highlanders and most extraordinary -Second-Sighted Young Highlanders.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_214_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_214_sml.jpg" width="210" height="198" alt="Decoration on the broadside used to advertise a young -Dutchwoman who created a sensation in the early part of the eighteenth -century. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Decoration on the broadside used to advertise a young -Dutchwoman who created a sensation in the early part of the eighteenth -century. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>These lads, I believe, were three brothers, one the original M‘Kean, or -the latter working in conjunction with two other boys trained to the -tricks in order to secure more impressive results. The trio appeared -eight years before Robert-Houdin became a professional entertainer.</p> - -<p>Holland also contributed a successful performer of second-sight tricks, -the medium in this case being a Dutchwoman who created a profound -sensation while<a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a> touring Germany in the early part of the eighteenth -century. The billing used at the yearly fairs is an enormous poster -which would be unintelligible if reduced to a size suitable for -reproduction.</p> - -<p>It is now a part of my collection and reads as follows:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_215_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_215_sml.jpg" width="161" height="135" alt="Reproduction of original billing matter used by the -mysterious lady who offered second sight in the United States in -1841-42-43. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of original billing matter used by the -mysterious lady who offered second sight in the United States in -1841-42-43. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_216_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_216_sml.jpg" width="131" height="180" alt="Reproduction of the cut used on the mysterious lady’s -handbills, distributed in America in 1841. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of the cut used on the mysterious lady’s -handbills, distributed in America in 1841. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“The Holland Maid, Twenty Years of Age, from Amsterdam, whose powers, -both in her residence there and in all other places to which she has -gone, have excited great astonishment and much applause, and she will -also in this place endeavor to obtain the same tribute of public -applause. She will after the exhibition place herself before the eyes of -all the spectators on the outside and gravely stand thereon and at all -times give an answer of assurance to any one present to whom her -judgment in all questions gives the most accurate response. She -contrives also by her acuteness to discover and reply to the<a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a> least -thought, not until then explored. She guesses the age of every one, -whether they be married or not; how many children they have, of what -sex, and whether they be living or dead at the present time, etc. She -does the like for any one having a chance in the lottery, as to what is -its number, and what will be its share of gains. She also guesses at -every one of the most different sorts of coin, and even at the year with -which they were stamped. She guesses at every number which any one shall -secretly set down, even though it amount to upward a million. She -moreover tells exactly whether any one be in the<a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a> Army, under how many -Monarchs he has served, in how many battles he has been engaged, and -whether he has ever been wounded and how many wounds he has received. By -throwing the Dice, she will every time exactly tell the very number of -spots which may have been determined on.â€</p> - -<p>This wordy announcement is signed by W. Sahm, of Holland.</p> - -<p>In my collection there is also an interesting handbill advertising the -tour of “The Mysterious Lady†who offered second-sight tricks in the -eastern part of the United States in 1842-43. Her name was never stated -on the programmes, but the latter, together with a clipping dated -Boston, February 20th, 1843, will suffice to prove my claim that she was -offering second-sight before Robert-Houdin did, and therefore could not -be copying his trick. She also appeared in England fully a year before -Robert-Houdin “discovered†second sight.</p> - -<p>Henri Robin and his wife featured second sight in Italy just when -Robert-Houdin first offered it in Paris. It is barely possible that they -antedated Robert-Houdin in the production of this trick, for I have in -my collection a brochure entitled “Album des Soirées de M. et Mme. -Robin,†which contains an engraving of the couple offering second-sight, -a short poem in honor of Mme. Robin’s remarkable gifts as a second-sight -artist, and a poem generally eulogistic of M. Robin’s talents dated -distinctly February 7th, 1846. Robert-Houdin presented second-sight for -the first time, according to his own “Memoirs,†on February 12th, 1846.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_218_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_218_sml.jpg" width="328" height="229" alt="Second sight as offered by M. and Mme. Robin, in which -Robin employed the bell and the goblet. From the latter she sipped -liquor, claiming it tasted like the wine secretly named by a spectator. -Robin’s stage was equipped with electrical appliances. From the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Second sight as offered by M. and Mme. Robin, in which -Robin employed the bell and the goblet. From the latter she sipped -liquor, claiming it tasted like the wine secretly named by a spectator. -Robin’s stage was equipped with electrical appliances. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>To prove the utter folly of Robert-Houdin’s claims to<a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a><a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a> having trained -his son’s eye and memory by patient effort so as to have a mutual -transferrence of thought, I will next show that animals had been trained -for years to do tricks by secret signals before the alleged “discovery†-of second sight.</p> - -<p>Two rare old bills in my collection advertise the marvellous -“mind-reading†performances of a goose and a blindfolded dog -respectively. The first, dated 1789, announces that a Mr. Beckett, a -trunk-maker of No. 31 Haymarket, is exhibiting “a Learned Goose, just -lately arrived from abroad.</p> - -<p>“It performs the following tricks: performing upon cards, money, and -watches, telling the time of the month, year, and date, also the value -of any piece either English or foreign, distinguishing all sorts of -colors and (most prodigiously and certainly unbelieving to those who -know the intellects of a goose) she tells the number of ladies and -gentlemen in the company or any person’s thoughts; any lady or gentleman -drawing a card out of the pack, though ever so secret, the Goose, -blindfolded at the same time, will find out the card they drew. -Admittance two shillings each person.â€</p> - -<p>The second bill features Don Carlo, the Double-Sighted dog, which gave -an exhibition of his mysterious skill at the Pavillion by special -command, before King William and the royal family on December 17th, -1831. This dog was blindfolded and could present almost in duplicate the -second-sight tests offered by the Highland lad who five days later gave -a similar exhibition before the royal family at the same place.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_220_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_220_sml.jpg" width="182" height="261" alt="Rare poster announcing the performance of the learned -goose, one of the first of the second-sight animal artists. Traced from -the original poster in the British Museum by the author." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Rare poster announcing the performance of the learned -goose, one of the first of the second-sight animal artists. Traced from -the original poster in the British Museum by the author.</span> -</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width:141px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_221_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_221_sml.jpg" width="141" height="251" alt="Billing used for Don Carlos, the double-sighted dog. From -the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Billing used for Don Carlos, the double-sighted dog. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>This proof regarding the use of animals as “mediums<a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a>†is offered not to -belittle the human mediums, but to prove that from start to finish, from -the day that Breslaw offered the trick to the present moment, when a -number of skilful so-called mind-readers still mystify the public, some -sort of speaking or signal code has been used. Rob<a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a>ert-Houdin used both -the speaking and the signal code, but so did Breslaw, and all evidence -points to the fact that Robert-Houdin merely improved upon the trick -employed by Breslaw, Pinetti, and others among his predecessors in -magic, by utilizing the newly found assistant to the magician, -electricity. In his tiny theatre it would have been entirely feasible to -have had electric wires run from all points of the auditorium to the -stage, thus doing away with both the speaking and ordinary signal codes, -even the pneumatic tube. For this improvement, and this alone, should -Robert-Houdin be given credit. Nearly all magicians improve or redress -tricks or apparatus handed down to them by their predecessors, but -Robert-Houdin was not willing to admit that he owed anything to his -predecessors.<a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small>THE SUSPENSION TRICK</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N chapters XVI. and XVII. of the American edition of his “Memoirs,†-Robert-Houdin states that he closed his theatre during the months of -July, August, and September, 1847, and devoted his time to producing new -tricks for the coming season. He chronicles as the result of these -labors the following additions to his répertoire: “The Crystal Box,†-“The Fantastic Portfolio,†“The Trapeze Tumbler,†“The Garde Française,†-“The Origin of Flowers,†“The Crystal Balls,†“The Inexhaustible -Bottle,†“The Ethereal Suspension,†etc.</p> - -<p>Had these inventions really been original with the man who claimed them -as the result of his own brain-work and handicraft, three years would -not have sufficed to bring them to the perfection in which they were -presented at that time. It is not always the actual work that makes a -trick a success, nor the material from which it is constructed, but it -takes time to plan a new trick; and then after you have worked out the -idea, it takes more time to make it practical. The same piece of -apparatus may have to be made dozens of times, in as many shapes, before -it is presentable. Therefore, when Robert-Houdin claims to have invented -and built with his own hands the tricks mentioned in the list given -above, it is time to prove the improbability and falsity of his -statements.<a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_223_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_223_sml.jpg" width="181" height="369" alt="A Robert-Houdin poster on which his complete repertoire -appears, under date of June 14th, 1852. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Robert-Houdin poster on which his complete repertoire -appears, under date of June 14th, 1852. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_224_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_224_sml.jpg" width="186" height="192" alt="Poster used by Robert-Houdin during his first London -engagement, featuring suspension. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Robert-Houdin during his first London -engagement, featuring suspension. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Inventions are a matter of evolution, but as the tricks which -Robert-Houdin presented in his new répertoire were not new, he was able -to offer them as the result of three months’ work. To the expert -mechanician or builder of conjuring apparatus his claim is farcical. The -majority of the tricks mentioned require skilled hands and infinite -patience, if they work in a way that will completely deceive the public. -Particularly is this true of the first suspension apparatus such as -Robert-Houdin must have used. This included a steel corset or frame for -the subject, and both the corset and the supporting rods had to<a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a> be -strong, invisible to the audience, and still be perfect in mechanism.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin, with characteristic ambiguity, does not refer to a -complicated mechanism, but lays stress on his ability to keep his tricks -up-to-date and in line with popular movements of the hour. In writing of -the suspension trick, he gives the impression that but for the sensation -created by the use of ether as an anæsthetic he would never have thought -out the new trick. His own words as presented on page 312 of the -American edition of his “Memoirs†are reproduced in this connection:</p> - -<p>“It will be remembered that in 1847 the insensibility produced by -inhaling ether began to be applied to surgical operations; all the world -talked about the marvellous effect of this anæsthetic and its -extraordinary results. In the eyes of the people it seemed much akin to -magic. Seeing that the surgeons had invaded my domain, I asked myself if -this did not allow me to make reprisals. I did so by inventing my -ethereal suspension, which I believe was far more surprising than any -result obtained by my surgical brethren. This trick was much applauded, -and I am bound to say that my arrangements were excellently made. This -was the first time that I tried to direct the surprise of my spectators -by gradually heightening it up to the next moment, when, so to speak, it -exploded.â€</p> - -<p>While Robert-Houdin, in his “Memoirs,†claims to have invented the trick -for the season of 1847-48, in the illustrated appendix of the French -edition he states that the first production of the trick, with -improvements, was in October, 1849. The improvement consisted of working -the trick with a stool upon a platform, when, previous to<a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a> this date, he -had used only the ordinary platform and rod.</p> - -<p>During the course of researches covering many years, during which I -visited national libraries in various countries, the first trace of the -suspension trick was discovered in the writings of Ian Batuta, who -flourished about the thirteenth century. He mentions two conjurers who -performed before the court of the Mogul in Delhi. One of the men assumed -the form of a cube and rose into the air, where he remained suspended. -The other man then took off his shoe, struck it against a rock, and it -also rose and hung in midair, close to the suspended conjurer or human -cube. On being touched on the neck, the cube descended to the ground, -and the conjurer resumed his natural form.</p> - -<p>The historical verity of this tale cannot be determined, and it may be -classed with the familiar story which crops up periodically, describing -the ball of cord thrown into the air for a youth to climb into the -clouds. Once out of sight, the youth is said to draw the cord up after -him; then presently a leg falls from the unseen heights, then another, -followed by an arm, a rib or two, and so on until the entire body is -scattered upon the ground, the head coming last with the neck standing -upward. At the command of the magician, the body seems to crawl -together, so runs the tale, and eventually the youth stands up to be -examined by the astonished populace.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_227_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_227_sml.jpg" width="317" height="204" alt="Reproduction of an engraving in an old German -Encyclopædia in the Harry Houdini Collection, which credits to the -Chinese the trick of climbing into the air and having the body fall down -piecemeal and being set together again." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of an engraving in an old German -Encyclopædia in the Harry Houdini Collection, which credits to the -Chinese the trick of climbing into the air and having the body fall down -piecemeal and being set together again.</span> -</p> - -<p>These stories belong in the very first of the travellers’ tales. In 1356 -Sir John Mandeville, called by some authorities “the Father of English -Prose,†after travelling thirty-four years, published a book detailing -some of his marvellous “witnessings.†Though many of his stories<a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a><a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a> are -absolutely impossible, yet so popular did his works become that, barring -the Scriptures, more copies and manuscripts of the books containing his -various “Magician Stories†have been handed down to posterity and exist -to-day than any works of his contemporaries. Still, Mandeville did not -mention this suspension trick, which is sometimes attributed to the -Chinese and sometimes to the Hindoos.</p> - -<p>In Cologne, Germany, I purchased an encyclopædia, published in 1684, -from which I reproduce a double-page engraving, which shows the Chinese -magicians doing the tricks previously accredited, in the stories of -travellers, to Hindoo conjurers.</p> - -<p>In “Lives of the Conjurers,†Thomas Frost describes the suspension trick -as offered about 1828 or 1829 at Madras by an old Brahmin with no better -apparatus than a piece of plank with four legs. This he had formed into -a stool, and upon it, in a little brass socket, he placed a hollow -bamboo stick in a perpendicular position. Projecting from the stick was -a kind of crutch, covered with a piece of common hide. These properties -he carried with him in a bag, which was shown to all those who desired -to witness his exhibition. The servants of the household then held a -blanket before him, and, when it was withdrawn, he was discovered poised -in midair about four feet from the ground, in a sitting posture, with -the outer edge of one hand merely touching the crutch, while the fingers -deliberately counted beads, and the other hand and arm were held in an -upright position. The blanket was again held up before him, and the -spectators caught a gurgling sound, like that occasioned by wind<a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a><a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a> -escaping from a bladder or tube. When the screen or blanket was again -withdrawn, the conjurer was standing on the ground.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_229_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_229_sml.jpg" width="180" height="317" alt="The Brahmin suspension as shown in an illustration found -in Robin’s l’Almanach de Cagliostro." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The Brahmin suspension as shown in an illustration found -in Robin’s l’Almanach de Cagliostro.</span> -</p> - -<p>The mystery was supposed to have been solved when Sheshal, commonly -known as “the Brahmin of the Air,†exhibited the trick in 1832 in -Madras. It was observed that his stool was ornamented with two inlaid -stars, and it was suggested that one of these might conceal a socket for -a steel rod, passing through the bamboo, and that another rod, screwed -to the perpendicular one and concealed by the piece of hide, might be -connected with a mechanism of the same metal, passing up the sleeve and -down the back, and forming a circular seat. This conjecture probably was -not far from the truth, for while Frost is by no means the greatest of -authorities on magic and magicians, in this particular instance I -believe that his explanation of the trick is correct.</p> - -<p>The next authentic early information I have gathered regarding -suspension concerns that wonderful performer who called himself Ching -Lau Lauro. Presumably he was a Chinaman, and from the programmes in my -collection he evidently appeared first in England, in 1828, when he was -engaged to perform between scenes of various plays, including “Tom and -Jerry,†at the Coburg. I reproduce on page 231 one of Ching Lau Lauro’s -programmes.</p> - -<p>About 1833, or possibly a year earlier, he cut out some of his singing, -and introduced the suspension with which he closed his performance. At -this time he gave the entire programme. According to his programmes, in -some places he excluded the public from the gallery, so I judge that his -suspension was accomplished by the use<a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a><a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a> of the iron rod from the back, -which would have been in plain sight from the gallery. The stage would -not permit the suspension to be worked out of range of the gallery gods.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_231_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_231_sml.jpg" width="156" height="360" alt="Ching Lau Lauro handbill featuring suspension in 1832. -From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Ching Lau Lauro handbill featuring suspension in 1832. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_232_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_232_sml.jpg" width="246" height="289" alt="A Compars Herrmann programme of 1848 in which suspension -is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Compars Herrmann programme of 1848 in which suspension -is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>When Robert-Houdin went to London in 1848 he found<a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a> in the field of -magic a clever rival, Compars Herrmann; a few months later came John -Henry Anderson, the Wizard of the North. Both of these men presented the -suspension trick in precisely the same manner claimed by Robert-Houdin -as his original invention of 1847. Neither Anderson nor Herrmann claimed -the honor of having invented the trick, and it is more than likely that -the mechanician who made their apparatus for the suspension trick made -the one used by Robert-Houdin also. Herrmann, like Robert-Houdin, called -the trick ethereal suspension. Anderson gave it the title of -“Chloriforeene Suspension,†as the reproduction of an Anderson -lithograph on page 234 will prove.</p> - -<p>During precisely the same period of time a brilliantly successful German -conjurer, Alexander, was presenting the same trick in America, where he -remained as a professional entertainer for ten years. In my collection, -together with corroborative handbills and programmes, there will be -found this statement from Alexander:</p> - -<p>“The suspension was at first produced by me in 1845 or 1846, after -reading in an Oriental annual, edited by several officers of the Indian -Army, the trick of a fakir who made a companion sit in the air by using -a bamboo stick. My trick had no success, because the sitting was too -near the ground. I then made him stand in the air, and the effect was -marvellous.â€</p> - -<p>My meeting with Alexander, of which this correspondence was the result, -marked an era in my search for material for this volume. Having read in -a small book on magic, dated 1896, that a man named Heimburger, who had -travelled in America as “Alexander the Conjurer,<a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a><a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a>†was living in his -native town of Münster, in Westphalia, I determined to secure an -interview with him if possible.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_234_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_234_sml.jpg" width="233" height="330" alt="“Suspension Chloriforeene,†as presented by Anderson and -his son, from a lithograph used by him on his return from the Continent, -December, 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“Suspension Chloriforeene,†as presented by Anderson and -his son, from a lithograph used by him on his return from the Continent, -December, 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>On March 17th, 1903, while playing in Cologne, I boarded an express -train and arrived in Münster bright and early. From the city directory I -learned that one Heimburger resided in Krumpentippen, 16. Hailing a -passing droschke I was soon carried to my destination, where a -bright-faced German girl opened the door and ushered me, without -formality, into the presence of the man to whom I desired to pay my -respects.</p> - -<p>An old man, bent with years, snow-white of beard and gray of head, came -forward slowly to greet me. Finding that he was quite deaf, I raised my -voice and fairly trumpeted my mission, adding that I felt especially -honored to stand in the presence of the only magician who, up to that -date, had ever appeared at the White House, Washington, by request of -the President of the United States, my native land. Alexander had been -asked to entertain President Polk and his guests on several occasions, -and the fact that I knew this seemed to please the old conjurer and pave -the way to a pleasant and profitable interview.</p> - -<p>In a few moments we were sitting side by side, and he was adding to my -store of information by relating the most fascinating experiences, -stories of fellow-magicians long since dead, and tales which he could -corroborate by his own collection of bills, programmes, etc., his diary, -and his personal correspondence. He had known Robert-Houdin, Frikell, -Bosco, Count Pererilli, John Henry Anderson, Blitz, the original Bamberg -of Amsterdam, Compars Herrmann, and many lesser lights among the -old-time magicians. Robert-Houdin had told him per<a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a>sonally that being -pressed for time he had entrusted the writing of his “Memoirs†to a -Parisian journalist.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_236_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_236_sml.jpg" width="141" height="243" alt="Mrs. Leona A. Anderson, daughter-in-law of John Henry -Anderson, as she appeared with him in the suspension trick about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Mrs. Leona A. Anderson, daughter-in-law of John Henry -Anderson, as she appeared with him in the suspension trick about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>As he warmed up to these reminiscences, he held me spellbound. Had he -risen from the grave to tell of his contemporaries, he could not have -riveted my attention more securely.</p> - -<p>Here was a man of eighty-four, whose memory quick<a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a>ened at the coming of -one interested in his beloved art, whose eye brightened with each fresh -detail of a long and successful professional life, and who, in fifty -years of retirement, had not only written a book, but had kept in touch -with the world of magic, giving me information which the most exhaustive -encyclopædia could not yield, answering questions on topics never yet -discussed in dusty parchments and fading scripts. It was like having the -history of magic unrolled before my eager eyes, in a living, -palpitating, human scroll.</p> - -<p>It had been my intention to remain but a few hours in Münster, but the -old master held me as if hypnotized and the hours fairly drifted past. -Letter after letter, clipping after clipping, token after token, he -spread before my fascinated eyes; and I allowed him to speak without -question or interruption of any sort. Early in our interview he had -remarked that he was beginning to feel old and that only the impetus of -my presence was responsible for his unusual strength of speech. For over -seventy years he had been collecting books on conjuring and kindred -topics, which he was able to read in English, French, Spanish, and -German.</p> - -<p>The dinner hour found us still engrossed in conversation, and Frau -Heimburger extended a most hospitable and cordial invitation for me to -join the family circle. But my hunger was purely mental, and the true -savor of the meal was the reminiscent chat of Herr Heimburger, who, from -his post at the head of his household, looked as hale and hearty as if -he had found the Elixir of Life which so many of his charlatan -predecessors claimed to have “discovered.<a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a>â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_238_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_238_sml.jpg" width="195" height="255" alt="Alexander Heimburger, a veteran conjurer who presented -the suspension trick in 1845-46 during his American tour. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Alexander Heimburger, a veteran conjurer who presented -the suspension trick in 1845-46 during his American tour. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In 1904 I paid the old master a second visit. To his professions of -pleasure at meeting me once more, he added the gift of several rare -programmes now in my collection, and when our hands met in a farewell -clasp he told me that he had set all things in order and was ready for -the coming of the Grim Reaper. Soon after that visit,<a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a> however, I -received a card with the following melancholy message:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">My Dear Friend</span>—Have not been very well of late, and have been -expecting my last days. All preparations have been made and Death -the Visitor arrived, but instead of calling for me, he has taken -away my beloved wife. I am not capable of writing more. God be with -you. From your old friend,</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Alexander Heimburger</span>.</p></div> - -<p>Alexander Heimburger or, as he was billed, Alexander the Conjurer, was -born December 4th, 1818. From 1844 to 1854 he toured North and South -America, returning to his native country with the intention of there -following his calling as a professional entertainer. But his fame had -preceded him, and, as his fortune was large, his souvenirs and tales of -travel many and interesting, he was taken up by the world of fashion and -lionized. This practically closed his career as a conjurer, for in those -days magicians occupied no such reputable position in the professional -world as they do to-day, and to have returned to his stage work would -have closed the doors of aristocracy to him. He married one of Münster’s -prettiest girls, who bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. -So he passed the remainder of his days, living modestly but comfortably -on the money he had amassed in America, entertained by a large circle of -appreciative friends, and well content to live thus, far from the -madding crowd in which the professional entertainer must move.</p> - -<p>While the recollections of his public career and his meetings with other -magicians, as well as notable men in other walks of life, were fresh, he -wrote his book, “Der Moderne Zauberer†(The Modern Magician), which he<a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a> -claims, with much justice, is rated as one of the gems of German -literature, as well as the best book ever written by a conjurer. It is -built from extracts from his diary and is on the style of Sig. Blitz’s -book, but is far more diversified and interesting.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_240_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_240_sml.jpg" width="216" height="204" alt="Alexander Heimburger, known in conjuring as Alexander the -Conjurer, from a quaint illustration in “The North American,†published -in Mexico." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Alexander Heimburger, known in conjuring as Alexander the -Conjurer, from a quaint illustration in “The North American,†published -in Mexico.</span> -</p> - -<p>His scrap-book also told a most romantic tale of vicissitudes. A -half-page article in the New York <i>Tribune</i>, dated October, 1845, showed -Alexander arrayed in a Chinese costume, and producing huge bowls of -water, flowers, and various sorts of heavy articles. This proves -<a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a>conclusively that Ching Ling Foo was not the first conjurer to offer -this Chinese trick in America, as it is generally supposed. Alexander -added that all the old-timers would change their programmes by -introducing the Chinese tricks, and, to verify his statement, readers -need only to see the following files in Astor Library, New York City: -New York <i>Herald</i>, New York <i>Tribune</i>, and New York <i>Evening Gazette</i> of -November 6th, 1845.</p> - -<p>Herr Alexander had arrived in New York almost penniless, after a -disastrous tour of other American cities. He tried to hire Niblo’s -Garden, but was informed that the auditorium was never opened in winter. -Through the intercession of Mrs. Niblo, however, he finally secured it -at a rental of twenty dollars per night. He opened to a small house and -for three nights did not even pay expenses, but the fourth night -witnessed a change in his fortunes and for three months he played -literally to standing room. Then because he had no new tricks to offer, -and his pride forbade his presenting his old répertoire until receipts -grew lighter, he closed his New York season.</p> - -<p>While playing in Saratoga, Alexander was approached by the late P. T. -Barnum, who was accompanied by Gen. Tom Thumb. Alexander declined Mr. -Barnum’s offer because he thought to join the Barnum staff of -entertainers would injure his professional rating. Barnum’s admission -fee was 25 cents, while Alexander charged 50 cents and $1.</p> - -<p>About this time the fame of Alexander attracted the attention of no less -a personage than S. F. B. Morse, of telegraphic fame; and Alexander had -on his programme one trick which mystified Morse, who honestly believed -that the conjurer had discovered some new law of nature that might be of -service to scientists.<a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_242_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_242_sml.jpg" width="171" height="270" alt="Alexander Heimburger presenting the suspension trick -during his engagement in Brazil. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Alexander Heimburger presenting the suspension trick -during his engagement in Brazil. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Alexander called this trick “The Spirit Bell,†and, worked by one method -or another, it has been used by many magicians. Some employ a thread and -hook, causing the clapper to strike by pulling the thread which runs -through an innocent-looking ribbon on which the<a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a> bell hangs. Others use -an electric magnet. Herr Alexander placed his bell on top of a fancy -case which he could set anywhere, and the bell would ring at command. -The secret was a small bird, trained to jump from one rung of a tiny -ladder to another, at word of command or the waving of a stick or wand -which the bird could see from its point of imprisonment. Every time that -it jumped from one rung to another, it would pull down a step which was -so arranged that by the smallest overweight it would release a catch, -which in turn would throw the hammer against the glass. When the bird -stepped off, the hammer would again come back to its original position -and be ready for the second blow. This bird he bought from a street -fortune-teller, who had trained it to go up different steps of a ladder -and select envelopes containing variously printed fortunes.</p> - -<p>Alexander enjoyed personal acquaintance with President Polk, Henry Clay, -Daniel Webster, Calhoun, and their fellow-statesmen in the United -States. Through his friendship with President Polk he carried to the -West Indies and Brazil letters so influential that the aristocracy in -these countries opened its doors to him. He was welcomed at the palace -of Dom Pedro, and has in his possession letters from both the King and -his consort, dated 1850.</p> - -<p>So much for the history of a man who was brave enough to admit that he -developed the suspension trick from principles laid down by humble -Indian fakirs.</p> - -<p>The crudest method used for accomplishing the suspension trick consisted -of a steel corset, an iron rod painted to resemble wood, and a platform. -The steel<a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a> rod was fitted into a special place in the corset, also in -the platform. This method was improved, first to make it a self-raising -suspension, then eventually with a steel rod from the back of the stage, -eliminating the use of both rods under the arms.</p> - -<p>Spectators and reviewers commented on the rigid, almost painful, -carriage of Robert-Houdin’s son during the performance, which they laid -to the effect of ether. Unquestionably Robert-Houdin used this crude -corset-and-rod method of working the trick.</p> - -<p>The fumes of ether which reached the audience, he admits, were caused by -pouring a little ether over hot irons in the wings.</p> - -<p>But whatever the method employed by Robert-Houdin to secure the effects -of “suspension éthéréenne,†he was merely introducing a century-old -trick, which other contemporary magicians were also exhibiting. The name -of the real maker of the apparatus may never be known, but some clever -mechanician supplied Robert-Houdin, Compars Herrmann, and John Henry -Anderson with precisely the same method of working the trick, at -precisely the same time. Robert-Houdin alone was audacious enough to -claim the invention as his own.<a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -<small>THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span>UPREME egotism and utter disregard for the truth may be traced in all -of Robert-Houdin’s writings, but they reached a veritable climax when he -indited chapter XVI. of his “Memoirs.†During the course of this chapter -he described the so-called invention and first production of the -disappearing-handkerchief trick.</p> - -<p>According to the American edition of his “Memoirs,†page 303, he -received a command to appear before Louis Philippe and his family at St. -Cloud in November, 1846. During the six days intervening between the -official invitation and his appearance before the royal family, he -arranged a trick from which, he states, he had every reason to expect -excellent results. On page 305 he goes even further in his claims and -announces:</p> - -<p>“All my tricks were favorably received, and the one I had invented for -the occasion gained me unbounded applause.â€</p> - -<p>He then gives the following description of the trick and its -performance:</p> - -<p>“I borrowed from my noble spectators several handkerchiefs, which I made -into a parcel, and laid on the table. Then, at my request, different -persons wrote on the cards the names of places whither they desired -their handkerchiefs to be invisibly transported.</p> - -<p>“When this had been done, I begged the King to take<a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a> three of the cards -at hazard, and choose from them the place he might consider most -suitable.</p> - -<p>“‘Let us see,’ Louis Philippe said, ‘what this one says: “I desire the -handkerchiefs to be found beneath one of the candelabra on the -mantelpiece.†That is too easy for a sorcerer; so we will pass to the -next card: “The handkerchiefs are to be transported to the dome of the -Invalides.†That would suit me, but it is much too far, not for the -handkerchiefs, but for us. Ah, ah!’ the King added, looking at the last -card, ‘I am afraid, M. Robert-Houdin, I am about to embarrass you. Do -you know what this card proposes?’</p> - -<p>“‘Will your Majesty deign to inform me?’</p> - -<p>“‘It is desired that you should send the handkerchiefs into the chest of -the last orange-tree on the right of the avenue.’</p> - -<p>“‘Only that, Sire? Deign to order, and I shall obey.’</p> - -<p>“‘Very good, then; I should like to see such a magic act: I, therefore, -choose the orange-tree chest.’</p> - -<p>“The King gave some orders in a low voice, and I directly saw several -persons run to the orange-tree, in order to watch it and prevent any -fraud.</p> - -<p>“I was delighted at this precaution, which must add to the effect of my -experiment, for the trick was already arranged, and the precaution hence -too late.</p> - -<p>“I had now to send the handkerchiefs on their travels, so I placed them -beneath a bell of opaque glass, and, taking my wand, I ordered my -invisible travellers to proceed to the spot the King had chosen.</p> - -<p>“I raised the bell; the little parcel was no longer there, and a white -turtle-dove had taken its place.<a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a></p> - -<p>“The King then walked quickly to the door, whence he looked in the -direction of the orange-tree, to assure himself that the guards were at -their post; when this was done, he began to smile and shrug his -shoulders.</p> - -<p>“‘Ah! M. Robert-Houdin,’ he said, somewhat ironically, ‘I much fear for -the virtue of your magic staff.’ Then he added, as he returned to the -end of the room, where several servants were standing, ‘Tell William to -open immediately the last chest at the end of the avenue, and bring me -carefully what he finds there—if he does find anything.’</p> - -<p>“William soon proceeded to the orange-tree, and, though much astonished -at the orders given him, he began to carry them out.</p> - -<p>“He carefully removed one of the sides of the chest, thrust his hand in, -and almost touched the roots of the tree before he found anything. All -at once he uttered a cry of surprise as he drew out a small iron coffer -eaten by the rust.</p> - -<p>“This curious find, after having been cleaned from the mould, was -brought in and placed on a small ottoman by the King’s side.</p> - -<p>“‘Well, M. Robert-Houdin,’ Louis Philippe said to me, with a movement of -impatient curiosity, ‘here is a box; am I to conclude it contains the -handkerchiefs?’</p> - -<p>“‘Yes, Sire,’ I replied with assurance, ‘and they have been there, too, -for a long period.’</p> - -<p>“‘How can that be? The handkerchiefs were lent you scarce a quarter of -an hour ago.’</p> - -<p>“‘I cannot deny it, Sire; but what would my magic powers avail me if I -could not perform incomprehensible<a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a> tricks? Your Majesty will doubtless -be still more surprised when I prove to your satisfaction that this -coffer as well as its contents was deposited in the chest of the -orange-tree sixty years ago.’</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_248_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_248_sml.jpg" width="224" height="275" alt="Reproduction of a very rare pastel portrait of -Cagliostro. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of a very rare pastel portrait of -Cagliostro. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“‘I should like to believe your statement,’ the King<a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a> replied with a -smile; ‘but that is impossible, and I must, therefore, ask for proofs of -your assertion.’</p> - -<p>“‘If your Majesty will be kind enough to open this casket they will be -supplied.’</p> - -<p>“‘Certainly; but I shall require a key for that.’</p> - -<p>“‘It only depends on yourself, Sire, to have one. Deign to remove it -from the neck of this turtle dove, which has just brought it to you.’</p> - -<p>“Louis Philippe unfastened a ribbon that held a small rusty key with -which he hastened to unlock the coffer. The first thing that caught the -King’s eye was a parchment, on which he read the following statements:</p> - -<p>“‘This day, the sixth of June, 1786, this iron box, containing six -handkerchiefs, was placed among the roots of an orange tree by me, -Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro, to serve in performing an act of magic -which will be executed on the same day sixty years hence before Louis -Philippe of Orléans and his family.’</p> - -<p>“‘There is, decidedly, witchcraft about this,’ the King said, more and -more amazed. ‘Nothing is wanting, for the seal and signature of the -celebrated sorcerer are placed at the foot of this statement, which, -Heaven pardon me, smells strongly of sulphur.’</p> - -<p>“At this jest the audience began to laugh.</p> - -<p>“‘But,’ the King added, taking out of the box a carefully sealed packet, -‘can the handkerchiefs, by possibility, be in this?’</p> - -<p>“‘Indeed, Sire, they are; but, before opening the parcel, I would -request your Majesty to notice that it, also, bears the impression of -Cagliostro’s seal.’</p> - -<p>“This seal, once rendered so famous by being placed<a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a> on the celebrated -alchemist’s bottles of elixir and liquid gold, I had obtained from -Torrini, who had been an old friend of Cagliostro’s.</p> - -<p>“‘It is certainly the same,’ my royal spectator answered, after -comparing the two seals. Still, in his impatience to learn the contents -of the parcel, the King quickly tore open the envelope, and soon -displayed before the astonished spectators the six handkerchiefs, which, -a few moments before, were still on my table.â€</p> - -<p>While the use of the Cagliostro seal really formed no part of the trick, -its possession by Robert-Houdin goes to show how indefatigably he -collected conjuring curios and how quick he was to utilize any part of -his collection, and score thereby a brilliant showing.</p> - -<p>Cagliostro seals were by no means rare. This prince of charlatans had -seals, like adventures, in great variety; and in this connection, it is -not out of place to tell something of Cagliostro and thus explain why -the parchment bearing his seal created such a sensation at St. Cloud.</p> - -<p>Cagliostro has no match in the annals of magic. Not a conjurer in the -sense of being a public entertainer, he yet mystified and bewitched his -thousands. Something of a physician, more of an alchemist, and -altogether a charlatan, he left behind him a trail of brilliant -chicanery, daring adventure, and ignominious failure and undoing -unequalled in the history of Europe.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_251_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_251_sml.jpg" width="232" height="275" alt="Reproduction of a rare portrait of Seraphinia Feliciani, -Comtesse de Cagliostro, wrongfully called Lorenzo in the Encyclopædia -Britannica. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of a rare portrait of Seraphinia Feliciani, -Comtesse de Cagliostro, wrongfully called Lorenzo in the Encyclopædia -Britannica. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Cagliostro was born Joseph Balsamo, in Palermo, Italy, June 8th, 1743. -His parents were in humble circumstances and he started his career as a -novice in the Convent of Benfratelli, from which he was expelled for -incorrigibility. Then he plunged into a life of dissipa<a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a>tion and -cleverly planned, ofttimes brilliantly executed crimes. He fled Palermo -after forging theatre tickets and a will, and duping a goldsmith out of -sixty pieces of gold. At Messina he fell in with an alchemist named -Althotas, a man of some learning who spoke a variety of<a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a> languages. -These two adventurers travelled in Egypt, and when Althotas died -Cagliostro went to Naples and Rome, where he married a beautiful -girdle-maker named Seraphinia Feliciani. This woman shared both his -triumphs and his disgrace. In 1776 they arrived in London, where he -announced himself as the Count di Cagliostro. The title was assumed, the -name was borrowed from his mother’s side of the house. Here for the -first time Cagliostro announced himself also a worker of miracles or -wonders.</p> - -<p>He exhibited two mysterious substances, “Materia Prima,†with which he -transmuted all baser metals into gold, and “Egyptian Wine,†with which -he claimed to prolong life. His wife, who was just past twenty, he -declared was more than sixty, her youthful appearance being due to the -use of his elixir. He founded a spurious Egyptian rite in connection -with the Masonic order which has been recognized as a blot upon Masonic -history, and he claimed thousands of Masonic dupes. All over the -Continent he and his beautiful wife travelled, now healing the poor for -nothing, now duping the rich, but always living in a most picturesque, -voluptuous fashion. He dipped into spiritualism and mesmerism, but -wherever he went his converts followed after.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_253_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_253_sml.jpg" width="390" height="237" alt="Very rare Testot handbill printed about 1800, presented -by Testot to Henry Evanion. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Very rare Testot handbill printed about 1800, presented -by Testot to Henry Evanion. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In 1789, while in Rome, he was seized by that invincible power, the Holy -Inquisition, and was condemned to death. Later Pope Pius VI. changed the -sentence to life imprisonment. Confinement made him more daring than -ever. He asked for a confessor, and when a Capuchin monk was permitted -to enter his cell in this capacity Cagliostro endeavored to choke him -and escape in his robes. The<a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a><a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a> monk fought for his life so effectually -that it was he, and not Cagliostro, who escaped. Cagliostro was -literally buried alive in a subterranean dungeon, as punishment for his -final offence, and his wife immured herself in a Roman convent, where -she died in 1794.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_254_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_254_sml.jpg" width="146" height="192" alt="Testot programme, featuring “Cabalistic Art†in 1826. -From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Testot programme, featuring “Cabalistic Art†in 1826. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In Paris, perhaps, Cagliostro enjoyed his greatest triumphs of -charlatanism, and it is not remarkable that the appearance of his seal -in the midst of Robert-Houdin’s trick should seem almost uncanny to the -royal family.</p> - -<p>But to return to the disappearing-handkerchief trick. Robert-Houdin did -not invent this trick. It was pre<a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a>sented by a number of conjurers before -Robert-Houdin was known in the world of magic. Robert-Houdin simply -employed the trick familiar to both his predecessors and contemporaries -and redressed it to tickle the fancy of his royal patron.</p> - -<p>In England this trick was known among old conjurers as “The Ne Plus -Ultra of the Cabalistic Art.†In 1826 one M. Félix Testot, who claimed -to be a compatriot of Robert-Houdin, presented the trick in the British -provinces, and one of his bills I am reproducing because it shows that -the trick he offered the provincial Britons and the trick which -Robert-Houdin offered the royal family at St. Cloud were identical. It -also proves that London had seen the trick; and what London had seen, -Paris, including Robert-Houdin, had heard of.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 91px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_255_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_255_sml.jpg" width="91" height="320" alt="Marriot programme featuring “Cabalistic Art†in 1831, or -fifteen years before Robert-Houdin claims to have invented the -disappearing handkerchief trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Marriot programme featuring “Cabalistic Art†in 1831, or -fifteen years before Robert-Houdin claims to have invented the -disappearing handkerchief trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>A programme used by “The Celebrated Mr. Marriot, Professor of Recreative -Philosophy,†in 1831, contains word for word the announcement of the -trick used on Testot’s bill, which goes to<a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a> show that a popular test was -to have articles passed from the Adelphia Theatre to the gun which was -being watched by a sentinel.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 135px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_256_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_256_sml.jpg" width="135" height="300" alt="Jefferini handbill, dated 1833, in which he announces -that any article will be made to fly 500 miles a minute." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Jefferini handbill, dated 1833, in which he announces -that any article will be made to fly 500 miles a minute.</span> -</div> - -<p>February 22d, 1833, found a Mr. Jefferini at the Royal Clarence Theatre, -Liverpool Street, King’s Cross, Liverpool. He agreed to make “an article -fly at the rate of five hundred miles an hour, from King’s Cross to the -Centre of Greece.â€</p> - -<p>The original Buck featured on his programme a similar trick which he -called “The Loaf Trick.†On a bill dated October 26th, 1840, it is -announced as follows: “Watch in a loaf. The magician will command any -gentleman’s watch to disappear. It will be found in a loaf at any -baker’s shop in Town.†The senior Ingleby changed the trick somewhat, -sending out to any market for a<a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a> shoulder of mutton, which, on being -cut, would yield up a card previously drawn by some spectator. He thus -describes his trick in his book “Whole Art of Legerdemain,†published in -London in 1815:</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Trick Four.</span></p> - -<p>“To cut out of a Shoulder of Mutton a Card which one of the Company had -previously drawn out of the Pack.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_257_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_257_sml.jpg" width="155" height="175" alt="Only known portrait of the clever English conjurer, Buck. -From an engraving in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Only known portrait of the clever English conjurer, Buck. -From an engraving in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“Having desired a person to draw a Card out of several which you hold to -him, and to remember it, which he promises to do, you tell him it shall -be in a shoulder of mutton which you will send for.</p> - -<p>“Accordingly you desire a servant to go to the butcher’s and bring one. -When brought, it is examined,<a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a> and then ordered to be put down to roast. -After performing some tricks, you recollect the shoulder of mutton, -which is immediately brought half-roasted, and after cutting it for some -time you at length find the card, and produce it.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 136px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_258_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_258_sml.jpg" width="136" height="353" alt="Ingleby handbill, dated 1808. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Ingleby handbill, dated 1808. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>“Explanation:</p> - -<p>“Having forced a card on one of the company, your confederate has an -opportunity, when the mutton is sent to be roasted, of conveying a thin -duplicate of that card folded into a narrow compass into the fleshy part -near the shank, which can be easily done by means of a sharp penknife.</p> - -<p>“This trick, though remarkably simple, has created universal -astonishment at the Minor Theatre, where it was frequently exhibited by -Mr. Ingleby.<a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a>â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_259_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_259_sml.jpg" width="142" height="208" alt="Frontispiece from Ingleby’s book, “Whole Art of -Legerdemain,†said to be an excellent likeness of the conjurer-author. -From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Frontispiece from Ingleby’s book, “Whole Art of -Legerdemain,†said to be an excellent likeness of the conjurer-author. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>The method of performing the trick was so familiar to conjurers of -Robert-Houdin’s time and earlier that Henry Evans Evanion was able to -describe it to me from actual witnessings. Acting on his explanation, on -my return to America I offered the trick, without any great amount of -preparation and without a hitch, at a matinée entertainment given by a -secret organization. I will describe precisely how this was done, and -allow my readers to judge of the similarity of the trick offered years -ago by<a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a> humble travelling magicians whose names have been written most -faintly in the annals of conjuring, and the much-vaunted trick -“invented†by Robert-Houdin for the entertainment of his sovereign.</p> - -<p>The hall in which the matinée was given was located in Harlem, Borough -of Manhattan, New York City, and I had decided that the handkerchiefs -which were to make the flying journey should be “desired†by some one -present to appear under the top step of the winding staircase in the -Statue of Liberty, which is located in New York Harbor. This meant a -half-hour ride from the hall to the boat in a Subway train; then a run -across New York Harbor to the Statue. These boats left the dock on the -hour and the half-hour, so I timed my performance to fill just half an -hour, starting with some sleight-of-hand, the egg-bag trick, and -swallowing a package of needles and bringing them up threaded, which -latter trick was introduced into magical performances in Europe by K. K. -Kraus in 1816.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 139px;"> -<a href="images/illpg_261_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_261_sml.jpg" width="139" height="350" alt="Reproduction of a rare Buck handbill, dated 1844. From -the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Reproduction of a rare Buck handbill, dated 1844. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</div> - -<p>Just before 3:30 o’clock I borrowed three handkerchiefs and tied them -together for easier handling. I had three handkerchiefs, similarly tied -together, under my vest, and just at 3:30, I switched the two sets of -handkerchiefs, so that the handkerchiefs furnished by the spectators -were under my vest and the bogus handkerchiefs in my hand. First I -dropped the bogus handkerchiefs on the table-trap, picking up the opaque -glass cover with which they were to be hidden, and, by a carefully -rehearsed bit of carelessness, dropped and broke it. Then, leaving the -bogus handkerchiefs on the table trap, I stepped toward the wings, -apparently to secure another glass bell<a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a> or cover. To all intents and -purposes, I did not pass from the view of the audience, for fully half -of my body was on the stage, but as my assistant handed me a new glass -cover, he deftly extracted the real handkerchiefs from under my vest. -Then, while I returned to the stage with my patter and description of -the flight the handkerchiefs were about to make, my assistant, with the -handkerchiefs in his pocket, walked unnoticed from the door, and, once -out of sight, ran madly to the Subway station. There he boarded an -express and reached the boat landing just in time to catch the 4 o’clock -boat. At the Statue, my brother and a tinsmith were waiting for him. -The<a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a> handkerchiefs were placed in the tin box, securely soldered, and -then this box was placed inside a second iron box, which was locked. The -“plant†was then taken upstairs and hidden under the top step.</p> - -<p>In the mean time, with my thoughts following my assistant every step of -his trip, I was playing out my end of the game. The audience was -supplied with blank cards on which they might write the name of the -place where the handkerchiefs should reappear. This, of course, took -some time, and when the cards, each folded to hide the writing thereon, -were collected in a hat, I shook them up thoroughly, and then turned -them out upon a plate, deftly adding, on the top, three cards which I -had concealed in my hand. This was sleight-of-hand purely, and I next -picked out those three prepared cards on each of which was written “Can -you send the handkerchiefs under the top step of the Statue of Liberty?†-Explaining that I had in my hand three cards chosen at haphazard, I -wished the final choice to be made by a disinterested party. A baby was -finally chosen to select the card. Naturally, I refused even to take the -slip of paper from the baby’s hand, and one of the lodge members read -the question.</p> - -<p>Murmurs of surprise and incredulity echoed from all over the hall. The -test was too difficult! I then announced that if the audience would -select its own committee, making sure to pick out men who could not be -bribed, I would accompany them, and we would surely return with the -handkerchiefs, sealed in double boxes, as found under the famous -stairway. As an elaborate course luncheon was to be served, the -committee had<a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a> time to act, and away we went, leaving the lodge to its -feast. So much time had been lost in selecting the committee that we -reached the wharf just in time to catch the 5 o’clock boat. On landing I -received a prearranged signal from my assistants that all was well, and -as I watched my committee dash up the stairs I knew that their quest -would be rewarded.</p> - -<p>When the committee and the writer returned to the lodge-room, a mechanic -was required to pry open the box. There lay the identical handkerchiefs -furnished by my spectators, who could hardly believe their eyes.</p> - -<p>On other occasions I have asked my audience to select a spokesman, who -in a loud voice would announce the point at which the handkerchiefs -would be found, and then my man, waiting just outside the door, would -mount his bicycle and pedal like mad for the hiding-place, naturally -outstripping any committee appointed. But the first method, that of -selecting the place beforehand and having all arrangements made, even to -the three prepared cards, is safest and is probably the one used by -Robert-Houdin to deceive the French monarch. I doubt if he even had -three different cards prepared, as he claims. I believe he exaggerated -his feat, for that would have been taking long chances.</p> - -<p>For this trick I claim not an iota of originality. I simply fitted it to -the time, the place, and the audience, and that I believe is all -Robert-Houdin did when he “invented†the disappearing handkerchief trick -for the amusement of his sovereign.<a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -<small>ROBERT-HOUDIN’S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BETRAYED BY HIS OWN PEN</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span>TATEMENTS in Robert-Houdin’s various works on the conjurer’s art -corroborate my claim that he was not a master-magician, but a clever -purloiner and adapter of the tricks invented and used by his -predecessors and contemporaries. Whenever, in these books, he attempts -to explain or expose a trick which was not part of his répertoire, he -betrays an ignorance which would be impossible in a conjurer versed in -the finer and more subtle branches of his art. Neither do these -explanations show that he was clever enough as a mechanic to have -invented the apparatus which he claimed as his handiwork. He states that -practice and still more practice are essential, yet no intelligent -performer, amateur or professional, can study my collection of -Robert-Houdin programmes, handbills, and press notices without realizing -that his répertoire contained little or no trace of what should be the -foundation of successful conjuring, sleight-of-hand. Changing his -fingers over the various air-holes of the inexhaustible bottle was as -near as he ever came to sleight-of-hand, even when he was in the height -of his success.</p> - -<p>According to the press notices he had a pleasing stage presence, and -also dressed and set forth his tricks richly, but it must be borne in -mind that then, as often to-day,<a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a> the man sent by an editor to criticise -a conjurer’s performance knew little or nothing about the art and could -not institute comparisons between different magicians. To-day -Robert-Houdin would shine as an exhibitor of illusions or mechanical -toys. A pistol shot, a puff of smoke—and his confederate or assistant -has done the real work behind the scenes.</p> - -<p>His lack of finesse as a sleight-of-hand performer is nowhere more -clearly shown than in his own writings. On page 37 of his French exposé -of the secrets of magic, entitled “Comment on Devient Sorcier†(page 51 -of the English translation by Professor Hoffmann, “The Secrets of -Conjuring and Magic"), he thus naïvely describes his masterpiece of -coin-palming:</p> - -<p>“I myself practised palming long and perseveringly, and acquired thereat -a very considerable degree of skill. I used to be able to palm two -five-franc pieces at once, the hand, nevertheless, remaining as freely -open as though it held nothing whatever.â€</p> - -<p>An amateur of his own day would have blushed to admit that he could palm -but two coins. Men like T. Nelson Downs, “The Koin King,†think nothing -of palming twenty five-franc or silver dollars, or forty half-dollars, -and even this record has been broken.</p> - -<p>Even two writers who contributed to the translation and editing of his -works, R. Shelton Mackenzie and Professor Hoffmann (Angelo J. Lewis), -and who have drawn rich royalties for the same, apologize for his -flagrant mis-statements, which, they realize, any man or woman with but -a slight knowledge of conjuring must recognize.</p> - -<p>His first contribution to the history of magic was his<a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a> “Memoirs"; and -while he does not feature exposures of tricks in this work, he offers, -in passing, explanations of tricks and automata presented by other -magicians. For the most part these explanations are obviously incorrect, -and so prove that he was ignorant of certain fundamental principles of -the art in which he claimed to have shone.</p> - -<p>In the introduction of the American edition, published in 1850, Mr. -Mackenzie, the editor, thus apologizes for one of Robert-Houdin’s most -flagrant mistakes in tracing the history of magic:</p> - -<p>“One error which M. Houdin makes must not be passed over. His account of -M. de Kempelen’s celebrated automaton chess-player (afterward Maëlzel’s) -is entirely wrong. This remarkable piece of mechanism was constructed in -1769, and not in 1796; it was the Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria who -played with it, and not Catherine II. of Russia; it was in 1783 that it -first visited Paris, where it played at the Café de la Regence; it was -not taken to London until 1784, and again in 1819; it was brought to -America in 1825, by M. Maëlzel, and visited our principal cities, its -chief resting-place being Philadelphia; M. Maëlzel’s death was in 1838, -on the voyage from Cuba to the United States, and not, as M. Houdin -says, on his return to France; and the automaton, so far from being -taken back to France, was sold by auction here, finally purchased by the -late Dr. J. K. Mitchell, of Philadelphia, reconstructed by him, and -finally deposited in the Chinese Museum (formerly Peale’s), where it was -consumed in the great fire which destroyed the National Theatre (now the -site of the Continental Hotel, corner of Ninth and Chestnut Streets),<a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a> -and, extending to the Chinese Museum, burnt it down on July 5th, 1854. -An interesting account of the Automaton Chess-Player, written by Prof. -George Allen, of this city, will be found in ‘The Book of the First -American Chess Congress,’ recently published in New York.â€</p> - -<p>Signor Blitz, in his book “Fifty Years in the Magic Circle,†-corroborates the Mackenzie correction, by telling how he saw Maëlzel in -Havana, Cuba, where the famous German met his professional Waterloo, -first in small audiences, then in the death of his faithful confederate, -Schlomberg. Finally, broken in health and spirit, Maëlzel sailed from -Havana for Philadelphia, but death overtook him at sea. His body was -consigned to the ocean’s depths, and his few effects were sold to -liquidate the cost of passage and other debts.</p> - -<p>That Robert-Houdin should make an error concerning a world-famous -automaton the history of which could be traced through contemporary -periodicals and libraries, is almost inconceivable and proves the -carelessness with which he gathered and presented facts.</p> - -<p>His inability to grasp the principles on which other performers built -their tricks is shown most clearly when he attempts to describe and -explain the performances of the Arabian mountebanks whom he saw during -his stay in Algiers. These tricks have been handed down from one -generation to another, and now that Arabian conjurers and acrobats are -imported for hippodrome and vaudeville performances in all civilized -countries, the tricks described by Robert-Houdin are familiar to the -general public. They are also copied by performers of other -nationalities, and can be seen in circus side-shows<a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a> and at fairs, as -well as in the better grade of houses. Having worked on the same bill -with genuine Arabian performers, I know just how the tricks are -accomplished.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin undertakes to explain these tricks in chapter XXII. of the -American edition of his “Memoirs.†So long as he quotes reliable -authorities like the <i>Journal des Sciences</i>, the explanations are -correct. Directly he attempts an independent exposure, he strikes far -from the correct explanation.</p> - -<p>On page 424 he states:</p> - -<p>“In the following experiment, two Arabs held a sabre, one by the hilt, -the other by the point; a third then came forward, and after raising his -clothes so as to leave the abdomen quite bare, laid himself flat on the -edge of the blade, while a fourth mounted on his back, and seemed to -press the whole weight of his body on him.</p> - -<p>“This trick may be easily explained.</p> - -<p>“Nothing proves to the audience that the sabre is really sharpened, or -that the edge is more cutting than the back, although the Arab who holds -it by the point is careful to wrap it up in a handkerchief—in this, -imitating the jugglers who pretend they have cut their fingers with one -of the daggers they use in their tricks.</p> - -<p>“Besides, in performing this trick, the invulnerable turned his back on -the audience. He knew the advantage to be derived from this -circumstance; hence, at the moment when about to lay himself on the -sabre, he very adroitly pulled back over his stomach that portion of his -clothing he had raised. Lastly, when the fourth actor mounted on his -back, he rested his hands on the shoulders of the Arabs who held the -sabre. The latter apparently<a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a> maintained his balance, but, in reality, -they supported the whole weight of his body. Hence, the only requirement -for this trick is to have the stomach more or less pressed in, and I -will explain presently that this can be effected without any danger or -injury.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_269_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_269_sml.jpg" width="144" height="206" alt="A Rannin lithograph, showing him doing the sword-walking -act which Robert-Houdin claimed to have been a fraud. Rannin is still -working in Germany, imitated by many, equalled by none. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Rannin lithograph, showing him doing the sword-walking -act which Robert-Houdin claimed to have been a fraud. Rannin is still -working in Germany, imitated by many, equalled by none. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In this explanation Robert-Houdin is entirely wrong. The real secret of -lying on top of a sharp-edged razor, sword, or sabre rests on the fact -that the performer does actually lie upon it in a perfectly motionless -position. Were he to move but the width of a hair, backward or<a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a> forward -or sidewise, the weapon would slice his body, resulting in instant death -or horrible mutilation. I have watched cheap performers of this class of -work, in dime museums or fairs, walk up a ladder of sharp swords which I -had previously held in my hand. They would place the foot down with -infinite precision and then press it into place. This position will not -result in cutting, but let the performer slip or slide and the flesh -would be cut instantly. I have also seen an acrobat, working in a -circus, select two razors in first-class condition, place them on a -socket with the edges of the razors uppermost, and with his bare hands -he would do what is known as a hand-stand on the keen edges of the -blades. This trick of absolute balance is acquired by persistent -practice from youth up.</p> - -<p>Again Robert-Houdin errs wofully in comparing the sabre-swallower to the -swallower of broken bottle-heels and stones. Sabre-swallowing is one -trick, swallowing pebbles and broken glass belongs in quite a different -class. And when I say this I do not mean powdered glass, but pieces of -glass first broken, then chewed, and finally swallowed.</p> - -<p>On page 426 Robert-Houdin puts the two tricks in the same class, as -follows:</p> - -<p>“When the trick of swallowing bottle-heels and pebbles was to be done, -the Aïssaoua really put them in his mouth, but I believe, I may say -certainly, that he removed them at the moment when he placed his head in -the folds of the Mokadem’s burnous. However, had he swallowed them, -there would have been nothing wonderful about this, when we compare it -with what was done some thirty<a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a> years back in France by a mountebank -called ‘the Sabre-Swallower.’</p> - -<p>“This man, who performed in the streets, threw back his head so as to -form a straight line with his throat, and really thrust down his gullet -a sabre, of which only the hilt remained outside his mouth.</p> - -<p>“He also swallowed an egg without cracking it, or even nails and -pebbles, which he caused to resound, by striking his stomach with his -fist.</p> - -<p>“These tricks were the result of a peculiar formation in the -mountebank’s throat, but, if he had lived among the Aïssaoua, he would -have assuredly been the leading man of the company.â€</p> - -<p>The sabre-swallower never releases his hold on the weapon. The pebble -and bottle-heel swallower does—but brings them up again, by a system of -retching which results from long practice. The Japanese have an -egg-swallowing trick in which they swallow either small-sized ivory -balls or eggs, and reproduce them by a retching so unnoticeable that -they could easily show the mouth empty.</p> - -<p>This trick dates back to the offerings of that celebrated water-spouter, -Blaise Manfrede, or de Manfre, who travelled all over Europe. This man -could swallow huge quantities of water and then eject it in streams or -in small quantities or fill all sorts of glasses. In fact this one trick -made him famous. <i>The European Magazine</i>, London, March, 1765, pages -194-5, gives a most diverting description of his trick, taken from an -old letter, and here quoted:</p> - -<p>“I have seen, at the September fair in Francfort, a man who professed -drinking fifty quarts of water in a<a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a> day, and indeed proved that he was -capable of executing what he pretended to. I saw him perform frequently, -and remember it as well as if it was but yesterday. He said he was an -Italian; he was short and squat, his chest, face, forehead, eyes, and -mouth very large. He pretended to be fifty years old, though he did not -seem forty.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_272_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_272_sml.jpg" width="157" height="210" alt="Blasius de Manfre or Blaise Manfrede, from a rare old -woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Blasius de Manfre or Blaise Manfrede, from a rare old -woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“He was called the famous Blaise Manfrede, a native of Malta. At -Francfort he frequently performed three times a day: for, besides his -performances twice a day<a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a> on the public stage (which nobody approached -without paying), he attended private houses when called upon by great -people.</p> - -<p>“He called for a large bucket of fair warm water, and twenty little -glass bottles, flat like cupping glasses, so that they could stand -topside turvy. Some of these he filled with water, plunging them into -the bucket with a good deal of ceremony, and usually swallowed two or -three to wash his mouth and gargle his throat. He threw up the water -again immediately, to shew the spectators that he had no drugs between -his teeth, whence he could be suspected to derive any advantage.</p> - -<p>“After this plausible prelude, he made an Italian harangue, which I -cannot acquaint you with the merits of, because I am a stranger to the -language.... After his harangue he usually took off two dozen of his -little bottles, which he filled from the bucket, and a moment afterwards -returned the liquor through his mouth. But what is most extraordinary is -that this water, which he threw out with violence, appeared red like -wine. And when he had discharged it into two different bottles, it was -red in one and russet like beer in the other; as soon as he shifted the -bottles to the contrary sides, they changed their complexion -respectively to that of wine or beer, and so successively so long as he -continued vomiting; in the mean time, I observed that the water grew -less discolored in proportion as he continued to discharge. This was the -first act. Then he ranged his two dozen of bottles opposite to him on a -table, and exposed to everybody’s view. Then he took an equal number of -bottles, plunged them anew into the bucket, swallowed them too, and -returned<a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a> them in water very transparent, rose-water, -orange-flower-water, and brandy.</p> - -<p>“I have smelt the several odours of his liquors; nay, I have seen him -set fire to a handkerchief dipt in that which smelt like brandy, and it -burnt blue like spirituous liquors.... Nay, he frequently promised at -Venice to give the water back again in milk and oil. But I think he did -not keep his word. In short, he concluded this scene with swallowing -successfully thirty or forty glasses of water, always from the same -bucket, and after having given notice to the company by his man (who -served as an interpreter) that he was going to disembogue, he threw his -head back, and spouting out the fair water, he made it spring up with an -impetuosity like that of the strongest <i>jet d’eau</i>. This last feat -delighted the people infinitely more than all the rest, and during the -month he was at Francfort numbers from all parts came to see this -slovenly exercise. Though he repeated it more than once a day he had -more than four hundred spectators at a time. Some threw their -handkerchiefs, and some their gloves upon the stage, that he might wet -them with the water he had cast up, and he returned them differently -perfumed, sometimes with rose-water, sometimes with orange-flower-water, -and sometimes with brandy.â€</p> - -<p>Another famous juggler and water-spouter was Floram Marchand, whose -picture is herewith reproduced. Judging from his dress, he antedated -Manfrede.</p> - -<p>Bell’s <i>Messenger</i> of July 16th, 1816, tells of a sword-swallower whose -work is extremely pertinent to this discussion, and the clipping is -quoted verbatim:</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_275_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_275_sml.jpg" width="170" height="257" alt="Floram Marchand. From an old, undated English publication -in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Floram Marchand. From an old, undated English publication -in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>“The French papers give a curious account of one<a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a> James de Falaise, a -Norman, about fifty years of age, living in the Rue St. Honoré. It is -said that this extraordinary man will swallow whole walnuts, shell and -all, a tobacco pipe, three cards rolled together, a rose with all its -leaves, long stalk, and thorns, a living bird, and a living mouse, and, -lastly, a live eel. Like to the Indian jugglers, he<a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a> swallows the blade -of a sabre about thirteen inches long of polished steel. This operation -he performs very slowly, and with some precaution; though he evinces no -symptom of pain. After every solid body that he swallows, he always -takes a small dose of wine expressly prepared for him. He does not seem -to make any effort to kill the living animals that he takes in his -mouth, but boasts that he feels them moving in his stomach.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_276_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_276_sml.jpg" width="172" height="231" alt="Position taken by the subject in the Indian basket trick -before he is covered by the sheet." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Position taken by the subject in the Indian basket trick -before he is covered by the sheet.</span> -</p><p><a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a></p> - -<p>In my collection is the handbill of a stone-swallower who exhibited at -No. 10 Cockspur Street, London, charging an admission fee of -half-a-crown.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_277_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_277_sml.jpg" width="166" height="229" alt="Indian fakir seated in the basket after the subject has -been “vanished."" title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Indian fakir seated in the basket after the subject has -been “vanished."</span> -</p> - -<p>These performers actually swallowed the water, stones, pebbles, etc., -and retched them up again so cleverly and at such carefully selected -instants that the audience did not know that the disgorging had been -accomplished.</p> - -<p>Swallowing glass was a different matter, and the mod<a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a>ern human ostriches -have all wound up at city hospitals where surgeons have removed broken -glass, knife blades, and other foreign matter by means of an operation.</p> - -<p>I quote the above instances simply to prove that the stones were -actually swallowed and then disgorged, and not hidden, as Robert-Houdin -claims, in the folds of the Mokadem’s burnous.</p> - -<p>In this one chapter alone Robert-Houdin quotes six authorities in -explaining the tricks he witnessed, which fact only strengthens my -belief that he borrowed his tricks, as well as his explanations, from -able and graphic writers on the art of magic.</p> - -<p>The next work descriptive of the conjurer’s art offered by Robert-Houdin -was “Les Secrets de la Prestidigitation et de la Magie.†Under the title -of “The Secrets of Conjuring and Magic; or, How to Become a Wizard,†it -was translated and edited by Professor Hoffmann and published in 1878 by -George Routledge & Co., London and New York.</p> - -<p>Absolutely no originality is displayed in this book, and the majority of -the tricks explained can be found in French books of a similar character -which appeared before Robert-Houdin turned author. The proof of this -statement can be found by reading any of the following works upon which -Robert-Houdin patently drew for his material:</p> - -<p>“Nouvelle Magie Blanche Dévoilée et Cours Complet de Prestidigitation,†-in two volumes, by J. N. Ponsin, published in Paris in 1853; “Grande -Initiation au vraie Pratique des Célèbres Physiciens-Prestidigitateurs,†-Paris, 1855; “Nouveau Manuel Complet Sorciers, les<a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a> scènes de -Ventriloquie exécutées et communiquées par M. Conte, Physicien du Roi,†-Paris, 1837; “Anciens et Nouvaux Tours d’Escamotage,†of which there are -innumerable editions; “Le Manuel des Sorciers. Recréations Physiques, -Mathématiques, Tours de Cartes et de Gibecière; suivre, des Jeux de -Société,†Paris, 1802.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_279_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_279_sml.jpg" width="249" height="168" alt="Position of the “vanished†Hindoo while concealed in the -basket. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Position of the “vanished†Hindoo while concealed in the -basket. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>His third work, “Magie et Physique Amusante,†translated by Professor -Hoffmann under the title of “The Secrets of Stage Conjuring,†and -published in English in 1881, is marred by an almost continuous strain -of mis-statements, incorrect explanations, and downright falsification.</p> - -<p>On page 17 of the American edition Robert-Houdin<a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a> starts his dramatic -tale of inventing a detector lock by which he protected a rich neighbor, -M. de l’Escalopier, from robbery, and incidentally in return secured -funds with which to open his theatre in the Palais Royal. In his -“Mémoirs†Robert-Houdin states that the opening of the theatre was made -possible by the invention of the writing and drawing automaton whose -history has been traced in chapter III. The reader can choose between -the two stories. One is as plausible as the other.</p> - -<p>But to return to the detector lock. Count or M. De l’Escalopier having -complained grievously to his humble neighbor, the watchmaker -Robert-Houdin, that he and his family were being robbed, begged that the -latter suggest some means of catching the thief. Robert-Houdin then -recalled a childish device by which he had caught his school-fellows in -the act of pilfering his desk, etc., and he proposed to the Count that -the same device, elaborated to meet the strength of a full-grown man, be -attached to his wealthy patron’s desk. As first planned, the detector -lock was to shoot off a pistol on being tampered with, and then brand -the hand of the thief with nitrate of silver. Count de l’Escalopier -objected to branding a man for life, so Robert-Houdin substituted for -the nitrate of silver a sort of cat’s claw which would clamp down on the -robber’s hand and draw blood. The Count deposited ten thousand francs in -his desk and caught the robber, his confidential servant, red-handed. -The ten thousand francs he presented to Robert-Houdin as a reward for -stopping the thefts.</p> - -<p>A charming tale this makes, but, unfortunately for Robert-Houdin’s -claims to originality, the detector lock<a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a> was not a novelty in his day. -The lock which would first alarm the household by setting off a pistol -and then brand the thief’s hand, is described by the Marquis of -Worcester in his book “Centurie of Inventions.†As locks and -locksmithing form my hobby, while in England I purchased the entire set -of patent-books, to add to a collection of locks and fastenings from -every known country of the world. In the introduction of the first book -of patents for inventions relating to locks, latches, bolts, etc., from -A.D. 1774 to 1866, the following quotation will be found:</p> - -<p>“The Marquis of Worcester in his ‘Centurie of Inventions’ thus describes -the first detector lock invented, A.D. 1640, by some mechanical genius -of that day: ‘This lock is so constructed that, if a stranger attempts -to open it, it catches his hand as a trap catches a fox, though not as -far as maiming him for life, yet so far marketh him that if suspected he -might easily be detected.’â€</p> - -<p>It appears that to this lock was fitted a steel barb which, if a certain -tumbler was overlifted in the act of picking or otherwise, was projected -against the hand of the operator by a spring. I have seen such a lock as -this in the collection of Hobbs, Hart & Co., London, who have had it in -their possession many years. In every respect it answers the description -of the invention claimed by Robert-Houdin as his own.</p> - -<p>Chapter VII. of “Secrets of Stage Conjuring†is devoted to -Robert-Houdin’s very incorrect explanation of the famous Indian Basket -Trick. Even his own translator, Professor Hoffmann, takes issue with -Robert-Houdin, as will be seen by reading his foot-note on page 104:<a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a> -“We will not venture to question the fact vouched for by so high an -authority as Robert-Houdin, that the Indian Basket Trick may sometimes -be performed after the manner above described, but we doubt very much -whether such is the usual or customary method.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_282_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_282_sml.jpg" width="148" height="229" alt="A Ramo Samee handbill, featuring his stone-swallowing -act. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A Ramo Samee handbill, featuring his stone-swallowing -act. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_283_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_283_sml.jpg" width="195" height="370" alt="Handbill used by the original Indian jugglers in England -during 1818, in which the sword-swallowing trick is featured. From the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Handbill used by the original Indian jugglers in England -during 1818, in which the sword-swallowing trick is featured. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin states that the child is placed in the basket, and the -Indian fastens down the lid with leather straps. To facilitate this -operation, he rests his knees<a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a><a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a> against the basket, and the bottom of -the latter thus being turned toward the audience, the boy slips out -through a cunningly contrived trap and quickly conceals himself under -the robe of the magician, whose attitude favors this concealment.</p> - -<p>As the basket trick is the Hindoo magician’s most wonderful offering, a -truthful account of his methods of performing the same may be -interesting. In the first place, Robert-Houdin’s explanation is -impossible and unreasonable because the Hindoo magician does not wear -flowing robes in which the child could be concealed. Every Hindoo -performer I have ever seen wore short trousers and was barefooted.</p> - -<p>The correct method of performing the trick, which has been handed down -through generations of Hindoos, is as follows: The boy subject is placed -in a net in which he is firmly tied, after having had his big toes and -thumbs fastened down with bandages. Then, with many a grunt and a groan, -he is lifted into the basket. The subject, however, pretends that the -basket is too small, so he is really seated on one side and keeps his -back in the air. This is done to give the appearance eventually that it -was impossible for him to crouch down or around the basket. The lid of -the basket is now placed on his back, and a large sheet is thrown over -the entire apparatus, which conceals from the audience every movement -made by the subject.</p> - -<p>Now commences the Hindoo “patter,†in reality yells, groans, and -incantations, while the magician and his assistant strike the basket -with swords or canes, stamp on the ground, gnash their teeth, etc. -Gradually the<a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a> cover of the basket sinks until the basket seems empty, -to the spectators at least. The fakir now takes off the cover of the -basket, leaving the sheet over it, however. Then he jumps into the -presumably empty basket, stamps all around, and takes out the net in -which are found the turban worn by the subject and the thumb tie. To -prove further that the basket is still empty, the fakir seats himself in -the basket, as shown in the illustration. The lid of the basket is now -replaced, and under this friendly cover the sheet is taken off and the -basket tied up.</p> - -<p>Now commences the true Hindoo magic. The magician is a real actor. He -apparently adjures Mahomet. He gets very angry and with fierce looks, -ejaculations, and muttered curses he grabs up a sword or cane and jabs -it through different parts of the basket. During all this time the -subject, who is something of a contortionist, is wriggling about on the -bottom of the basket, keeping out of reach of the sword, and in fact -often guiding its thrusts between his legs, as every movement on the -part of the fakir has been carefully thought out and rehearsed in -advance.</p> - -<p>By this time the fakir has convinced his audience that the basket is -empty. To be sure he has not allowed any spectators to come too near him -or the basket, nor has any hand save his touched it, but his clever -acting almost persuades even an intelligent or sceptical onlooker that -the basket is empty.</p> - -<p>With the lid of the basket replaced, this time above the friendly sheet, -and the basket tied, he resumes his weird incantations. He screams and -runs back and forth, playing on a small instrument with a hideous tone<a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a> -which is a cross between the whistle of a locomotive with a cold, and a -sawed-off and hammered-down flute in which has been inserted a tin -whistle. As this nerve-racking music holds the spectators under its -awful spell, the basket begins to rock, the contortionist-subject -gradually raises himself inside the basket, and when the noise is at its -height he straightens up in the basket and raises it with his back as -far as it will go. To the uninitiated it actually appears as if he had -returned to an empty basket in his original position. The trick is a -marvellous deception, but only a Hindoo can exhibit it with success, for -no white person would ever indulge in the screechings, imbecilities, and -contortions which are the spectacular and convincing features of the -trick.</p> - -<p>Sometimes the trick is varied. Instead of the subject being found in his -original position he is seen running toward the crowd as from a -distance. This is accomplished by having two subjects, one in the basket -and one hidden on the outskirts of the crowd, who are “doubles†or at -least who show a marked resemblance and are dressed exactly alike.</p> - -<p>The earliest programmes of Hindoo jugglers in my collection are dated -1818. The “Mr. Ramosamee†featured on this bill later split his name -thus, “Ramo Samee,†and was engaged to perform alone between the acts of -“The Broken Heart†at the Garrick Theatre, London. From Ramo Samee, -Continental and British magicians learned the trick of juggling brass -balls.</p> - -<p>On page 135 Professor Hoffmann, in a foot-note, commends Robert-Houdin -for the very impartial manner in which he approaches the question of -spiritualism and<a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a> spiritualistic manifestations, in his day a -comparative novelty: “In default of absolute certainty, he wisely -reserves his opinion. Where, however, as in the case of the Davenport -Brothers, he had an opportunity of personally observing the alleged -‘phenomena,’ he has neither difficulty in penetrating nor hesitation in -denouncing the imposture. We venture to believe that any of the -so-called spiritualistic manifestations which had come under the test of -Robert-Houdin’s examination would have met a similar fate.â€</p> - -<p>With this commendation I cannot agree. Robert-Houdin once had all the -leeway he wished at a most remarkable manifestation and made no attempt -to hide the fact that he was baffled by the “phenomena.†The “Memoirs of -Marquis de Mirville†contain a Robert-Houdin letter in which he admits -that he could find no explanation of tests just witnessed. The letter, -translated from “Die Magie des XIX. Jahrhunderts von Uriarte,†1896, -published in Berlin, Germany, by Heusers Verlag, is herewith quoted: “I -returned from the séance as greatly astonished as it was possible for me -to be, and I am thoroughly convinced that it was entirely out of the -possibility, and no chance whatever, that it was either by accident or -practised trickery to produce such wonderful materializations. -Robert-Houdin, May 18th, 1847.â€</p> - -<p>He further shows his ignorance of séances as offered in his times, by -his attempt to describe the methods employed by the Davenport Brothers, -to whom he devotes chapter XIII., which might be described as a chapter -of errors.</p> - -<p>These picturesque American entertainers, the Daven<a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a>port Brothers, hailed -from Buffalo, N. Y., U.S.A. Ira Erastus was born September 17th, 1839, -and William Henry, February 1st, 1841. They fairly startled the world by -their so-called manifestations of spiritualism during the 60’s, and were -alternately lauded and reviled for their performances.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_288_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_288_sml.jpg" width="281" height="168" alt="The Davenport Brothers in their prime, from photographs -furnished by them to the contemporary press, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The Davenport Brothers in their prime, from photographs -furnished by them to the contemporary press, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a></p> - -<p>Both were below medium height, rather handsome men, and, as will be seen -from the accompanying engraving, looked much alike. Their career, which -started in America, ran from about 1853 to the early 70’s. They made a -trip to Europe in 1864, remaining until August, 1869. Both married -abroad; Ira a daughter of France, Mlle. Louise Toulet, and William Henry -a Polish girl, Miss Matilda Mag. On the whole, their foreign tour was -most profitable, though in some cities they paid a high price for their -notoriety. In England they waged bitter warfare with John Henry -Anderson, Tolmaque, and Professor Redmond.</p> - -<p>On the occasion of their Paris opening at the Salle Herz they claimed -that the hoodlum element mobbed the theatre and broke up their -performance at the instigation of Henri Robin, who was playing in -opposition. Hamilton, who had succeeded to the management of -Robert-Houdin’s theatre, in a letter published after witnessing their -initial performance announced that he shared this belief; but as -Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin were bitter rivals, I believe Hamilton’s -letter was the result of two things: first the intense ill-will he -harbored against Robin, and second, as he had Robert-Houdin as his -mentor, he was really ignorant of the Davenport methods and therefore -not in a position to defend them. The letter, which is given in full, -appeared in <i>Gazette des Étrangers</i>, Paris, September 27th, 1865:</p> - -<p>“Messrs. Davenport: Yesterday I had the pleasure of being present at the -séance you gave, and I came away from it convinced that jealousy alone -was the cause of the outcry raised against you. The phenomena pro<a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a>duced -surpassed my expectations, and your experiments were full of interest to -me. I consider it my duty to add that these phenomena are inexplicable; -and the more so by such persons as have thought themselves able to guess -your supposed secret, and who are, in fact, far indeed from having -discovered the truth. Hamilton.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_290_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_290_sml.jpg" width="274" height="252" alt="The cabinet trick offered by the Davenport Brothers. From -an old print in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The cabinet trick offered by the Davenport Brothers. From -an old print in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>After their return to America the Davenport Brothers<a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a> retired from -public life, purchased a farm, and rested on their laurels and a -corpulent bank account. One of them is said to have admitted that all -their work was skilful manipulation and not spiritualistic -manifestations. Nevertheless, their names will live so long as -spiritualism is talked of or cabinet effects tolerated by the public.</p> - -<p>The trick as offered by the Davenport Brothers consisted of their being -tied hand and foot at opposite ends of the cabinet, which was hung with -musical instruments, bells, etc. The two men slipped in and out of the -ropes without delay or apparent damage to the ropes, and musical -instruments were played with arms presumably in bondage.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin, in attempting to expose the trick, makes two flagrant -errors. First he claims that “by dint of special practice on the part of -our mediums, the thumb is made to lie flat in the hand, when the whole -assumes a cylindrical form of scarcely greater diameter than the wrist"; -and second that the Davenport Brothers had trained themselves to see in -the dark.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_292_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_292_sml.jpg" width="149" height="277" alt="Announcement used by the Davenport Brothers on their -return to London, England, after their tour of the Continent in April, -1868. From the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Announcement used by the Davenport Brothers on their -return to London, England, after their tour of the Continent in April, -1868. From the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>As releasing myself from fastenings of all sorts, from ropes to -strait-jackets, has been my profession for twenty years, I am in a -position to contradict Robert-Houdin’s first claim positively. I have -met thousands of persons who claimed that the rope, as well as the -handcuff trick, was accomplished by folding the hand together or making -the wrist larger than the hand, but never have I met men or women who -could make their hands smaller than their wrists. I have even gone so -far as to have iron bands made and press my hands together, hoping -eventually to make my hands smaller than my wrists, but this has<a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a> -failed, too. Even if the entire thumb were cut away, I believe it would -still be impossible to slip a rope that was properly bound around the -wrist. You may take any cuff of the adjustable make, or a ratchet cuff, -place it about a small woman’s wrist, and you will find that even<a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a> she -will be unable to slip her wrists. I do not mean by this any hand-cuff -that will not come to any size, or the common cuffs which when locked -will lock only to a certain size, but I mean a cuff that can be locked -and adjusted to any size of wrist.</p> - -<p>In rope-tying, the principal trick is to allow yourself to be tied -according to certain methods of crossing your hands or wrists, so that -by eventually straightening your hands you have made enough room to -allow them to slip out very easily. It is not always the size of the -wrist that counts. It is the manner of holding your hands when the knots -are being tied.</p> - -<p>The gift of seeing in the dark, with which Robert-Houdin endowed the -Davenports, is equally preposterous. Professor Hoffmann defends -Robert-Houdin by citing instances of prisoners who had been confined in -cells for an indefinite period and who had learned to see in the dark. -This is quite true, but they did not alternate daylight and darkness. -Eminent opticians and oculists inform me that the faculty of seeing in -the dark cannot be acquired by parties like the Davenports, who spent -most of their time in the light.</p> - -<p>While the Davenports were pioneers in rope-tying and cabinet séances, -had Robert-Houdin been the clever sleight-of-hand performer and inventor -he claims to have been, these tricks would have been clear and solvable -to him. But as he obviously joined the ranks of the amazed and -bewildered masses, making only a futile attempt to explain the -performances, he convicts himself of ignorance regarding his own art.</p> - -<p>A man who has made a fortune in the world of magic<a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a> and who desires to -hand down to posterity a clean record of his attainments will be clever -enough and manly enough to avoid any attempt to explain that which he -does not understand. By his flagrant mis-statements regarding the tricks -of his predecessors and contemporaries, Robert-Houdin, however, convicts -himself of ignorance regarding the fundamental principles of magic, and -arouses in the minds of broad, intelligent readers doubts regarding his -claims to the invention of the various tricks and automata which he -declares to have been the output of his brain, the production of his own -deft hands.<a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><br /> -<small>THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN’S “MEMOIRSâ€</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE charm of true memoirs lies far beyond the printed pages, in the -depth and breadth of the writer’s soul. The greatest of all -autobiographies are those which detail not only the lives of the men who -penned them, but which abound in diverting anecdotes and character -studies of the men and women among whom the writer moved. They are not -autobiographies alone, but vivid, broad-minded pen-pictures of the -period in which the writer was a vigorous, respect-compelling figure. -Memoirs written with a view to settling old scores seldom live to -accomplish their ends. The narrowness and pettiness of the writer, which -intelligent reading of history is bound to disclose, destroy all other -charms which the book may possess.</p> - -<p>At personal exploitation Robert-Houdin is a brilliant success. As a -writer of memoirs he is a wretched failure. Whenever he writes of -himself, his pen seems fairly to scintillate. Whenever he refers to -other magicians of his times, his pen lags and drops on the pages blots -which can emanate only from a narrow, petty, jealous nature.</p> - -<p>Even when he writes of his own family, this peculiar trait of petty -egotism may be read between the lines. He mentions the name of his son -Émile, apparently because<a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a> the lad shared his stage triumphs. His other -children he never mentions by name. The second wife, who, he grudgingly -admits, stood valiantly by him in his days of poverty and -disappointment, he does not honor by so much as stating her name before -marriage. Rather, he refers to her as a person whom he was constrained -to place in charge of his household in order that he might continue his -experiments and his work on automata. A less gracious tribute to wifely -devotion was never penned.</p> - -<p>But it is in dealing with contemporary magicians or those whose -handiwork in bygone years he cleverly purloined and proclaimed as his -original inventions, that the petty jealousy of the man comes to the -surface. Whenever he desires to claim for himself credit due a -predecessor in the world of magic, he either ignores the man’s very -existence or writes of his competitor in such a manner that the latter’s -standing as man and magician is lowered. Not that he makes broad, -sweeping statements. Rather, he indulges in the innuendo which is far -more dangerous to the party attacked. He never strikes a pen-blow which, -because of its brutality, might arouse the sympathy of his readers for -the object of his attack. Here, in the gentle art of innuendo and -belittling, if not in the conjurer’s art, Robert-Houdin is a master.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_297_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_297_sml.jpg" width="141" height="192" alt="Wiljalba Frikell in his youth, showing the peculiar -costume worn by conjurers at that time. The author secured this portrait -a few weeks before Frikell’s death and sent it to the veteran conjurer, -who was amazed to learn that this print was in existence. Now in the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Wiljalba Frikell in his youth, showing the peculiar -costume worn by conjurers at that time. The author secured this portrait -a few weeks before Frikell’s death and sent it to the veteran conjurer, -who was amazed to learn that this print was in existence. Now in the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In writing his “Memoirs†he deliberately ignores Compars Herrmann, Henri -Robin, Wiljalba Frikell, M. Jacobs, and P. T. Barnum, all of whom he -knew personally. He might have written most entertainingly of these men, -but in each case he had an object in avoiding reference to the -acquaintance. P. T. Barnum knew the true history of the writing and -drawing figure, as reference to<a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a> chapter III. of this book will show. -Frikell was the pioneer in dispensing with cumbersome stage draperies. -Robert-Houdin claimed this innovation as the product of his own -ingenuity. Compars Herrmann was playing in London when Robert-Houdin -made his English début under Mitchell’s direction, and was presenting, -trick for trick, the répertoire claimed by Robert-Houdin as original -with him. Henri Robin disputed Robert-Houdin’s claim to having invented -the inexhaustible bottle, and proved his case, as will be seen by -reference to chapter VIII. Jacobs<a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a> was one of Anderson’s cleverest -imitators and a rival of Robert-Houdin in the English provinces.</p> - -<p>The adroit manner in which Robert-Houdin flays Pinetti, Anderson, and -Bosco would arouse admiration were his pen-lashings devoted to men who -deserved such treatment. Under existing circumstances—his debt to Bosco -and Pinetti, whose tricks he filched remorselessly, and the fact that -Anderson’s popularity outlived his own in England—his efforts to -belittle these men are unworthy of one who called himself a man and a -master magician. The truly great and successful man rises above petty -jealousy and personalities. This, Robert-Houdin could not do, even when -he sat pen in hand, in retirement, with the fear of competition removed.</p> - -<p>It seems almost incredible that Robert-Houdin should ignore Henri Robin -in his “Memoirs,†for Robin was one of the most interesting characters -of that day. He still stands in magic’s history as the Chesterfield of -conjuring, a man of many gifts, charming address, and broad education. -Even in his dispute with Robert-Houdin regarding the invention of the -inexhaustible bottle, he never forgot his dignity, but proved his case -by that most potent of arguments, a well-edited magazine published under -his direction, in which an illustration showed him actually performing -the trick in 1844, or a full three years before it appeared on -Robert-Houdin’s programme.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin was indebted to Robin for another trick, the Garde -Française, introduced by Robert-Houdin in October, 1847. Henri Robin had -precisely the same figure, doing precisely the same feats, in the garb -of an Arab. An illustration from Robin’s magazine, <i>L’Alma<a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a>nach -Cagliostro</i>, shows Robin offering this figure in March, 1846, or a year -and seven months before it was presented by Robert-Houdin. Yet the only -reference made by Robert-Houdin to this popular and gifted contemporary -is in “The Secrets of Stage Conjuring†where he remarks slightingly that -Robin spoiled Mr. Pepper’s business by giving a poor imitation of the -latter’s ghost show.</p> - -<p>Again, in ignoring Herrmann, he proves his narrowness of mind, his utter -unwillingness to admit any ability in his rivals. Compars Herrmann was -no ordinary trickster or mountebank, but a conjurer who remained in -London almost a year, playing the very best houses, and later scoring -equal popularity in the provinces. He was decorated by various monarchs -and was famous for his large gifts to charities. Even the present -generation, including theatre-goers and students of magic, remembers the -name of Herrmann, when Robert-Houdin is forgotten or would be but for -his cleverly written autobiography.</p> - -<p>Wiljalba Frikell, to whom should go the credit of cutting out heavy -stage draperies, never claimed the innovation as a carefully planned -conceit, but as an accident. His paraphernalia were destroyed in a fire, -but he desired to live up to his contract and give a performance as -announced. He therefore offered sleight-of-hand, pure and simple, with -the aid of a few tables, chairs, and other common properties which were -absolutely undraped. He was also compelled to don regulation, severely -plain, evening clothes. The absence of draperies, which naturally aid a -conjurer in attaining results, created so pleasing a sensation that -Frikell never again draped his stage nor wore fancy raiment. Had -Robert-Houdin told the<a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a> truth about his so-called innovation, he must -have given Frikell credit, wherefore he conveniently ignores Frikell -completely.</p> - -<p>It is entirely characteristic of Robert-Houdin that he did not openly -assail Pinetti in the pages of his “Memoirs.†With cleverness worthy of -a better cause, he quotes the bitter verbal attack as issuing from the -lips of the friend and mentor of his youth, Signor Torrini.</p> - -<p>The major portion of chapter VI., pages 92 to 104 inclusive, American -edition of his autobiography, is devoted to assailing Pinetti’s -abilities as a conjurer and his reputation as a man. Granted that -Pinetti did put Torrini to shame on the Neapolitan stage, such revenge -for a wholesale duplication of the magician’s tricks might be termed -almost human and natural. Had a minor magician, amateur or professional, -dogged the footsteps of Robert-Houdin, copying his tricks, the entire -répertoire upon which he depended for a livelihood, thus endangering his -future, I doubt that even the author of “Confidences d’un -Prestidigitateur†would have hesitated to unmask and undo his rival.</p> - -<p>In fact, by reference to the editorial note, foot of page 421, American -edition of Robert-Houdin’s “Memoirs,†it will be seen that in 1850 -Robert-Houdin appealed to the law for protection in just such a case. An -employee was sent to prison for two years, as judgment for selling to an -amateur some of his master’s secrets.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_301_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_301_sml.jpg" width="149" height="221" alt="Bartolomeo Bosco in his prime. From an engraving in the -Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Bartolomeo Bosco in his prime. From an engraving in the -Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>But in attacking Pinetti, Robert-Houdin goes a step too far and -falsifies, not directly but by innuendo, when he permits the impression -to go forth that Pinetti was hounded and ruined both financially and -professionally<a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a> by Torrini, as is set forth on page 104. He pictures -Torrini as dogging the footsteps of Pinetti through all Italy and -finally driving him in a state of abject misery to Russia, where he died -in the home of a nobleman, who sheltered him through sheer compassion. -Robert-Houdin must have known this was absolutely untrue, for he quotes -Robertson, who published Pinetti’s true experiences in Russia. Pinetti -took a fortune with him to Russia, acquired more wealth there, and then -lost his<a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a> entire financial holdings through his passion for balloon -experiments, as is set forth in chapter II. of this book.</p> - -<p>Then, to show his own inconsistency, after picturing Pinetti in his -“Memoirs†as a charlatan, a conjurer of vulgar, uncouth pretensions -rather than as a good showman of real ability, Robert-Houdin is forced -to admit on page 25 of “Secrets of Magic†that later conjurers employed -Pinetti programmes as a foundation upon which their performances were -built! Even here, however, Robert-Houdin fails to acknowledge an iota of -the heavy debt which he personally owed the despised Chevalier Pinetti.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin devotes the greater part of chapter X., American edition -of his autobiography, to belittling Bosco, a conjurer whose popularity -all over Europe was long-lived. First, he pictures Bosco as a most cruel -creature who literally tortured to death the birds used in his -performances. Here, as in his attack on Pinetti, Robert-Houdin throws -the responsibility for criticism on the shoulders of another. His old -friend Antonio accompanies him to watch Bosco’s performance, and it is -Antonio throughout the narrative who inveighs against Bosco’s cruelty -and Antonio who insists upon leaving before the performance closes, -because the cruelty of the conjurer nauseates him.</p> - -<p>At that time no society for the protection of animals existed, and, even -if it had, I doubt whether Bosco’s performance would have come under the -ban. Certain magicians of to-day employ many of Bosco’s tricks in which -birds and even small animals are used, but the conjuring is so deftly -done that the public of 1907, like that of 1838, thinks it is all -sleight-of-hand work and that the birds are neither hurt nor killed. -Even in Bosc<a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a>o’s time the bird trick was not in his répertoire -exclusively. All English magicians employed it. Apparently the head of -the fowl was amputated, but often in reality it was tucked under the -wing, and the head and neck of another fowl was shown by -sleight-of-hand. Quite probably the Parisian public did not consider -Bosco cruel. Robert-Houdin and his friend Antonio, being versed in -sleight-of-hand and conjuring methods, read cruelty between the deft -movements. Certain it is that the name of Bosco has not been handed down -to posterity by other writers as a synonym of cruelty.</p> - -<p>The animus of Robert-Houdin’s attack on Bosco is evident at every point -of the narrative. Now he accuses him of bad taste in appearing in the -box-office. Again he suggests that the somewhat impressive opening of -Bosco’s act savors of both charlatanism and burlesque, when in reality -the secret of showmanship consists not of what you really do, but what -the mystery-loving public thinks you do. Bosco undoubtedly secured -precisely the effect he desired, because Robert-Houdin devotes more than -a page to a most unnecessary attempt to explain away what he considered -Bosco’s undeserved popularity.</p> - -<p>Bosco was not only a clever magician, but a man of many adventures, so -that his life reads like a romance. This soldier of fortune, Bartolomeo -Bosco, was born of a noble Piedmont family, on January 11th, 1793, in -Turin, Italy. From boyhood he showed great ability as a necromancer, but -at the age of nineteen he was forced to serve under Napoleon I. in the -Russian campaign. He was a fusilier in the Eleventh Infantry, and at the -battle of Borodino was injured in an engagement with Cossacks.<a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a> Pierced -by a lance, he lay upon the ground apparently dead. A Cossack callously -roamed among the dead and dying, rifling pockets and belts. When he came -to the form of Bosco, that youth feigned death, knowing that resistance -to the ghoul meant a death wound. But while the Cossack robbed the -Italian soldier, the latter stealthily raised his unwounded arm and by -sleight-of-hand rifled the well-filled pockets of the ghoul, which fact -was not discovered by the Cossack until he was far from the field of the -dead and dying, where he had left one of the enemy considerably better -off, thanks to Bosco’s conjuring gifts.</p> - -<p>Later Bosco was sent captive to Siberia, where he perfected his -sleight-of-hand while amusing fellow-prisoners and jailers. In 1814 he -was released and returned to his native land, where he studied medicine, -but eventually decided to become a public entertainer. He was not only a -clever entertainer, but a good business man, and he planned each year on -saving enough money to insure a life of ease in his old age. But events -intervened to ruin all his well-laid plans. The sins of his youth -brought their penalty. An illegitimate son, Eugene, became a heavy drag -upon the retired magician, who was compelled to pay large sums to the -young man in order to prevent his playing in either France or Germany or -assuming the name of Bosco. In a German antiquary’s shop at Bonn on the -Rhine I found an agreement in which Bosco agreed to pay this youth five -thousand francs for not using the name of Bosco. This agreement is too -long for reproduction in this volume, but unquestionably it is genuine -and tells all too eloquently the troubles which beset Bosco in his old -age.<a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a></p> - -<p>Eugene was said to be the superior of his famous father in -sleight-of-hand, but he was wild and given to excesses. Women and wine -checked what might have been a brilliant professional career. Disabled, -poverty-stricken, and respected by none, he soon disappeared from the -conjuring world, and according to Carl Willman in the “Zauberwelt†he -died miserably in Hungary in 1891.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_305_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_305_sml.jpg" width="133" height="223" alt="Only photograph of Madame Bosco, given to the author by -Mrs. Mueller, Madame Bosco’s niece, at the funeral of Wiljalba Frikell." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Only photograph of Madame Bosco, given to the author by -Mrs. Mueller, Madame Bosco’s niece, at the funeral of Wiljalba Frikell.</span> -</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_306_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_306_sml.jpg" width="157" height="218" alt="The author at the grave of Bosco. From a photograph in -the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">The author at the grave of Bosco. From a photograph in -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>In the mean time, Bosco and his wife lived in poverty in Dresden, where -the once brilliant conjurer died March<a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a> 2nd, 1863. His wife died three -years later and was interred in the grave with her husband in a cemetery -on Friedrichstrasse. There was nothing on the tombstone to indicate the -double interment, and I discovered the fact only by investigating the -municipal and cemetery records. Here I also learned that the grave had -merely been leased, and as the lease was about to expire the bones of -the great conjurer and his faithful wife might soon be disinterred and -reburied in a neglected corner of the<a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a> graveyard devoted to the poor and -unclaimed dead. To prevent this, I purchased the lot and tombstone, and -presented the same to the Society of American Magicians, of which -organization, at the present writing, I am a member.</p> - -<p>A man of noble birth and brilliant attainments was the original Bosco, -and his name became a by-word all over the Continent as the synonym, not -of cruelty, but of clever deception, yet never has posterity put the -name of a great performer to such ignoble uses. For who has not heard -the cry of the modern Bosco, “Eat-’em-alive"?</p> - -<p>To-day I can close my eyes and summon two visions. First I see myself -standing bareheaded before a neglected grave in the quiet cemetery on -Friedrichstrasse, Dresden, the sunlight pouring down upon the tombstone -which bears not only the cup-and-balls and wand, insignia of Bosco’s -most famous trick, but this inscription: “Ici repose le célèbre -Bartolomeo Bosco.—Né à Turin le 11 Janvier, 1793; décédé à Dresden le 2 -Mars, 1863.†The history of this clever conjurer, with all its lights -and shadows, sweeps before me like a mental panorama.</p> - -<p>The second vision carries me into the country, to the fairs of England -and the side-shows of America:</p> - -<p>“Bosco! Bosco! Eat-’em-alive Bosco. You can’t afford to miss this -marvel. Bosco! Bosco!â€</p> - -<p>Follow me into the enclosure and gaze down into a den. There lies a -half-naked human being. His hair is long and matted, a loin cloth does -wretched duty as clothing. Torn sandals are on his feet. The eulogistic -lecturer dilates upon the powers of this twentieth-century Bosco, but -you do not listen. Your fascinated gaze is fixed on various hideous, -wriggling, writhing forms on<a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a> the floor of the den. Snakes—scores of -them! Now the creature, half-animal, half-human, glances up to make sure -that attention is riveted upon him, then grasps one of the serpents in -his hideous hands and in a flash bites off its head. The writhing body -falls back to the ground.</p> - -<p>You grip the railing in a sudden faintness. Has your brain deceived your -eyes, or your eyes your brain? If you are a conjurer you try to convince -yourself that it is all a clever sleight-of-hand exhibition, but in your -heart you know it is not true. This creature, so near a beast, has -debauched his manhood for a few paltry dollars, and in dragging himself -down has dragged down the name of a worthy, a brilliant, a world-famous -performer.</p> - -<p>Of the twentieth-century Boscos there are, alas, many. You will find -them all over the world, in street carnivals, side-shows, fair-booths, -and museums, and why the public supports such debasing exhibitions I -have never yet been able to understand. I have seen half-starved -Russians pick food from refuse-barrels. I have seen besotted Americans -creep out from low dives to draw the dregs of beer-barrels into tomato -cans. I have seen absinthe fiends in Paris trade body and soul to obtain -their beloved stimulant. I have heard morphine fiends in Russia promise -to exhibit the effect of the needle in return for the price of an -injection. But never has my soul so risen in revolt as at sight of this -bestial exhibition with which the name of Bosco, a nobleman and a -conjurer of merit, has been linked.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_309_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_309_sml.jpg" width="173" height="345" alt="Anderson’s opening programme at the Strand Theatre, -Christmas week, 1848, showing that he duplicated the tricks offered by -Robert-Houdin, who, in his “Memoirs,†claims that Anderson’s programme -was stale and uninteresting by comparison with his own." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Anderson’s opening programme at the Strand Theatre, -Christmas week, 1848, showing that he duplicated the tricks offered by -Robert-Houdin, who, in his “Memoirs,†claims that Anderson’s programme -was stale and uninteresting by comparison with his own.</span> -</p> - -<p>Even more despicable than his attack upon Bosco is Robert-Houdin’s -flaying of John Henry Anderson. In this he is both unmanly and -untruthful. Hinging his<a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a><a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a> attack on his surprise at the press methods -and advertising adopted in England as opposed to the less spectacular -means employed in France, he insinuates that Anderson’s entire success -was built not upon merit, ability, originality, or diversified -programmes, but solely upon sensational advertising. On page 325 of the -American edition of his “Memoirs†Robert-Houdin writes thus of his -competitor:</p> - -<p>“On my arrival in England a conjurer of the name of Anderson, who -assumed the title of Great Wizard of the North, had been performing for -a long period at the little Strand Theatre.</p> - -<p>“This artist, fearing, doubtlessly, that public attention might be -divided, tried to crush the publicity of my performances; hence he sent -out on London streets a cavalcade thus organized:</p> - -<p>“Four enormous carriages, covered with posters and pictures representing -all sorts of witchcraft, opened the procession. Then followed -four-and-twenty merry men, each bearing a banner on which was painted a -letter a yard in height.</p> - -<p>“At each cross-road the four carriages stopped side by side and -presented a bill some twenty-five yards in length, while all the men (I -should say letters), on receiving the word of command, drew themselves -up in a line, like the vehicles.</p> - -<p>“Seen in front the letters formed this phrase:</p> - -<p class="c"> -THE CELEBRATED ANDERSON ! ! !<br /> -</p> - -<p>While on the other side of the banners could be read:</p> - -<p class="c"> -THE GREAT WIZARD OF THE NORTH.<br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_311_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_311_sml.jpg" width="199" height="362" alt="Handbill used by Anderson in Germany. January, 1848, when -Robert-Houdin claimed that he was playing in the English provinces. From -the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Handbill used by Anderson in Germany. January, 1848, when -Robert-Houdin claimed that he was playing in the English provinces. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p><p><a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a></p> - -<p>“Unfortunately for the Wizard, his performances were attacked by a -mortal disease; too long a stay in London had ended by producing -satiety. Besides, his repertory was out-of-date, and could not contend -against the new tricks which I was offering. What could he present to -the public in opposition to the second sight, the suspension, and the -inexhaustible bottle? Hence he was obliged to close his theatre and -start for the provinces, where he managed, as usual, to make excellent -receipts, owing to his powerful means of notoriety.â€</p> - -<p>In the first place, Robert Houdin insinuates that when they played in -opposition John Henry Anderson’s répertoire was stale and uninteresting. -Is it possible that Robert-Houdin could not read Anderson’s bills, or -were his statements deliberate falsehoods, emanating from a malicious, -wilful desire to injure Anderson?</p> - -<p>What did Anderson have to offer in opposition to Robert-Houdin’s -much-vaunted Suspension, Second Sight, and Inexhaustible Bottle? Consult -the Anderson programme, reproduced, and you will find that the great -Wizard of the North duplicated the French conjurer’s répertoire. “The -Ethereal Suspension†of Robert-Houdin’s programme was “Suspension -Chloroforeene†on Anderson’s. Second Sight appeared on both bills. “The -Inexhaustible Bottle†had wisely been dropped by Anderson because he had -been using it in one form or another for ten years preceding the date of -Robert-Houdin’s appearance in London, as is proven in chapter IX. of -this book.</p> - -<p>Therefore, if Anderson’s programme was passé and uninteresting, so also -must have been the one offered by Robert-Houdin!<a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a></p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_313_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_313_sml.jpg" width="175" height="347" alt="Poster used by Anderson during his closing week at the -Strand Theatre, London, January 11th, 1848. From the Harry Houdini -Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Poster used by Anderson during his closing week at the -Strand Theatre, London, January 11th, 1848. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a></p> - -<p>Second, John Henry Anderson was not in London when Robert-Houdin arrived -there in May, 1848. He was on the Continent, and a bill reproduced will -show that he was in Germany in January, 1848, and did not open at the -Strand Theatre until December 26th, 1848. Then it was Robert-Houdin who -had just returned from the provinces, not Anderson. Anderson had been -playing the capitals of Europe. Robert-Houdin had been in Manchester, -England.</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin again skilfully twists the truth to suit his own ends. He -actually states that Anderson, returning from a tour of the provinces, -used a new poster, a caricature of the famous painting, “Napoleon’s -Return from Elba":</p> - -<p>“In the foreground Anderson was seen affecting the attitude of the great -man; above his head fluttered an enormous banner bearing the words ‘The -Wonder of the World’; while, behind him and somewhat lost in the shade, -the Emperor of Russia and several other monarchs stood in a respectful -posture. As in the original picture, the fanatic admirers of the Wizard -embraced his knees, while an immense crowd received him triumphantly. In -the distance could be seen the equestrian statue of the Iron Duke, who, -hat in hand, bowed before him, the Great Wizard; and lastly, the very -dome of St. Paul’s bent towards him most humbly.</p> - -<p>“At the bottom was the inscription,</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p class="c"> -<span class="smcap">Return of the Napoleon of Necromancy.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>“Regarded seriously, this picture would be found a puff in very bad -taste; but as a caricature it is excessively<a name="page_315" id="page_315"></a> comic. Besides, it had the -double result of making the London public laugh and bringing a great -number of shillings into the skilful puffer’s pockets.â€</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_315_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_315_sml.jpg" width="146" height="224" alt="Eugene Bosco, son of the original Bosco. From the Harry -Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">Eugene Bosco, son of the original Bosco. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Reference to my collection of Anderson programmes and press clippings -proves that while on the Continent his performances had created such a -sensation that, according to the ethics and etiquette of his profession, -Anderson was quite justified in assuming the title of “The Napoleon of -Necromancy†and in depicting even kings<a name="page_316" id="page_316"></a> and noblemen admiring his -abilities as a conjurer. But, alas, Robert-Houdin had played only before -English and French monarchs, not before the other crowned heads of -Europe, including the Czar of Russia and the German Kaiser!</p> - -<p>It required weeks and months of browsing in old book- and print-shops, -national libraries, and rare collections on my part to prove that -Anderson had really played these engagements, when his bitter rival, -Robert-Houdin, his heart eaten with jealousy until his sense of honor -and truth was hopelessly blunted, was claiming that Anderson had just -returned from a trip in the English provinces.</p> - -<p>It will be noted by reference to the Anderson programme that he had been -engaged only for the Christmas holidays, but despite Robert-Houdin’s -claim that he was a failure and was obliged to close and seek new fields -of conquest in the provinces, Anderson’s engagement was extended. He -remained at the Strand until January 11th, 1848, then after a brief -provincial tour he actually returned to London and played to big -receipts. Again and again he appeared in London. Far from being the -unpopular, forgotten ex-magician pictured by Robert-Houdin, he performed -with great success at the St. James Theatre, London, in 1851. -Robert-Houdin appeared in London for the last time in 1853, but in 1865 -“the despised and forgotten Anderson†was there again, creating a furor -in his exposure of the Davenport Brothers.</p> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illpg_317_lg.jpg"> <img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="enlarge-image" -title="enlarge-image" -width="18" /></a> -<br /> -<img src="images/illpg_317_sml.jpg" width="144" height="253" alt="John Henry Anderson as he appeared in his later years. -From a cut in the Harry Houdini Collection." title="" /> -<br /> -<span class="caption">John Henry Anderson as he appeared in his later years. -From a cut in the Harry Houdini Collection.</span> -</p> - -<p>Robert-Houdin might have been justified in criticising Anderson’s -sensational advertising methods, for these were entirely opposed to the -more elegant and conservative methods employed by the French conjurer. -But<a name="page_317" id="page_317"></a> certainly he was not justified in picturing his rival as one who -had passed his prime, whose popularity had waned, whose répertoire no -longer attracted the public. For, in addition to duplicating -Robert-Houdin’s entire répertoire, Anderson offered tricks of which -Robert-Houdin knew nothing, and for years to come he constantly -recon<a name="page_318" id="page_318"></a>structed his programmes, keeping them strictly up-to-date.</p> - -<p>Anderson did die a poor man, but this was not because the -amusement-loving public had wearied of him. A popular performer, like so -many of his class he did not know how to invest his huge earnings. It is -known that he gave $20,000 to various charities, while no record of -Robert-Houdin’s charities exists. He was burned out several times. He -lost money through a bad contract made for his Australian tour. Certain -investments dropped in value because of the Civil War in the United -States, during which England sympathized with the South. Finally, during -his American tour after the Civil War, Anderson played the Southern -States, then steeped in bitterness toward the North, and was unfortunate -enough to bill himself as “The Great Wizard of the North.†This roused -the Southern prejudice to white heat, he was almost mobbed, and was -finally driven from that section of the country. He went into -bankruptcy, November 19th, 1866, and died at Darlington, County Durham, -England, Feb. 3rd, 1874. His remains were interred, in accordance with -his dying request, at Aberdeen, Scotland.</p> - -<p>So ends the true history of Robert-Houdin. The master-magician, -unmasked, stands forth in all the hideous nakedness of historical proof, -the prince of pilferers. That he might bask for a few hours in public -adulation, he purloined the ideas of magicians long dead and buried, and -proclaimed these as the fruits of his own inventive genius. That he -might be known to posterity as the king of conjurers, he sold his -birthright of manhood and honor for a mere mess of pottage, his -“Memoirs,†written by<a name="page_319" id="page_319"></a> the hand of another man, who at his instigation -belittled his contemporaries, and juggled facts and truth to further his -egotistical, jealous ambitions.</p> - -<p>But the day of reckoning is come. Upon the history of magic as -promulgated by Robert-Houdin the searchlight of modern investigation has -been turned. Credit has been given where it belongs, to those magicians -who preceded Robert-Houdin and upon whose abilities and achievements -Robert-Houdin built his unearned, unmerited fame. The dust of years has -been swept from names long forgotten, which should forever shine in the -annals of magic.</p> - -<p>Thus end, also, my researches, covering almost two decades of time, -researches in which my veneration for old-time magicians grew with each -newly discovered bit of history; researches during which my respect for -the profession of magic has grown by leaps and bounds. And the fruits of -these researches I now lay before the only true jury, the great reading -public. My task is finished.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Inventions <span class="errata">and and</span> Discoveries=> Inventions and Discoveries {pg 14}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">from his <span class="errata">autobigraphy</span>=> from his autobiography {pg 34}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">is supposed <span class="errata">so</span> have been engraved=> is supposed to have been engraved {pg 59 illustration caption}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">is his autobiography=> in his autobiography {pg 89 illustration caption}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"><span class="errata">woudn</span>=> wound {pg 160}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center"><span class="errata">perfomances</span>=> performances {pg 187}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">though as far as maiming him for life=> though <span class="errata">not</span> as far as maiming him for life {pg 281}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the <span class="errata">frontispiese</span>=> the frontispiece {pg 48 illustration caption}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, by Harry Houdini - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN *** - -***** This file should be named 42723-h.htm or 42723-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/2/42723/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Libraries and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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b/old/42723-h/images/illpg_317_lg.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 95aeef4..0000000 --- a/old/42723-h/images/illpg_317_lg.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/42723-h/images/illpg_317_sml.jpg b/old/42723-h/images/illpg_317_sml.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e3a1901..0000000 --- a/old/42723-h/images/illpg_317_sml.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/42723.txt b/old/42723.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3a33063..0000000 --- a/old/42723.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6406 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, by Harry Houdini - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin - -Author: Harry Houdini - -Release Date: May 16, 2013 [EBook #42723] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Libraries and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: Harry Houdini] - -_Frontispiece_] - - - - - THE UNMASKING - - _OF_ - - ROBERT-HOUDIN - - _BY_ - - HARRY HOUDINI - - [Illustration] - - _NEW YORK_ - - _THE PUBLISHERS PRINTING CO._ - - _1908_ - - _Copyright, 1906_ - _Copyright, 1907_ - _Copyright, 1908_ - - _By HARRY HOUDINI_ - - _Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, England_ - _All rights reserved_ - - Composition, Electrotyping and Printing by - The Publishers Printing Company - New York, N.Y., U.S.A. - - - - - Dedication - - - _This Book is affectionately dedicated to the memory of - my father, - Rev. M. S. Weiss, Ph.D., LL.D., - who instilled in me love of study and patience in research_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -INTRODUCTION, 7 - -CHAPTER - - I. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN, 33 - - II. THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK, 51 - - III. THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE, 83 - - IV. THE PASTRY COOK OF THE PALAIS ROYAL, 116 - - V. THE OBEDIENT CARDS--THE CABALISTIC CLOCK--THE - TRAPEZE AUTOMATON, 141 - - VI. THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE, 176 - - VII. SECOND SIGHT, 200 - -VIII. THE SUSPENSION TRICK, 222 - - IX. THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF, 245 - - X. ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BETRAYED - BY HIS OWN PEN, 264 - - XI. THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S "MEMOIRS," 295 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -This book is the natural result of the moulding, dominating influence -which the spirit and writings of Robert-Houdin have exerted over my -professional career. My interest in conjuring and magic and my -enthusiasm for Robert-Houdin came into existence simultaneously. From -the moment that I began to study the art, he became my guide and hero. I -accepted his writings as my text-book and my gospel. What Blackstone is -to the struggling lawyer, Hardee's "Tactics" to the would-be officer, or -Bismarck's life and writings to the coming statesman, Robert-Houdin's -books were to me. - -To my unsophisticated mind, his "Memoirs" gave to the profession a -dignity worth attaining at the cost of earnest, life-long effort. When -it became necessary for me to take a stage-name, and a fellow-player, -possessing a veneer of culture, told me that if I would add the letter -"i" to Houdin's name, it would mean, in the French language, "like -Houdin," I adopted the suggestion with enthusiasm. I asked nothing more -of life than to become in my profession "like Robert-Houdin." - -By this time I had re-read his works until I could recite passage after -passage from memory. Then, when Fate turned kind and the golden pathway -of success led me into broader avenues of work, I determined that my -first tour abroad should be dedicated to adding new laurels to the fame -of Robert-Houdin. By research and study I would unearth history yet -unwritten, and record unsung triumphs of this great inventor and -artiste. The pen of his most devoted student and follower would awaken -new interest in his history. - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin in his prime, immediately after his -retirement. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Alas for my golden dreams! My investigations brought forth only -bitterest disappointment and saddest of disillusionment. Stripped of his -self-woven veil of romance, Robert-Houdin stood forth, in the -uncompromising light of cold historical facts, a mere pretender, a man -who waxed great on the brainwork of others, a mechanician who had boldly -filched the inventions of the master craftsmen among his predecessors. - -"Memoirs of Robert-Houdin, Ambassador, Author and Conjurer, Written by -Himself," proved to have been the penwork of a brilliant Parisian -journalist, employed by Robert-Houdin to write his so-called -autobiography. In the course of his "Memoirs," Robert-Houdin, over his -own signature, claimed credit for the invention of many tricks and -automata which may be said to have marked the golden age in magic. My -investigations disproved each claim in order. He had announced himself -as the first magician to appear in regulation evening clothes, -discarding flowing sleeves and heavily draped stage apparatus. The -credit for this revolution in conjuring belonged to Wiljalba Frikell. -Robert-Houdin's explanation of tricks performed by other magicians and -not included in his repertoire, proved so incorrect and inaccurate as to -brand him an ignoramus in certain lines of conjuring. Yet to the great -charm of his diction and the romantic development of his personal -reminiscences later writers have yielded unquestioningly and have built -upon the historically weak foundations of his statements all the later -so-called histories of magic. - -For a time the disappointment killed all creative power. With no laurel -wreath to carve, my tools lay idle. The spirit of investigation -languished. Then came the reaction. There was work to be done. Those who -had wrought honestly deserved the credit that had been taken from them. -In justice to the living as well as the dead the history of the magic -must be revised. The book, accepted for more than half a century as an -authority on our craft, must stand forth for what it is, a clever -romance, a well-written volume of fiction. - -That is why to-day I offer to the profession of magic, to the world of -laymen readers to whom its history has always appealed, and to the -literary savants who dip into it as a recreation, the results of my -investigations. These, I believe, will show Robert-Houdin's true place -in the history of magic and give to his predecessors, in a profession -which in each generation becomes more serious and more dignified, the -credit they deserve. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece of "Hocus Pocus," Second Edition, 1635, one -of the earliest works on magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -My investigations cover nearly twenty years of a busy professional -career. Every hour which I could spare from my professional work was -given over to study in libraries, to interviews with retired magicians -and collectors, and to browsing in old bookstores and antique shops -where rare collections of programs, newspapers, and prints might be -found. - -[Illustration: John Baptist Porta, the Neapolitan writer on magic. From -an old woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In order to conduct my researches intelligently, I was compelled to pick -up a smattering of the language of each country in which I played. The -average collector or proprietor of an old bookshop is a canny, -suspicious individual who must accept you as a friend before he will -uncover his choicest treasures. - -As authorities, books on magic and kindred arts are practically -worthless. The earliest books, like the magician stories written by Sir -John Mandeville in 1356, read like prototypes of to-day's dime novels. -They are thrilling tales of travellers who witnessed magical -performances, but they are not authentic records of performers and their -work. - -One of the oldest books in my collection is "Natural and Unnatural -Magic" by Gantziony, dated 1489. It is the author's script, exquisite in -its German chirography, artistic in its illuminated illustrations, but -worthless as an historical record, though many of the writer's -descriptions and explanations of old-time tricks are most interesting. - -Early in the seventeenth century appeared "Hocus Pocus," the most widely -copied book in the literature of magic. The second edition, dated 1635, -I have in my library. I have never been able to find a copy of the first -edition or to ascertain the date at which it was published. - -A few years later, in 1658, came a very important contribution to the -history of magic in "Natural Magick in XX. Bookes," by John Baptist -Porta, a Neapolitan. This has been translated into nearly every -language. It was the first really important and exhaustive work on the -subject, but, unfortunately, it gives the explanation of tricks, rather -than an authentic record of their invention. - -In 1682, Simon Witgeest of Amsterdam, Holland, wrote an admirable work, -whose title reads "Book of Natural Magic." This work was translated into -German, ran through many an edition, and had an enormous sale in both -Holland and Germany. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Simon Witgeest's "Book of Natural -Magic" (1682), showing the early Dutch conception of conjuring. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1715, John White, an Englishman, published a work entitled "Art's -Treasury and Hocus Pocus; or a Rich Cabinet of Legerdemain Curiosities." -This is fully as reliable a book as the earlier "Hocus Pocus" books, -but it is not so generally known. - -Richard Neve, who was a popular English conjurer just before the time of -Fawkes, published a book on somewhat similar lines in 1715. - -Germany contributed the next notable works on magic. First came Johann -Samuel Halle's "Magic or the Magical Power of Nature," printed in -Berlin, in 1784. One of his compatriots, Johann Christian Wiegleb, wrote -eighteen books on "The Natural Magic" and while I shall always contend -that the German books are the most complete, yet they cannot be accepted -as authorities save that, in describing early tricks, they prove the -existence of inventions and working methods claimed later as original by -men like Robert-Houdin. - -English books on magic were not accepted seriously until the early part -of the nineteenth century. In Vol. III. of John Beckmann's "History of -Inventions and Discoveries," published in 1797, will be found a chapter -on "Jugglers" which presents interesting matter regarding magicians and -mysterious entertainers. I quote from this book in disproving -Robert-Houdin's claims to the invention of automata and second-sight. - -About 1840, J. H. Anderson, a popular magician, brought out a series of -inexpensive, paper-bound volumes, entitled "A Shilling's Worth of -Magic," "Parlor Magic," etc., which are valuable only as giving a -glimpse of the tricks contemporary with his personal successes. In 1859 -came Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," magic's classic. Signor Blitz, in 1872, -published his reminiscences, "Fifty Years in the Magic Circle," but -here again we have a purely local and personal history, without -general value. - -[Illustration: John White, an English writer on magic and kindred arts -in the early part of the eighteenth century. Only portrait in existence -and published for the first time since his book was issued in 1715. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Thomas Frost wrote three books relating to the history of magic, -commencing about 1870. This list included "Circus Life and Circus -Celebrities," "The Old Showmen and the Old London Fairs," and "Lives of -the Conjurers." These were the best books of their kind up to the time -of their publication, but they are marked by glaring errors, showing -that Frost compiled rather than investigated, or, more properly -speaking, that his investigations never went much further than Morley's -"Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair." - -Charles Bertram who wrote "Isn't it Wonderful?" closed the -nineteenth-century list of English writers on magic, but his work is -marred by mis-statements which even the humblest of magicians could -refute, and, like Frost, he drew heavily on writers who preceded him. - -So far, in the twentieth century, the most notable contribution to the -literature of magic is Henry Ridgely Evans' "The Old and the New Magic," -but Mr. Evans falls into the error of his predecessors in accepting as -authoritative the history of magic and magicians furnished by -Robert-Houdin. He has made no effort whatever to verify or refute the -statements made by Robert-Houdin, but has merely compiled and re-written -them to suit his twentieth-century readers. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Richard Neve's work on magic, showing -him performing the egg and bag trick about 1715. Photographed from the -original in the British Museum by the author.] - -[Illustration: Signor Antonio Blitz, author of "Fifty Years in the Magic -Circle" (1872). Original negative of this photograph is in the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -The true historian does not compile. He delves for facts and proofs, and -having found these he arrays his indisputable facts, his -uncontrovertible proofs, to refute the statements of those who have -merely compiled. That is what I have done to prove my case against -Robert-Houdin. I have not borrowed from the books of other writers on -magic. I have gone to the very fountain head of information, records of -contemporary literature, newspapers, programmes and advertisements of -magicians who preceded Robert-Houdin, sometimes by a century. It would -cost fully a million dollars to forge the collection of evidence now in -my hands. Men who lived a hundred years before Robert-Houdin was born -did not invent posters or write advertisements in order to refute the -claims of those who were to follow in the profession of magic. These -programmes, advertisements, newspaper notices, and crude cuts trace the -true history of magic as no romancer, no historian of a single -generation possibly could. They are the ghosts of dead and gone -magicians, rising in this century of research and progress to claim the -credit due them. - -[Illustration: Philip Astley, Esq., an historical circus director, a -famous character of Bartholomew Fair days, and author of "Natural Magic" -(1784). From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Charles Bertram (James Bassett), the English author and -conjurer, who wrote "Isn't it Wonderful?" Born 1853, died Feb. 28th, -1907. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Often when the bookshops and auction sales did not yield fruit worth -plucking, I had the good fortune to meet a private collector or a -retired performer whose assistance proved invaluable, and the histories -of these meetings read almost like romances, so skilfully did the Fates -seem to juggle with my efforts to secure credible proof. - -To the late Henry Evans Evanion I am indebted for many of the most -important additions to my collection of conjuring curios and my library -of magic, recognized by fellow-artistes and litterateurs as the most -complete in the world. - -Evanion was an Englishman, by profession a parlor magician, by choice -and habit a collector and savant. He was an entertainer from 1849 to the -year of his death. For fifty years he spent every spare hour at the -British Museum collecting data bearing on his marvellous collection, and -his interest in the history of magic was shared by his excellent wife -who conducted a "sweet shop" near one of London's public schools. - -While playing at the London Hippodrome in 1904 I was confined to my room -by orders of my physician. During this illness I was interviewed by a -reporter who, noticing the clippings and bills with which my room was -strewn, made some reference to my collection in the course of his -article. The very day on which this interview appeared, I received from -Henry Evanion a mere scrawl stating that he, too, collected programmes, -bills, etc., in which I might be interested. - -I wrote at once asking him to call at one o'clock the next afternoon, -but as the hour passed and he did not appear, I decided that, like many -others who asked for interviews, he had felt but a passing whim. That -afternoon about four o'clock my physician suggested that, as the day was -mild, I walk once around the block. As I stepped from the lift, the -hotel porter informed me that since one o'clock an old man had been -waiting to see me, but so shabby was his appearance, they had not dared -send him up to my room. He pointed to a bent figure, clad in rusty -raiment. When I approached the old man he rose and informed me that he -had brought some clippings, bills, etc., for me to see. I asked him to -be as expeditious as possible, for I was too weak to stand long and my -head was a-whirl from the effects of la grippe. - -[Illustration: Last photograph of Henry Evans Evanion, conjurer and -collector, taken especially for this book in which he was deeply -interested. Died June 17th, 1905. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -With some hesitancy of speech but the loving touch of a collector he -opened his parcel. - -"I have brought you, sir, only a few of my treasures, sir, but if you -will call--" - -I heard no more. I remember only raising my hands before my eyes, as if -I had been dazzled by a sudden shower of diamonds. In his trembling -hands lay priceless treasures for which I had sought in vain--original -programmes and bills of Robert-Houdin, Phillippe, Anderson, Breslaw, -Pinetti, Katterfelto, Boaz, in fact all the conjuring celebrities of the -eighteenth century, together with lithographs long considered -unobtainable, and newspapers to be found only in the files of national -libraries. I felt as if the King of England stood before me and I must -do him homage. - -Physician or no physician, I made an engagement with him for the next -morning, when I was bundled into a cab and went as fast as the driver -could urge his horse to Evanion's home, a musty room in the basement of -No. 12 Methley Street, Kennington Park Road, S.E. - -[Illustration: Very rare and extraordinarily fine lithograph of -Robert-Houdin, which he gave only to his friends. It depicts him among -his so-called inventions. His son, Emile, doing second sight, is behind -him. The writing and drawing figure is on his left. On his right under -the clockwork is a drawing which, on close examination of the original, -shows the suspension trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In the presence of his collection I lost all track of time. Occasionally -we paused in our work to drink tea which he made for us on his -pathetically small stove. The drops of the first tea which we drank -together can yet be found on certain papers in my collection. His -wife, a most sympathetic soul, did not offer to disturb us, and it was -3:30 the next morning, or very nearly twenty-four hours after my arrival -at his home, when my brother, Theodore Weiss (Hardeen), and a thoroughly -disgusted physician appeared on the scene and dragged me, an unwilling -victim, back to my hotel and medical care. - -Such was the beginning of my friendship with Evanion. In time I learned -that some of his collection had been left to him by James Savren, an -English barber, who was so interested in magic that at frequent -intervals he dropped his trade to work without pay for famous magicians, -including Doebler, Anderson, Compars Herrmann, De Liska, Wellington -Young, Cornillot, and Gyngell. From these men he had secured a -marvellous collection, which was the envy of his friendly rival, -Evanion. Savren bequeathed his collection to Evanion, and bit by bit I -bought it from the latter, now poverty stricken, too old to work and -physically failing. These purchases I made at intervals whenever I -played in London, and on June 7th, 1905, while playing at Wigan, I -received word that Evanion was dying at Lambeth Infirmary. - -After the show, I jumped to London, only to find that cancer of the -throat made it almost impossible for him to speak intelligibly. I soon -discovered, however, that his chief anxiety was for the future of his -wife and then for his own decent burial. When these sad offices had been -provided for, he became more peaceful, and when I rose to leave him, -knowing that we had met probably for the last time, he drew forth his -chiefest treasure, a superb book of Robert-Houdin's programmes, his one -legacy, which is now the central jewel in my collection. Evanion died -ten days later, June 17th, and within a short time his good wife -followed him into the Great Unknown. - -[Illustration: Poster used by James Savren. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Even more dramatic was my meeting with the widow of Frikell, the great -German conjurer. - -I had heard that Frikell and not Robert-Houdin was the first magician to -discard cumbersome, draped stage apparatus, and to don evening clothes, -and I was most anxious to verify this rumor, as well as to interview him -regarding equally important data bearing on the history of magic. Having -heard that he lived in Koetchenbroda, a suburb of Dresden, I wrote to him -from Cologne, asking for an interview. I received in reply a curt note: -"Herr verreist," meaning "The master is on tour." This, I knew, from his -age, could not be true, so I took a week off for personal investigation. -I arrived at Koetchenbroda on the morning of April 8th, 1903, at 4 -o'clock, and was directed to his home, known as "Villa Frikell." Having -found my bearings and studied well the exterior of the house, I returned -to the depot to await daylight. At 8:30 I reappeared at his door, and -was told by his wife that Herr Frikell had gone away. - -I then sought the police department from which I secured the following -information: "Dr." Wiljalba Frikell was indeed the retired magician whom -I was so anxious to meet. He was eighty-seven years old, and in 1884 had -celebrated his golden anniversary as a conjurer. Living in the same town -was an adopted daughter, but she could not or would not assist me. The -venerable magician had suffered from domestic disappointments and had -made a vow that he would see no one. In fact he was leading a -hermit-like life. - -Armed with this information, I employed a photographer, giving him -instructions to post himself opposite the house and make a snap shot of -the magician, should he appear in the doorway. But I had counted without -my host. All morning the photographer lounged across the street and all -morning I stood bareheaded before the door of Herr Frikell, pleading -with his wife who leaned from the window overhead. With that peculiar -fervency which comes only when the heart's desire is at stake, I begged -that the past master of magic would lend a helping hand to one ready to -sit at his feet and learn. I urged the debt which he owed to the -literature of magic and which he could pay by giving me such direct -information as I needed for my book. - -[Illustration: The Author standing in front of Villa Frikell at -Koetchenbroda, Germany, where the master magician, Wiljalba Frikell, -spent the last years of his life. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Frau Frikell heard my pleadings with tears running down her cheeks, and -later I learned that Herr Frikell also listened to them, lying grimly on -the other side of the shuttered window. - -At length, yielding to physical exhaustion, I went away, but I was still -undaunted. I continued to bombard Herr Frikell with letters, press -clippings regarding my work, etc., and finally in Russia I received a -letter from him. I might send him a package containing a certain brand -of Russian tea of which he was particularly fond. You may be sure I lost -no time in shipping the little gift, and shortly I was rewarded by the -letter for which I longed. Having decided that I cared more for him than -did some of his relatives, he would receive me when next I played near -Koetchenbroda. - -With this interview in prospect, I made the earliest engagement -obtainable in Dresden, intending to give every possible moment to my -hardly-won acquaintance. But Fate interfered. One business problem after -another arose, concerning my forthcoming engagement in England, and I -had to postpone my visit to Herr Frikell until the latter part of the -week. In the mean time, he had agreed to visit a Dresden photographer, -as I wanted an up-to-date photograph of him and he had only pictures -taken in his more youthful days. On the day when he came to Dresden for -his sitting, he called at the theatre, but the attaches, without -informing me, refused to give him the name of the hotel where I was -stopping. - -[Illustration: Last photograph of Herr and Frau Frikell, taken -especially for this work. Frikell died Oct. 8th, 1903, the day after -this photograph was taken. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -After the performance I dropped into the Koenig Kaffe and was much -annoyed by the staring and gesticulations of an elderly couple at a -distant table. It was Frikell with his wife, but I did not recognize -them and, not being certain on his side, he failed to make himself -known. That was mid-week, and for Saturday, which fell on October 8th, -1903, I had an engagement to call at the Villa Frikell. On Thursday, the -Central Theatre being sold out to Cleo de Merode, who was playing -special engagements in Germany with her own company, I made a flying -business trip to Berlin, and on my return I passed through Koetchenbroda. -As the train pulled into the station I hesitated. Should I drop off and -see Herr Frikell, or wait for my appointment on the morrow? Fate turned -the wheel by a mere thread and I went on to Dresden. So does she often -dash our fondest hopes! - -My appointment for Saturday was at 2 P.M., and as my train landed me in -Koetchenbroda a trifle too early I walked slowly from the depot to the -Villa Frikell, not wishing to disturb my aged host by arriving ahead of -time. - -I rang the bell. It echoed through the house with peculiar shrillness. -The air seemed charged with a quality which I presumed was the intense -pleasure of realizing my long cherished hope of meeting the great -magician. A lady opened the door and greeted me with the words: "You are -being waited for." - -I entered. He was waiting for me indeed, this man who had consented to -meet me, after vowing that he would never again look into the face of a -stranger. And Fate had forced him to keep that vow. Wiljalba Frikell was -dead. The body, clad in the best his wardrobe afforded, all of which -had been donned in honor of his expected guest, was not yet cold. Heart -failure had come suddenly and unannounced. The day before he had cleaned -up his souvenirs in readiness for my coming and arranged a quantity of -data for me. On the wall above the silent form were all of his gold -medals, photographs taken at various stages of his life, orders -presented to him by royalty--all the outward and visible signs of a -vigorous, active, and successful life, the life of which he would have -told me, had I arrived ahead of Death. And when all these were arranged, -he had forgotten his morbid dislike of strangers. The old instincts of -hospitality tugged at his heart strings, and his wife said he was almost -young and happy once more, when suddenly he grasped at his heart, -crying, "My heart! What is the matter with my heart? O----" That was -all! - -There we stood together, the woman who had loved the dear old wizard for -years and the young magician who would have been so willing to love him -had he been allowed to know him. His face was still wet from the cologne -she had thrown over him in vain hope of reviving the fading soul. On the -floor lay the cloths, used so ineffectually to bathe the pulseless face, -and now laughing mockingly at one who saw himself defeated after weary -months of writing and pleading for the much-desired meeting. - -I feel sure that the personal note struck in these reminiscences will be -forgiven. In no other way could I prove the authoritativeness of my -collection, the thoroughness of my research, and the incontrovertibility -of the facts which I desire to set forth in this volume. - - - - -THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN - - - - -CHAPTER I - -SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN - - -Robert-Houdin was born in Blois, France, December 6th, 1805. His real -name was Jean-Eugene Robert, and his father was Prosper Robert, a -watchmaker in moderate circumstances. His mother's maiden name was Marie -Catherine Guillon. His first wife was Josephe Cecile Eglantine Houdin, -whose family name he assumed for business reasons. He was married the -second time to Francoise Marguerite Olympe Naconnier. His death, caused -by pneumonia, occurred at St. Gervais, France, on June 13th, 1871. - -[Illustration: Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. Photograph taken--about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Barring the above facts, which were gleaned from the register of the -civil authorities of St. Gervais, all information regarding his life -previous to his first public appearance in 1844 must be drawn from his -own works, particularly from his autobiography, published in the form of -"Memoirs." Because of his supreme egotism, his obvious desire to make -his autobiography picturesque and interesting rather than historically -correct, and his utter indifference to dates, exact names of places, -theatres, books, etc., it is extremely hard to present logical and -consistent statements regarding his life. Such discrepancies arise as -the mention of three children in one chapter and four in another, while -he does not give the names of either wife, though he admits his -obligation to both good women. - -According to his autobiography, Jean-Eugene Robert was sent to college -at Orleans at the tender age of eleven, and remained there until he was -eighteen. He was then placed in a notary's office to study law, but his -mechanical tastes led him back to his father's trade, watchmaking. -While working for his cousin at Blois, he visited a bookshop in search -of Berthoud's "Treatise on Clockmaking," but by mistake he was given -several volumes of an old encyclopaedia, one of which contained a -dissertation on "Scientific Amusements," or an exposition of magic. This -simple incident, he asserts, changed the entire current of his life. At -eighteen, he first turned his attention to magic. At forty, he made his -first appearance as an independent magician or public performer. - -On page 44 of his "Memoirs," American edition, Robert-Houdin refers to -this book as an encyclopaedia, but several times later he calls it "White -Magic." In all probability it was the famous work by Henri Decremps in -five volumes, known as "La Magie Banche Devoilee," or "White Magic -Exposed." This was written by Decremps to injure Pinetti, and it exposed -all the latter's tricks, including the orange tree, the vaulting trapeze -automaton, and in fact the majority of the tricks later claimed by -Robert-Houdin as his own inventions. - -In 1828, while working for M. Noriet, a watchmaker in Tours, Jean-Eugene -Robert was poisoned by improperly prepared food, and in his delirium -started for his old home in Blois. He was picked up on the roadside by -Torrini, a travelling magician, who nursed him back to health in his -portable theatre. Just as young Jean recovered Torrini was injured in an -accident, and his erstwhile patient remained to nurse his benefactor and -later to help Torrini's assistant present the programme of magic by -which they made their living. His first public appearance as the -representative of Torrini was made at Aubusson. - -[Illustration: The only Robert-Houdin poster showing his complete stage -setting. This lithograph was made in France. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Programme for the opening of Robert-Houdin's theatre in -Paris. Reproduced from the American edition of his "Memoirs."] - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin's favorite lithograph for advertising -purposes. Used on the majority of his posters and in the original -edition of his "Memoirs." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Torrini was an Italian whose real name was Count Edmond de Grisy. He was -a contemporary of Pinetti. In all probability, during the long summer of -their intimate companionship, Torrini not only initiated his fascinated -young guest into his own methods of performingtricks, but also into the -secrets of Pinetti's tricks. In his "Memoirs," Robert-Houdin makes no -secret of the fact that both Comus and Pinetti, together with their -tricks, were topics of conversation between himself and Torrini. - -[Illustration: A very rare, and possibly the only, programme in -existence, chronicling Robert-Houdin's first appearance before Queen -Victoria, July 19th, 1848. The original, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection, was presented to James Savren by Robert-Houdin.] - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert-Houdin during an Easter engagement -at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -When Torrini was able to resume his performances, Jean-Eugene returned -to his family in Blois. During the next few years he mixed amateur -acting with his daily labor, leaning more and more toward the profession -of public entertainer. But his ambitions along this line were nipped in -the bud by marriage. Mademoiselle Houdin, whose father was a celebrated -watchmaker in Paris, visited old friends in Blois, their native town, -and became the fiancee of young Robert. As the new son-in-law was to -share the elder Houdin's business and naturally wished to secure such -benefits as might accrue from so celebrated a family of watch and clock -makers, he applied to the council of state and secured the right to -annex "Houdin" to his name, Jean-Eugene Robert, and thereafter was known -only as Robert-Houdin. - -His life between 1838 and 1844 was divided between reading every work -obtainable on magic, and his duties in his father-in-law's shop, where -he not only made and repaired clocks, but built and repaired automata of -various sorts. His family shared with him many financial vicissitudes, -and about 1842-43 his first wife died, leaving him with three young -children to raise. Earlier in his "Memoirs" he speaks of having four -children, so it is more than likely that one died before his wife. He -married again soon, and though he gives his second wife great credit as -a helpmate he does not state her name. - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin as he appeared to the English critics. -Reproduced from the _Illustrated London News_, December 23d, 1848.] - -[Illustration: ROBERT HOUDIN'S SOIREES FANTASTIQUES - -Poster used in 1848 in London by Robert-Houdin. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -By this time he had acquired more than passing fame as a repairer of -automata, and in 1844 he mended Vaucanson's marvellous duck, one of the -most remarkable automata ever made. Doubtless other automata found -their way to his workshop and aided him in his study of a profession -which he still hoped to follow. During these discouraging times he was -often assisted financially by one Monsieur G----, who either advanced -money on his automata or bought them outright. In the same year, 1844, -he retired to a suburb of Paris, and there, he asserts, he built his -famous writing and drawing figure. - -[Illustration: Poster for the Emile-Houdin benefit at St. James's -Theatre in 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The next year, 1845, he was assisted by Count de L'Escalopier, a devotee -of conjuring and automata, who advanced the money to fit up and furnish -a small theatre in the Palais Royal. Robert-Houdin went about the work -of decorating and furnishing this theatre with a view to securing the -most dramatic and brilliant effects, surrounding his simple tricks with -a setting that made them vastly different from the same offerings by his -predecessors. He was what is called to-day an original producer of old -ideas. On June 25th, 1845, he gave his first private performance before -a few friends. On July 3d of the same year his theatre of magic was -opened formally to the public. The programme of this performance is -shown on page 37. - -It will be noted that the famous writing and drawing figure was not then -included in Robert-Houdin's repertoire, nor does it ever appear on any -of his programmes. He exhibited it at the quinquennial exhibition in -1844, received a silver medal for it, and very soon sold it to the late -P. T. Barnum, who exported it to America. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert-Houdin when he played at Sadler's -Wells, London, in 1853. He never refers to this engagement in his -writings because he was not proud of having appeared in a second-class -theatre, while his rival, Anderson, held the fashionable audiences at -the St. James's, where Robert-Houdin had worn out his welcome. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -This question naturally arises: If Robert-Houdin built the original -writing and drawing figure, why could he not make a duplicate and -include it in his programme? Surely it was one of the most remarkable of -the automata which he claims as the creations of his brain and hands. - -In 1846 he claims to have invented second sight, and at the opening of -the season in 1847 he presented as his own creation the suspension -trick. During the interim he played an engagement in Brussels which was -a financial failure. - -In 1848 the Revolution closed the doors of Parisian theatres, -Robert-Houdin's among the rest, and he returned to clockmaking and -automata building, until he received from John Mitchell, who had met -with great success in managing Ludwig Doebler and Phillippe, an offer to -appear in London at the St. James's Theatre. This engagement was a -brilliant success and for the first time in his career Robert-Houdin -reaped big financial returns. - -Later Robert-Houdin toured the English provinces under his own -management and made return trips to London, but his tour under Mitchell -was the most notable engagement of his career. - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin's grave, in the cemetery at Blois, France. -From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now -in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1850, while playing in Paris, he decided to retire, and to turn over -his theatre and tricks to one Hamilton. A contemporary clipping, taken -from an English newspaper of 1848, goes to prove that Hamilton was an -Englishman who entered Robert-Houdin's employ. Hamilton signed a dual -contract, agreeing to produce Robert-Houdin's tricks as his acknowledged -successor and to marry Robert-Houdin's sister, thus keeping the tricks -and the theatre in the family. During the next two years Robert-Houdin -spent part of his time instructing his brother-in-law in all the -mysteries of his art. In July, 1852, he played a few engagements in -Germany, including Berlin and various bathing resorts, and then -formally retired to his home at St. Gervais. Here he continued to work -along mechanical and electrical lines, and in 1855 he again came into -public notice, winning awards at the Exhibition for electrical power as -applied to mechanical uses. In 1856, according to his autobiography, he -was summoned from his retirement by the Government to make a trip to -Algeria and there intimidate revolting Arabs by the exhibition of his -sleight-of-hand tricks. These were greatly superior to the work of the -Marabouts or Arabian magicians, whose influence was often held -responsible for revolts. What Robert-Houdin received for performing -this service is not set forth in any of his works. He spent the fall of -1856 in Algeria. - -[Illustration: Bas-relief on Robert-Houdin tombstone. From a photograph -taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -From the date of his return to St. Gervais to the time of his death, -June 13th, 1871, Robert-Houdin devoted his energies to improving his -inventions and writing his books, though, as stated before, it was -generally believed by contemporary magicians that in the latter task he -entrusted most of the real work to a Parisian journalist whose name was -never known. - -He was survived by a wife, a son named Emile, and a step-daughter. Emile -Houdin managed his father's theatre until his death in 1883, when the -theatre was sold for 35,000 francs. The historic temple of magic still -stands under the title of "Theatre Robert-Houdin," under the management -of M. Melies, a maker of motion picture films. - -[Illustration: The last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as -the frontispiece for the original French edition of his "Memoirs," -published in 1868.] - -During my investigations in Paris, I was shocked to find how little the -memory of Robert-Houdin was revered and how little was known of France's -greatest magician. In fact, I was more than once informed that -Robert-Houdin was still alive and giving performances at the theatre -which bears his name. - -Contemporary magicians of Robert-Houdin and men of high repute in other -walks of life seem to agree that Robert-Houdin was an entertainer of -only average merit. Among the men who advanced this theory were the late -Henry Evanion of whose deep interest in magic I wrote in the -introduction, Sir William Clayton who was Robert-Houdin's personal -friend in London, Ernest Basch who saw Robert-Houdin in Berlin, and T. -Bolin of Moscow, Russia, who bought all his tricks in Paris and there -saw Robert-Houdin and studied his work as a conjurer. - -Robert-Houdin's contributions to literature, all of which are eulogistic -of his own talents, are as follows: - -"Confidence et Revelations," published in Paris in 1858 and translated -into English by Lascelles Wraxall, with an introduction by R. Shelton -Mackenzie. - -"Les Tricheries des Grecs" (Card-Sharping Exposed), published in Paris -in 1861. - -"Secrets de la Prestidigitation" (Secrets of Magic), published in Paris -in 1868. - -"Le Prieure" (The Priory, being an account of his electrically equipped -house), published in Paris in 1867. - -"Les Radiations Lumineuses," published in Blois in 1869. - -"Exploration de la Retinue," published in Blois, 1869. - -"Magic et Physique Amusante" (oeuvre posthume), published in Paris in -1877, six years after Robert-Houdin's death. - -In his autobiography, Robert-Houdin makes specific claim to the honor of -having invented the following tricks: The Orange Tree, Second Sight, -Suspension, The Cabalistic Clock, The Inexhaustible Bottle, The Pastry -Cook of the Palais Royal, The Vaulting Trapeze Automaton, and the -Writing and Drawing Figure. - -His fame, which has been sung by writers of magic without number since -his death, rests principally on the invention of second sight, -suspension, and the writing and drawing automaton. It is my intention to -trace the true history of each of these tricks and of all others to -which he laid claim as inventor, and show just how small a proportion of -the credit was due to Robert-Houdin and how much he owed to magicians -who preceded him and whose brain-work he claimed as his own. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK - - -Robert-Houdin, on page 179 of the American edition of his "Memoirs," -thus describes the orange-tree trick, which he claims as his invention: -"The next was a mysterious orange-tree, on which flowers and fruit burst -into life at the request of the ladies. As the finale, a handkerchief I -borrowed was conveyed into an orange purposely left on the tree. This -opened and displayed the handkerchief, which two butterflies took by the -corners and unfolded before the spectators." - -On page 245 of the same volume he presents the programme given at the -first public performance in the Theatre Robert-Houdin, stating: - -"The performance will be composed of entirely novel Experiments invented -by M. Robert-Houdin. Among them being The Orange-Tree, etc." - -Now to retrace our steps in the history of magic as set forth in -handbills and advertisements of earlier and contemporaneous newspaper -clippings describing their inventions. - -Under the title of "The Apple-Tree" this mechanical trick appeared on a -Fawkes programme dated 1730. This was 115 years before Robert-Houdin -claimed it as his invention. In 1732, just before Pinchbeck's death, it -appeared on a programme used by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., and the -younger Fawkes. In 1784 it was included in the repertoire of the Italian -conjurer, Pinetti, in the guise of "Le Bouquet-philosophique." In 1822 -the same trick, but this time called "An Enchanted Garden," was featured -by M. Cornillot, who appeared in England as the pupil and successor of -Pinetti. - -[Illustration: Diagram of the orange-tree trick, from Wiegleb's "The -Natural Magic," published in 1794.] - -The trick was first explained in public print by Henri Decremps in 1784 -when his famous expose of Pinetti was published under the title of "La -Magie Blanche Devoilee," and in 1786-87 both Halle and Wiegleb exposed -the trick completely in their respective works on magic. - -That Robert-Houdin was an omnivorous reader is proven by his own -writings. That he knew the history and tricks of Pinetti is proven by -his own words, for in Chapter VI. of his "Memoirs" he devoted fourteen -pages to Pinetti and the latter's relations with Torrini. - -Now to prove that the tree tricks offered by Fawkes, Pinchbeck, Pinetti, -Cornillot, and Robert-Houdin were practically one and the same, and to -tell something of the history of the four magicians who featured the -trick before Robert-Houdin had been heard of: - -[Illustration: Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr. This is the oldest and rarest -authentic mezzotint in the world pertaining to the history of magic. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Daily Post_ of November 30th, -1728. Used by Christopher Pinchbeck before he joined Fawkes. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Unquestionably, the real inventor of the mysterious tree was Christopher -Pinchbeck, who was England's leading mechanical genius at the close of -the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. He was a -man of high repute, whose history is not that of the charlatan, compiled -largely from tradition, but it can be corroborated by court records, -biographical works, and encyclopaedias, as well as by contemporaneous -newspaper clippings. - -[Illustration: Advertisement from the London _Daily Post_ during 1730, -showing the orange tree as offered by the senior Fawkes, just previous -to his death. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -According to Vol. XLV. of the "Dictionary of National Biography," edited -by Sidney Lee and published in 1896 by Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo -Place, London: "Christopher Pinchbeck was born about 1670, possibly in -Clerkenwell, London. He was a clockmaker and inventor of the copper and -zinc alloy called after his name. He invented and made the famous -astronomico-musical clock. In Appleby's _Weekly Journal_ of July 8th, -1721, it was announced that 'Christopher Pinchbeck, inventor and maker -of the astronomico-musical clock, is removed, from St. George's Court -(now Albion Place) to the sign of the "Astronomico-Musical Clock" in -Fleet Street, near the Leg Tavern. He maketh and selleth watches of all -sorts and clocks as well for the exact indication of the time only as -astronomical, for showing the various motions and phenomena of planets -and fixed stars.' Mention is also made of musical automata in imitation -of singing birds and barrel organs for churches, as among Pinchbeck's -manufactures. - -"Pinchbeck was in the habit of exhibiting collections of his automata at -fairs, sometimes in conjunction with a juggler named Fawkes, and he -entitled his stall 'The Temple of the Muses,' 'Grand Theatre of the -Muses,' or 'Multum in Parvo.' The _Daily Journal_ of August 27th, 1729, -announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales went to the Bartholomew -Fair to see his exhibition, and there were brief advertisements in _The -Daily Post_ of June 12th, 1729, and the _Daily Journal_ of August 22d -and 23d, 1729. There is still a large broadside in the British Museum -(1850 c. 10-17) headed 'Multum in Parvo,' relating to Pinchbeck's -exhibition, with a blank left for place and date, evidently intended for -use as a poster. He died November 18th, 1732; was buried November 21st, -in St. Denison's Church, Fleet Street. - -"In a copy of the _Gentlemen's Magazine_, printed 1732, page 1083, there -is an engraved portrait by I. Faber, after a painting by Isaac Wood, a -reproduction of which appears in 'Britten's Clock and Watch Maker,' page -122. His will, dated November 10th, 1732, was proved in London on -November 18th." - -[Illustration: A very rare mezzotint of Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., -combining the work of Cunningham, the greatest designer, and William -Humphrey, the greatest portrait etcher of his day. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -During one of his engagements at the Bartholomew Fair, Pinchbeck -probably met Fawkes, the cleverest sleight-of-hand performer that magic -has ever known, and the two joined forces. Pinchbeck made all the -automata and apparatus thereafter used by Fawkes, and, in Fawkes, he -had a master-producer of his tricks. Christopher Pinchbeck never -appeared on the program used by Fawkes, save as the maker of the -automata or apparatus, but directly after the death of the elder Fawkes, -and a few months before his own, the elder Pinchbeck appeared with the -son of his deceased partner, and was advertised as doing "the Dexterity -of Hand" performance. This indicates that he was inducting young Fawkes -into all the mysteries of the profession at which the two elder men, as -friends and business partners, had done so well. - -Christopher Pinchbeck was survived by two sons, Edward and Christopher, -Jr. Edward, the elder, succeeded to his father's shop and regular -business. He was born about 1703, and was well along in years when he -entered into his patrimony, which he advertised in _The Daily Post_ of -November 27th, 1732, as follows: "The toys made of the late Mr. -Pinchbeck's curious metal are now sold only by his son and sole -executor, Mr. Edward Pinchbeck." - -This announcement settles forever the oft-disputed question as to -whether the alloy of copper and zinc which bears the name of Pinchbeck -was invented by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., or by his son Christopher, -Jr. - -All newspaper and magazine descriptions of the automata invented by the -elder Pinchbeck indicate that his hand was as cunning as his brain was -inventive, for they showed the most delicate mechanism, and included -entire landscapes with figures of rare grace in motion. - -[Illustration: The best portrait of Isaac Fawkes in existence. The -original, now in the Harry Houdini Collection, is supposed to have been -engraved by Sutton Nichols. It is said that there is only one more of -these engravings extant.] - -"Christopher, the second son of Christopher Pinchbeck the elder," -continues the biographical sketch, "was born about 1710 and possessed -great mechanical ingenuity. While the elder son, Edward, was made -executor and continued his father's trade in a quiet, conservative -fashion, the younger son struck out along new lines and became even more -famous as an inventor than his brilliant father had been. - -[Illustration: An early Fawkes advertisement, clipped from a London -paper of 1725. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"He was a member and at one time president of the Smeatonian Society, -the precursor of the Institution of Civil Engineers. In 1762 he devised -a self-acting pneumatic brake for preventing accidents to the men -employed in working wheel-cranes. In _The Gentlemen's Magazine_ for -June, 1765, page 296, it is recorded that Messrs. Pinchbeck and Norton -had made a complicated astronomical clock for the Queen's house, some of -the calculations of the wheel having been made by James Ferguson, the -astronomer. There is no proof that Pinchbeck and Norton were ever in -partnership, and there are now two clocks answering to the description -at Buckingham Palace, one by Pinchbeck, with four dials and of a very -complicated construction, and another by Norton. - -[Illustration: A clipping from the _Daily Post_, London showing that -Fawkes combined forces with Powel, the famous Bartholomew Fair puppet -man. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"Pinchbeck took out three patents: the first (No. 892), granted 1768, -was for an improved candlestick with a spring socket for holding the -candle firmly, and an arrangement whereby the candle always occupied an -upright position, however the candlestick might be held. In 1768 (patent -No. 899) he patented his nocturnal remembrancer, a series of tablets -with notches, to serve as guides for writing in the dark. His snuffers -(No. 1119) patented 1776, continued to be made in Birmingham until the -last forty years or so, when snuffers began to go out of use. In 1774 he -presented to the Society of Arts a model of a plough for mending roads. -Pinchbeck's name first appears in the London directory in 1778, when it -replaced that of Richard Pinchbeck, toyman, of whom nothing is recorded. - -"Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., was held in considerable esteem by George -III., and he figures in Wilkes' London Museum (ii-33) in 1770 in the -list of the party who called themselves the King's friends. He died -March 17th, 1783, aged 73, and was buried in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. -His will, which was very curious, is printed in full in _The Horological -Journal_ of November, 1895. One of his daughters married William Hebb, -who was described as 'son-in-law and successor of the late Mr. Pinchbeck -at his shop in Cockspur Street' (imprinted on Pinchbeck's portrait), -whose son Christopher Henry Hebb (1772-1861) practised as a surgeon in -Worcester. There is in existence a portrait of Christopher Pinchbeck the -younger, by Cunningham, engraved by W. Humphrey." - -The mezzotints of the Pinchbecks, father and son, herewith reproduced, -are extremely rare, and when I unearthed them in Berlin I felt myself -singularly favored in securing two such treasures of great value to the -history of magic. S. Wohl, the antiquarian and dealer from whom they -were purchased, acquired them during a tour of old book and print shops -in England, and thought them portraits of one and the same person; but -by studying the names of the artists and the engravers on the two -pictures, it will be seen that they set forth the features of father and -son, as indicated by the biographical notes quoted above. - -Of the early history of Fawkes, whose brilliant stage performance lent -to the Pinchbeck automata a new lustre, little is known. It is -practically impossible to trace his family history. His Christian name -was never used on his billing nor published in papers or magazines, and -after repeated failures I was about to give up the task of discovering -it, when in 1904, aided by R. Bennett, the clerk of St. -Martin's-in-the-Fields Parish Church, Trafalgar Square, London, England, -I came upon the record of his burial. This record, which I found after -many days' search among musty, faded parchments, showed that his -Christian name was Isaac, and that he died May 25th or 29th, 1731, and -was buried in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Parish Church. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_ during 1728, showing the -oldest evidence procurable of the original "Two a Night" performance. -From the Harry Houdini Collection: - -At FAWKES's Booth in the Upper Moorfields, will be presented the -following Entertainments, - -First his Famous Posture-Master, that for his wonderful dexterity of -Body exceeds all Europe. 2. The Musical Temple of Arts, with two moving -Pictures, the one a Concert of Musick, the other the Siege and Bay of -Gibraltar, being the finest Piece of Clock-work in the World. 3d. -Another Machine with three moving Pictures, the first represents the -Hill of Parnassus, with Apollo and the Nine Muses playing on various -Instruments of Musick, with next a beautiful View of a River, with Swans -and other Fowls and Fish, sporting as tho' Alive. The last gives a -Prospect of the New Palace Yard, with the whole Procession of the late -Coronation of their preseat Majesties marching from the Hall to the -Abbey, - -Note, Half the Performance can't be express'd in this advertisement. - -Note, We show twice every Evening, the First beginning at Five, the -other at Seven.] - -The records further show that he was buried in the church vault, the -coffin being carried by six men. Prayers were said in the church, -candles were used, and the great bell was tolled. As the fees amounted -to L6 12s., a goodly sum for those days, all signs indicate that the -funeral was on a scale more costly and impressive than the ordinary. - -Fawkes was worth at his death L10,000, which was considered an enormous -sum in those days. Every penny of this he made performing at the fairs. - -The earliest announcements of Fawkes' performance in my collection are -dated 1702 and include advertisements headed "Fawkes and Powel," -"Fawkes and Phillips," and "Fawkes and Pinchbeck." Powel was the famous -puppet man, Phillips a famous posture master (known to-day as -contortionist), and Pinchbeck was the greatest of mechanicians. Fawkes -seems to have possessed a singular gift for picking out desirable -partners. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, February 7th, 1724, in -which Fawkes announces his retirement and offers to teach his tricks to -all comers. Below this announcement is the advertisement of Clench, -famous as an imitator and an instrumentalist.] - -From this mass of evidence I am producing various clippings. By a -peculiar coincidence one of these I believe offers the most authentic -and earliest record of "two a night" performances in England. - -In my collection are a number of other clippings from the press of the -same year, in April and May, 1728, but none of them says "twice a -night," therefore I judge that the custom of giving two performances in -a night was tried previously to April, 1728, and then abandoned, or -after the first of May. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Daily Post_ of August, 1735, in -which Fawkes advertises his admission price as twelvepence. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In the London _Post_ of February 7th, 1724, Fawkes announced an -exhibition "in the Long Room over the piazza at the Opera House in the -Haymarket." At this time he also advertised the fact that he was about -to retire and was exposing all his tricks. The clipping of that date -from my collection has the following foot-note: "Likewise he designs to -follow this business no longer than this season; so he promises to learn -any lady or gentleman his fancies in dexterity of hand for their own -diversion." - -When Fawkes was not in partnership with some puppet showman, he always -advertised his own puppets as "A court of the richest and largest -figures ever shown in England, being as big as men and women!" His -admission charges varied, but 12 pence seemed his favorite figure. -About six years before his death he had his own theatre in James Street, -near the Haymarket, in which he exhibited for months at a time before -and after fairs. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, showing that young -Fawkes collaborated with Pinchbeck and together they offered the -orange-tree trick in 1732. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -I reproduce a clipping from my collection showing Fawkes' last program. -Here it will be seen that his first trick was causing a tree to grow up -in a flower-pot on the table, and bear fruit in a minute's time. In _The -Gentlemen's Magazine_, that oft-quoted and most reliable periodical, of -February 15th, 1731, readers were informed that the Algerian Ambassadors -witnessed Fawkes' performance. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, August 16th, 1736, when -young Fawkes was playing alone. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -At their request he showed them "a prospect of Algiers, and raised up an -apple-tree which bore ripe fruit in less than a minute's time, which -several of the company tasted of." - -Fawkes, too, had a son, and thus the partnership and the friendship -which had existed between the elder Fawkes and the elder Pinchbeck were -carried on by the second generation. All of the marvellous apparatus -made by Pinchbeck the elder, for Fawkes, may have been bequeathed by the -latter to his son, but, in 1732, Pinchbeck the elder and Fawkes the -younger were in a booth together, and Pinchbeck was advertised as doing -"the dexterity of hand" performances. After Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., -died, young Fawkes started out on his own account. In 1746, according to -an advertisement in my collection, a Fawkes and a Pinchbeck were -together again, so the son of Pinchbeck must have joined the younger -Fawkes for exhibition purposes. The accompanying clippings from -contemporary publications trace the history of young Fawkes, and prove -that the tree which bore fruit in a minute's time was still on his -programme. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of page 1226 of Hone's "Every-Day Book" in -the Harry Houdini Collection. This is a portrait of Fawkes, engraved on -a fan by Setchels in 1721 or 1728. Fans like these were distributed at -the Bartholomew Fair.] - -For many years it was supposed that only one portrait of Fawkes was in -existence, but it now seems that three were made. I publish them all, -something which no one has ever before been able to do. One was taken -from a Setchels fan published about 1728, although some authorities say -1721. It appeared in Hone's "Every-Day Book," page 1226. Another, I -believe, was engraved by Sutton Nicols, as Hone mentions it in his -description of Fawkes. In the fan engraving, it will be noticed that -there appears a man wearing a star on his left breast. It is said that -this is Sir Robert Walpole, who was Prime Minister while Fawkes was at -the height of his success, and who was one of the conjurer's great -admirers. Hogarth also placed Fawkes in one of his engravings as the -frontispiece of a most diverting brochure on "Taste," in which he -belittles Burlington Gate. This makes the third portrait from my -collection herewith reproduced. - -According to an article contributed by Mons. E. Raynaly in the -_Illusionniste_ of June, 1903, the orange tree next appeared in the -repertoire of a remarkable peasant conjurer, whose billing Mons. Raynaly -found among "Affiches de Paris." This performer was billed as the -Peasant of North Holland, and gave hourly performances at the yearly -fairs at Saint-Germain. - -It is more than possible that he purchased this trick from Fawkes or -Pinchbeck, having seen it at the Bartholomew Fair in England. - -He featured the orange tree as follows: "He has a Philosophical Flower -Pot, in which he causes to grow on a table in the presence of the -spectators trees which flower, and then the flowers fall, and fruit -appears absolutely ripe and ready to be eaten." - -His posters are dated 1746-47 and 1751. - -The next programme on which the mysterious tree appears is a Pinetti -handbill, dated in London, 1784, when the following announcement was -made: - -"Signore Pinetti will afterwards present the assembly with a Tree called -Le Bouquet-philosophique composed of small branches of an orange-tree, -the leaves appearing green and natural. He will put it under a bottle, -and at some distance, by throwing some drops of water of his own -composition, the leaves will begin to change and the bouquet will -produce natural flowers and various fruits." - -[Illustration: Masquerade and opera at Burlington Gate. Reproduction of -Hogarth's engraving entitled "Taste," belittling the artistic taste of -London. This caricature verifies the Fawkes advertisement, reproduced on -page 64, for here the conjurer is pictured leaning from the window of -the "long room" and calling attention to his performances. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Pinetti is one of the most fascinating and picturesque figures in the -history of magic. His full name was Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, and, -like Pinchbeck and Fawkes, he was a man of parts and readily made -friends with the nobility. In fact, there is some question as to whether -he did not come of a noble family. - -He was born in 1750 in Orbitelle, a fortified town once claimed by -Tuscany. What can be gleaned regarding his early history goes to prove -that his family connections were excellent and his education of the -best. One of his portraits, reproduced herewith, shows a half-crown of -laurel decorating the frame, and on one side of the bust is a globe, -while in the rear of the picture is a stack of books. This would -establish his claim that he was once a professor of physics and -geography. In fact, the legend beneath the portrait, being translated -from the French, runs: - -"I. I. Pinetti Willedal de Merci, Professor and Demonstrator of Physics, -Chevalier of the Order of St. Philipe, Geographical Engineer, Financial -Counselor of H.R.H. Prince of Linbourg Holstein, Born in Orbitelle in -1750." - -[Illustration: A wood-cut used by Pinetti during his engagement at -Hamburg, Germany, in October, 1796. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As it has so often happened in the history of savants and students, -there ran in Pinetti's blood a love of the mysterious with that peculiar -strain of charalatanism which went to make up the clever performer in -old-time magic. Evidently he resigned his duties as a professor for the -more picturesque life of the travelling magician, and he is first heard -from in this capacity in the French provinces in 1783. His fame quickly -carried him to Paris, where in 1784 he appeared before the court of -Louis XVI. His arrival was most opportune, for just then all Paris and, -for that matter, all Europe had been aroused to a new interest in magic -by the brilliant Cagliostro. - -[Illustration: The only authentic portrait of Pinetti in existence, the -only known copy extant being in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -From Paris he went to London, playing at the Haymarket and creating a -sensation equal to that which he made in France. Later he toured -Germany, playing in Berlin and Hamburg. Next he went back to his native -land, Italy, but later returned to Germany for a second engagement. In -1789 he appeared in Russia and never left that country. There he married -a Russian girl, daughter of a carriage manufacturer. They had two -children. Pinetti would have left enormous wealth, but in his later -years he became interested in ballooning, the sensation of the hour, and -spent his entire fortune on balloon experiments. He died in Bartichoff, -Volhinie, aged fifty years. - -[Illustration: Henri Decremps, the French author who exposed and -endeavored to ruin Pinetti, but succeeded only in immortalizing him.] - -Pinetti was a man of rare inventive genius and almost reconstructed the -art of conjuring, so numerous were his inventions. For half a century -after his death his successors drew upon Pinetti's inventions and -repertoire for their programmes. Naturally such ability aroused bitter -jealousies, especially as Pinetti made no attempt to conciliate his -contemporaries, either magicians or writers on magic. He issued one -book, whose title-page reads: - -"Amusements Physiques et Differentes Experiences Divertissements, -Composees et Executees, tant a Paris que dans les diverses Courts de -l'Europe. Par M. Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, Romain, Chevalier de -l'Ordre Merite de Saint-Phillipe, Professeur de Mathematiques et de -Physiques, Protege par toute la Maison Royale de France, Pensionnaire de -la Cour de Prusse, etc., 1785." - -The work, however, was not a clear and lucid explanation of his methods -and tricks. In fact some of his contemporaries claimed that he -deliberately misrepresented his methods of performing tricks. Among -these writers was Henri Decremps, a brilliant professor of mathematics -and physics in Paris, who proceeded to expose all of Pinetti's tricks in -the book referred to in the preceding chapter, "La Magie Blanche -Devoilee." This work was in five volumes and was so popular in its day -that it was translated into nearly every modern language. The following -explanation of the trick is taken from page 56 of the English -translation, entitled "The Conjurer Unmasked": - -"The branches of the tree may be made of tin or paper, so as to be -hollow from one end to the other in order that the air which enters at -the bottom may find its exit at the top of the branch. These branches -are so adjusted that at intervals there appear twigs made from brass -wire, but the whole so decorated with leaves made from parchment that -the ensemble closely resembles nature. - -"The end of each branch is dilated to contain small pieces of gummed -silk or very fine gold-beater's skin, which are to catch the figures of -the flowers and fruit when the latter expand by the air driven through -the branches to which they were fastened by a silk thread. - -[Illustration: Decremps's signature written by himself on the last page -of a copy of his book now in the Harry Houdini Library.] - -"The tree or nosegay is then placed on a table, through which runs a -glass tube to supply air from beneath the stage, where a confederate -works this end of the trick, and causes the tree to 'grow' at the -prearranged signal." - -Later it was described as being accomplished entirely by springs, and -real oranges were first stuck on the tree by means of pegs or pins, and -the leaves were so secured around them that at first appearance they -could not be seen. Then a piston was used to spread all the leaves, -another that forced the blossom up through the hollow branches, etc. - -Pinetti's personality was almost as extraordinary as his talents. A -handsome man who knew how to carry himself, acquiring the graces and the -dress of the nobility, he became rather haughty, if not arrogant, in his -bearing. He so antagonized his contemporaries in the fields of magic and -literature that he was advertised as much by his bitter enemies as by -his loving friends. Many of his methods of attracting attention to -himself were singularly like those employed by modern press agents of -theatrical stars. He never trusted to his performances in theatres and -drawing-rooms to advertise his abilities, but demonstrated his art -wherever he appeared, from barber-shops to cafes. - -Perhaps the best pen pictures of Pinetti and his methods are furnished -by E. G. Robertson in his "Memoirs." Robertson was a contemporary of -Pinetti, and, like him, a pioneer in ballooning. His "Memoirs," written -in the French language, were published in 1831. The following extracts -from this interesting book tell much of Pinetti's life in Russia and of -his professional history as tradition and actual acquaintance had -presented it to M. Robertson: - -"Pinetti had travelled a great deal and for a long time had enjoyed a -great European reputation. He had done everything to attain it. There -was never a man that carried further the art of the 'charlatisme.' When -he arrived in a town where he intended to give a show, he took good care -to prepare his public by speeches, which would keep it in suspense. In -St. Petersburg great and incredible examples of mystification and of -prestidigitation were told about him. - -"One day he went to a barber-shop to get shaved, sat down in the chair, -had the towel tied around his neck, and laid his head back ready for the -lather. The barber left him in this position to get hot water, and when -he returned, guided by force of habit, he applied the lather where the -chin should be, but he found feet, arms, hands, and body in a coat, but -no head! Such lamentations! No more head! What could it mean? He opened -the door, and, frightened to death, ran away. Pinetti then went to the -window and called the barber back. He had put his head in his coat in -such a clever way, covering it with his handkerchief, that the surprise -and the fright of the barber were quite natural. Of course this barber -did not fail to spread over the whole town that he had shaved a man who -could take his head off and on to his wish. - -[Illustration: Frontispiece of Pinetti's book, "Amusements Physiques," -published in Paris, 1785, one of the first treasures of the Evanion -Collection purchased by the author.] - -[Illustration: Pinetti's autograph, written by him on the back of the -frontispiece, reproduced on page 78. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"Pinetti met in a summer-garden a young Russian who sold small cakes. He -bought a few cakes, bit into them, and complained of finding a hard -substance. The youth protested, but Pinetti opened the cake before him -and found inside a gold piece. The magician pocketed the gold piece, -bought another cake, then a third cake, and in each case found a new -gold piece inside. He tried to buy the rest of the cakes. The passers-by -had in the mean time come round the seller, and everybody wanted to buy -as well. The market seemed to be all right, a ducat for a kopeck! Twelve -francs for a cent! The young man refused to sell any more, hurried away, -and when alone opened the cakes that were left. He found only the -substances of which the cakes were made--nothing else. He had two left, -so he hurried back to offer these to Pinetti. Pinetti bought them from -him, opened them and showed in each one the gold piece, which the young -man could not find in the two dozen cakes which he had spoilt. The poor -boy bit his lips and looked at Pinetti with wondering, frightened eyes. -This little adventure was advertised here, there, and everywhere, and -was told in the clubs and in the society gatherings, and very soon the -name of Pinetti gave the key to the enigma, and Pinetti was in demand by -everybody. - -"When Pinetti came on the stage, he had the knack of attracting members -of the nobility around his table, by letting them learn some small -secrets. This would render them confederates in working his tricks. He -would appear in rich suits, embroidered in gold, which he changed three -and four times in the evening. He would not hesitate to deck himself in -a quantity of foreign decorations. In Berlin it was told how Pinetti -would go through the streets, in a carriage drawn by four white horses. -He was clad in fine embroidery and decorated with medals of all nations. -Several times it happened that, as he passed by, the soldiers would call -arms and salute, taking him for a prince. One day the King of Prussia -rode out in his modest carriage drawn by two horses. Ahead of him drove -the supposed prince. When the King witnessed the mistake made by his -soldiers, he made inquiries as to the rank of this man to whom his men -were paying such honor, then gave the Cavalier Pinetti twenty-four hours -to get beyond Prussia's borders." - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a handbill distributed on the streets of -London in September, 1822. The orange-tree trick is on the bill under -the name of "Enchanted Garden." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Whatever may be said of Pinetti's charlatanism, it must be admitted that -he gave to the art of conjuring a great impetus which was felt for -several generations. It is not remarkable, therefore, that when the -French magician Cornillot appeared in London in 1822 he announced -himself as the pupil and successor of Pinetti. This was when -Robert-Houdin was seventeen years of age, twenty-three years before he -made his professional debut, and on Cornillot's programme we find -another version of the now famous and almost familiar tree trick. As -will be seen from the accompanying reproduction of a Cornillot handbill, -the tree now appears as "An Enchanted Garden," and, if the wording of -the bill is to be believed, Cornillot had improved the trick and was -using more than one tree or plant. - -Cornillot remained in England for some time and is classed among the -conjurers of good repute. Another bill in my collection shows that he -played at the Theatre of Variety, Catherine Street, Strand, in October, -1823. He was then assisted by several singers and dancers, including the -famous Misses Hamilton and Howe, pupils of M. Corri. In his company was -also an Anglo-Chinese juggler, who, in addition to feats of juggling, -"swallows an egg, a sword, and a stone, a la Ramo Samee." - -To sum up the evidence against Robert-Houdin in this particular trick: -Four magicians of high repute gave public performances before -Robert-Houdin knew and operated the orange-tree trick. Three eminent -writers exposed it clearly and accurately. Robert-Houdin, as an -indefatigable student of the history of magic, must have known of the -trick and its _modus operandum_. He may have purchased it from -Cornillot, or as a clever mechanician he had only to reproduce the trick -invented by his predecessors, train his confederate in its -operation--and--by his cleverly written autobiography--attempt to -establish his claim to its invention. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE - - -In his "Memoirs" Robert-Houdin eulogizes the various automata which he -claims to have invented. The picturesque fashion in which he describes -the tremendous effort put forth ere success crowned his labors would -render his arguments most convincing--if stern historical facts did not -contradict his every statement. - -One of the most extraordinary mechanical figures which he exploits as -his invention was the writing and drawing figure, which he exhibited at -the Quinquennial Exhibition in 1844, but never used in his public -performances, though he asserts that he planned to exhibit it between -performances at his own theatre. This automaton, he says, laid the -foundation of his financial success and opened the way to realizing his -dream of appearing as a magician. - -[Illustration: Writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin as -his invention. From Manning's Robert-Houdin brochure.] - -On page 196 of his "Memoirs," American edition, he starts his romantic -description of its conception and manufacture. According to this he had -just planned what promised to be the most brilliant of his mechanical -inventions when financial difficulties intervened. He was obliged to -raise two thousand francs to meet a pressing debt. He applied to the -ever-convenient Monsieur G----, who had bought automata from him before. -He described the writing and drawing figure minutely to his patron, who -immediately agreed to advance two thousand five hundred francs, and if -the figure was completed in eighteen months, two thousand five hundred -francs more were to be paid for it, making five thousand francs in all. -If the figure was never completed, then Monsieur G---- was to reimburse -himself for the amount advanced by selecting automatic toys from -Robert-Houdin's regular stock. - -After liquidating his debt, Robert-Houdin retired to Belleville, a -suburb of Paris, where for eighteen months he worked upon the figure, -seeing his family only twice a week, and living in the most frugal -fashion. - -He employed a wood-carver to make the head, but the result was so -unsatisfactory that in the end he was obliged, not only to make all the -complicated machinery which operated the figure, but to carve the head -itself, which, he adds, in some miraculous fashion, resembled himself. -This resemblance, however, cannot be traced in existing cuts of the -figure. - -The chapter devoted to this particular automaton is so diverting that I -quote literally from its pages, thus giving my readers an opportunity to -take the true measure of the writer and the literary style of his -"Memoirs." Here is his description of his moment of triumph: - -"I had only to press a spring in order to enjoy the long-waited-for -result. My heart beat violently, and though I was alone I trembled at -the mere thought of this imposing trial. I had just laid the first sheet -of paper before my writer and asked him this question: 'Who is the -author of your being?' I pressed the spring, and the clockwork -started--began acting. I dared hardly breathe through fear of disturbing -the operations. The automaton bowed to me, and I could not refrain from -smiling on it as on my own son. But when I saw the eyes fix an attentive -glance on the paper--when the arm, a few seconds before numb and -lifeless, began to move and trace my signature in a firm hand--the tears -started in my eyes and I fervently thanked Heaven for granting me -success. And it was not alone the satisfaction I experienced as an -inventor, but the certainty I had of being able to restore some degree -of comfort to my family, that caused my deep feeling of gratitude. - -"After making my Sosia repeat my signature a thousand times, I gave it -this question: 'What o'clock is it?' The automaton, acting in obedience -to the clock, wrote, 'It is two in the morning.' This was a timely -warning. I profited by it and went straight to bed." - -[Illustration: Specimens of penmanship executed by the Droz writing -automaton in 1796 and 1906 respectively. From the brochure issued by the -Society of History and Archaeology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.] - -Robert-Houdin injects a little humor into this chapter, for he relates -that as Moliere and J. J. Rousseau consulted their servants, he decided -to do likewise; so early the next morning he invited his portress and -her husband, Auguste, a stone-mason, to be present at the first -performance of the figure. The mason's wife chose the question, "What is -the emblem of fidelity?" The automaton replied by drawing a pretty -little greyhound, lying on a cushion. The stone-mason wished to see the -works, saying: "I understand about that sort of thing, for I have always -greased the vane on the church steeple, and have even taken it down -twice." - -When the work was completed, according to page 208 of the American -edition of his "Memoirs," he returned to Paris, collected the remaining -two thousand five hundred francs due him from Monsieur G----, to whom he -delivered the figure, and two thousand francs more on an automatic -nightingale made for a rich merchant of St. Petersburg. Incidentally he -mentions that during his absence his business had prospered, but he -fails to state who managed it for him, and here is where I believe -credit should be given Opre, the Dutch inventor, who was unquestionably -Robert-Houdin's assistant for years. - -In 1844 he claims to have borrowed the writing and drawing figure from -the obliging Monsieur G---- to exhibit it at the Quinquennial -Exposition, where it attracted the attention of Louis Philippe and his -court, thus insuring its exhibitor the silver medal. - -At this point Robert-Houdin deliberately drops the writing and drawing -figure, leaving his readers to believe that it was returned to its -rightful owner, Monsieur G----, but, unfortunately for his claims, -another historian steps in here to cast reflections on Monsieur G---- 's -ownership of the figure. This writer is the world's greatest showman, -the late P. T. Barnum, who purchased the figure at this same exposition -of 1844, paying for it a goodly sum, and this incident is one of the -significant omissions of the Robert-Houdin "Memoirs." Either -Robert-Houdin sold the figure to Mr. Barnum for Monsieur G----, or such -a person as Monsieur G---- never existed, for in his own book Mr. Barnum -writes: - -"When I was abroad in 1844 I went to Paris expressly to attend the -'Quinquennial Exposition'--an exhibition then held every five years. I -met and became well acquainted with a celebrated conjurer, as he called -himself, Robert-Houdin, but who was not only a prestidigitateur and -legerdemain performer, but a mechanic of absolute genius. I bought at -the exposition the best automaton he exhibited and for which he obtained -a gold medal. I paid a round price for this most ingenious little -figure, which was an automaton writer and artist. It sat on a small -table, pencil in hand; and, if asked, for instance, for an emblem of -'fidelity,' it would instantly draw the picture of a handsome dog; if -love was wanted, a cupid was exquisitely pencilled. The automaton would -also answer many questions in writing. I took this curiosity to London, -where it was exhibited for some time at the Royal Adelaide Gallery, and -then I sent it across the Atlantic to my American Museum, where it -attracted great attention from the people and the press. During my -visit, Houdin was giving evening legerdemain performances, and by his -pressing invitation I frequently was present. He took great pains, too, -to introduce me to other inventors and exhibitors of moving figures, -which I liberally purchased, making them prominent features in the -attractions of the American Museum." - -[Illustration: The late P. T. Barnum, the world's greatest showman, who -bought the writing and drawing figure from Robert-Houdin, and wrote at -length of the French conjurer in his autobiography. Born July 5, 1810. -Died April 7, 1891. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: The figure of Cupid as executed by the Droz drawing -figure. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archaeology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.] - -Barnum then continued to describe Robert-Houdin's greatness and his -cleverness in the use of electricity. The showman was always a welcome -guest at the magician's house, and he relates how, at luncheon time, -Robert-Houdin would touch a knob and through the floor would rise a -table, laden with inviting viands. These details in the Barnum book make -it all the more inexplicable that Robert-Houdin should omit all mention -of the great showman's name in his "Memoirs." - -[Illustration: Hanger advertising the Professor Faber talking machine, -exhibited by P. T. Barnum during 1873 in his museum department. This -automaton was the first talking figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Just at this time the amusement-seeking public seemed greatly interested -in automata, so it was only natural that Barnum, great showman that he -was, should scour Europe for mechanical figures. Soon after he purchased -the writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin, he brought to -America a talking figure invented by Professor Faber of Vienna, to which -he refers most entertainingly in his address to the public dated 1873: - -"The Museum department contains 100,000 curiosities, including Professor -Faber's wonderful talking machine, costing me $20,000 for its use for -six months; also the National Portrait Gallery of one hundred life-size -paintings, including all the Presidents of the United States, etc.; John -Rogers' groups of historic statuary; almost an endless variety of -curiosities, including numberless automaton musicians, mechanicians, and -moving scenes, etc., etc., made in Paris and Geneva." - -It can be imagined how wonderful this talking machine must have been -when Barnum gave it special emphasis, selecting it from the hundreds of -curios he had on exhibition. As this talking machine is probably -forgotten, I will reproduce the bill used at the time of its appearance -in London, England. - -When Barnum was in London in 1844, with Gen. Tom Thumb, who was then -performing at the Egyptian Hall, he first saw the automatic talking -machine and engaged it to strengthen his show. Thirty years later Prof. -Faber's nephew was the lecturer who explained to the American public the -automaton's mechanism and also the performer who manipulated the -machine. - -Barnum always speaks of the talking automaton as being a life-size -figure, but the pictures used for advertising purposes show that it was -only a head. - -The fate of both the talking automaton and the writing and drawing -figure is shrouded in mystery. If they were in the Barnum Museum when -the latter was swept by fire in 1865, they were destroyed. If they had -been taken back to Europe, they may now be lying in some cellar or loft, -moth-eaten and dust-covered, ignominious end for such ingenious -brain-work and handicraft. - -So much for the claims of Robert-Houdin. Now to disprove them. - -The earliest record of a writing figure I have found is in the -"Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines," compiled by Andrew Ure, -M.D., and published in New York in 1842 by Le Roy Sunderland, 126 Fulton -Street. On page 83, under the heading of "Automaton," is this statement: - -"Frederick Von Knauss completed a writing machine at Vienna in the year -1760. It is now in the model cabinet of the Polytechnic Institute, and -consists of a globe two feet in diameter, containing the mechanism, upon -which sits a figure seven inches high and writes, upon a sheet of paper -fixed to a frame, whatever has been placed beforehand upon a regulating -cylinder. At the end of each line it raises and moves its hand sideways, -in order to begin a new line." - -[Illustration: Portrait and autograph of Pierre Jacquet-Droz. Born 1721, -died 1790. From the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archaeology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.] - -This does not answer the description of the figure which Robert-Houdin -claims, but it is interesting as showing that mechanical genius ran -along such lines almost a hundred years before Robert-Houdin claims to -have invented the famous automaton. - -The writing and drawing figure claimed by Robert-Houdin as his original -invention can be traced back directly to the shop door of Switzerland's -most noted inventor, Pierre Jacquet-Droz, who with his son, Henri-Louis, -laid the foundation of the famous Swiss watch-and music-box industry. - -In the latter part of the eighteenth century, probably about 1770, the -Jacquet-Drozes turned out a drawing figure which also inscribed a few -set phrases or titles of the drawings. In mechanism, appearance, and -results it tallies almost exactly with the automaton claimed by -Robert-Houdin as originating in his brain. The Jacquet-Droz figure -showed a child clad in quaint, flowing garments, seated at a desk. The -Robert-Houdin figure was modernized, and showed a court youth in knee -breeches and powdered peruque, seated at a desk. The Jacquet-Droz figure -drew a dog, a cupid, and the heads of reigning monarchs. The -Robert-Houdin figure, made seventy-five years later, by some -inexplicable coincidence drew a dog as the symbol of fidelity, a cupid -as the emblem of love, and the heads of reigning monarchs. - -The history of the Jacquet-Drozes is written in the annals of -Switzerland as well as the equally reputable annals of scientific -inventions, and cannot be refuted. - -Pierre Jacquet-Droz was born July 28th, 1721, in a small village, -La-Chaux-de-Fonds, near Neuchatel, Switzerland. According to some -authorities, his father was a clock-maker, but the brochure issued by -"Societe d'Histoire et d'Archeologie" of the city of Neuchatel, which -has recently acquired many of the Jacquet-Droz automata, states that he -was the son of a farmer and was sent to a theological seminary at Basle. -Here the youth's natural talent for mechanics overbalanced his interest -in "isms" and "ologies," and he spent every spare moment at work with -his tools. On his return to his native town he turned his attention -seriously to clock- and watch-making, constructing a marvellous clock -with two peculiar hands which, in passing each other, touched the dial -and rewound the clock. - -[Illustration: Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz, son of Pierre Jacquet-Droz, and -the superior of his father as a mechanician. Born Oct. 13th, 1752, died -November 15th, 1791. From the Jaquet-Droz brochure, issued by the -Neuchatel Society of History and Archaeology.] - -At this time his work attracted the attention of Lord Keith, Governor of -Neuchatel, then a province of Prussia, who induced the young inventor to -visit the court of Ferdinand VI. of Spain, providing the necessary -introductions. Pierre Jacquet-Droz remained for some time in Madrid and -made a clock of most complicated pattern. This was a perpetual calendar. -For hands, he utilized artificial sunbeams, shooting out from the sun's -face which formed the dial, to denote the hours, days, etc. With the -money received from the Spanish monarch he returned to Switzerland to -find that his son, Henri-Louis, had inherited his remarkable inventive -gifts. He sent his boy to Nancy to study music, drawing, mechanics, and -physics. During his son's absence in all probability he produced the -first of the marvellous automata which made the Jacquet-Drozes famous -the modern world over, namely, the writing figure. - -With the return of Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz from college commenced what -may be termed the golden age of mechanics in Switzerland. Associated -with father and son were the former's pupils or apprentices, -Jean-Frederic Leschot, Jean-David Maillardet, and Jean Pierre Droz, a -blood relation who afterward became director of the mint at Paris and a -mechanician of rare talent. Jean Pierre Droz is credited with having -invented a machine for cutting, stamping, and embossing medals on the -face and on the edges at one insertion. - -[Illustration: Jean-Frederic Leschot. Born 1747, died 1824. Portrait -published by Societe des Arts de Geneve. Presented to the author by -Mons. Blind (Magicus) of Geneva.] - -The output of this shop and its staff of gifted workers included the -first Swiss music box, the singing birds which sprang from watches and -jewel caskets, the drawing figure which was an improvement on the -writing figure, the spinet player, and the grotto with its many -automatic animals of diminutive size but exquisite workmanship. Years -were spent in perfecting the various automata, and none of them have -been equalled or even approached by later mechanicians and inventors. - -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz was conceded to be the superior of his father, -Pierre Jacquet-Droz. In a German encyclopaedia which I found at the -King's Library, Munich, it is stated that when Vaucanson, celebrated as -the inventor of "The Flute Player," "The Mechanical Duck," "The Talking -Machine," etc., saw the work of the younger Droz, he cried loudly, "Why, -that boy commences where I left off!" - -According to the brochure issued by the Society of History and -Archaeology, Canton of Neuchatel, and an article contributed by Dr. -Alfred Gradenwits to _The Scientific American_ of June 22d, 1907, the -writing and drawing figures are made and operated as follows: - -[Illustration: The Jacquet-Droz writing automaton. From the brochure -issued by the Society of History and Archaeology, Canton of Neuchatel, -Switzerland.] - -"The writer represented a child of about four years of age, sitting at -his little table, patiently waiting with the pen in his hand until the -clockwork is started. He then sets to work and, after looking at the -sheet of paper before him, lifts his hand and moves it toward the -ink-stand, in which he dips the pen. The little fellow then throws off -an excess of ink and slowly and calmly, like an industrious child, -begins writing on the paper the prescribed sentence. His handwriting is -careful, conscientiously distinguishing between hair strokes and ground -strokes, always observing the proper intervals between letters and words -and generally showing the sober and determined character of the -handwriting usual at the time in the country of Neuchatel. In order, for -instance, to write a T, the writer begins tracing the letter at the -top, and after slightly lifting his hand halfway, swiftly traces the -transversal dash, and continues writing the original ground stroke. - -"How complicated a mechanism is required for insuring these effects will -be inferred from the illustration, in which the automaton is shown with -its back opened. In the first place a vertical disk will be noticed -having at its circumference as many notches as there are letters and -signs. Behind this will be seen whole columns of cam-wheels, each of a -special shape, placed one above another, and all together forming a sort -of spinal column for the automaton. - -"Whenever the little writer is to write a given letter, a pawl is -introduced into the corresponding notch of the disk, thus lifting the -wheel column and transmitting to the hand, by the aid of a complicated -lever system and Cardan joints arranged in the elbow, the requisite -movements for tracing the letter in question. The mechanism comprises -five centres of motion connected together by chains. - -[Illustration: View of the mechanism which operates the Jacquet-Droz -writing automaton. From the brochure issued by the Society of History -and Archaeology, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.] - -"In the 'Draftsman,' the mechanism is likewise arranged in the body -itself, as in the case of the 'Writer.' The broad chest thus entailed -also required a large head, which accounts for the somewhat bulky -appearance of the two automatons. With the paper in position and a -pencil in hand, the 'Draftsman' at first traces a few dashes and then -swiftly marks the shadows, and a dog appears on the paper. The little -artist knowingly examines his work, and after blowing away the dust and -putting in a few last touches, stops a moment and then quickly signs, -'Mon Toutou' (My pet dog). The motions of the automaton are quite -natural, and the outlines of his drawings extremely sharp. The automaton -when desired willingly draws certain crowned heads now belonging to -history; for example, a portrait of Louis XV., of Louis XVI., and of -Marie Antoinette." - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, 1776, advertising the -writing and drawing figures, exhibited by their inventor, Mr. -Jacquet-Droz. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The automata made by the Jacquet-Drozes and their confreres were -exhibited in all the large cities of Great Britain and Continental -Europe. According to the programmes and newspaper notices in my -collection, Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz acted as their first exhibitor. As -proof I am reproducing a Droz programme from the London _Post_, dated -1776. - -In support of this advertisement, note what the same paper says in what -is probably a criticism of current amusements: - -[Illustration: Heads of King George and Queen Charlotte, executed in -their presence by the Jacquet-Droz drawing figure in 1774. From the -brochure issued by the Society of History and Archaeology, Canton of -Neuchatel, Switzerland.] - -"This entertainment consists of three capital mechanical figures and a -pastoral scene, with figures of an inferior size. The figure on the -left-hand side, a beautiful boy as large as life, writes anything that -is dictated to him, in a very fine hand. The second on the right hand, -of the same size, draws various landscapes, etc., etc., which he -finishes in a most accurate and masterly style. The third figure is a -beautiful young lady who plays several elegant airs on the harpsichord, -with all the bass accompaniments; her head gracefully moving to the -tune, and her bosom discovering a delicate respiration. During her -performance, the pastoral scene in the centre discovers a variety of -mechanical figures admirably grouped, all of which seem endued, as it -were, with animal life, to the admiration of the spectator. The last -curiosity is a canary bird in a cage, which whistles two or three airs -in the most natural manner imaginable. Upon the whole, the united -collection strikes us as the most wonderful exertion of art which ever -trod before so close on the heels of nature. The ingenious artist is a -young man, a native of Switzerland." - -The inventory of Jacquet-Droz, Jr., dated 1786, quotes the "Piano -Player" as valued at 4,800 livres, the "Drawing Figure" at 7,200 livres, -while the "Writer" had been ceded to him by his father for 4,800 livres, -in consideration of certain improvements and modifications which -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz made in the original invention. This shows that -while the elder Droz did not die until 1790, his son controlled the -automata previous to this date, for exhibition and other purposes. - -During his later years Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz was induced to take the -automata to Spain. His tour was under the direction of an English -manager, who, possibly for the purpose of securing greater -advertisement, announced the figures as possessed of supernatural power. -This brought them under the ban of the Inquisition, and Jacquet-Droz was -thrown into prison. Eventually he managed to secure his freedom, and, -breathing free air once more, like the proverbial Arab, he silently -folded his tent and stole away, leaving the automata to their fate. -Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz died in Naples, Italy, in 1791, a year after -his father's death. - -[Illustration: A de Philipsthal programme of 1803 before the writing and -drawing figure came under his control. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Poster used, March 22nd, 1811, by de Philipsthal and -Maillardet during their partnership, on which the writing and drawing -figure is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The English manager, however, tarried in Spain. The figures were "tried" -and as they proved motionless the case was dropped. The Englishman then -claimed the automata as his property and sold them to a French nobleman. -Their owner did not know how to operate them, so their great value -was never realized by his family. After his death, during a voyage to -America, they lay neglected in the castle of Mattignon, near Bayonne. -After changing hands many times, about 1803 they passed into the hands -of an inventor named Martin, and were controlled by his descendants for -nearly a hundred years. One of his family, Henri Martin, of Dresden, -Germany, exhibited them in many large cities, and advertised them for -sale at 15,000 marks in the _Muenchener_ Blaetter of May 13th, 1883. -After Martin's death, his widow succeeded in disposing of them to Herr -Marfels, of Berlin, who had them repaired with such good results that in -the fall of 1906 he sold them for 75,000 francs, or about $15,000, to -the Historical Society of Neuchatel. In April, 1907, the writing figure, -the drawing figure, and the spinet player were on exhibition in Le -Locle, Chaux-de-Fonds, and Neuchatel. - -So far we have traced only the original writing and drawing figure. This -has been done purely to show that even if Robert-Houdin had been capable -of building such an automaton, he would not have been its real inventor, -but would merely have copied the marvellous work of the Jacquet-Drozes. -Now to trace the figure which in 1844 he claimed as his invention. - -With the fame of the Neuchatel shop spreading and the demand for Swiss -watches increasing, Maillardet and Jean Pierre Droz, apprentices or -perhaps partners of Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz, -removed to London and there set up a watch factory. About this time -Maillardet invented a combination writing and drawing figure which was -pronounced by experts of the day slightly inferior to the work of the -two Jacquet-Drozes. However, it must have been worthy of exhibition, for -it appeared at intervals for the next fifty years in the amusement -world, particularly in London. At first Maillardet was not its exhibitor -nor was his name ever mentioned on the programmes and newspaper notices, -but later his name appeared as part owner and exhibitor. As the Swiss -watches had created a veritable sensation and were snatched up as fast -as produced, it is quite likely that he had no time to play the role of -showman. - -The figure first appeared in London in 1796, when the London _Telegraph_ -of January 2nd carried the advertisement reproduced on the next page. - -Haddock had no particular standing in the world of magic, and it is more -than likely that he rented the automata which he exhibited, or merely -acted as showman for the real inventors. - -[Illustration: Haddock advertisement in the London _Telegraph_, January, -1796, in which he features the writing automaton as an androide. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Telegraph_ in March, 1812, -proving the partnership of de Philipsthal and Maillardet in an -"Automatical Theatre." The Mr. Louis mentioned in the advertisement as -assistant engineer later secured possession of the writing and drawing -figure. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In quite a few works on automata, notably Sir David Brewster's "Letters -on Natural Magic," Collinson is quoted as having interviewed Maillardet -as the inventor of the combination writing and drawing figure. _The -Franklin Journal_ of June, 1827, published in Philadelphia, Pa., credits -this figure to Maillardet and gives the following description: "It was -the figure of a boy kneeling on one knee, holding a pencil in his hand, -with which he executed not only writing but drawings equal to those of -the masters. When the figure began to work, an attendant dipped the -pencil in ink, and fixed the paper, when, on touching a spring, the -figure wrote a line, carefully dotting and stroking the letters." - -The Robert-Houdin figure did not kneel, but this change could be made by -a mechanician of ordinary ability. - -[Illustration: A Louis programme of April 3rd, 1815, in which the -writing and drawing figure is advertised as a juvenile artist. It also -features a bird of paradise automaton which Robert-Houdin claimed to -have invented thirty years later. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The writing and drawing figure does not reappear on amusement programmes -in my collection until 1812, when it was featured by De Philipsthal, the -inventor of "Phantasmagoria." The nature of the inventions grouped -under this title can best be judged from the reproduction of a De -Philipsthal programme, dated 1803-04, and reproduced in the course of -this chapter. All evidence goes to prove, however, that De Philipsthal -did not control the writing and drawing figure exclusively, but that it -was the joint property of himself and his partner, Maillardet. One of -their joint programmes is also reproduced. Wherever De Philipsthal -appears as an independent entertainer, the writing and drawing figure is -missing from his billing. Later the writing and drawing automaton came -into the possession of a Mr. Louis, who, as it will be seen from the -billing, acted as assistant engineer to De Philipsthal and Maillardet. -Louis evidently controlled the wonderful little automaton in the years -1814-15. - -The last De Philipsthal programme in my possession is dated Summer -Theatre, Hull, September 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, 1828, when he -advertises only "rope dancers and mechanical peacock," and features -"special uniting fire and water" and "firework experiments." He must -have died between that date and April, 1829, for a programme dated at -the latter time announces a benefit at the Theatre Wakefield for the -widow and children of De Philipsthal, "the late proprietor of the Royal -Mechanical and Optical Museum." This benefit programme contains no -allusion to the writing and drawing figure, which goes to prove that it -had not been his property, or it would have been handed down to his -estate. - -In May, 1826, an automaton was exhibited at 161 Strand, a bill regarding -which is reproduced. This mechanical figure, however, should not be -confounded with the original and genuine writing and drawing figure. It -seems to have lacked legitimacy and, from what I can learn from -newspaper clippings, was worked like "Zoe," with a concealed -confederate, or, like the famous "Psycho" featured by Maskelyne, it was -worked by compressed air. This bill is interesting solely because I -believe that this fake automaton exhibited at 161 Strand was the first -figure of the sort foisted on the public after the Baron Von Kemplen -chess-player, which is described in Halle's work on magic, published in -1784. - -[Illustration: Poster announcing a benefit for the widow and children of -de Philipsthal at Wakefield, in April, 1829, which proves that writing -and drawing figure formed no part of the estate left by the deceased -showman. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Handbill advertising the fake automatic artist, exhibited -also at 161 Strand, London, May 7th, 1826. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -In 1901, while in Germany, I saw a number of these automaton artists, -all frauds. The figure sat in a small chair before an easel, ready to -draw portraits in short order. The figure was shown to the audience, -then replaced on the chair, whereupon a man under the platform would -thrust his arm through the figure and draw all that was required of the -automaton. The fake was short-lived, even at the yearly fairs, and now -has sunk too low for them. - -During this interim, that is between 1821 and 1833, the famous little -figure seems to have been in the possession of one Schmidt, who, -according to the programmes in my collection, exhibited it regularly. - -In 1833 Schmidt is programmed in London, playing at the Surrey Theatre, -when the writing and drawing figure is one of twenty-four automatic -devices. A program, which, judging from its printing, is of a still -later date, announces Mr. Schmidt and the famous figure at New Gothic -Hall, 7 Haymarket, for a short period previous to the removal of the -exhibit to St. Petersburg. The dates of other programmes in my -collection can be judged only from the style of printing which changed -at different periods of the art's development. Some of these indicate -that the writing and drawing figure was on exhibition during the early -40's in London at Paul's Head Assembly Rooms, Argyle Rooms, Regent -Street, etc. - -It is more than likely, according to Robert-Houdin's own admission -regarding his study of automata and his opportunities to repair those -left at his shop, that at some time the writing and drawing figure was -brought to Paris to be exhibited, needed repairing, and thus reached his -shop. Whether it was bought by Monsieur G----, whose interest in -automata is featured in Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," and brought to -Robert-Houdin to repair, or whether Robert-Houdin bought it for a song, -and repaired it to sell to advantage to his wealthy patron, cannot be -stated, but I am morally certain that Robert-Houdin never constructed, -in eighteen months, a complicated mechanism on which the Jacquet-Drozes -spent six years of their inventive genius and efforts. Modern -mechanicians agree that such a performance would have been a physical -impossibility, even had Robert-Houdin been the expert mechanician he -pictured himself. - -[Illustration: Programme used by Mr. Schmidt in 1827, when he had -possession of the writing and drawing figure. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Poster used by Mr. Schmidt in advertising the writing and -drawing figure in London just before his departure for St. Petersburg, -Russia. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -To sum up the evidence: The writing and drawing figure as turned out by -the Jacquet-Drozes was known all over Europe. It is not possible that a -man so well read and posted in magic and automata as Robert-Houdin did -not know of its existence and mechanism. And if Robert-Houdin had -invented the same mechanism it is hardly possible that his design would -have run in precisely the same channel as that of Jacquet-Droz and -Maillardet, in having the figure draw the dog, the cupid, and the heads -of monarchs. - -In those days humble mechanicians, however well they were known in their -own trade, were not exploited by the public press. Nor did they employ -clever journalists to write memoirs lauding their achievements. And so -it happened that for years the names of Jacquet-Droz and Maillardet were -unsung; their brainwork and handicraft were claimed by Robert-Houdin, -who had mastered the art of self-exploitation. To-day, after a century -and a half of neglect, the laurel wreath has been lifted from the brow -of Robert-Houdin, where it never should have been placed, and has been -laid on the graves of the real inventors of the writing and drawing -figure, Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz and Jean-David -Maillardet. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE PASTRY COOK OF THE PALAIS ROYAL - - -Concerning this trick, which Robert-Houdin claims as his invention, he -writes on page 79 of his "Memoirs," American edition: "The first was a -small pastry cook, issuing from his shop door at the word of command, -and bringing, according to the spectator's request, patties and -refreshments of every description. At the side of the shop, assistant -pastry cooks might be seen rolling paste and putting it in the oven." - -By means of handbills, programmes, and newspaper notices of magical and -mechanical performances, this trick in various guises can be traced back -as far as 1796. Nine reputable magicians offered it as part of their -repertoire, and at times two men presented it simultaneously, showing -that more than one such automaton existed. The dates of the most notable -programmes or handbills selected from my collection are as follows: - -1, Haddock, 1797. 2, Garnerin, 1815. 3, Gyngell, 1816 and 1823. 4, -Bologna, 1820. 5, Henry, 1822. 6, Schmidt, 1827. 7, Rovere, 1828. 8, -Charles, 1829. 9, Phillippe, 1841. - -In 1827 Schmidt and Gyngell joined forces, yet both before and after -this date each performer had the wonderful little piece of mechanism on -his programme. In 1841, four years before Robert-Houdin appeared as a -public performer, Phillippe created a sensation in Paris, presenting -among other automata "Le Confiseur Galant." In 1845, when Robert-Houdin -included "The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal" in his initial programme -at his own theatre in Paris, Phillippe was presenting precisely the same -trick at the St. James Theatre, London. - -Of this goodly company, however, Rovere and Phillippe deserve more than -passing notice, as both were the contemporaries of Robert-Houdin, and -Rovere was his personal friend. Both also appear in Robert-Houdin's -"Memoirs." - -The trick appears first, not as a confectioner's shop with small figures -at work, but as a fruitery, then again as a Dutch Coffee-House and a -Russian Inn, from which ten sorts of liquor are served. Finally, in -1823, it is featured under the name that later made it famous, the -Confectioner's Shop. - -Haddock, the Englishman who had the writing and drawing figure in his -possession for some time, featured the fruitery on his programmes dated -1796. One of his advertisements from the London _Telegraph_ is -reproduced on page 106, in connection with the history of the writing -and drawing figure, but for convenience I am quoting here Haddock's own -description of the fruitery trick, which was even more complicated than -the famous Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal: - -[Illustration: A Bologna poster of 1820 which features an automatic -distiller who draws eight different liquors from one cask. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"A model of the neat rural mansion, and contains the following figures: -First, the porter, which stands at the gate, and on being addressed, -rings the bell, when the door opens, the fruiteress comes out, and any -lady or gentleman may call for whatever fruit they please, and the -figure will return and bring the kind required, which may be repeated -and the fruit varied as often as the company orders: it will likewise -receive flowers, or any small article, carry them in, and produce them -again as called for. As the fruits are brought out, they will be given -in charge of a watch-dog, which sits in front of the house, and on any -person taking or touching them will begin to bark, and continue to do -so until they are returned. The next figure belonging to this piece is -the little chimney-sweeper, which will be seen coming from behind the -house, will enter the door, appear at the top of the chimney, and give -the usual cry of 'Sweep' several times, descend the chimney, and come -out with his bag full of soot." - -In 1820, Haddock's programme, including the fruitery, appears with only -a few minor changes as the repertoire of Bologna, a very clever conjurer -who afterward became the assistant of Anderson, the Wizard of the North, -and who made most of the latter's apparatus. On the Bologna programme, -for a performance to be given at the Great Assembly Room, Three Tuns -Tavern, the shop trick is described thus: "A curious Mechanical -Fruiterer and Confectioner's Shop, kept by Kitty Comfit, who will -produce at Command such Variety of Fruit and Sweetmeats as may be asked -for." - -The marvellous little shop does not appear again on programmes of magic -until 1815, when Garnerin features it as "The Dutch Coffee-House." On -the programme used by Garnerin in that year for a benefit which he gave -for the General Hospital at Birmingham, England, it is featured as No. -10: "A Dutch Coffee-House, a very surprising mechanical piece, in which -there is the figure of a Girl, six inches high, which presents, at the -Command of the Spectators, ten different sorts of Liquors." - -[Illustration: A Garnerin poster of 1815, advertising "A Dutch Coffee -House," whose automatic hostess serves refreshments at command. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -This programme is of such historical value that I reproduce it in full. -It will show that this particular mechanical trick is by no means the -most important feature of Garnerin's repertoire. In fact his fame is -based on his ballooning, and he is said to have been the inventor of -the parachute. The ascension of the nocturnal balloon, also scheduled on -this programme, is an imitation of the one which Garnerin arranged in -honor of Bonaparte's coronation in 1805. On that occasion the balloon -started at Paris and descended in Rome, a distance of five hundred miles -which was covered in twenty-two hours. - -Garnerin was a contemporary of both Pinetti and Robertson and was with -them in Russia when Pinetti dissipated his fortune in balloon -experiments. In their correspondence, both Pinetti and Robertson spoke -slightingly of Garnerin, but the Frenchman's programmes all indicate -that he was not only a successful aeronaut, but a magician who could -present a diverting entertainment. - -[Illustration: A Gyngell poster of 1816, featuring the Russian Inn, with -service of various kinds of liquor. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1816 the elder Gyngell featured the trick on his programmes as "The -Russian Inn," and in 1823 he changed it to "The Confectioner's Shop." -These programmes are reproduced as the most convincing evidence against -the claims of Robert-Houdin. - -The Gyngell family is one of the most interesting in the history of -magic. The Christian name of the founder of the family I have never been -able to ascertain, though programmes give the initial as G. He was -celebrated as a Bartholomew Fair conjurer. His career started about -1788, and his contemporaries were Lane, Boaz, Ball, Jonas, Breslaw, and -Flocton. At one time Gyngell and Flocton worked together, and Thomas -Frost in his book, "The Lives of Conjurers," claims that at Flocton's -death Gyngell received a portion of the former's wealth. - -[Illustration: The original Gyngell, a portrait reproduced from the book -on magic written by this famous Bartholomew Fair conjurer. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Associated with him in his performances were his brother, two sons, and -a daughter. The latter was not only a clever rope-dancer but a musician -of more than ordinary ability and she often constituted the entire -"orchestra." - -On Gyngell's programme offered in 1827 he proves himself a great -showman, for he features Herr Schmidt's "Mechanical Automatons, -Phantasmagoria, a laughing sketch entitled Wholesale Blunders, his son -on the flying wire, during which he would throw a somersault through a -balloon of real fire, a broadsword dance by Miss Louise and Master -Gyngell, and Miss Louise's performance on the tight rope, clowned by -Master Lionel." - -On a programme used in Hull, October 29th, 1827, a lottery was featured -as follows: "On which occasion the first hundred persons paying for the -gallery will be entitled by ticket to a chance of a Fat Goose, and the -same number in the pit to have the same chance for a fat turkey. To be -drawn for on the stage, in the same manner as the State Lottery." - -According to Thomas Frost, Gyngell died in 1833 and was buried in the -Parish Church, Camberwell. His children, however, continued the work so -excellently planned by their father. - -The programmes herewith reproduced I purchased from Henry Evanion, who -secured them directly from the last of the Gyngell family, as the -accompanying letter, now a part of my collection, will show: - -DOVER, February 10th, 1867. - -MR. EVANION: - - DEAR SIR--Yours of the 5th inst. I received just as I was leaving - Folkestown, and it was forwarded from Guilford. - - I am sorry I have not one of my old bills with me, neither do I - think any of my family could find one at home. I may have some - among my old conjuring things, and when I return to Guilford I will - look them over and send you what I can find. I was sorry I was not - at home when you were in Guilford, for I feel much pleasure in - meeting a responsible professional. I am not certain when I shall - return, but most likely not for six weeks. I will keep your - address; so should you change your residence, write to me about - that time. - - I was looking over some old papers some time last summer, and found - a bill of my father's, nearly 60 years ago, when his great trick - was cutting off the cock's head and restoring it to life again. And - a great wonder it was considered and brought crowded rooms. - - I was Master Gyngell, the wonderful performer on the slack wire; - and now in my 71st year I am lecturer, pyrotechnist, and high-rope - walker, for I did that last summer. My life has been a simple one - of ups and downs. - - I am, dear sir, yours truly, - -J. D. G. GYNGELL. - -[Illustration: A Gyngell programme of 1823, advertising "A -Confectioner's Shop," whose attendant will serve automatically any sort -of confectionery demanded. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The signature of this letter, "J. D. G. Gyngell," clears up considerable -uncertainty regarding the names of the two Gyngell sons. At times the -clever young tight-rope performer has been spoken of as Joseph, and at -others as Gellini. It is quite probable that the two names were really -part of one, and the full baptismal name was "Joseph D. Gellini." It was -as Gellini Gyngell that he met Henry Evanion at Deal, February 20th, -1862, when the latter was performing as a magician at the Deal and -Walmer Institute, while Gellini Gyngell gave an exhibition of fireworks -and a magic-lantern display on the South Esplanade. A fine notice of -both performances was published in the Deal _Telegram_ of February 23d, -when the hope was expressed that Gyngell's collection, taken among those -who enjoyed his outdoor performance, repaid him for his admirable -entertainment. Gyngell was landlord of the Bowling Green Tavern at this -time, and travelled as an entertainer only at intervals. - -The next appearance of the trick is in a book published by M. Henry, a -ventriloquist, who played London and the provinces from 1820 to 1828. -During an engagement at the Adelphia Theatre, London, which according to -the programme was about 1822, Henry published a book entitled -"Conversazione; or, Mirth and Marvels," in which he interspersed witty -conversation with descriptions of his various tricks. On page 11 he -thus describes the automaton under consideration: - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a rare old colored lithograph in three -sections. This section represents Gyngell. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"Illusion Third. A curious mechanical trick; an inn, from which issues -the hostess for orders, upon receiving which, she returns into the inn -and brings out the various liquors as called for by the audience, and at -last waiting for the money, which, having received, goes in and shuts -the door. Mr. Henry says he has produced the inn in preference to -palaces, though more stupendous and magnificent, thinking, as a certain -author wrote, the heartiest welcome is to be found at the inn." - -In the same year Henry issued a challenge open to the whole world, -defying any performer to equal his manipulation of the cup and ball -trick. He also employed as an adjunct of his conjuring performances -Signor de Fedori of Rome, an armless wonder, who used his feet to play -the drum, violin, and triangle. - -A contemporary of Henry was Charles, the great ventriloquist, who varied -his performance as did all ventriloquists of his day, by presenting -"Philosophical and Mechanical Experiments" to make up a -two-hour-and-a-half performance. Charles made several tours of the -English provinces, and played in London at intervals. On a London -programme which is undated, but which announces M. Charles as playing at -Mr. Wigley's Large Room, Spring Gardens, the second automaton on his -list is described as "The Russian Inn, out of which comes a little Woman -and brings the Liquor demanded for." Two of his programmes dated Theatre -Royal, Hull, April, 1829, now in my collection, carry a pathetic -foot-note written in the handwriting of the collector through whom they -came into my possession: "The audiences on both the evenings were -extremely small, and the money was refunded." - -By referring to the chapter on the writing and drawing figure, Chapter -III, Page 113, a Schmidt programme of 1827 will be found, in which he -features "The Enchanted Dutch Coffee-House, an elegant little building. -On the traveller ringing the bell, the door opens, the hostess attends -and provides him with any liquor he may call for." - -[Illustration: A Charles poster dated about 1829 in which the Russian -Inn and its obedient little figure are featured. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Schmidt seems to have confined his exhibitions to London and the -provinces and was often connected with other magicians, including -Gyngell and Buck. The latter was an English conjurer, best known as the -man who was horribly injured when presenting "The Gun Delusion." This -consisted of having a marked bullet shot at the performer, who caught it -between his teeth on a plate, or on the point of a needle or knife. Some -miscreant loaded the gun with metal after Buck had it prepared for the -trick, and the unfortunate performer's right cheek was literally shot -away. - -In 1828 Jules de Rovere, a French conjurer, whose fame rests principally -on the fact that he coined the new title "prestidigitator," appeared at -the Haymarket Theatre, London, and also toured the English provinces. A -clipping from the Oxford _Herald_ of that year includes this description -of his automaton: "One of the clowns vanishes from the box, and -instantly at the top of the hall a little lady, in a little hotel -brilliantly illuminated, gives out wines and liquors to them who ask for -them, without any apparent communication with the artiste, and yet the -lady is only six inches high." - -In the late 30's Rovere made his headquarters in Paris, and there he and -Robert-Houdin met. The latter refers to this meeting on page 153 of his -"Memoirs," when writing of the misfortunes which had overtaken Father -Roujol, whose shop had once been headquarters for conjurers: "Still I -had the luck to form here the acquaintance of Jules de Rovere, the first -to employ a title now generally given to fashionable conjurers." - -And after Rovere, Phillippe, who is by far the most important presenter -of the Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal, as bearing upon Robert-Houdin's -claims. - -For Phillippe's early history we must depend largely upon -Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs." According to these, Phillippe started life as -a confectioner or maker of sweets, and his real name was Phillippe -Talon. According to an article published in _L'Illusionniste_ in -January, 1902, he was born in Alias, near Nimes, December 25th, 1802, -and died in Bokhara, Turkey, June 27th, 1878. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of pastel portrait of Phillippe. Only known -likeness of the conjurer in existence. Made for him by a Vienna artist. -Original now in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Like many a genius and successful man, his early history was written in -a minor key. According to Robert-Houdin his sweets did not catch the -Parisian fancy, and he went to London, where at that time French bonbons -were in high favor. But for some reason he failed in London, and went -on to Aberdeen, Scotland, where he was very soon reduced to sore -straits. In his hour of extremity his cleverness saved the day. In -Aberdeen at the same time was a company of actors almost as unfortunate -as himself. They were presenting a pantomime which the public refused -to patronize. The young confectioner approached the manager of the -pantomime and suggested that they join forces. In addition to the -regular admission to the pantomime each patron was to pay sixpence and -receive in return a paper of mixed sugar plums and a lottery ticket by -which he might gain the first prize of the value of five pounds. In -addition, Talon promised not only to provide the sweets free of cost to -the management, but to present a new and startling feature at the close -of the performance. - -The novel announcement crowded the house, the pantomime and the bonbons -alike found favor, but the significant feature of the performance was -young Talon's appearance in the finale in the role of "Punch," for which -he was admirably made up. He executed an eccentric dance, at the finish -of which he pretended to fall and injure himself. In a faint voice he -demanded pills to relieve his pain, and a fellow-actor brought on pills -of such enormous size that the audience stopped sympathizing with the -actor and began to laugh. But the pills all disappeared down the -dancer's throat, for Talon was not only an able confectioner and an -agile dancer, but a sleight-of-hand performer. From that hour he -exchanged the spoon of the confectioner for the wand of the magician. -The fortunes of both the pantomime and Phillippe, as he now called -himself, improved. Quite probably he remained with the pantomime company -until the close of the season and then struck out as an independent -performer. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Phillippe during his engagement at the -Strand Theatre, London, 1845-46. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Another story which is gleaned from a biography of John Henry Anderson, -the Wizard of the North, tells how Phillippe started his career as a -pastry cook in the household of one Lord Panmure, and I quote this -literally from the Anderson book, because I believe it to be truthful, -as material gathered from Anderson literature has proved to be: - -"It was at this time that he came in contact with a person who -afterward, under the designation of M. Phillippe, became celebrated in -France as a magician. Phillipee (for so was he named in Scotland) was -originally a cook in the services of the late Lord Panmure. Leaving that -employment, he settled down and remained for a number of years in -Aberdeen. He heard of the fame of the youthful magician, was induced to -visit his 'temple,' and was struck with his performances; and having -made the acquaintance of Mr. Anderson, he solicited from him and -obtained an insight into his profession, and fac-similes of his then -humble apparatus. Phillippe improved to such a degree upon the knowledge -he thus acquired that, leaving England for France, he earned the -reputation of being one of the most accomplished magicians ever seen in -the country." - -The date of his initial performance is not known, but he must have -remained in Scotland, perfecting his act, for the earliest Phillippe -programme in my collection is dated February 3d, 1837, when he opened at -Waterloo Rooms, Edinburgh, and announced: - -"The high character which Mons. Phillippe has obtained from the -Aberdeen, Glasgow, Greenock and Paisley Press, being the only four towns -in Britain where he has made his appearance, is a sufficient guarantee -to procure him a visit from the inhabitants of this enlightened -Metropolis, where talent had always been supported when actually -deserved." - -[Illustration: Phillippe and his Scotch assistant, Domingo. The latter -became famous as a magician under the name of Macallister, introducing -in America Phillippe's gift show. From a lithograph in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Evidently, however, Phillippe made rapid progress, for a programme dated -Saturday, April 21st, 1838, shows that his last daytime or matinee -performance in Waterloo Rooms was given under the patronage of such -members of the nobility as the Right Honorable Lady Gifford, the Right -Honorable Lady H. Stuart Forbes, etc. In an Edinburgh programme, dated -probably 1837, he is shown as performing his tricks, clad in peculiar -evening clothes, knickerbockers and waistcoat matching, with a mere -suggestion of the swallow-tail coat. In his 1838 bill he is shown clad -in the flowing robes of the old-time magician, and he advertises the -Chinese tricks, notably the gold-fish trick, which demanded voluminous -draperies. - -According to Robert-Houdin, Phillippe built a small wooden theatre in -Glasgow. Humble as this building was, however, it brought a significant -factor into Phillippe's life. This was a young bricklayer named Andrew -Macallister who had a natural genius for tricks and models, and who -became Phillippe's apprentice, later appearing as Domingo, his assistant -on the stage, wearing black make-up. - -In either Edinburgh or Dublin Phillippe met the Chinese juggler or -conjurer who taught him the gold-fish trick and the secret of the -Chinese rings. - -Armed with these two striking tricks, Phillippe determined to satisfy -his yearning to return to his native land, and in 1841 he appeared at -the Salle Montesquieu, Paris. Later, the Bonne-Nouvelle, a temple of -magic, was opened for Phillippe in Paris, and there he enjoyed the -brilliant run to which Robert-Houdin refers in his "Memoirs." - -Phillippe was an indefatigable worker and traveller, and one brilliant -engagement followed another. During the 40's he appeared, according to -my collection of programmes, all over Continental Europe, and in most of -his programmes this paragraph is featured: - - "PART III. - -"An unexpected present at once gratuitous and laughable, composed of -twelve prizes, nine lucky and three unfortunate, in which the general -public will participate." - -He also continued to distribute bonbons from an inexhaustible source, -probably a cornucopia, calling this trick "a new system of making -sweetmeats, or Le Confiseur Moderne." - -During his first engagement in Vienna he had painted for advertising -purposes a pastel portrait, showing him clad in his magician's robes at -the finale of the gold-fish trick. From this picture his later cuts were -made. By some mistake he left the original pastel in Vienna, where I -bought it at a special sale for my collection. It remains an exquisite -piece of color work, even at this day. So far it is the only real -likeness of Phillippe I have been able to unearth. - -In 1845-46 he was at the height of his popularity in London, where he -had a tremendous run. In June, 1845, we find him playing at the St. -James Theatre, under Mitchell's direction, and on September 29th, under -his own management, he moves to the Strand, where he is still found in -January of 1846. During all this time he featured The Pastry Cook of the -Palais Royal under the title of "Le Confiseur Galant." - -[Illustration: 1. Cuisine de Parafaragamus; 2. Le Chapelier de 1943; 3. -Le Paon magique; 4. La Bouteille enchantee; 5. La Chaine hydonstaine; 6. -La Tete infernale; 7. Le Chapeau merveilleux; 8. L'Arlequin savant; 9. -Le Confiseur galant et le Liquoriste impromptu; 10. Le Bassin de Neptune -ou les poissons d'or et la menagerie prodigieuse; 11. Eclairage de tout -le theatre improvise par un coup de pistolet. - -Reproduction of a large lithograph showing all of Phillippe's tricks, -including "Le Confiseur Galant" scheduled as No. 9. From the original -lithograph dated 1842 now in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As proofs that Phillippe used the pastry-cook trick both before and -during Robert-Houdin's career as a magician, I offer several programmes -containing accurate descriptions of the automaton, and also a page -illustration from a current publication dated Paris, 1843, which shows -the confectioner or pastry-cook standing in the doorway of his house, -while the key explaining the various tricks reads: "No. 9. Le Confiseur -galant et le Liquoriste impromptu." - -Robert-Houdin devotes nearly an entire chapter to the history of -Phillippe and a description of his tricks and automata, yet curiously -forgets to mention the pastry cook, which he later claims as his own -invention. - -Ernest Basch, formerly of Basch Brothers, conjurers, and the richest -manufacturer of illusions in the world, claims that the original trick -is now in his possession. Herr Basch is located in Hanover, Germany, -where he builds large illusions only. The wonderful mechanical house -passed to Basch by a bequest on the death of Baron von Sandhovel, a -wealthy resident of Amsterdam, Holland. Von Sandhovel had bought the -trick from the heirs of Robert-Houdin on the death of the latter, -because he believed it to be the brain and handwork of Opre, a Dutch -mechanician of great talent. Ernest Basch shares this belief, and with -other well-read conjurers thinks that Opre was Robert-Houdin's assistant -and built most of his automata, including The Pastry Cook of the Palais -Royal, The Windmill or Dutch Inn, Auriel and Debureau, The French -Gymnasts, The Harlequin, and The Chausseur. - -Opre was a man of ability, but lacked presence and personality properly -to present his inventions. So far I have found his name in three places -only: On the frontispiece of a Dutch book on magic, published in -Amsterdam; in Ernest Basch's correspondence about conjurers; and on page -77 of Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," when he speaks of Opre as the maker of -the Harlequin figure which Torrini asked Robert-Houdin to repair during -their travels. - -[Illustration: Ernest Basch and "Le Confiseur Galant," which he claims -is the original Robert-Houdin "Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal." From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -With such convincing proof, some of which was contemporary, that other -men had exhibited The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal in its identical -or slightly different guise, it was daring indeed of Robert-Houdin to -claim it as his own invention. - -[Illustration: David Leendert Bamberg, of the second generation of the -Bamberg family. Born 1786; died 1869. The above daguerrotype was -presented to the author by Herr Ernest Basch, and is the only one in -existence.] - -The most direct information regarding Opre comes through that eminent -family of conjurers known as the Bambergs of Holland. At this writing, -"Papa" (David) Bamberg, of the fourth generation, is prominent on the -Dutch stage, and his son Tobias David, known as Okito, of the fifth -generation, is a cosmopolitan magician, presenting a Chinese act. - -According to the family history, traceable by means of handbills, -programmes, and personal correspondence, the original Bamberg (Eliazar) -had a vaulting figure in his collection of automata in 1790, fifty years -before Robert-Houdin became a professional entertainer. This figure was -made by Opre, to whom all conjurers of that time looked for automata and -apparatus. David Leendert Bamberg, of the second generation, who also -had the vaulting figure, was the intimate friend and confidant of Opre -and was authority for the statement that Opre's son sold in Paris the -various automata made by his father, which later Robert-Houdin claimed -as his own invention. It may be noted that Robert-Houdin never invented -a single automaton after he went on the stage in 1845, and as Opre died -in 1846, the coincidence is nothing if not significant. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE OBEDIENT CARDS--THE CABALISTIC CLOCK--THE TRAPEZE AUTOMATON - -_The Obedient Cards._ - - -To trace here the history of three very common tricks claimed by -Robert-Houdin as his own inventions would be sheer waste of time, if the -exposure did not prove beyond doubt that in announcing the various -tricks of his repertoire as the output of his own brain he was not only -flagrant and unscrupulous, but he did not even give his readers credit -for enough intelligence to recognize tricks performed repeatedly by his -predecessors whom they had seen. Not satisfied with purloining tricks so -important that one or two would have been sufficient to establish the -reputation of any conjurer or inventor, he must needs lay claim to -having invented tricks long the property of mountebanks as well as -reputable magicians. - -The tricks referred to are the obedient card, the cabalistic clock, and -the automaton known as Diavolo Antonio or Le Voltigeur au Trapeze. - -[Illustration: Card trick as featured by Anderson in 1836-37. From a -poster in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The obedient-card trick, mentioned on page 245 of the American edition -of his "Memoirs," as "a novel experiment invented by M. Robert-Houdin," -can be found on the programme of every magician who ever laid claim to -dexterity of hand. Whether they accomplished the effect by clock-work -or with a black silk thread or a human hair, the result was one and the -same. It has also been worked by using a fine thread with a piece of wax -at the end. The wax is fastened to the card, and the thread draws it up. -The simplest method of all is to place the thread over and under the -cards, weaving it in and out as it were, and then, by pulling the -thread, to bring the different cards selected into view. - -So common was the trick that its description was written in every work -on magic published from 1784 to the date of Robert-Houdin's first -appearance, and in at least one volume printed as early as 1635. The -majority of French encyclopaedias described the trick and exposed it -according to one method or another, and Robert-Houdin admits having been -a great reader of encyclopaedias. - -The trick first appears in print in various editions of "Hocus Pocus," -twenty in all, starting with 1635. The majority contain feats with -cards, showing how to bring them up or out of a pack with a black -thread, a hair spring, or an elastic. - -In 1772 the rising-card trick was shown in Guyot's "Physical and -Mathematical Recreations," also in the Dutch or Holland translations of -the same work. In 1791 it was minutely explained by Hofrath von -Eckartshausen, who wrote five different books on the subject of magic. -The fourth, being devoted principally to the art of the conjurer, was -entitled "Die Gauckeltasche, oder vollstaendiger Unterricht in -Taschenspieler u. s. w.," which translated means "The Conjurer's Pocket -or Thorough Instructions in the Art of Conjuring." The title was due to -the fact that in olden days conjurers worked with the aid of a large -outside pocket. The five books, published under the general title of -"Aufschluesse zur Magie," bear date of Munich, Germany. - -On page 138 of the third edition of Gale's "Cabinet of Knowledge," -published in London in 1800, will be found a description of the -rising-card trick as done with pin and thread, and the same book shows -how it is accomplished with wax and a hair. This book seems to have been -compiled from Philip Breslaw's work on magic, "The Last Legacy," -published in 1782. Benton, who published the English edition of -Decremps' famous work on magic, exposing Pinetti's repertoire, also -described the trick. "Natural Magic," by Astley, the circus man, and -Hooper's "Recreations," in four volumes, published in 1784, expose the -same trick. - -[Illustration: CONJURER UNMASKED - -OR - -_the Art of Sleight of hand_ - -Reproduction of frontispiece in Breslaw's book on magic, "The Last -Legacy," published in 1782. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As to magicians who performed the trick, their names are legion, and -only a few of the most prominent conjurers will be mentioned in this -connection. - -[Illustration: J. H. Anderson's birth place as drawn by him from memory. -The following is written under the sketch in his own handwriting: "A -rough sketch of the farm house called 'Red Stanes,' on the estate of -Craigmyle, Parish of Kincardine O'Neil, Aberdeenshire. The house was -built by my grandfather, John Robertson, in the year 1796, and in it I -was born on the 15th day of July, 1814. John Henry Anderson." -Photographed from the original now in the possession of Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, by the author.] - -The man who obtained the best effects with this trick was John Henry -Anderson, who startled the world of magic and amusements by his -audacity, in 1836, nine years before Robert-Houdin trod the stage as a -professional entertainer. - -Anderson was born in Kincardine, Scotland, in 1814, and started his -professional career as an actor. He must have been a very poor one, too, -for he states that he was once complimented by a manager for having -brought bad acting to the height of perfection. - -[Illustration: John Henry Anderson, wife and son, from a rare photograph -taken in 1847 or 1848. Said to be an especially good likeness of Mrs. -Anderson and the only one extant. Photograph loaned by Mrs. Leona A. -Anderson, daughter-in-law of the "Wizard of the North."] - -[Illustration: Very rare poster of 1838 in which John Henry Anderson is -billed as "The Great Magician." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Cover design of Anderson's book, exposing the Davenport -Brothers; now a very rare book. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Anderson was first known as the Caledonian magician, then assumed the -title of the Wizard of the North, which he said was bestowed on him by -Sir Walter Scott. Thomas Frost belittles this statement, on the grounds -that Scott was stricken with paralysis in 1830. However, Anderson became -famous in 1829, so he should be given the benefit of the doubt. He was -the greatest advertiser that the world of magic has ever known, and he -left nothing undone that might boom attendance at his performances. He -started newspapers, gave masked balls, and donated thousands of dollars -to charities. He was known in every city of the world, and, when so -inclined, built his own theatres. He sold books on magic during his own -performances, and would sell any trick he presented for a nominal sum. -His most unique advertising dodge was to offer $500 in gold as prizes -for the best conundrums written by spectators during his performances. -To make this scheme more effective, he carried with him his own -printing-press and set it up back of the scenes. While the performance -was under way, the conundrums handed in by the spectators were printed, -and, after the performance, any one might buy a sheet of the questions -and puns at the door. As every one naturally wanted to see his conundrum -in print, Anderson sold millions of these bits of paper. In 1852, while -playing at Metropolitan Hall, New York City, he advertised his conundrum -contest and sold his book of tricks, etc., and such notables as Jenny -Lind and General Kossuth entered conundrums. - -He was among the first performers to expose the Davenport Brothers, -whose spiritualistic tricks and rope-tying had astonished America. -Directly on witnessing a performance and solving their methods, Anderson -hurried back to England and exposed the tricks. - -To sum up his history, he stands unique in the annals of magic as a doer -of daring things. He rushed into print on the slightest pretext, was a -hard fighter with his rivals and aired his quarrels in the press, and he -was a game loser when trouble came his way. Not a brilliant actor or -performer, he yet had the gift of securing excellent effects in his -_mise en scene_. He made and lost several fortunes, generally recouping -as quickly as he lost. He was burned out several times, the most notable -fire being that of Covent Garden, London, in 1856. He was liked in -spite of his eccentricities, but when he died, February 3d, 1874, his -fortune was small. - -[Illustration: Anderson billing of 1838, featuring obedient cards as -"Napoleon's Trick." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Jacobs poster, featuring "The Travelling Card." From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Anderson had numerous imitators, including M. Jacobs, "Barney" Eagle, -and E. W. Young, all of whom used the rising-or obedient-card trick. -They copied not only his tricks, but the very names he had used and the -style of his billing. All three of these men were professional magicians -before Robert-Houdin appeared, and Anderson was his very active -contemporary. - -A Jacobs bill is here reproduced, showing the card trick featured among -other attractions. The lithograph of Jacobs used in this connection is -an actual likeness and I believe it to be as rare as it is timely. - -[Illustration: Lithograph used by E. W. Young, who copied all of John -Henry Anderson's billing and featured the obedient-card trick. This -setting shows how cumbersome was the apparatus employed by magicians -before Wiljalba Frikell proved that he could score with apparently no -apparatus. Original in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Eagle's book, in which he exposes -Anderson's gun delusion. Said by Henry Evanion, who knew Eagle, to be a -fine likeness. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Young's name has been handed down in history because he made money on -Anderson's reputation, by the boldest of imitations, assuming the title -of Wizard of the North with his own name in small type. One of his bills -is also reproduced. - -Barnedo or "Barney" Eagle is the man of the trio of the imitators who -deserves more than passing notice. He became Anderson's bitterest enemy, -and their rivalry made money for the printers. - -Eagle could neither read nor write, but having a quick brain he hired a -clever writer to indite his speeches and duplicated Anderson's show so -closely that Anderson's pride was hurt. He therefore decided to expose -Eagle, and thousands of bills, constituting a virulent attack upon his -imitator, were distributed. One of these is reproduced. It is so rare -that I doubt whether another is in existence. - -[Illustration: An Anderson poster, exposing "Barney" Eagle's tricks. -Only bill of this sort in existence. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Window poster issued by Anderson to belittle his imitator -"Barney" Eagle and show how the latter secured royal patronage. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As Eagle had advertised that he was patronized by royalty, Anderson had -another bill printed, showing Eagle playing before the King at the Ascot -race-track, and an assistant passing the hat in mountebank fashion. In -revenge, Eagle had a book published, in which he exposed Anderson's best -drawing trick, The Gun Delusion, in which the magician allowed any one -from the audience to shoot a gun at him using marked bullets. These -bullets were caught in his mouth or on the point of a knife. This trick -became as common as the obedient-card trick. - -In the face of such overwhelming evidence, Robert-Houdin's claim to -having invented the obedient-card trick is nothing short of farcical. - -[Illustration: A "Barney" Eagle poster on which the obedient-card trick -is featured as "The Walking Cards." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - - _The Cabalistic or Obedient - Clock_ - -There might be said to exist a very reasonable doubt as to the exact -date at which Robert-Houdin produced the cabalistic clock which he -included among his other doubtful claims to inventions. - -On page 250 of the American edition of his "Memoirs" he has the -Cabalistic Clock on his opening programme for July 3d, 1845, but in the -appendix of the French edition he states that the clock first made its -appearance at the opening of the season of 1847. In nearly all his -statements he is equally inaccurate. - -The mysterious clock might be termed the obedient clock, for the trick -consists in causing the hand or hands to obey the will of the conjurer -or the wishes of the audience. - -The hands will point to a figure, move with rapidity, or as slowly as -possible, or in time to music. In fact the performer has full control of -the hands--he can make them do his every bidding. - -The mysterious clock is a trick as old as the obedient-card trick, if -not older. It was explained according to various methods in books before -Robert-Houdin's appearance on the stage. In fact, the majority of -old-time conjuring books explain mysterious clocks carefully. - -Before electricity was introduced, magnets were employed, but the -earliest method was to make use of thread wound about the spindle of the -clock hand, and that method is still the very best used to-day, owing to -its simplicity. The clock, on being presented to the audience, may be -hung or placed in the position best suited to the particular method by -which it is being "worked." - -It shows a transparent clock face, such as you see in any jewelry shop. -Some magicians utilize only one hand, which permits the easy use of -electricity or magnet, while others employ two and even three hands. -When more than one hand is used the hours and minutes are indicated -simultaneously and, if cards are pasted on the clock face, the largest -hand is used to find the chosen cards. - -The clock may be placed on a pedestal, in an upright position, or hung -in midair on two ribbons or strings. It can be hung on a stand made -expressly for the purpose, on the style of a music stand, or it can be -swung in a frame. In fact, as stated before, it is usually placed so as -to facilitate the method of working. - -[Illustration: M. Jacobs, magician, ventriloquist, and bold imitator of -John Henry Anderson. From a rare lithograph now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -When the cabalistic clock is taken off the hook or the stand on which it -is placed, and handed to one of the spectators to hold, the latter -places the hand on the pin in the centre of the glass face, and -revolves it. The arrow or hand is worked by a counterweight, controlled -by the performer, who has it fixed before he hands it to the innocent -spectator. The clock can be purchased from any reliable dealer of -conjuring apparatus, in almost any part of the world. - -For a clock worked by counterweight the hand of thin brass is prepared -in the centre, where there is a weight of peculiar shape which has at -the thin or tapering end a small pin. This pin is fixed permanently to -the weight and can be revolved about the small plate on which it is -riveted. Through this plate there is a hole, exactly in the centre. This -hand has all this covered with a brass cap, and, to make the arrow point -to any given number, you simply move the weight with your thumb. The pin -clicks and allows you to feel it as it moves from one hole to another. -With very little practice you can move this weight, while in the act of -handing it to some one to place it on the centre of the clock face; and -when spun, the weight, of its own accord, will land on the bottom, -causing the hand to point where it is forced by the law of gravity. The -plate on which the weight is fastened is grooved or milled, so that it -answers to the slightest movement of your thumb. - -When the clock is on the stage and the hand moves simply by the command -of the performer or audience, it is manipulated by an assistant behind -the scenes, either by the aid of electricity or by an endless thread -which is wrapped about the spindle and runs through the two ribbons or -strings that hold the clock in midair. Some conjurers work the clock so -arranged as to make a combination trick; first by having it worked by -the concealed confederate; then, taking the clock off the stand and -bringing it down in the midst of the audience. But for this trick you -can use only one hand. - -[Illustration: The above diagram exposes the magic clock trick, as -offered in the time of Hofrath von Eckartshausen, a German writer on -magic in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Fig. 15 shows the -clock in position for the trick, hung against the rear wall or "drop." -Gaily-colored ribbons hide thin leather tubes through which run two sets -of stout silk thread or catgut, connecting with the hour and minute -hands. The thread then passes through the two iron rings, p and o in -Figures 17 and 19, which are screwed to the ceiling; thence to the -hidden confederate, who manipulates the clock hands as the hour and -minute are announced by magician or spectator. Fig. 16 shows the two -faces of the clock, with the fine connecting rod around which the string -is wound to manipulate the hands. This mechanism is hidden by a flat -brass band which encircles the edges of the two transparent faces. From -Eckartshausen's "The Conjurer's Pocket," edition of 1791.] - -Years ago when I introduced this trick in my performance, I called a -young man on my stage and asked him to place the hand on the spindle. It -would then revolve and stop at any number named. But first I made him -inform the audience the number he had chosen, which gave me time to fix -the weight with my thumb. I then gave him the hand, but he was a skilled -mechanic, and possibly knew the trick. Instead of holding the clock by -the ring at the top, which was there for that purpose, he grasped the -dial at the bottom, causing the number 6 instead of 12 to be on top. -When the hand started to turn, of course it would have stopped at the -wrong number. I managed to escape humiliation by pretending I was afraid -he would break the clock by letting it fall, so took it away from him, -holding it myself. - -[Illustration: Newspaper clipping of 1782, showing that Katterfelto used -the cabalistic clock. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Reproduction of rare engraving of Johann Nep. Hofzinser, -who invented the clock worked by a counter-weight, and who was one of -the world's greatest card tricksters. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -The mechanic walked off the stage winking at me in the most roguish -manner. - -Robert-Houdin worked The Mystic Bell trick in connection with The Clock. -This was manipulated in the same way. The bell was worked with thread, -pulling a small pin, which in turn caused the handle to fall against the -glass bell. Naturally, having electricity at his command at that time, -he made use of that force whenever it suited his fancy. - -I am positive that Robert-Houdin presented the electrical clock, because -T. Bolin, of Moscow, visited Paris and bought the trick from Voisin, the -French manufacturer of conjuring apparatus. The trick which -Robert-Houdin presented, according to his claims, was with the clock -hanging in midair to prove that it was not electrically connected, but -the truth of the matter is that the strings which held the clock -suspended in midair concealed the wires through which his electrical -current ran. - -In my library of old conjuring books the thread method is ably described -by Hofrath von Eckartshausen, mentioned earlier in this chapter. In fact -in the pictorial appendix of this work he gives this trick prominence by -minutely illustrating the same. He makes use of two hands, and to make -the trick infallible he explains that the best way would be to use two -glass disks, have them held together by a brass rim, and your threads -will work with absolute certainty. The spectators imagine that they are -seeing only one glass clock. - -Johann Conrad Gutle, the well-known delver after secrets of natural -magic, also explains several cabalistic clock tricks in his book -published in 1802. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a triple colored lithograph. This section -features Breslaw in stage costume. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -I am reproducing herewith a number of programmes describing the effect -of the trick and proving that it was no novelty when Robert-Houdin -"invented" it. In fact the trick was so common that only the supreme -egotism of the man can explain his having introduced it into the pages -of his book as an original trick. The mysterious clock worked by the -counterweight, which has been described, is credited as having been the -invention of Johann Nep. Hofzinser. - -[Illustration: Katterfelto, the bombastic conjurer, who is famous for -having sold sulphur matches in 1784, before the Lucifer match is -supposed to have been discovered. Reproduced from a rare copy of "The -European Magazine," dated June, 1783, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -In an advertisement, published in the _London Post_ of May 23d, 1778, -included in my collection, this announcement, among others of much -interest, will be found: - -"PART II.--Breslaw will exhibit many of his newly invented deceptions -with a grand apparatus and experiments and particularly the Magic Clock, -Sympathetic Bell, and Pyramidical Glasses in a manner entirely new." - -In 1781, while showing at Greenwood's Rooms, Haymarket, London, Breslaw -heavily advertised, "Particularly an experiment on a newly invented -mechanical clock will be displayed, under the direction of Sieur -Castinia, just arrived from Naples, the like never attempted before in -this metropolis." - -There is every reason to believe that Katterfelto, the greatest of -bombastic conjurers, used the electrical clock in his performances, as -he made a feature of the various late discoveries, and in his programme -of 1782 he advertises "feats and experiments in Magnetical, Electrical, -Optical, Chymical, Philosophical, Mathematical, etc., etc." Among -implements and instruments or articles mentioned I found Watches, -Caskets, Dice, Cards, Mechanical Clocks, Pyramidical Glasses, etc., etc. - -Gyngell, Sr., the celebrated Bartholomew Fair conjurer, whose career -started about 1788, had on his early programmes, "A Pedestal Clock, so -singularly constructed that it is obedient to the word of command." On -the same programme (Catherine Street Theatre, London, February 15th, -1816) I find "The Russian Inn," "The Confectioner's Shop," and "The -Automaton Rope Vaulter." This programme is reproduced in full in Chapter -IV. - -Without devoting further space to Robert-Houdin's absurd claim to having -invented this clock, we will proceed to discuss his claims to the -automaton rope walker, which he called a trapeze performer. - - _The Trapeze Automaton_ - -Though "Diavolo Antonio" or "Le Voltigeur Trapeze" was not a simple -trick, but a cleverly constructed automaton, worked by a concealed -confederate, it was a common feature on programmes long before -Robert-Houdin claimed it as his invention. Yet with the daring of one -who believes that all proof has been destroyed, he announces on page 312 -of the American edition of his "Memoirs" that he invented "The Trapeze -Performer" for his season of 1848. In the illustrated appendix of his -French edition he states that the figure made its first appearance at -his Paris theatre, October 1st, 1849. He thus describes the automaton: - -[Illustration: Copy of a poster used by Robert-Houdin to advertise his -trapeze performer. This proves how accurately he duplicated the Pinetti -figure, even to the arrangement of floral garlands. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -"The figure is the size of an infant, and I carry the little artist on -my arm in a box. I put him on the trapeze and ask him questions, which -he answers by moving his head. Then he bows gracefully to the audience, -turning first this way, then that; suspends himself by his hands and -draws himself up in time to the music. He also goes through the motions -of a strong man, hangs by his head, hands, and feet, and with his legs -making the motions of aerial telegraphy." - -[Illustration: Reproduction of an illustration in "Aufschluesse zur -Magie," by Hofrath von Eckartshausen, showing the automatic rope vaulter -as exhibited in 1784 by Pinetti. Original in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: A Bologna bill of 1812, featuring the automatic rope -dancers. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Decremps in his expose, "The Conjurer Unmasked," published in 1784, thus -describes the automaton and its work: "Our attention was next called to -observe an automaton figure, that vaulted upon a rope, performing all -the postures and evolutions of the most expert tumblers, keeping exact -time to music. By seeing Mr. Van Estin wind up the figures, and being -shown the wheels and levers contained in the body of the automaton, -caused us to believe it moved by its own springs, when Mr. Van Estin -thus explained the deception: 'To make a figure of this kind depends a -great deal on the proportion and the materials with which it is -composed: The legs and thighs are formed out of heavy wood, such as ash -or oak; the body of birch or willow, and made hollow, and the head, -for lightness, of papier-mache. The figure is joined by its hands to a -bar of iron, that passes through a partition, and is turned by a -confederate; the arms are inflexible at the elbows, but move freely at -the shoulders by means of a bolt that goes through the body; and the -thighs and legs move in the same manner at the hips and knees, and are -stayed by pieces of leather to prevent them from bending in the wrong -way. The bar is covered with hollow twisted tubes, and ornamented with -artificial flowers, so as no part of it can be seen to turn; the -confederate by giving the handle a quarter of a turn to the left, the -automaton, whose arms are parallel to the horizon, lift themselves by -little and little, till they become vertical and parallel to the rest of -the body; if in following the same direction, the other part of the body -moves forward; and by watching the motions through a hole, he seizes the -instant that a leg passes before the bar, to leave the automaton -astride; afterward he balances it by jerks, and causes it to take a turn -around, keeping time with the music as if it was sensible of harmony. - -"N.B.--Three circumstances concur here to favor the illusion: First, by -the assistance of a wire, the confederate can separate the bar from the -automaton, which, falling to the ground, persuades one it loses itself -by real machinery. Secondly, in winding up the levers shown in the body, -confirms the spectators in the idea that there is no need of a -confederate. Thirdly, the tubes that are twisted around the bar, except -where the automaton is joined to it, seem to be the rope itself, and -being without motion, as is seen by the garlands which surround them, it -cannot be suspected that the bar turns in the inside, from whence it is -concluded that the figure moves by its own machinery." - -According to one of de Philipsthal's advertisements, page 103, the -trapeze automaton which he featured was six feet in height. But Pinetti -programmes show that he had a smaller figure known as the rope vaulter. -This is probably the trick exposed in Decremps' book. - -On page 108 will be found a Louis programme of 1815, on which a figure -is thus featured: - - "TWO ELEGANT AUTOMATA - -As large as nature, the one representing a beautiful POLONNESE, the -other a little boy. - -Nothing can surpass the admirable construction of these Pieces. The -large figure seems almost endowed with human Faculties, exhibiting the -usual feats of a Rope-Dancer, in the fullest imitation of life. The -small Figure is invested with equally astonishing powers of action. To -such ladies as are spectators it must be a very pleasing circumstance -that these exertions do not excite those disagreeable sensations which -arise from the sight of Figures fraught with life, performing feats -attended with so much danger." - -By referring to page 113 the reader will find a Schmidt programme, dated -1827, on which the figure is featured as follows: - - "THE ROPE DANCER, - -Whose surprising performances surpass, in agility, attitudes, and -evolutions, every Professor of the art, keeping correct time to the -music of the machinery." - -A Gyngell programme, dated 1823, which is reproduced in the chapter -devoted to "The Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal," page 125, reads as -follows: "Two automatons, one of which will execute wonderful feats on -the tight rope, and the other dance a characteristic hornpipe." - -As Gyngell figured in the amusement world from 1788 to 1844, the little -figure must have been tolerably well known to the magic-loving public of -England by the time Robert-Houdin appeared in London in 1848. - -[Illustration: A de Philipsthal programme of 1806 on which both the -automatic tight-rope performer and the magnetic clock were featured. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: A Thiodon bill of 1825, in which he claims the invention -of a figure that could be lifted on or off the stage or pole. This was -twenty-five years before Robert-Houdin claimed the same invention. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -A magician named York, who appeared in London in 1844, the year before -Robert-Houdin made his professional debut, featured under date of -January 29th "two automatons, one of which will execute wonderful feats -on the Tight Rope, and the other dance a characteristic Hornpipe." - -Bologna announced for his performance at the Sans Pareil Theatre, -Strand, London, under date of March 18th, 1812, "The Two Automaton Rope -Dancers from St. Petersburg, whose Feats of Agility were never equalled, -and cannot be surpassed, will perform together in a style of Excellence -hitherto unknown in this country." - -De Philipsthal also featured a pair of automatic tight-rope performers -from 1804 until his death; and in the early 30's the figures were -exhibited by his widow. By referring to Chapter III. a De-Philipsthal -programme of 1806 is reproduced as evidence. - -From 1825 to 1855 J. F. Thiodon played London and the provinces, -advertising on his programmes: - -"FOURTH PIECE.--The Wonderful and Unrivalled Automaton on the Flying -Rope. The only one of this construction in the Kingdom; and forms a more -extraordinary Novelty from the circumstances of its not being fastened -on the Rope by the Hands, like others hitherto exhibited. The Rope will -be in continual Motion, and the Figure will sit perfectly easy and in a -graceful attitude while on the Swing, and perform the most surprising -Evolutions, scarcely to be distinguished from a Living Performer, as it -moves with the utmost Correctness, without any apparent Machinery." - -From this overwhelming evidence it can be argued beyond doubt that if -Robert-Houdin even constructed the automaton he merely copied figures -presented by both his predecessors and his contemporaries, and he was -fully aware of the existence of several such automata when he advertised -his as an original invention. They were made by many mechanicians. - -In the illustrated appendix of the French edition of his "Memoirs" he -goes further; he deliberately misrepresents the mechanism of the figure -and insinuates that the automaton is a self-working one. This is not -true, as it was worked by a concealed confederate, as described above by -Decremps. - -Robert-Houdin even used the garlands of flowers to hide the moving bars -as Pinetti and others of his predecessors had done. The truth was not in -him. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE - - -While Robert-Houdin claims to have invented "The Inexhaustible Bottle" -for a special programme designed to create a sensation at the opening of -his season of 1848, in the illustrated appendix of the original French -edition of his "Memoirs" he states that it had its premier presentation -December 1st, 1847. These discrepancies occur with such frequency that -it is difficult to refute his claims in chronological order. Perhaps he -adopted this method intentionally, to confuse future historians of -magic, particularly concerning his own achievements. - -In order to emphasize the brilliancy of this trick, Robert-Houdin turned -boastful in describing it. On page 348 of the American edition of his -"Memoirs," he states that the trick had created such a sensation and was -so much exploited in the London newspapers that the fame of his -inexhaustible bottle spread to the provinces, and on his appearance in -Manchester with the bottle in his hand the workmen who made up the -audience nearly mobbed him. In fact, the description of this scene is -the most dramatic pen-picture in his "Memoirs." - -The truth, sad to state, is that the bottle trick did not create the -sensation he claims for it in London, nor did the press eulogize it. It -was classed with other ordinary tricks, and twenty London papers bear -mute testimony to this fact. In a complete collection of press clippings -regarding his first London appearance, only four of the London papers -mention the trick. _The Times_, the great conservative English paper, in -reviewing Robert-Houdin's performance in its issue of May 3d, 1847, -ignored the trick entirely. The four London papers which made mention of -the bottle trick, and then only in a passing comment, were _The -Chronicle_, _The Globe_, _The Lady's Newspaper_, and _The Court -Journal_. Any one acquainted with the two last-named periodicals will -know that they rarely reach the hands of the humble artisans in -Manchester. _Punch_, London's great comic paper, gave the trick some -space, however. - -The trick of pouring several sorts of liquors from the same bottle has -been presented in various forms and under different names. To prove the -futility of Robert-Houdin's claims I will explain the mystery of this -trick, which is of an interesting nature. - -To all intents and purposes the bottle used looks like glass; but it is -invariably made of tin, heavily japanned. Ranged around the central -space, which is free from deception, are five compartments, each -tapering to a narrow-mouthed tube which terminates about an inch or an -inch and a half from within the neck of the bottle. A small pinhole is -drilled through the outer surface of the bottle into each compartment, -the holes being so placed that when the bottle is grasped with the hand -in the ordinary way, the performer covers all but one of the pinholes -with his fingers and thumb. The centre section is left empty, but the -other compartments are filled with a funnel which has a tapering nozzle -made specially for this purpose. - -The trick is generally started by proving to the audience that the -bottle is empty. It is then filled with water, which is immediately -poured out again, all this time the five pinholes being covered tightly -with the hand or fingers which are holding the bottle. When a liquor is -called for, the performer raises the finger over the air-hole above that -particular liquor, and the liquor will flow out. When a large number of -liquors may be called for, the performer has one compartment filled with -a perfectly colorless liquor, which he pours into glasses previously -flavored with strong essences. Certain gins and cordials can be -simulated in this fashion. - -Various improvements have been made in this bottle trick. For instance, -after the bottle has yielded its various sorts of liquors, it is broken, -and from the bottle the performer produces some borrowed article which -has been "vanished" in a previous trick and then apparently forgotten. -This may have been a ring, glove, or handkerchief, which will be -discovered tied around the neck of a small guinea-pig or dove taken from -the broken bottle. - -This is accomplished by having the bottle especially constructed. Its -compartments end a few inches above the bottom of the bottle and the -portion below having a wavy or cracked appearance, is made to slip on -and off. The conjurer goes through the motions of actually breaking the -bottle by tapping it near the bottom with a small hammer or wand, and -the appearance of the guinea-pig or lost article causes surprise, so -that the pretended breaking of the bottle passes unnoticed. - -Again, this bottle can be genuine, with no loose bottom at all, and a -small article can be inserted, but this makes a great deal of trouble, -and the effect is not greatly increased. In doing the trick thus, I was -always compelled to have an optician cut the bottom from the bottle, and -then at times even he would break it. - -To explain further how the article is "loaded" into the bottle, the -performer borrows several articles, for example a ring and two watches. -He will place the ring and watches into a funnel at the end of a large -horse-pistol, and shoot them at the target. The two watches appear on -the target or in a frame or any place that he may choose. In obtaining -the articles, he may have wrapped them up in a handkerchief which he has -hidden in the front of his vest. Alexander Herrmann was exceptionally -clever in making this exchange, his iron nerve and perpetual smile being -great aids in the trick. - -The performer now places the duplicate handkerchief on the table in full -view of the audience, and walks to another table for a gun. While -reaching for this gun, he places the original articles which he borrowed -behind his table on a servante, so that his hidden assistant may reach -for them, place the two watches on the "turn-about target," tie the ring -on the neck of the guinea-pig, shove him into the bottle, and insert the -false bottom. The trick is then ready in its entirety. - -The magician calls for something to use as a target, and the assistant -responds with the revolving target or frame. When the conjurer shoots, -the two watches appear on the target or in the frame. This part of the -trick is accomplished by having the centre of the target revolve, or, -if the frame is used, by having a black velvet curtain pulled up by -rapid springs or strong rubbers. - -While all this is going on, some one has brought on the stage the loaded -bottle, and as no attention is called to this, by the time the watches -have been restored to the owners the conjurer introduces the bottle -trick, pours out the various liquors, and eventually breaks the bottle -and reproduces the borrowed article tied about the neck of the -guinea-pig or dove. - -Many names have been given to this trick. The old-time magicians who -remained for months in one theatre had to change their programmes -frequently, so for one night they would present the bottle without -breaking it, and on the next they would break the bottle, so as to vary -the trick. - -This bottle trick originated in "The Inexhaustible Barrel." The first -trace that I can find of this wonderful barrel is in "Hocus Pocus, Jr., -The Anatomie of Legerdemain," written by Henry Dean in 1635 (Second -Edition). On page 21 is described a barrel with a single spout, from -which can be drawn three different kinds of liquors. This was worked -precisely on the same principle as was the inexhaustible bottle trick -centuries later, by shutting up the air-holes of compartments from which -liquors were not flowing. - -Its first public appearance, according to the data in my collection, -clipped from London papers of 1707 and 1712, was when the "famous -water-works of the late ingenious Mr. Henry Winstanly" were exhibited by -his servants for the benefit of his widow; and the exhibition included -a view of "the Barrel that plays so many Liquors and is broke in pieces -before the Spectators." - -In 1780 Dr. Desaguliers presented in London a performance entitled "A -Course of Experimental Philosophy wherein the Principles of Mechanics, -Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, and Optics are proved and demonstrated by more -than 300 Experiments." - -In the course of these lectures he produced a sort of barrel, worked by -holding the fingers over the air-holes. He also exposed the real source -of strength of the notorious strong man of his day, John Carl von -Eckeberg, who allowed horses to pull against him, permitted heavy stones -to be broken on his bare chest, and who broke heavy ropes simply by -stretching or straightening his knees. These lectures and exposes made -Dr. Desaguliers so famous that he has been given considerable space in -Sir David Brewster's "Letters on Natural Magic," published in London in -1851, in which book the various deceptions used by strong men are fully -described. In fact the book is one that should be in every conjurer's -library. - -The old Dutch books explain the barrel trick, and in 1803 Charles -Hutton, professor of Woolwich Royal Academy, translated four books from -Ozanam and Montucla, exposing quite a number of old conjuring tricks. -The barrel trick will be found on page 94 of Volume II. - -The first use of "The Inexhaustible Bottle" by modern conjurers I found -in an announcement of Herr Schmidt, a German performer, who for a time -controlled the original writing and drawing figure, as will be found by -reference to Chapter III., which is devoted to the history of that -automaton. The programme published in that chapter is dated 1827, and -does not include the famous bottle, because it was no longer a novelty -in Herr Schmidt's repertoire; but the advertisement reproduced herewith, -dated 1821, schedules the bottle trick thus: "The Bottle of Sobriety and -Inebriety, proving the inutility of a set of decanters, when various -liquors can be produced by one." Thus Schmidt antedated Houdin's -offering of the trick by more than a quarter of a century. - -[Illustration: A Schmidt programme of 1821, featuring the "Bottle of -Sobriety and Inebriety." From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Next the bottle turned up in 1835 in London, where it was presented by a -German who styled himself "Falck of Koenigsberg, Pupil of the celebrated -Chevalier Pinnetty," and who introduced the programme with which Doebler -made such a sensation in 1842. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Falck of Koenigsberg in 1835, featuring -the trick of exchange of wine. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Mr. Falck opened at the Queen's Bazaar, Oxford Street, London, November -8th, 1835. Before opening, however, he gave a private performance for -the press, and received quite a number of notices. A half-column -clipping in my collection, dated November 4th, 1835, which I think is -cut from _The Chronicle_ or _The Globe_, mentions the trick among other -effects like "Flora's Gift," "The Card in the Pocket," etc., and adds -that the "exchange of wine was so that if once in Mr. Falck's company, -we should not wish to exchange it, for he poured three sorts of wine, -Port, Sherry, and Champagne, out of one bottle. Then he put them -together, and from such a mixture produced sherry in one glass, and port -in another." - -From this notice it will be seen that Falck had "The Inexhaustible -Bottle," and had some method of returning all the liquors not drunk back -into the bottle and then pouring out two different kinds of liquor. - -Perhaps he resorted to chemicals, but one thing is evident--the bottle -was used for six different kinds of liquors at one and the same time. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Phillippe during his Edinburgh engagement -in 1838, featuring "The Infernal Bottle." From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Phillippe from 1836 to 1838 featured "An Infernal Bottle" trick, also -"The Inexhaustible Bottle" trick. The trick also was seen on programmes -used by John Henry Anderson, the Wizard of the North, in the same years. -According to these programmes Phillippe and Anderson showed the bottle -empty, filled it with water, and then served five different liquors. - -On April 30th, 1838, Anderson thus announced the trick on a programme -used at Victoria Rooms, Hull: - -"Handkerchiefs will be borrowed from three gentlemen; the magician will -load his mystic gun, in which he will place the handkerchiefs; he will -fire a bottle containing wine, the bottle will be broken and the -handkerchiefs will appear." - -Programmes in my collection show that Anderson presented the trick, -serving various sorts of liquors, when he played London in 1840, but -little attention was drawn to the wonderful bottle. In 1842 Ludwig -Doebler, Germany's best-beloved magician, came to London and featured -what he termed "The Travelling Bottle." - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a political cartoon in _Punch_, published -during Anderson's London engagement, April, 1843, proving that the -"Inexhaustible Bottle Trick" was used by Anderson before Robert-Houdin -was a professional entertainer. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Ludwig Doebler in his prime, taken about 1839. The -original of this rare picture was discovered by the author in a small -print shop in Moscow, Russia. It is now a part of his Collection.] - -Ludwig Leopold Doebler was born in Vienna in 1801. He was the -best-beloved magician who ever trod the stage. He started life as an -engraver of metals, but his fancy turned to necromancy. He gave his best -performances in his native city. In 1841 he was touring Holland, and in -a letter now in my possession, which he wrote to a director and editor -in Vienna under date of March 15th, 1842, he informs his friend that he -has sent all his baggage to London from Amsterdam, and is on a visit to -Paris. He regrets that he has not all of his apparatus with him, but has -given several performances, and mentions the fact that "to-morrow I am -engaged to give a performance in the private parlor of Rothschild and -then by the Count Montaliset, minister of the King's mansions." He -also informs his friend that he expects to visit Paris the next season -and build his own theatre. He states a fact most interesting to all -magicians, namely, that he has rented the St. James Theatre in London -for two thousand francs ($400) a night, or more than $2,400 rent for one -week. Doebler drew such big audiences and made so much money that he -refused to give private performances, only breaking this rule when -presenting his show before H. M. Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. - -[Illustration: A Doebler programme from the Evanion collection, dated -1842, now in the possession of the author.] - -He played the provinces, then went over to Dublin, where, although -unable to speak English, he was a veritable sensation. In 1844 Doebler -played a return date at the St. James Theatre, London, and this time he -had Anderson as a rival at the Theatre Royal Adelphia. - -Doebler amassed a fortune very rapidly; in fact he retired in 1847, and -never again appeared on the stage. He always explained his early -retirement by saying: "The public loves me, and I want it to always love -me. I may return and be a failure, so it is best to know just when to -stop." He died in a little village near Tunitz, on April 17th, 1864, -when one of God's noblemen was laid to rest. - -"The Travelling Bottle" alluded to by Doebler in his programmes was -nothing more or less than "The Inexhaustible Bottle." The following -excerpt from the London _Chronicle_ during Doebler's engagement at the -St. James Theatre, April, 1842, is illuminating: - -[Illustration: Doebler's farewell programme in verse, used when he played -his last engagement in the Josephstadter Theatre, Vienna. Original given -by Doebler personally to Henry Evanion; now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Ludwig Doebler in his prime, offering his most popular -trick, "The Creation of Flowers." From a rare lithograph in the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -"DOeBLER--ST. JAMES THEATRE.--Among the illusions that more particularly -struck our fancy was one entitled 'The Travelling Bottle,' where Herr -Doebler, filling a common bottle with water, transformed this water into -a collection of wines of all countries, amicably assembled together in -one receptacle, and he fills out first a glass of sherry, then one of -port, then one of champagne, and so on." - -The critic then describes how the bottle was broken, and the borrowed -handkerchief was found inside the bottle. - -[Illustration: Doebler programme with illustrations of his tricks, used -during his engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -Probably because of the prominence which Herr Doebler gave to this trick -it attracted more attention when Anderson presented it during his London -run of 1843. He announced it as "Water vs. Wine, or Changing Water into -Different Liquids--Sherry, Port, Champagne, Gin, Milk, Rum, and Water." - -[Illustration: Programme used by Macallister at the Bowery Theatre, -August 11th, 1852, during his second engagement in New York City. -Featuring the "Magic Bottle" from which twenty-two kinds of liquor could -be drawn. Careful reading will unearth Macallister's ill-will toward -Anderson. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The London _Sun_ of April 18th, 1843, says: - -"Mr. Anderson, besides the feats by which his reputation was established -in his former exhibitions in the metropolis, performed with perfect ease -and success some of greater difficulty than those by which Herr Doebler -astonished the world, such as serving several kinds of wines from the -same bottle." - -_The Morning Advertiser_ (London) of the same date said: - -"With the utmost ease he produced from an empty bottle wine, water, -port, sherry, and champagne, and immediately afterward, under a blaze of -wax and gas, he broke the same bottle and produced from it half a dozen -cambric handkerchiefs, which had previously been deposited under lock -and key at a considerable distance." - -[Illustration: Andrew Macallister as he appeared during his engagement -in the United States. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Macallister, the Scotch brick-mason, who became the pupil and assistant -of Phillippe, as described in the chapter on "The Pastry Cook of the -Palais Royal," also claimed the bottle trick as his invention. I have -been unable to obtain any of the early programmes used by Macallister, -but I am reproducing the one he utilized during his engagement at the -Bowery Theatre, New York City, in 1852. This was not his first -appearance in New York, however. In December, 1848, and January, 1849, -he played at the same theatre, and announced that he had just concluded -a successful engagement at the Grand Theatre Tacon, Havana, Cuba. - -[Illustration: The original Compars Herrmann, who was Robert-Houdin's -very active rival during the latter's first engagement in London. Best -portrait now in existence, and only one showing Herrmann in his prime. -Original photograph loaned for this work by James L. Kernan, of -Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.] - -Although Macallister claims to have invented "The Inexhaustible Bottle" -trick, it is more likely that, having been connected so long with -Phillippe, he knew the secret several years before Robert-Houdin -appeared in public. But as Macallister also claimed to have invented the -peacock and the harlequin automata, both of which are recognized as the -inventions of his predecessors, his claim cannot be given serious -consideration. - -He advertised to produce twenty-two kinds of liquors from one bottle, -and therefore he must have utilized the essence glasses in connection -with the bottle. - -What must have been Robert-Houdin's feeling when, on arriving in London -in 1848, he found another magician, Compars Herrmann, heavily advertised -at the Theatre Royal, and already offering each and every trick included -by the Frenchman in his repertoire. Even the much-vaunted bottle was in -Herrmann's list of tricks. No one seems able to tell where Compars -Herrmann obtained the tricks he used, but he must be given credit for -never advertising them as his own inventions. His record in this respect -was clean throughout his life as a mysterious entertainer. - -The programme presented by Herrmann at the Theatre Royal during -Robert-Houdin's opening week at the St. James Theatre is herewith -reproduced. Herrmann remained some time in London, playing at the -Adelphia, then at the Royal Princess, and finally at the Surrey -Theatre. A bill used by Herrmann at the Princess is reproduced on page -232. It evidently proved satisfactory to the public and he used it -without change for many years. - -[Illustration: Billing used by Compars Herrmann when he played in -opposition to Robert-Houdin on the latter's arrival in London. This -shows that Herrmann duplicated all of Robert-Houdin's tricks. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Probably the most notable warfare waged over the honor of having -invented this trick arose between Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin, who -were contemporaries. - -[Illustration: A Herrmann programme dated April, 1848, showing that -Herrmann presented the inexhaustible bottle two months before -Robert-Houdin appeared in London.] - -[Illustration: Henri Robin, generally conceded to have been the most -polished conjurer in the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Robin, whose right name was Dunkell, was of Holland birth and died in -Paris in 1874. He was at his prime about 1839-40, when he toured the -Continent. He was popular in London, Paris, and both the English and -French provinces. A polished man, famous for the elegance of his speech -and manners, he conducted his performance and all his business in a -quiet, conservative fashion. In both Paris and London, he had playhouses -named temporarily in his honor, Salle de Robin, and at one time in -London he also appeared at the Egyptian Hall. He published his own -magazine, _L'Almanach d'Cagliostro_, an illustrated periodical which was -quite pretentious. - -Robin presented all the tricks and automata that Robert-Houdin claimed -as his original inventions, and in the famous controversy, Robert-Houdin -came out second best. Robin proved that he had used the bottle trick -before Robert-Houdin did, by showing back numbers of his magazine, whose -illustrations pictured Robin performing the trick at his theatre in -Milan, Italy, July 6th, 1844, or three years before Robert-Houdin -presented it in Paris. - -Robin, however, never wrote an autobiography nor any exhaustive work -dealing with the history of magic, while Robert-Houdin did. The latter -set forth his claims over other magicians so skilfully that for more -than half a century the intelligent and thoughtful reading public has -been deceived and has accepted his statements as authoritative. -According to an article published in _L'Illusionniste_, scientists to -this day, in explaining the law of physics as operated by the use of -air-holes in the inexhaustible bottle, refer to it as the "Robert-Houdin -bottle," when in reality the honor of its invention belongs to some -obscure mechanic or magician whose name must remain forever unsung by -writers on magic. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -SECOND SIGHT - - -Evidently second sight was the foundation-stone of Robert-Houdin's -success. Reading between the lines of his autobiography, one finds that -this was the trick which carried him into the salons of fashion and -royalty. Before he introduced second sight into his repertoire, his -tricks were so commonplace that they did not arouse the interest of the -court circle, whose approval furnished the seal of success. - -This trick of second sight he claims body and soul, as the favorite -child of his brain. He even goes as far as to relate a story to prove -that the trick came to him in the form of an inspiration. I quote -directly from the American edition of his "Memoirs," page 255: - -"My two children were playing one day in the drawing-room at a game they -had invented for their own amusement; the younger had bandaged his elder -brother's eyes and made him guess the objects that he touched, and when -the latter happened to guess right they changed places. This simple game -suggested to me the most complicated idea that ever crossed my mind. -Pursued by the notion, I ran and shut myself in my workshop, and was -fortunately in that happy state when the mind follows easily the -combinations traced by fancy. I rested my head in my hands, and in my -excitement laid down the first principles of second sight." - -[Illustration: Robert-Houdin and his son Emile, presenting second sight. -Here the bell is used as it was by Henri Robin. From an illustration in -the original French edition of the Robert-Houdin "Memoirs."] - -Then, picking up the long idle quill of Baron Munchausen, he proceeds to -explain the methods by which he perfected the trick and trained his son. -To the layman these methods read most entertainingly. To the experienced -conjurer or his humblest assistant they appeal as absurd and impossible, -a sheer waste of time, of which a man who reproduced the tricks of his -predecessors as rapidly as Robert-Houdin did, would not be guilty. - -[Illustration: Robert and Haidee Heller from photographs taken at the -time that they were presenting second sight according to the -Robert-Houdin method by an electric code. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -He claims to have trained the eye and memory of his son, by leading the -latter past shop windows, and after allowing him one glance, demanding -the names of articles seen at this single glance. When the boy could -mention forty things after passing the window, his education was -pronounced good. Robert-Houdin also tells in his "Memoirs" of spending -hours with his son in poring over an enormous collection of coins, -medals, etc., which severe lesson helped them both in future -performances. To the conjurer, this tale is farcical. Not only was there -no need of forcing the boy to become a coin expert, but the task was one -which could not be accomplished in the brief time which Robert-Houdin -allowed himself for perfecting the trick. - -The only knowledge required about coins is to recognize a coin when you -see it. Some one may hand a coin of peculiar stamp, and the operator -must signal to his medium the metal and all he knows about it. Of -course, if both know the various coins, then they can understand each -other with less signaling than if the coins were unfamiliar to either. - -Inaudi, the French calculator, can look at a blackboard filled with -numbers for a few seconds, then turn his back upon them and add the -entire amount that he has just seen and memorized. But let the reader -understand that Inaudi is peculiarly gifted by nature, while second -sight is a trick in which the person on the stage known as the medium is -assisted by words, signs, prearranged movements, or articles or figures -in rotation, which to the layman have the appearance of being -unprepared. At a familiar cue, however, the operator touches articles -that have been memorized, a ring, a watch, a scarf-pin, a lady's fan, an -opera glass, all in rotation. At a snap of the fingers the medium will -know that the articles are to be named in consecutive order, and only -after the snap of the fingers or another cue agreed upon. - -[Illustration: Programme used by Robert Heller in 1851-52, when he was -about eighteen years of age. Probably the only programme of this date in -existence. Now in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Robert-Houdin presented the trick for the first time at his own -theatre, February 12th, 1846. Unquestionably at this time he employed -the speaking code, wherein the answer is contained in the question asked -of the medium by the performer. As he describes scene after scene in -which he and his son participated, it is almost possible for a conjurer -or any one interested in magic to follow his code. Apparently the -amusement-loving public became familiar with his speaking code, for -three years later, according to the illustrated appendix of the French -edition of his "Memoirs," he adopted a code of signals, which he states -was especially arranged to confuse those whom he terms his "fearless -discoverers." - -A mysterious bell was used in this connection, but he admits that it -mattered not whether the bell struck or was silent, his son could name -the object under consideration or answer the question. While -Robert-Houdin asserts that he did not employ electricity for working his -silent code, investigations make it almost certain that this was the -method used. It is known throughout the world of conjuring that in -1850-51 Robert Heller (William Henry Palmer) reproduced Robert-Houdin's -entire repertoire of tricks, with the exception of the suspension, and -all worked precisely by Robert-Houdin's methods. In the second-sight -trick, which he first presented with a young man as the medium, then -later with Miss Haidee Heller, the medium was seated on a sofa fully -equipped with wires and electric batteries. Heller's second sight was -worked with both the speaking and silent codes. His confederate was -concealed behind the scenes watching Heller through a peep-hole, or -possibly he used another, seated in the audience, and had the wires -strung under his chair, arranging the signal button so that it could -be easily reached on the arm or front part of the seat. The receiving -instrument was attached to the sofa on which the medium was seated. The -latter would be silently informed as to what was being shown and would -answer all questions. As proof that these statements are not mere -hearsay, the Heller sofa can now be seen in the possession of Mr. -Francis J. Martinka, of New York; and Dr. W. Golden Mortimer, who once -presented "Mortimer's Mysteries," a show on the style of Heller's -performance, furnishes the information that when Heller died in -Philadelphia, November 28th, 1878, he engaged the dead magician's chief -assistant, an expert electrician named E. J. Dale, who had acted as -secret confederate, assisting the medium. - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert Heller during his Boston engagement -in 1853. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -After travelling with Mortimer some time, Dale eventually returned to -England, and retired from the profession. He opened a large shop in -London under the firm name of H. & E. J. Dale, Manufacturing -Electricians, 4 Little Britain, E. C., in October, 1882. - -It was the easiest thing imaginable for Robert-Houdin to have his -theatre arranged with secret confederates and wires back of the scenes, -where a man with powerful opera-glasses could stand. The place being -small, he could look all over the room and see the minutest article. - -When not making use of the talking code, the simplest method employed by -second-sight artists is to have a confederate in the audience, with -either an electrical push button or a pneumatic bulb, who gives the -medium the signal. This is received by a miniature piston, which -requires only a small hole in the stage, while the medium has a matching -hole in the sole of his shoe. This allows the piston to touch the sole -of the foot whenever the confederate presses the bulb or pushes the -button. - -[Illustration: The author at the long-neglected grave of Robert Heller, -in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, U. S. A. From a photograph in the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -From this array of facts it will be seen that second sight is and always -has been a matter of well-drilled phrases or signals, prearranged -rotation of articles, well-built apparatus or well-trained confederates, -but never a feat of actual thought-transferrence. - -Some of Robert-Houdin's ardent supporters insist that in claiming the -invention or discovery of second sight, the French conjurer was merely -an unconscious plagiarist, having stumbled upon, quite by accident, a -trick which he did not know that others had offered before him. - -Such a statement is illogical and absurd. Books of magic to which -Robert-Houdin had access and which he admits having read describe the -trick in a more or less crude form. Pinetti, whose tricks were fully -described to Robert-Houdin by his old friend Torrini, used the -second-sight mystification with excellent effect. Robert-Houdin could -not have been ignorant of its existence as a trick. In making the claim -to its discovery in his "Memoirs" he simply trusted to the ignorance of -the reading public in the history of magic. - -According to programmes and newspaper clippings in my collection, Philip -Breslaw was the first conjurer to feature second sight in his -performance. Breslaw was a clever German who so established himself in -the hearts of amusement-loving Englishmen that he remained in England -for forty years, dying in Liverpool in 1803. In 1781, while playing at -Greenwood's Rooms, Haymarket, London, he announced as Part One of his -entertainment: - -"Mr. Breslaw will exhibit his new magical deceptions, Letters, Medals, -Dice, Pocket pieces, Rings, etc., etc., and particularly communicate the -thoughts of any person to another without the assistance of speech or -writing." - -Pinetti comes next as an eminent presenter of second sight. Between -these two well-known conjurers there may have been various unimportant, -unchronicled performers who made use of Breslaw's trick, but they have -no place in the history of magic. - -The trick appeared on a Pinetti programme at the Royal Haymarket, -London, England, December 1st, 1784, almost sixty-two years before -Robert-Houdin presented it as his original invention. - -[Illustration: Clipping from the London _Post_, December 1st, 1784, in -which Pinetti featured second sight. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The London _Morning Post and Daily Advertiser_ of December 1st, 1784, -contains the above advertisement, reproduced from my collection. - -The talking code employed by Pinetti was not original with him, as it -dates back to the automaton worked by a concealed confederate who -controlled the piston for the mechanical figure or pulled the strings to -manipulate the dancing coins or moving head. It was novel only in its -application to the supposed thought-transferrence by a human being -instead of an automaton. - -This code is described by various reliable authors. On page 388, Volume -III. of Hooper's "Recreations," edition 1782, it is stated that the -confederate worked the apparatus from another room. "By certain words, -previously agreed on, make it known to the confederate," is the advice -given to would-be conjurers. - -Beckman in his "History of Inventions" relates that he knew an exhibitor -of a "talking figure" whose concealed confederate was cued to answer -certain questions, the answers being given in the manner of putting the -question, also by different signs. These instructions will be found on -page 311 of Volume II., edition of 1817. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of front and back of original handbill -distributed on London streets in 1831, to advertise Master M'Kean. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Decremps undertook to expose Pinetti's method of working the -second-sight trick in his famous book, but in this attempt he scored one -of the few failures which marked the bitter fight he waged against -Pinetti. In his book "La Magie Blanche Devoilee" (White Magic Exposed), -first edition, 1784, he offers on page 40 "Les Cartes devinees, les yeux -bandes" (The Divination of Cards with the Eyes Blindfolded). In this -feat Decremps explains that Pinetti would allow cards to be drawn, then -a lady (Signora Pinetti) would appear on the stage, would be -blindfolded, and would name all the cards that were drawn. Decremps -explains the prearranged pack of cards for this trick, also outlining -the manner of giving the medium the cue for certain phrases. For -instance, while explaining to the audience that he will not speak at -all, in the very sentences addressed to the spectators he informs the -medium which cards have been selected. - -Pinetti's code must have been clever, as Decremps was unable to explain -the entire second-sight act. He has omitted the principal part of the -mystification, that is, naming the articles held up for the performer to -see. - -That the card trick was only one test of his second-sight performance, -and that Pinetti's medium did not retire after naming the cards, are -facts shown by the following clipping from one of his announcements: - -"Signora Pinetti will have the special honor and satisfaction of -exhibiting various experiments of new discovery, no less curious than -seemingly incredible, particularly that of her being seated in one of -the front boxes with an handkerchief over her eyes, and guess at -everything imagined and proposed to her by any person in the company." - -Third on the list of second-sight performers, according to the data in -my collection, was Louis Gordon M'Kean, who created a sensation at the -Egyptian Hall Bazaar, Piccadilly, London, in 1831, or fifteen years -before Robert-Houdin, according to his claims, "discovered" second -sight. Young M'Kean was featured as possessing double, not second, -sight, and one of his bills is reproduced on page 212. - -Another programme in my collection, dated the Theatre Scarboro, Friday -evening, August 4th, 1837, announces "For a limited engagement of three -nights the Three Talented Highlanders and most extraordinary -Second-Sighted Young Highlanders." - -[Illustration: Decoration on the broadside used to advertise a young -Dutchwoman who created a sensation in the early part of the eighteenth -century. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -These lads, I believe, were three brothers, one the original M'Kean, or -the latter working in conjunction with two other boys trained to the -tricks in order to secure more impressive results. The trio appeared -eight years before Robert-Houdin became a professional entertainer. - -Holland also contributed a successful performer of second-sight tricks, -the medium in this case being a Dutchwoman who created a profound -sensation while touring Germany in the early part of the eighteenth -century. The billing used at the yearly fairs is an enormous poster -which would be unintelligible if reduced to a size suitable for -reproduction. - -It is now a part of my collection and reads as follows: - -[Illustration: Reproduction of original billing matter used by the -mysterious lady who offered second sight in the United States in -1841-42-43. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Reproduction of the cut used on the mysterious lady's -handbills, distributed in America in 1841. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"The Holland Maid, Twenty Years of Age, from Amsterdam, whose powers, -both in her residence there and in all other places to which she has -gone, have excited great astonishment and much applause, and she will -also in this place endeavor to obtain the same tribute of public -applause. She will after the exhibition place herself before the eyes of -all the spectators on the outside and gravely stand thereon and at all -times give an answer of assurance to any one present to whom her -judgment in all questions gives the most accurate response. She -contrives also by her acuteness to discover and reply to the least -thought, not until then explored. She guesses the age of every one, -whether they be married or not; how many children they have, of what -sex, and whether they be living or dead at the present time, etc. She -does the like for any one having a chance in the lottery, as to what is -its number, and what will be its share of gains. She also guesses at -every one of the most different sorts of coin, and even at the year with -which they were stamped. She guesses at every number which any one shall -secretly set down, even though it amount to upward a million. She -moreover tells exactly whether any one be in the Army, under how many -Monarchs he has served, in how many battles he has been engaged, and -whether he has ever been wounded and how many wounds he has received. By -throwing the Dice, she will every time exactly tell the very number of -spots which may have been determined on." - -This wordy announcement is signed by W. Sahm, of Holland. - -In my collection there is also an interesting handbill advertising the -tour of "The Mysterious Lady" who offered second-sight tricks in the -eastern part of the United States in 1842-43. Her name was never stated -on the programmes, but the latter, together with a clipping dated -Boston, February 20th, 1843, will suffice to prove my claim that she was -offering second-sight before Robert-Houdin did, and therefore could not -be copying his trick. She also appeared in England fully a year before -Robert-Houdin "discovered" second sight. - -Henri Robin and his wife featured second sight in Italy just when -Robert-Houdin first offered it in Paris. It is barely possible that they -antedated Robert-Houdin in the production of this trick, for I have in -my collection a brochure entitled "Album des Soirees de M. et Mme. -Robin," which contains an engraving of the couple offering second-sight, -a short poem in honor of Mme. Robin's remarkable gifts as a second-sight -artist, and a poem generally eulogistic of M. Robin's talents dated -distinctly February 7th, 1846. Robert-Houdin presented second-sight for -the first time, according to his own "Memoirs," on February 12th, 1846. - -[Illustration: Second sight as offered by M. and Mme. Robin, in which -Robin employed the bell and the goblet. From the latter she sipped -liquor, claiming it tasted like the wine secretly named by a spectator. -Robin's stage was equipped with electrical appliances. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -To prove the utter folly of Robert-Houdin's claims to having trained -his son's eye and memory by patient effort so as to have a mutual -transferrence of thought, I will next show that animals had been trained -for years to do tricks by secret signals before the alleged "discovery" -of second sight. - -Two rare old bills in my collection advertise the marvellous -"mind-reading" performances of a goose and a blindfolded dog -respectively. The first, dated 1789, announces that a Mr. Beckett, a -trunk-maker of No. 31 Haymarket, is exhibiting "a Learned Goose, just -lately arrived from abroad. - -"It performs the following tricks: performing upon cards, money, and -watches, telling the time of the month, year, and date, also the value -of any piece either English or foreign, distinguishing all sorts of -colors and (most prodigiously and certainly unbelieving to those who -know the intellects of a goose) she tells the number of ladies and -gentlemen in the company or any person's thoughts; any lady or gentleman -drawing a card out of the pack, though ever so secret, the Goose, -blindfolded at the same time, will find out the card they drew. -Admittance two shillings each person." - -The second bill features Don Carlo, the Double-Sighted dog, which gave -an exhibition of his mysterious skill at the Pavillion by special -command, before King William and the royal family on December 17th, -1831. This dog was blindfolded and could present almost in duplicate the -second-sight tests offered by the Highland lad who five days later gave -a similar exhibition before the royal family at the same place. - -[Illustration: Rare poster announcing the performance of the learned -goose, one of the first of the second-sight animal artists. Traced from -the original poster in the British Museum by the author.] - -[Illustration: Billing used for Don Carlos, the double-sighted dog. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -This proof regarding the use of animals as "mediums" is offered not to -belittle the human mediums, but to prove that from start to finish, from -the day that Breslaw offered the trick to the present moment, when a -number of skilful so-called mind-readers still mystify the public, some -sort of speaking or signal code has been used. Robert-Houdin used both -the speaking and the signal code, but so did Breslaw, and all evidence -points to the fact that Robert-Houdin merely improved upon the trick -employed by Breslaw, Pinetti, and others among his predecessors in -magic, by utilizing the newly found assistant to the magician, -electricity. In his tiny theatre it would have been entirely feasible to -have had electric wires run from all points of the auditorium to the -stage, thus doing away with both the speaking and ordinary signal codes, -even the pneumatic tube. For this improvement, and this alone, should -Robert-Houdin be given credit. Nearly all magicians improve or redress -tricks or apparatus handed down to them by their predecessors, but -Robert-Houdin was not willing to admit that he owed anything to his -predecessors. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE SUSPENSION TRICK - - -In chapters XVI. and XVII. of the American edition of his "Memoirs," -Robert-Houdin states that he closed his theatre during the months of -July, August, and September, 1847, and devoted his time to producing new -tricks for the coming season. He chronicles as the result of these -labors the following additions to his repertoire: "The Crystal Box," -"The Fantastic Portfolio," "The Trapeze Tumbler," "The Garde Francaise," -"The Origin of Flowers," "The Crystal Balls," "The Inexhaustible -Bottle," "The Ethereal Suspension," etc. - -Had these inventions really been original with the man who claimed them -as the result of his own brain-work and handicraft, three years would -not have sufficed to bring them to the perfection in which they were -presented at that time. It is not always the actual work that makes a -trick a success, nor the material from which it is constructed, but it -takes time to plan a new trick; and then after you have worked out the -idea, it takes more time to make it practical. The same piece of -apparatus may have to be made dozens of times, in as many shapes, before -it is presentable. Therefore, when Robert-Houdin claims to have invented -and built with his own hands the tricks mentioned in the list given -above, it is time to prove the improbability and falsity of his -statements. - -[Illustration: A Robert-Houdin poster on which his complete repertoire -appears, under date of June 14th, 1852. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -[Illustration: Poster used by Robert-Houdin during his first London -engagement, featuring suspension. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Inventions are a matter of evolution, but as the tricks which -Robert-Houdin presented in his new repertoire were not new, he was able -to offer them as the result of three months' work. To the expert -mechanician or builder of conjuring apparatus his claim is farcical. The -majority of the tricks mentioned require skilled hands and infinite -patience, if they work in a way that will completely deceive the public. -Particularly is this true of the first suspension apparatus such as -Robert-Houdin must have used. This included a steel corset or frame for -the subject, and both the corset and the supporting rods had to be -strong, invisible to the audience, and still be perfect in mechanism. - -Robert-Houdin, with characteristic ambiguity, does not refer to a -complicated mechanism, but lays stress on his ability to keep his tricks -up-to-date and in line with popular movements of the hour. In writing of -the suspension trick, he gives the impression that but for the sensation -created by the use of ether as an anaesthetic he would never have thought -out the new trick. His own words as presented on page 312 of the -American edition of his "Memoirs" are reproduced in this connection: - -"It will be remembered that in 1847 the insensibility produced by -inhaling ether began to be applied to surgical operations; all the world -talked about the marvellous effect of this anaesthetic and its -extraordinary results. In the eyes of the people it seemed much akin to -magic. Seeing that the surgeons had invaded my domain, I asked myself if -this did not allow me to make reprisals. I did so by inventing my -ethereal suspension, which I believe was far more surprising than any -result obtained by my surgical brethren. This trick was much applauded, -and I am bound to say that my arrangements were excellently made. This -was the first time that I tried to direct the surprise of my spectators -by gradually heightening it up to the next moment, when, so to speak, it -exploded." - -While Robert-Houdin, in his "Memoirs," claims to have invented the trick -for the season of 1847-48, in the illustrated appendix of the French -edition he states that the first production of the trick, with -improvements, was in October, 1849. The improvement consisted of working -the trick with a stool upon a platform, when, previous to this date, he -had used only the ordinary platform and rod. - -During the course of researches covering many years, during which I -visited national libraries in various countries, the first trace of the -suspension trick was discovered in the writings of Ian Batuta, who -flourished about the thirteenth century. He mentions two conjurers who -performed before the court of the Mogul in Delhi. One of the men assumed -the form of a cube and rose into the air, where he remained suspended. -The other man then took off his shoe, struck it against a rock, and it -also rose and hung in midair, close to the suspended conjurer or human -cube. On being touched on the neck, the cube descended to the ground, -and the conjurer resumed his natural form. - -The historical verity of this tale cannot be determined, and it may be -classed with the familiar story which crops up periodically, describing -the ball of cord thrown into the air for a youth to climb into the -clouds. Once out of sight, the youth is said to draw the cord up after -him; then presently a leg falls from the unseen heights, then another, -followed by an arm, a rib or two, and so on until the entire body is -scattered upon the ground, the head coming last with the neck standing -upward. At the command of the magician, the body seems to crawl -together, so runs the tale, and eventually the youth stands up to be -examined by the astonished populace. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of an engraving in an old German -Encyclopaedia in the Harry Houdini Collection, which credits to the -Chinese the trick of climbing into the air and having the body fall down -piecemeal and being set together again.] - -These stories belong in the very first of the travellers' tales. In 1356 -Sir John Mandeville, called by some authorities "the Father of English -Prose," after travelling thirty-four years, published a book detailing -some of his marvellous "witnessings." Though many of his stories are -absolutely impossible, yet so popular did his works become that, barring -the Scriptures, more copies and manuscripts of the books containing his -various "Magician Stories" have been handed down to posterity and exist -to-day than any works of his contemporaries. Still, Mandeville did not -mention this suspension trick, which is sometimes attributed to the -Chinese and sometimes to the Hindoos. - -In Cologne, Germany, I purchased an encyclopaedia, published in 1684, -from which I reproduce a double-page engraving, which shows the Chinese -magicians doing the tricks previously accredited, in the stories of -travellers, to Hindoo conjurers. - -In "Lives of the Conjurers," Thomas Frost describes the suspension trick -as offered about 1828 or 1829 at Madras by an old Brahmin with no better -apparatus than a piece of plank with four legs. This he had formed into -a stool, and upon it, in a little brass socket, he placed a hollow -bamboo stick in a perpendicular position. Projecting from the stick was -a kind of crutch, covered with a piece of common hide. These properties -he carried with him in a bag, which was shown to all those who desired -to witness his exhibition. The servants of the household then held a -blanket before him, and, when it was withdrawn, he was discovered poised -in midair about four feet from the ground, in a sitting posture, with -the outer edge of one hand merely touching the crutch, while the fingers -deliberately counted beads, and the other hand and arm were held in an -upright position. The blanket was again held up before him, and the -spectators caught a gurgling sound, like that occasioned by wind -escaping from a bladder or tube. When the screen or blanket was again -withdrawn, the conjurer was standing on the ground. - -[Illustration: The Brahmin suspension as shown in an illustration found -in Robin's l'Almanach de Cagliostro.] - -The mystery was supposed to have been solved when Sheshal, commonly -known as "the Brahmin of the Air," exhibited the trick in 1832 in -Madras. It was observed that his stool was ornamented with two inlaid -stars, and it was suggested that one of these might conceal a socket for -a steel rod, passing through the bamboo, and that another rod, screwed -to the perpendicular one and concealed by the piece of hide, might be -connected with a mechanism of the same metal, passing up the sleeve and -down the back, and forming a circular seat. This conjecture probably was -not far from the truth, for while Frost is by no means the greatest of -authorities on magic and magicians, in this particular instance I -believe that his explanation of the trick is correct. - -The next authentic early information I have gathered regarding -suspension concerns that wonderful performer who called himself Ching -Lau Lauro. Presumably he was a Chinaman, and from the programmes in my -collection he evidently appeared first in England, in 1828, when he was -engaged to perform between scenes of various plays, including "Tom and -Jerry," at the Coburg. I reproduce on page 231 one of Ching Lau Lauro's -programmes. - -About 1833, or possibly a year earlier, he cut out some of his singing, -and introduced the suspension with which he closed his performance. At -this time he gave the entire programme. According to his programmes, in -some places he excluded the public from the gallery, so I judge that his -suspension was accomplished by the use of the iron rod from the back, -which would have been in plain sight from the gallery. The stage would -not permit the suspension to be worked out of range of the gallery gods. - -[Illustration: Ching Lau Lauro handbill featuring suspension in 1832. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: A Compars Herrmann programme of 1848 in which suspension -is featured. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -When Robert-Houdin went to London in 1848 he found in the field of -magic a clever rival, Compars Herrmann; a few months later came John -Henry Anderson, the Wizard of the North. Both of these men presented the -suspension trick in precisely the same manner claimed by Robert-Houdin -as his original invention of 1847. Neither Anderson nor Herrmann claimed -the honor of having invented the trick, and it is more than likely that -the mechanician who made their apparatus for the suspension trick made -the one used by Robert-Houdin also. Herrmann, like Robert-Houdin, called -the trick ethereal suspension. Anderson gave it the title of -"Chloriforeene Suspension," as the reproduction of an Anderson -lithograph on page 234 will prove. - -During precisely the same period of time a brilliantly successful German -conjurer, Alexander, was presenting the same trick in America, where he -remained as a professional entertainer for ten years. In my collection, -together with corroborative handbills and programmes, there will be -found this statement from Alexander: - -"The suspension was at first produced by me in 1845 or 1846, after -reading in an Oriental annual, edited by several officers of the Indian -Army, the trick of a fakir who made a companion sit in the air by using -a bamboo stick. My trick had no success, because the sitting was too -near the ground. I then made him stand in the air, and the effect was -marvellous." - -My meeting with Alexander, of which this correspondence was the result, -marked an era in my search for material for this volume. Having read in -a small book on magic, dated 1896, that a man named Heimburger, who had -travelled in America as "Alexander the Conjurer," was living in his -native town of Muenster, in Westphalia, I determined to secure an -interview with him if possible. - -[Illustration: "Suspension Chloriforeene," as presented by Anderson and -his son, from a lithograph used by him on his return from the Continent, -December, 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -On March 17th, 1903, while playing in Cologne, I boarded an express -train and arrived in Muenster bright and early. From the city directory I -learned that one Heimburger resided in Krumpentippen, 16. Hailing a -passing droschke I was soon carried to my destination, where a -bright-faced German girl opened the door and ushered me, without -formality, into the presence of the man to whom I desired to pay my -respects. - -An old man, bent with years, snow-white of beard and gray of head, came -forward slowly to greet me. Finding that he was quite deaf, I raised my -voice and fairly trumpeted my mission, adding that I felt especially -honored to stand in the presence of the only magician who, up to that -date, had ever appeared at the White House, Washington, by request of -the President of the United States, my native land. Alexander had been -asked to entertain President Polk and his guests on several occasions, -and the fact that I knew this seemed to please the old conjurer and pave -the way to a pleasant and profitable interview. - -In a few moments we were sitting side by side, and he was adding to my -store of information by relating the most fascinating experiences, -stories of fellow-magicians long since dead, and tales which he could -corroborate by his own collection of bills, programmes, etc., his diary, -and his personal correspondence. He had known Robert-Houdin, Frikell, -Bosco, Count Pererilli, John Henry Anderson, Blitz, the original Bamberg -of Amsterdam, Compars Herrmann, and many lesser lights among the -old-time magicians. Robert-Houdin had told him personally that being -pressed for time he had entrusted the writing of his "Memoirs" to a -Parisian journalist. - -[Illustration: Mrs. Leona A. Anderson, daughter-in-law of John Henry -Anderson, as she appeared with him in the suspension trick about 1868. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As he warmed up to these reminiscences, he held me spellbound. Had he -risen from the grave to tell of his contemporaries, he could not have -riveted my attention more securely. - -Here was a man of eighty-four, whose memory quickened at the coming of -one interested in his beloved art, whose eye brightened with each fresh -detail of a long and successful professional life, and who, in fifty -years of retirement, had not only written a book, but had kept in touch -with the world of magic, giving me information which the most exhaustive -encyclopaedia could not yield, answering questions on topics never yet -discussed in dusty parchments and fading scripts. It was like having the -history of magic unrolled before my eager eyes, in a living, -palpitating, human scroll. - -It had been my intention to remain but a few hours in Muenster, but the -old master held me as if hypnotized and the hours fairly drifted past. -Letter after letter, clipping after clipping, token after token, he -spread before my fascinated eyes; and I allowed him to speak without -question or interruption of any sort. Early in our interview he had -remarked that he was beginning to feel old and that only the impetus of -my presence was responsible for his unusual strength of speech. For over -seventy years he had been collecting books on conjuring and kindred -topics, which he was able to read in English, French, Spanish, and -German. - -The dinner hour found us still engrossed in conversation, and Frau -Heimburger extended a most hospitable and cordial invitation for me to -join the family circle. But my hunger was purely mental, and the true -savor of the meal was the reminiscent chat of Herr Heimburger, who, from -his post at the head of his household, looked as hale and hearty as if -he had found the Elixir of Life which so many of his charlatan -predecessors claimed to have "discovered." - -[Illustration: Alexander Heimburger, a veteran conjurer who presented -the suspension trick in 1845-46 during his American tour. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1904 I paid the old master a second visit. To his professions of -pleasure at meeting me once more, he added the gift of several rare -programmes now in my collection, and when our hands met in a farewell -clasp he told me that he had set all things in order and was ready for -the coming of the Grim Reaper. Soon after that visit, however, I -received a card with the following melancholy message: - - MY DEAR FRIEND--Have not been very well of late, and have been - expecting my last days. All preparations have been made and Death - the Visitor arrived, but instead of calling for me, he has taken - away my beloved wife. I am not capable of writing more. God be with - you. From your old friend, - -ALEXANDER HEIMBURGER. - -Alexander Heimburger or, as he was billed, Alexander the Conjurer, was -born December 4th, 1818. From 1844 to 1854 he toured North and South -America, returning to his native country with the intention of there -following his calling as a professional entertainer. But his fame had -preceded him, and, as his fortune was large, his souvenirs and tales of -travel many and interesting, he was taken up by the world of fashion and -lionized. This practically closed his career as a conjurer, for in those -days magicians occupied no such reputable position in the professional -world as they do to-day, and to have returned to his stage work would -have closed the doors of aristocracy to him. He married one of Muenster's -prettiest girls, who bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. -So he passed the remainder of his days, living modestly but comfortably -on the money he had amassed in America, entertained by a large circle of -appreciative friends, and well content to live thus, far from the -madding crowd in which the professional entertainer must move. - -While the recollections of his public career and his meetings with other -magicians, as well as notable men in other walks of life, were fresh, he -wrote his book, "Der Moderne Zauberer" (The Modern Magician), which he -claims, with much justice, is rated as one of the gems of German -literature, as well as the best book ever written by a conjurer. It is -built from extracts from his diary and is on the style of Sig. Blitz's -book, but is far more diversified and interesting. - -[Illustration: Alexander Heimburger, known in conjuring as Alexander the -Conjurer, from a quaint illustration in "The North American," published -in Mexico.] - -His scrap-book also told a most romantic tale of vicissitudes. A -half-page article in the New York _Tribune_, dated October, 1845, showed -Alexander arrayed in a Chinese costume, and producing huge bowls of -water, flowers, and various sorts of heavy articles. This proves -conclusively that Ching Ling Foo was not the first conjurer to offer -this Chinese trick in America, as it is generally supposed. Alexander -added that all the old-timers would change their programmes by -introducing the Chinese tricks, and, to verify his statement, readers -need only to see the following files in Astor Library, New York City: -New York _Herald_, New York _Tribune_, and New York _Evening Gazette_ of -November 6th, 1845. - -Herr Alexander had arrived in New York almost penniless, after a -disastrous tour of other American cities. He tried to hire Niblo's -Garden, but was informed that the auditorium was never opened in winter. -Through the intercession of Mrs. Niblo, however, he finally secured it -at a rental of twenty dollars per night. He opened to a small house and -for three nights did not even pay expenses, but the fourth night -witnessed a change in his fortunes and for three months he played -literally to standing room. Then because he had no new tricks to offer, -and his pride forbade his presenting his old repertoire until receipts -grew lighter, he closed his New York season. - -While playing in Saratoga, Alexander was approached by the late P. T. -Barnum, who was accompanied by Gen. Tom Thumb. Alexander declined Mr. -Barnum's offer because he thought to join the Barnum staff of -entertainers would injure his professional rating. Barnum's admission -fee was 25 cents, while Alexander charged 50 cents and $1. - -About this time the fame of Alexander attracted the attention of no less -a personage than S. F. B. Morse, of telegraphic fame; and Alexander had -on his programme one trick which mystified Morse, who honestly believed -that the conjurer had discovered some new law of nature that might be of -service to scientists. - -[Illustration: Alexander Heimburger presenting the suspension trick -during his engagement in Brazil. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Alexander called this trick "The Spirit Bell," and, worked by one method -or another, it has been used by many magicians. Some employ a thread and -hook, causing the clapper to strike by pulling the thread which runs -through an innocent-looking ribbon on which the bell hangs. Others use -an electric magnet. Herr Alexander placed his bell on top of a fancy -case which he could set anywhere, and the bell would ring at command. -The secret was a small bird, trained to jump from one rung of a tiny -ladder to another, at word of command or the waving of a stick or wand -which the bird could see from its point of imprisonment. Every time that -it jumped from one rung to another, it would pull down a step which was -so arranged that by the smallest overweight it would release a catch, -which in turn would throw the hammer against the glass. When the bird -stepped off, the hammer would again come back to its original position -and be ready for the second blow. This bird he bought from a street -fortune-teller, who had trained it to go up different steps of a ladder -and select envelopes containing variously printed fortunes. - -Alexander enjoyed personal acquaintance with President Polk, Henry Clay, -Daniel Webster, Calhoun, and their fellow-statesmen in the United -States. Through his friendship with President Polk he carried to the -West Indies and Brazil letters so influential that the aristocracy in -these countries opened its doors to him. He was welcomed at the palace -of Dom Pedro, and has in his possession letters from both the King and -his consort, dated 1850. - -So much for the history of a man who was brave enough to admit that he -developed the suspension trick from principles laid down by humble -Indian fakirs. - -The crudest method used for accomplishing the suspension trick consisted -of a steel corset, an iron rod painted to resemble wood, and a platform. -The steel rod was fitted into a special place in the corset, also in -the platform. This method was improved, first to make it a self-raising -suspension, then eventually with a steel rod from the back of the stage, -eliminating the use of both rods under the arms. - -Spectators and reviewers commented on the rigid, almost painful, -carriage of Robert-Houdin's son during the performance, which they laid -to the effect of ether. Unquestionably Robert-Houdin used this crude -corset-and-rod method of working the trick. - -The fumes of ether which reached the audience, he admits, were caused by -pouring a little ether over hot irons in the wings. - -But whatever the method employed by Robert-Houdin to secure the effects -of "suspension ethereenne," he was merely introducing a century-old -trick, which other contemporary magicians were also exhibiting. The name -of the real maker of the apparatus may never be known, but some clever -mechanician supplied Robert-Houdin, Compars Herrmann, and John Henry -Anderson with precisely the same method of working the trick, at -precisely the same time. Robert-Houdin alone was audacious enough to -claim the invention as his own. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF - - -Supreme egotism and utter disregard for the truth may be traced in all -of Robert-Houdin's writings, but they reached a veritable climax when he -indited chapter XVI. of his "Memoirs." During the course of this chapter -he described the so-called invention and first production of the -disappearing-handkerchief trick. - -According to the American edition of his "Memoirs," page 303, he -received a command to appear before Louis Philippe and his family at St. -Cloud in November, 1846. During the six days intervening between the -official invitation and his appearance before the royal family, he -arranged a trick from which, he states, he had every reason to expect -excellent results. On page 305 he goes even further in his claims and -announces: - -"All my tricks were favorably received, and the one I had invented for -the occasion gained me unbounded applause." - -He then gives the following description of the trick and its -performance: - -"I borrowed from my noble spectators several handkerchiefs, which I made -into a parcel, and laid on the table. Then, at my request, different -persons wrote on the cards the names of places whither they desired -their handkerchiefs to be invisibly transported. - -"When this had been done, I begged the King to take three of the cards -at hazard, and choose from them the place he might consider most -suitable. - -"'Let us see,' Louis Philippe said, 'what this one says: "I desire the -handkerchiefs to be found beneath one of the candelabra on the -mantelpiece." That is too easy for a sorcerer; so we will pass to the -next card: "The handkerchiefs are to be transported to the dome of the -Invalides." That would suit me, but it is much too far, not for the -handkerchiefs, but for us. Ah, ah!' the King added, looking at the last -card, 'I am afraid, M. Robert-Houdin, I am about to embarrass you. Do -you know what this card proposes?' - -"'Will your Majesty deign to inform me?' - -"'It is desired that you should send the handkerchiefs into the chest of -the last orange-tree on the right of the avenue.' - -"'Only that, Sire? Deign to order, and I shall obey.' - -"'Very good, then; I should like to see such a magic act: I, therefore, -choose the orange-tree chest.' - -"The King gave some orders in a low voice, and I directly saw several -persons run to the orange-tree, in order to watch it and prevent any -fraud. - -"I was delighted at this precaution, which must add to the effect of my -experiment, for the trick was already arranged, and the precaution hence -too late. - -"I had now to send the handkerchiefs on their travels, so I placed them -beneath a bell of opaque glass, and, taking my wand, I ordered my -invisible travellers to proceed to the spot the King had chosen. - -"I raised the bell; the little parcel was no longer there, and a white -turtle-dove had taken its place. - -"The King then walked quickly to the door, whence he looked in the -direction of the orange-tree, to assure himself that the guards were at -their post; when this was done, he began to smile and shrug his -shoulders. - -"'Ah! M. Robert-Houdin,' he said, somewhat ironically, 'I much fear for -the virtue of your magic staff.' Then he added, as he returned to the -end of the room, where several servants were standing, 'Tell William to -open immediately the last chest at the end of the avenue, and bring me -carefully what he finds there--if he does find anything.' - -"William soon proceeded to the orange-tree, and, though much astonished -at the orders given him, he began to carry them out. - -"He carefully removed one of the sides of the chest, thrust his hand in, -and almost touched the roots of the tree before he found anything. All -at once he uttered a cry of surprise as he drew out a small iron coffer -eaten by the rust. - -"This curious find, after having been cleaned from the mould, was -brought in and placed on a small ottoman by the King's side. - -"'Well, M. Robert-Houdin,' Louis Philippe said to me, with a movement of -impatient curiosity, 'here is a box; am I to conclude it contains the -handkerchiefs?' - -"'Yes, Sire,' I replied with assurance, 'and they have been there, too, -for a long period.' - -"'How can that be? The handkerchiefs were lent you scarce a quarter of -an hour ago.' - -"'I cannot deny it, Sire; but what would my magic powers avail me if I -could not perform incomprehensible tricks? Your Majesty will doubtless -be still more surprised when I prove to your satisfaction that this -coffer as well as its contents was deposited in the chest of the -orange-tree sixty years ago.' - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a very rare pastel portrait of -Cagliostro. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"'I should like to believe your statement,' the King replied with a -smile; 'but that is impossible, and I must, therefore, ask for proofs of -your assertion.' - -"'If your Majesty will be kind enough to open this casket they will be -supplied.' - -"'Certainly; but I shall require a key for that.' - -"'It only depends on yourself, Sire, to have one. Deign to remove it -from the neck of this turtle dove, which has just brought it to you.' - -"Louis Philippe unfastened a ribbon that held a small rusty key with -which he hastened to unlock the coffer. The first thing that caught the -King's eye was a parchment, on which he read the following statements: - -"'This day, the sixth of June, 1786, this iron box, containing six -handkerchiefs, was placed among the roots of an orange tree by me, -Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro, to serve in performing an act of magic -which will be executed on the same day sixty years hence before Louis -Philippe of Orleans and his family.' - -"'There is, decidedly, witchcraft about this,' the King said, more and -more amazed. 'Nothing is wanting, for the seal and signature of the -celebrated sorcerer are placed at the foot of this statement, which, -Heaven pardon me, smells strongly of sulphur.' - -"At this jest the audience began to laugh. - -"'But,' the King added, taking out of the box a carefully sealed packet, -'can the handkerchiefs, by possibility, be in this?' - -"'Indeed, Sire, they are; but, before opening the parcel, I would -request your Majesty to notice that it, also, bears the impression of -Cagliostro's seal.' - -"This seal, once rendered so famous by being placed on the celebrated -alchemist's bottles of elixir and liquid gold, I had obtained from -Torrini, who had been an old friend of Cagliostro's. - -"'It is certainly the same,' my royal spectator answered, after -comparing the two seals. Still, in his impatience to learn the contents -of the parcel, the King quickly tore open the envelope, and soon -displayed before the astonished spectators the six handkerchiefs, which, -a few moments before, were still on my table." - -While the use of the Cagliostro seal really formed no part of the trick, -its possession by Robert-Houdin goes to show how indefatigably he -collected conjuring curios and how quick he was to utilize any part of -his collection, and score thereby a brilliant showing. - -Cagliostro seals were by no means rare. This prince of charlatans had -seals, like adventures, in great variety; and in this connection, it is -not out of place to tell something of Cagliostro and thus explain why -the parchment bearing his seal created such a sensation at St. Cloud. - -Cagliostro has no match in the annals of magic. Not a conjurer in the -sense of being a public entertainer, he yet mystified and bewitched his -thousands. Something of a physician, more of an alchemist, and -altogether a charlatan, he left behind him a trail of brilliant -chicanery, daring adventure, and ignominious failure and undoing -unequalled in the history of Europe. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a rare portrait of Seraphinia Feliciani, -Comtesse de Cagliostro, wrongfully called Lorenzo in the Encyclopaedia -Britannica. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Cagliostro was born Joseph Balsamo, in Palermo, Italy, June 8th, 1743. -His parents were in humble circumstances and he started his career as a -novice in the Convent of Benfratelli, from which he was expelled for -incorrigibility. Then he plunged into a life of dissipation and -cleverly planned, ofttimes brilliantly executed crimes. He fled Palermo -after forging theatre tickets and a will, and duping a goldsmith out of -sixty pieces of gold. At Messina he fell in with an alchemist named -Althotas, a man of some learning who spoke a variety of languages. -These two adventurers travelled in Egypt, and when Althotas died -Cagliostro went to Naples and Rome, where he married a beautiful -girdle-maker named Seraphinia Feliciani. This woman shared both his -triumphs and his disgrace. In 1776 they arrived in London, where he -announced himself as the Count di Cagliostro. The title was assumed, the -name was borrowed from his mother's side of the house. Here for the -first time Cagliostro announced himself also a worker of miracles or -wonders. - -He exhibited two mysterious substances, "Materia Prima," with which he -transmuted all baser metals into gold, and "Egyptian Wine," with which -he claimed to prolong life. His wife, who was just past twenty, he -declared was more than sixty, her youthful appearance being due to the -use of his elixir. He founded a spurious Egyptian rite in connection -with the Masonic order which has been recognized as a blot upon Masonic -history, and he claimed thousands of Masonic dupes. All over the -Continent he and his beautiful wife travelled, now healing the poor for -nothing, now duping the rich, but always living in a most picturesque, -voluptuous fashion. He dipped into spiritualism and mesmerism, but -wherever he went his converts followed after. - -[Illustration: Very rare Testot handbill printed about 1800, presented -by Testot to Henry Evanion. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In 1789, while in Rome, he was seized by that invincible power, the Holy -Inquisition, and was condemned to death. Later Pope Pius VI. changed the -sentence to life imprisonment. Confinement made him more daring than -ever. He asked for a confessor, and when a Capuchin monk was permitted -to enter his cell in this capacity Cagliostro endeavored to choke him -and escape in his robes. The monk fought for his life so effectually -that it was he, and not Cagliostro, who escaped. Cagliostro was -literally buried alive in a subterranean dungeon, as punishment for his -final offence, and his wife immured herself in a Roman convent, where -she died in 1794. - -[Illustration: Testot programme, featuring "Cabalistic Art" in 1826. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In Paris, perhaps, Cagliostro enjoyed his greatest triumphs of -charlatanism, and it is not remarkable that the appearance of his seal -in the midst of Robert-Houdin's trick should seem almost uncanny to the -royal family. - -But to return to the disappearing-handkerchief trick. Robert-Houdin did -not invent this trick. It was presented by a number of conjurers before -Robert-Houdin was known in the world of magic. Robert-Houdin simply -employed the trick familiar to both his predecessors and contemporaries -and redressed it to tickle the fancy of his royal patron. - -In England this trick was known among old conjurers as "The Ne Plus -Ultra of the Cabalistic Art." In 1826 one M. Felix Testot, who claimed -to be a compatriot of Robert-Houdin, presented the trick in the British -provinces, and one of his bills I am reproducing because it shows that -the trick he offered the provincial Britons and the trick which -Robert-Houdin offered the royal family at St. Cloud were identical. It -also proves that London had seen the trick; and what London had seen, -Paris, including Robert-Houdin, had heard of. - -[Illustration: Marriot programme featuring "Cabalistic Art" in 1831, or -fifteen years before Robert-Houdin claims to have invented the -disappearing handkerchief trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -A programme used by "The Celebrated Mr. Marriot, Professor of Recreative -Philosophy," in 1831, contains word for word the announcement of the -trick used on Testot's bill, which goes to show that a popular test was -to have articles passed from the Adelphia Theatre to the gun which was -being watched by a sentinel. - -[Illustration: Jefferini handbill, dated 1833, in which he announces -that any article will be made to fly 500 miles a minute.] - -February 22d, 1833, found a Mr. Jefferini at the Royal Clarence Theatre, -Liverpool Street, King's Cross, Liverpool. He agreed to make "an article -fly at the rate of five hundred miles an hour, from King's Cross to the -Centre of Greece." - -The original Buck featured on his programme a similar trick which he -called "The Loaf Trick." On a bill dated October 26th, 1840, it is -announced as follows: "Watch in a loaf. The magician will command any -gentleman's watch to disappear. It will be found in a loaf at any -baker's shop in Town." The senior Ingleby changed the trick somewhat, -sending out to any market for a shoulder of mutton, which, on being -cut, would yield up a card previously drawn by some spectator. He thus -describes his trick in his book "Whole Art of Legerdemain," published in -London in 1815: - -"TRICK FOUR. - -"To cut out of a Shoulder of Mutton a Card which one of the Company had -previously drawn out of the Pack. - -[Illustration: Only known portrait of the clever English conjurer, Buck. -From an engraving in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"Having desired a person to draw a Card out of several which you hold to -him, and to remember it, which he promises to do, you tell him it shall -be in a shoulder of mutton which you will send for. - -"Accordingly you desire a servant to go to the butcher's and bring one. -When brought, it is examined, and then ordered to be put down to roast. -After performing some tricks, you recollect the shoulder of mutton, -which is immediately brought half-roasted, and after cutting it for some -time you at length find the card, and produce it. - -[Illustration: Ingleby handbill, dated 1808. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -"Explanation: - -"Having forced a card on one of the company, your confederate has an -opportunity, when the mutton is sent to be roasted, of conveying a thin -duplicate of that card folded into a narrow compass into the fleshy part -near the shank, which can be easily done by means of a sharp penknife. - -"This trick, though remarkably simple, has created universal -astonishment at the Minor Theatre, where it was frequently exhibited by -Mr. Ingleby." - -[Illustration: Frontispiece from Ingleby's book, "Whole Art of -Legerdemain," said to be an excellent likeness of the conjurer-author. -From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -The method of performing the trick was so familiar to conjurers of -Robert-Houdin's time and earlier that Henry Evans Evanion was able to -describe it to me from actual witnessings. Acting on his explanation, on -my return to America I offered the trick, without any great amount of -preparation and without a hitch, at a matinee entertainment given by a -secret organization. I will describe precisely how this was done, and -allow my readers to judge of the similarity of the trick offered years -ago by humble travelling magicians whose names have been written most -faintly in the annals of conjuring, and the much-vaunted trick -"invented" by Robert-Houdin for the entertainment of his sovereign. - -The hall in which the matinee was given was located in Harlem, Borough -of Manhattan, New York City, and I had decided that the handkerchiefs -which were to make the flying journey should be "desired" by some one -present to appear under the top step of the winding staircase in the -Statue of Liberty, which is located in New York Harbor. This meant a -half-hour ride from the hall to the boat in a Subway train; then a run -across New York Harbor to the Statue. These boats left the dock on the -hour and the half-hour, so I timed my performance to fill just half an -hour, starting with some sleight-of-hand, the egg-bag trick, and -swallowing a package of needles and bringing them up threaded, which -latter trick was introduced into magical performances in Europe by K. K. -Kraus in 1816. - -[Illustration: Reproduction of a rare Buck handbill, dated 1844. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Just before 3:30 o'clock I borrowed three handkerchiefs and tied them -together for easier handling. I had three handkerchiefs, similarly tied -together, under my vest, and just at 3:30, I switched the two sets of -handkerchiefs, so that the handkerchiefs furnished by the spectators -were under my vest and the bogus handkerchiefs in my hand. First I -dropped the bogus handkerchiefs on the table-trap, picking up the opaque -glass cover with which they were to be hidden, and, by a carefully -rehearsed bit of carelessness, dropped and broke it. Then, leaving the -bogus handkerchiefs on the table trap, I stepped toward the wings, -apparently to secure another glass bell or cover. To all intents and -purposes, I did not pass from the view of the audience, for fully half -of my body was on the stage, but as my assistant handed me a new glass -cover, he deftly extracted the real handkerchiefs from under my vest. -Then, while I returned to the stage with my patter and description of -the flight the handkerchiefs were about to make, my assistant, with the -handkerchiefs in his pocket, walked unnoticed from the door, and, once -out of sight, ran madly to the Subway station. There he boarded an -express and reached the boat landing just in time to catch the 4 o'clock -boat. At the Statue, my brother and a tinsmith were waiting for him. -The handkerchiefs were placed in the tin box, securely soldered, and -then this box was placed inside a second iron box, which was locked. The -"plant" was then taken upstairs and hidden under the top step. - -In the mean time, with my thoughts following my assistant every step of -his trip, I was playing out my end of the game. The audience was -supplied with blank cards on which they might write the name of the -place where the handkerchiefs should reappear. This, of course, took -some time, and when the cards, each folded to hide the writing thereon, -were collected in a hat, I shook them up thoroughly, and then turned -them out upon a plate, deftly adding, on the top, three cards which I -had concealed in my hand. This was sleight-of-hand purely, and I next -picked out those three prepared cards on each of which was written "Can -you send the handkerchiefs under the top step of the Statue of Liberty?" -Explaining that I had in my hand three cards chosen at haphazard, I -wished the final choice to be made by a disinterested party. A baby was -finally chosen to select the card. Naturally, I refused even to take the -slip of paper from the baby's hand, and one of the lodge members read -the question. - -Murmurs of surprise and incredulity echoed from all over the hall. The -test was too difficult! I then announced that if the audience would -select its own committee, making sure to pick out men who could not be -bribed, I would accompany them, and we would surely return with the -handkerchiefs, sealed in double boxes, as found under the famous -stairway. As an elaborate course luncheon was to be served, the -committee had time to act, and away we went, leaving the lodge to its -feast. So much time had been lost in selecting the committee that we -reached the wharf just in time to catch the 5 o'clock boat. On landing I -received a prearranged signal from my assistants that all was well, and -as I watched my committee dash up the stairs I knew that their quest -would be rewarded. - -When the committee and the writer returned to the lodge-room, a mechanic -was required to pry open the box. There lay the identical handkerchiefs -furnished by my spectators, who could hardly believe their eyes. - -On other occasions I have asked my audience to select a spokesman, who -in a loud voice would announce the point at which the handkerchiefs -would be found, and then my man, waiting just outside the door, would -mount his bicycle and pedal like mad for the hiding-place, naturally -outstripping any committee appointed. But the first method, that of -selecting the place beforehand and having all arrangements made, even to -the three prepared cards, is safest and is probably the one used by -Robert-Houdin to deceive the French monarch. I doubt if he even had -three different cards prepared, as he claims. I believe he exaggerated -his feat, for that would have been taking long chances. - -For this trick I claim not an iota of originality. I simply fitted it to -the time, the place, and the audience, and that I believe is all -Robert-Houdin did when he "invented" the disappearing handkerchief trick -for the amusement of his sovereign. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BETRAYED BY HIS OWN PEN - - -Statements in Robert-Houdin's various works on the conjurer's art -corroborate my claim that he was not a master-magician, but a clever -purloiner and adapter of the tricks invented and used by his -predecessors and contemporaries. Whenever, in these books, he attempts -to explain or expose a trick which was not part of his repertoire, he -betrays an ignorance which would be impossible in a conjurer versed in -the finer and more subtle branches of his art. Neither do these -explanations show that he was clever enough as a mechanic to have -invented the apparatus which he claimed as his handiwork. He states that -practice and still more practice are essential, yet no intelligent -performer, amateur or professional, can study my collection of -Robert-Houdin programmes, handbills, and press notices without realizing -that his repertoire contained little or no trace of what should be the -foundation of successful conjuring, sleight-of-hand. Changing his -fingers over the various air-holes of the inexhaustible bottle was as -near as he ever came to sleight-of-hand, even when he was in the height -of his success. - -According to the press notices he had a pleasing stage presence, and -also dressed and set forth his tricks richly, but it must be borne in -mind that then, as often to-day, the man sent by an editor to criticise -a conjurer's performance knew little or nothing about the art and could -not institute comparisons between different magicians. To-day -Robert-Houdin would shine as an exhibitor of illusions or mechanical -toys. A pistol shot, a puff of smoke--and his confederate or assistant -has done the real work behind the scenes. - -His lack of finesse as a sleight-of-hand performer is nowhere more -clearly shown than in his own writings. On page 37 of his French expose -of the secrets of magic, entitled "Comment on Devient Sorcier" (page 51 -of the English translation by Professor Hoffmann, "The Secrets of -Conjuring and Magic"), he thus naively describes his masterpiece of -coin-palming: - -"I myself practised palming long and perseveringly, and acquired thereat -a very considerable degree of skill. I used to be able to palm two -five-franc pieces at once, the hand, nevertheless, remaining as freely -open as though it held nothing whatever." - -An amateur of his own day would have blushed to admit that he could palm -but two coins. Men like T. Nelson Downs, "The Koin King," think nothing -of palming twenty five-franc or silver dollars, or forty half-dollars, -and even this record has been broken. - -Even two writers who contributed to the translation and editing of his -works, R. Shelton Mackenzie and Professor Hoffmann (Angelo J. Lewis), -and who have drawn rich royalties for the same, apologize for his -flagrant mis-statements, which, they realize, any man or woman with but -a slight knowledge of conjuring must recognize. - -His first contribution to the history of magic was his "Memoirs"; and -while he does not feature exposures of tricks in this work, he offers, -in passing, explanations of tricks and automata presented by other -magicians. For the most part these explanations are obviously incorrect, -and so prove that he was ignorant of certain fundamental principles of -the art in which he claimed to have shone. - -In the introduction of the American edition, published in 1850, Mr. -Mackenzie, the editor, thus apologizes for one of Robert-Houdin's most -flagrant mistakes in tracing the history of magic: - -"One error which M. Houdin makes must not be passed over. His account of -M. de Kempelen's celebrated automaton chess-player (afterward Maelzel's) -is entirely wrong. This remarkable piece of mechanism was constructed in -1769, and not in 1796; it was the Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria who -played with it, and not Catherine II. of Russia; it was in 1783 that it -first visited Paris, where it played at the Cafe de la Regence; it was -not taken to London until 1784, and again in 1819; it was brought to -America in 1825, by M. Maelzel, and visited our principal cities, its -chief resting-place being Philadelphia; M. Maelzel's death was in 1838, -on the voyage from Cuba to the United States, and not, as M. Houdin -says, on his return to France; and the automaton, so far from being -taken back to France, was sold by auction here, finally purchased by the -late Dr. J. K. Mitchell, of Philadelphia, reconstructed by him, and -finally deposited in the Chinese Museum (formerly Peale's), where it was -consumed in the great fire which destroyed the National Theatre (now the -site of the Continental Hotel, corner of Ninth and Chestnut Streets), -and, extending to the Chinese Museum, burnt it down on July 5th, 1854. -An interesting account of the Automaton Chess-Player, written by Prof. -George Allen, of this city, will be found in 'The Book of the First -American Chess Congress,' recently published in New York." - -Signor Blitz, in his book "Fifty Years in the Magic Circle," -corroborates the Mackenzie correction, by telling how he saw Maelzel in -Havana, Cuba, where the famous German met his professional Waterloo, -first in small audiences, then in the death of his faithful confederate, -Schlomberg. Finally, broken in health and spirit, Maelzel sailed from -Havana for Philadelphia, but death overtook him at sea. His body was -consigned to the ocean's depths, and his few effects were sold to -liquidate the cost of passage and other debts. - -That Robert-Houdin should make an error concerning a world-famous -automaton the history of which could be traced through contemporary -periodicals and libraries, is almost inconceivable and proves the -carelessness with which he gathered and presented facts. - -His inability to grasp the principles on which other performers built -their tricks is shown most clearly when he attempts to describe and -explain the performances of the Arabian mountebanks whom he saw during -his stay in Algiers. These tricks have been handed down from one -generation to another, and now that Arabian conjurers and acrobats are -imported for hippodrome and vaudeville performances in all civilized -countries, the tricks described by Robert-Houdin are familiar to the -general public. They are also copied by performers of other -nationalities, and can be seen in circus side-shows and at fairs, as -well as in the better grade of houses. Having worked on the same bill -with genuine Arabian performers, I know just how the tricks are -accomplished. - -Robert-Houdin undertakes to explain these tricks in chapter XXII. of the -American edition of his "Memoirs." So long as he quotes reliable -authorities like the _Journal des Sciences_, the explanations are -correct. Directly he attempts an independent exposure, he strikes far -from the correct explanation. - -On page 424 he states: - -"In the following experiment, two Arabs held a sabre, one by the hilt, -the other by the point; a third then came forward, and after raising his -clothes so as to leave the abdomen quite bare, laid himself flat on the -edge of the blade, while a fourth mounted on his back, and seemed to -press the whole weight of his body on him. - -"This trick may be easily explained. - -"Nothing proves to the audience that the sabre is really sharpened, or -that the edge is more cutting than the back, although the Arab who holds -it by the point is careful to wrap it up in a handkerchief--in this, -imitating the jugglers who pretend they have cut their fingers with one -of the daggers they use in their tricks. - -"Besides, in performing this trick, the invulnerable turned his back on -the audience. He knew the advantage to be derived from this -circumstance; hence, at the moment when about to lay himself on the -sabre, he very adroitly pulled back over his stomach that portion of his -clothing he had raised. Lastly, when the fourth actor mounted on his -back, he rested his hands on the shoulders of the Arabs who held the -sabre. The latter apparently maintained his balance, but, in reality, -they supported the whole weight of his body. Hence, the only requirement -for this trick is to have the stomach more or less pressed in, and I -will explain presently that this can be effected without any danger or -injury." - -[Illustration: A Rannin lithograph, showing him doing the sword-walking -act which Robert-Houdin claimed to have been a fraud. Rannin is still -working in Germany, imitated by many, equalled by none. From a -photograph in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In this explanation Robert-Houdin is entirely wrong. The real secret of -lying on top of a sharp-edged razor, sword, or sabre rests on the fact -that the performer does actually lie upon it in a perfectly motionless -position. Were he to move but the width of a hair, backward or forward -or sidewise, the weapon would slice his body, resulting in instant death -or horrible mutilation. I have watched cheap performers of this class of -work, in dime museums or fairs, walk up a ladder of sharp swords which I -had previously held in my hand. They would place the foot down with -infinite precision and then press it into place. This position will not -result in cutting, but let the performer slip or slide and the flesh -would be cut instantly. I have also seen an acrobat, working in a -circus, select two razors in first-class condition, place them on a -socket with the edges of the razors uppermost, and with his bare hands -he would do what is known as a hand-stand on the keen edges of the -blades. This trick of absolute balance is acquired by persistent -practice from youth up. - -Again Robert-Houdin errs wofully in comparing the sabre-swallower to the -swallower of broken bottle-heels and stones. Sabre-swallowing is one -trick, swallowing pebbles and broken glass belongs in quite a different -class. And when I say this I do not mean powdered glass, but pieces of -glass first broken, then chewed, and finally swallowed. - -On page 426 Robert-Houdin puts the two tricks in the same class, as -follows: - -"When the trick of swallowing bottle-heels and pebbles was to be done, -the Aissaoua really put them in his mouth, but I believe, I may say -certainly, that he removed them at the moment when he placed his head in -the folds of the Mokadem's burnous. However, had he swallowed them, -there would have been nothing wonderful about this, when we compare it -with what was done some thirty years back in France by a mountebank -called 'the Sabre-Swallower.' - -"This man, who performed in the streets, threw back his head so as to -form a straight line with his throat, and really thrust down his gullet -a sabre, of which only the hilt remained outside his mouth. - -"He also swallowed an egg without cracking it, or even nails and -pebbles, which he caused to resound, by striking his stomach with his -fist. - -"These tricks were the result of a peculiar formation in the -mountebank's throat, but, if he had lived among the Aissaoua, he would -have assuredly been the leading man of the company." - -The sabre-swallower never releases his hold on the weapon. The pebble -and bottle-heel swallower does--but brings them up again, by a system of -retching which results from long practice. The Japanese have an -egg-swallowing trick in which they swallow either small-sized ivory -balls or eggs, and reproduce them by a retching so unnoticeable that -they could easily show the mouth empty. - -This trick dates back to the offerings of that celebrated water-spouter, -Blaise Manfrede, or de Manfre, who travelled all over Europe. This man -could swallow huge quantities of water and then eject it in streams or -in small quantities or fill all sorts of glasses. In fact this one trick -made him famous. _The European Magazine_, London, March, 1765, pages -194-5, gives a most diverting description of his trick, taken from an -old letter, and here quoted: - -"I have seen, at the September fair in Francfort, a man who professed -drinking fifty quarts of water in a day, and indeed proved that he was -capable of executing what he pretended to. I saw him perform frequently, -and remember it as well as if it was but yesterday. He said he was an -Italian; he was short and squat, his chest, face, forehead, eyes, and -mouth very large. He pretended to be fifty years old, though he did not -seem forty. - -[Illustration: Blasius de Manfre or Blaise Manfrede, from a rare old -woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"He was called the famous Blaise Manfrede, a native of Malta. At -Francfort he frequently performed three times a day: for, besides his -performances twice a day on the public stage (which nobody approached -without paying), he attended private houses when called upon by great -people. - -"He called for a large bucket of fair warm water, and twenty little -glass bottles, flat like cupping glasses, so that they could stand -topside turvy. Some of these he filled with water, plunging them into -the bucket with a good deal of ceremony, and usually swallowed two or -three to wash his mouth and gargle his throat. He threw up the water -again immediately, to shew the spectators that he had no drugs between -his teeth, whence he could be suspected to derive any advantage. - -"After this plausible prelude, he made an Italian harangue, which I -cannot acquaint you with the merits of, because I am a stranger to the -language.... After his harangue he usually took off two dozen of his -little bottles, which he filled from the bucket, and a moment afterwards -returned the liquor through his mouth. But what is most extraordinary is -that this water, which he threw out with violence, appeared red like -wine. And when he had discharged it into two different bottles, it was -red in one and russet like beer in the other; as soon as he shifted the -bottles to the contrary sides, they changed their complexion -respectively to that of wine or beer, and so successively so long as he -continued vomiting; in the mean time, I observed that the water grew -less discolored in proportion as he continued to discharge. This was the -first act. Then he ranged his two dozen of bottles opposite to him on a -table, and exposed to everybody's view. Then he took an equal number of -bottles, plunged them anew into the bucket, swallowed them too, and -returned them in water very transparent, rose-water, -orange-flower-water, and brandy. - -"I have smelt the several odours of his liquors; nay, I have seen him -set fire to a handkerchief dipt in that which smelt like brandy, and it -burnt blue like spirituous liquors.... Nay, he frequently promised at -Venice to give the water back again in milk and oil. But I think he did -not keep his word. In short, he concluded this scene with swallowing -successfully thirty or forty glasses of water, always from the same -bucket, and after having given notice to the company by his man (who -served as an interpreter) that he was going to disembogue, he threw his -head back, and spouting out the fair water, he made it spring up with an -impetuosity like that of the strongest _jet d'eau_. This last feat -delighted the people infinitely more than all the rest, and during the -month he was at Francfort numbers from all parts came to see this -slovenly exercise. Though he repeated it more than once a day he had -more than four hundred spectators at a time. Some threw their -handkerchiefs, and some their gloves upon the stage, that he might wet -them with the water he had cast up, and he returned them differently -perfumed, sometimes with rose-water, sometimes with orange-flower-water, -and sometimes with brandy." - -Another famous juggler and water-spouter was Floram Marchand, whose -picture is herewith reproduced. Judging from his dress, he antedated -Manfrede. - -Bell's _Messenger_ of July 16th, 1816, tells of a sword-swallower whose -work is extremely pertinent to this discussion, and the clipping is -quoted verbatim: - -[Illustration: Floram Marchand. From an old, undated English publication -in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"The French papers give a curious account of one James de Falaise, a -Norman, about fifty years of age, living in the Rue St. Honore. It is -said that this extraordinary man will swallow whole walnuts, shell and -all, a tobacco pipe, three cards rolled together, a rose with all its -leaves, long stalk, and thorns, a living bird, and a living mouse, and, -lastly, a live eel. Like to the Indian jugglers, he swallows the blade -of a sabre about thirteen inches long of polished steel. This operation -he performs very slowly, and with some precaution; though he evinces no -symptom of pain. After every solid body that he swallows, he always -takes a small dose of wine expressly prepared for him. He does not seem -to make any effort to kill the living animals that he takes in his -mouth, but boasts that he feels them moving in his stomach." - -[Illustration: Position taken by the subject in the Indian basket trick -before he is covered by the sheet.] - -In my collection is the handbill of a stone-swallower who exhibited at -No. 10 Cockspur Street, London, charging an admission fee of -half-a-crown. - -[Illustration: Indian fakir seated in the basket after the subject has -been "vanished."] - -These performers actually swallowed the water, stones, pebbles, etc., -and retched them up again so cleverly and at such carefully selected -instants that the audience did not know that the disgorging had been -accomplished. - -Swallowing glass was a different matter, and the modern human ostriches -have all wound up at city hospitals where surgeons have removed broken -glass, knife blades, and other foreign matter by means of an operation. - -I quote the above instances simply to prove that the stones were -actually swallowed and then disgorged, and not hidden, as Robert-Houdin -claims, in the folds of the Mokadem's burnous. - -In this one chapter alone Robert-Houdin quotes six authorities in -explaining the tricks he witnessed, which fact only strengthens my -belief that he borrowed his tricks, as well as his explanations, from -able and graphic writers on the art of magic. - -The next work descriptive of the conjurer's art offered by Robert-Houdin -was "Les Secrets de la Prestidigitation et de la Magie." Under the title -of "The Secrets of Conjuring and Magic; or, How to Become a Wizard," it -was translated and edited by Professor Hoffmann and published in 1878 by -George Routledge & Co., London and New York. - -Absolutely no originality is displayed in this book, and the majority of -the tricks explained can be found in French books of a similar character -which appeared before Robert-Houdin turned author. The proof of this -statement can be found by reading any of the following works upon which -Robert-Houdin patently drew for his material: - -"Nouvelle Magie Blanche Devoilee et Cours Complet de Prestidigitation," -in two volumes, by J. N. Ponsin, published in Paris in 1853; "Grande -Initiation au vraie Pratique des Celebres Physiciens-Prestidigitateurs," -Paris, 1855; "Nouveau Manuel Complet Sorciers, les scenes de -Ventriloquie executees et communiquees par M. Conte, Physicien du Roi," -Paris, 1837; "Anciens et Nouvaux Tours d'Escamotage," of which there are -innumerable editions; "Le Manuel des Sorciers. Recreations Physiques, -Mathematiques, Tours de Cartes et de Gibeciere; suivre, des Jeux de -Societe," Paris, 1802. - -[Illustration: Position of the "vanished" Hindoo while concealed in the -basket. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -His third work, "Magie et Physique Amusante," translated by Professor -Hoffmann under the title of "The Secrets of Stage Conjuring," and -published in English in 1881, is marred by an almost continuous strain -of mis-statements, incorrect explanations, and downright falsification. - -On page 17 of the American edition Robert-Houdin starts his dramatic -tale of inventing a detector lock by which he protected a rich neighbor, -M. de l'Escalopier, from robbery, and incidentally in return secured -funds with which to open his theatre in the Palais Royal. In his -"Memoirs" Robert-Houdin states that the opening of the theatre was made -possible by the invention of the writing and drawing automaton whose -history has been traced in chapter III. The reader can choose between -the two stories. One is as plausible as the other. - -But to return to the detector lock. Count or M. De l'Escalopier having -complained grievously to his humble neighbor, the watchmaker -Robert-Houdin, that he and his family were being robbed, begged that the -latter suggest some means of catching the thief. Robert-Houdin then -recalled a childish device by which he had caught his school-fellows in -the act of pilfering his desk, etc., and he proposed to the Count that -the same device, elaborated to meet the strength of a full-grown man, be -attached to his wealthy patron's desk. As first planned, the detector -lock was to shoot off a pistol on being tampered with, and then brand -the hand of the thief with nitrate of silver. Count de l'Escalopier -objected to branding a man for life, so Robert-Houdin substituted for -the nitrate of silver a sort of cat's claw which would clamp down on the -robber's hand and draw blood. The Count deposited ten thousand francs in -his desk and caught the robber, his confidential servant, red-handed. -The ten thousand francs he presented to Robert-Houdin as a reward for -stopping the thefts. - -A charming tale this makes, but, unfortunately for Robert-Houdin's -claims to originality, the detector lock was not a novelty in his day. -The lock which would first alarm the household by setting off a pistol -and then brand the thief's hand, is described by the Marquis of -Worcester in his book "Centurie of Inventions." As locks and -locksmithing form my hobby, while in England I purchased the entire set -of patent-books, to add to a collection of locks and fastenings from -every known country of the world. In the introduction of the first book -of patents for inventions relating to locks, latches, bolts, etc., from -A.D. 1774 to 1866, the following quotation will be found: - -"The Marquis of Worcester in his 'Centurie of Inventions' thus describes -the first detector lock invented, A.D. 1640, by some mechanical genius -of that day: 'This lock is so constructed that, if a stranger attempts -to open it, it catches his hand as a trap catches a fox, though not as -far as maiming him for life, yet so far marketh him that if suspected he -might easily be detected.'" - -It appears that to this lock was fitted a steel barb which, if a certain -tumbler was overlifted in the act of picking or otherwise, was projected -against the hand of the operator by a spring. I have seen such a lock as -this in the collection of Hobbs, Hart & Co., London, who have had it in -their possession many years. In every respect it answers the description -of the invention claimed by Robert-Houdin as his own. - -Chapter VII. of "Secrets of Stage Conjuring" is devoted to -Robert-Houdin's very incorrect explanation of the famous Indian Basket -Trick. Even his own translator, Professor Hoffmann, takes issue with -Robert-Houdin, as will be seen by reading his foot-note on page 104: -"We will not venture to question the fact vouched for by so high an -authority as Robert-Houdin, that the Indian Basket Trick may sometimes -be performed after the manner above described, but we doubt very much -whether such is the usual or customary method." - -[Illustration: A Ramo Samee handbill, featuring his stone-swallowing -act. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -[Illustration: Handbill used by the original Indian jugglers in England -during 1818, in which the sword-swallowing trick is featured. From the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Robert-Houdin states that the child is placed in the basket, and the -Indian fastens down the lid with leather straps. To facilitate this -operation, he rests his knees against the basket, and the bottom of -the latter thus being turned toward the audience, the boy slips out -through a cunningly contrived trap and quickly conceals himself under -the robe of the magician, whose attitude favors this concealment. - -As the basket trick is the Hindoo magician's most wonderful offering, a -truthful account of his methods of performing the same may be -interesting. In the first place, Robert-Houdin's explanation is -impossible and unreasonable because the Hindoo magician does not wear -flowing robes in which the child could be concealed. Every Hindoo -performer I have ever seen wore short trousers and was barefooted. - -The correct method of performing the trick, which has been handed down -through generations of Hindoos, is as follows: The boy subject is placed -in a net in which he is firmly tied, after having had his big toes and -thumbs fastened down with bandages. Then, with many a grunt and a groan, -he is lifted into the basket. The subject, however, pretends that the -basket is too small, so he is really seated on one side and keeps his -back in the air. This is done to give the appearance eventually that it -was impossible for him to crouch down or around the basket. The lid of -the basket is now placed on his back, and a large sheet is thrown over -the entire apparatus, which conceals from the audience every movement -made by the subject. - -Now commences the Hindoo "patter," in reality yells, groans, and -incantations, while the magician and his assistant strike the basket -with swords or canes, stamp on the ground, gnash their teeth, etc. -Gradually the cover of the basket sinks until the basket seems empty, -to the spectators at least. The fakir now takes off the cover of the -basket, leaving the sheet over it, however. Then he jumps into the -presumably empty basket, stamps all around, and takes out the net in -which are found the turban worn by the subject and the thumb tie. To -prove further that the basket is still empty, the fakir seats himself in -the basket, as shown in the illustration. The lid of the basket is now -replaced, and under this friendly cover the sheet is taken off and the -basket tied up. - -Now commences the true Hindoo magic. The magician is a real actor. He -apparently adjures Mahomet. He gets very angry and with fierce looks, -ejaculations, and muttered curses he grabs up a sword or cane and jabs -it through different parts of the basket. During all this time the -subject, who is something of a contortionist, is wriggling about on the -bottom of the basket, keeping out of reach of the sword, and in fact -often guiding its thrusts between his legs, as every movement on the -part of the fakir has been carefully thought out and rehearsed in -advance. - -By this time the fakir has convinced his audience that the basket is -empty. To be sure he has not allowed any spectators to come too near him -or the basket, nor has any hand save his touched it, but his clever -acting almost persuades even an intelligent or sceptical onlooker that -the basket is empty. - -With the lid of the basket replaced, this time above the friendly sheet, -and the basket tied, he resumes his weird incantations. He screams and -runs back and forth, playing on a small instrument with a hideous tone -which is a cross between the whistle of a locomotive with a cold, and a -sawed-off and hammered-down flute in which has been inserted a tin -whistle. As this nerve-racking music holds the spectators under its -awful spell, the basket begins to rock, the contortionist-subject -gradually raises himself inside the basket, and when the noise is at its -height he straightens up in the basket and raises it with his back as -far as it will go. To the uninitiated it actually appears as if he had -returned to an empty basket in his original position. The trick is a -marvellous deception, but only a Hindoo can exhibit it with success, for -no white person would ever indulge in the screechings, imbecilities, and -contortions which are the spectacular and convincing features of the -trick. - -Sometimes the trick is varied. Instead of the subject being found in his -original position he is seen running toward the crowd as from a -distance. This is accomplished by having two subjects, one in the basket -and one hidden on the outskirts of the crowd, who are "doubles" or at -least who show a marked resemblance and are dressed exactly alike. - -The earliest programmes of Hindoo jugglers in my collection are dated -1818. The "Mr. Ramosamee" featured on this bill later split his name -thus, "Ramo Samee," and was engaged to perform alone between the acts of -"The Broken Heart" at the Garrick Theatre, London. From Ramo Samee, -Continental and British magicians learned the trick of juggling brass -balls. - -On page 135 Professor Hoffmann, in a foot-note, commends Robert-Houdin -for the very impartial manner in which he approaches the question of -spiritualism and spiritualistic manifestations, in his day a -comparative novelty: "In default of absolute certainty, he wisely -reserves his opinion. Where, however, as in the case of the Davenport -Brothers, he had an opportunity of personally observing the alleged -'phenomena,' he has neither difficulty in penetrating nor hesitation in -denouncing the imposture. We venture to believe that any of the -so-called spiritualistic manifestations which had come under the test of -Robert-Houdin's examination would have met a similar fate." - -With this commendation I cannot agree. Robert-Houdin once had all the -leeway he wished at a most remarkable manifestation and made no attempt -to hide the fact that he was baffled by the "phenomena." The "Memoirs of -Marquis de Mirville" contain a Robert-Houdin letter in which he admits -that he could find no explanation of tests just witnessed. The letter, -translated from "Die Magie des XIX. Jahrhunderts von Uriarte," 1896, -published in Berlin, Germany, by Heusers Verlag, is herewith quoted: "I -returned from the seance as greatly astonished as it was possible for me -to be, and I am thoroughly convinced that it was entirely out of the -possibility, and no chance whatever, that it was either by accident or -practised trickery to produce such wonderful materializations. -Robert-Houdin, May 18th, 1847." - -He further shows his ignorance of seances as offered in his times, by -his attempt to describe the methods employed by the Davenport Brothers, -to whom he devotes chapter XIII., which might be described as a chapter -of errors. - -These picturesque American entertainers, the Davenport Brothers, hailed -from Buffalo, N. Y., U.S.A. Ira Erastus was born September 17th, 1839, -and William Henry, February 1st, 1841. They fairly startled the world by -their so-called manifestations of spiritualism during the 60's, and were -alternately lauded and reviled for their performances. - -[Illustration: The Davenport Brothers in their prime, from photographs -furnished by them to the contemporary press, now in the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Both were below medium height, rather handsome men, and, as will be seen -from the accompanying engraving, looked much alike. Their career, which -started in America, ran from about 1853 to the early 70's. They made a -trip to Europe in 1864, remaining until August, 1869. Both married -abroad; Ira a daughter of France, Mlle. Louise Toulet, and William Henry -a Polish girl, Miss Matilda Mag. On the whole, their foreign tour was -most profitable, though in some cities they paid a high price for their -notoriety. In England they waged bitter warfare with John Henry -Anderson, Tolmaque, and Professor Redmond. - -On the occasion of their Paris opening at the Salle Herz they claimed -that the hoodlum element mobbed the theatre and broke up their -performance at the instigation of Henri Robin, who was playing in -opposition. Hamilton, who had succeeded to the management of -Robert-Houdin's theatre, in a letter published after witnessing their -initial performance announced that he shared this belief; but as -Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin were bitter rivals, I believe Hamilton's -letter was the result of two things: first the intense ill-will he -harbored against Robin, and second, as he had Robert-Houdin as his -mentor, he was really ignorant of the Davenport methods and therefore -not in a position to defend them. The letter, which is given in full, -appeared in _Gazette des Etrangers_, Paris, September 27th, 1865: - -"Messrs. Davenport: Yesterday I had the pleasure of being present at the -seance you gave, and I came away from it convinced that jealousy alone -was the cause of the outcry raised against you. The phenomena produced -surpassed my expectations, and your experiments were full of interest to -me. I consider it my duty to add that these phenomena are inexplicable; -and the more so by such persons as have thought themselves able to guess -your supposed secret, and who are, in fact, far indeed from having -discovered the truth. Hamilton." - -[Illustration: The cabinet trick offered by the Davenport Brothers. From -an old print in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -After their return to America the Davenport Brothers retired from -public life, purchased a farm, and rested on their laurels and a -corpulent bank account. One of them is said to have admitted that all -their work was skilful manipulation and not spiritualistic -manifestations. Nevertheless, their names will live so long as -spiritualism is talked of or cabinet effects tolerated by the public. - -The trick as offered by the Davenport Brothers consisted of their being -tied hand and foot at opposite ends of the cabinet, which was hung with -musical instruments, bells, etc. The two men slipped in and out of the -ropes without delay or apparent damage to the ropes, and musical -instruments were played with arms presumably in bondage. - -Robert-Houdin, in attempting to expose the trick, makes two flagrant -errors. First he claims that "by dint of special practice on the part of -our mediums, the thumb is made to lie flat in the hand, when the whole -assumes a cylindrical form of scarcely greater diameter than the wrist"; -and second that the Davenport Brothers had trained themselves to see in -the dark. - -[Illustration: Announcement used by the Davenport Brothers on their -return to London, England, after their tour of the Continent in April, -1868. From the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -As releasing myself from fastenings of all sorts, from ropes to -strait-jackets, has been my profession for twenty years, I am in a -position to contradict Robert-Houdin's first claim positively. I have -met thousands of persons who claimed that the rope, as well as the -handcuff trick, was accomplished by folding the hand together or making -the wrist larger than the hand, but never have I met men or women who -could make their hands smaller than their wrists. I have even gone so -far as to have iron bands made and press my hands together, hoping -eventually to make my hands smaller than my wrists, but this has -failed, too. Even if the entire thumb were cut away, I believe it would -still be impossible to slip a rope that was properly bound around the -wrist. You may take any cuff of the adjustable make, or a ratchet cuff, -place it about a small woman's wrist, and you will find that even she -will be unable to slip her wrists. I do not mean by this any hand-cuff -that will not come to any size, or the common cuffs which when locked -will lock only to a certain size, but I mean a cuff that can be locked -and adjusted to any size of wrist. - -In rope-tying, the principal trick is to allow yourself to be tied -according to certain methods of crossing your hands or wrists, so that -by eventually straightening your hands you have made enough room to -allow them to slip out very easily. It is not always the size of the -wrist that counts. It is the manner of holding your hands when the knots -are being tied. - -The gift of seeing in the dark, with which Robert-Houdin endowed the -Davenports, is equally preposterous. Professor Hoffmann defends -Robert-Houdin by citing instances of prisoners who had been confined in -cells for an indefinite period and who had learned to see in the dark. -This is quite true, but they did not alternate daylight and darkness. -Eminent opticians and oculists inform me that the faculty of seeing in -the dark cannot be acquired by parties like the Davenports, who spent -most of their time in the light. - -While the Davenports were pioneers in rope-tying and cabinet seances, -had Robert-Houdin been the clever sleight-of-hand performer and inventor -he claims to have been, these tricks would have been clear and solvable -to him. But as he obviously joined the ranks of the amazed and -bewildered masses, making only a futile attempt to explain the -performances, he convicts himself of ignorance regarding his own art. - -A man who has made a fortune in the world of magic and who desires to -hand down to posterity a clean record of his attainments will be clever -enough and manly enough to avoid any attempt to explain that which he -does not understand. By his flagrant mis-statements regarding the tricks -of his predecessors and contemporaries, Robert-Houdin, however, convicts -himself of ignorance regarding the fundamental principles of magic, and -arouses in the minds of broad, intelligent readers doubts regarding his -claims to the invention of the various tricks and automata which he -declares to have been the output of his brain, the production of his own -deft hands. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S "MEMOIRS" - - -The charm of true memoirs lies far beyond the printed pages, in the -depth and breadth of the writer's soul. The greatest of all -autobiographies are those which detail not only the lives of the men who -penned them, but which abound in diverting anecdotes and character -studies of the men and women among whom the writer moved. They are not -autobiographies alone, but vivid, broad-minded pen-pictures of the -period in which the writer was a vigorous, respect-compelling figure. -Memoirs written with a view to settling old scores seldom live to -accomplish their ends. The narrowness and pettiness of the writer, which -intelligent reading of history is bound to disclose, destroy all other -charms which the book may possess. - -At personal exploitation Robert-Houdin is a brilliant success. As a -writer of memoirs he is a wretched failure. Whenever he writes of -himself, his pen seems fairly to scintillate. Whenever he refers to -other magicians of his times, his pen lags and drops on the pages blots -which can emanate only from a narrow, petty, jealous nature. - -Even when he writes of his own family, this peculiar trait of petty -egotism may be read between the lines. He mentions the name of his son -Emile, apparently because the lad shared his stage triumphs. His other -children he never mentions by name. The second wife, who, he grudgingly -admits, stood valiantly by him in his days of poverty and -disappointment, he does not honor by so much as stating her name before -marriage. Rather, he refers to her as a person whom he was constrained -to place in charge of his household in order that he might continue his -experiments and his work on automata. A less gracious tribute to wifely -devotion was never penned. - -But it is in dealing with contemporary magicians or those whose -handiwork in bygone years he cleverly purloined and proclaimed as his -original inventions, that the petty jealousy of the man comes to the -surface. Whenever he desires to claim for himself credit due a -predecessor in the world of magic, he either ignores the man's very -existence or writes of his competitor in such a manner that the latter's -standing as man and magician is lowered. Not that he makes broad, -sweeping statements. Rather, he indulges in the innuendo which is far -more dangerous to the party attacked. He never strikes a pen-blow which, -because of its brutality, might arouse the sympathy of his readers for -the object of his attack. Here, in the gentle art of innuendo and -belittling, if not in the conjurer's art, Robert-Houdin is a master. - -[Illustration: Wiljalba Frikell in his youth, showing the peculiar -costume worn by conjurers at that time. The author secured this portrait -a few weeks before Frikell's death and sent it to the veteran conjurer, -who was amazed to learn that this print was in existence. Now in the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In writing his "Memoirs" he deliberately ignores Compars Herrmann, Henri -Robin, Wiljalba Frikell, M. Jacobs, and P. T. Barnum, all of whom he -knew personally. He might have written most entertainingly of these men, -but in each case he had an object in avoiding reference to the -acquaintance. P. T. Barnum knew the true history of the writing and -drawing figure, as reference to chapter III. of this book will show. -Frikell was the pioneer in dispensing with cumbersome stage draperies. -Robert-Houdin claimed this innovation as the product of his own -ingenuity. Compars Herrmann was playing in London when Robert-Houdin -made his English debut under Mitchell's direction, and was presenting, -trick for trick, the repertoire claimed by Robert-Houdin as original -with him. Henri Robin disputed Robert-Houdin's claim to having invented -the inexhaustible bottle, and proved his case, as will be seen by -reference to chapter VIII. Jacobs was one of Anderson's cleverest -imitators and a rival of Robert-Houdin in the English provinces. - -The adroit manner in which Robert-Houdin flays Pinetti, Anderson, and -Bosco would arouse admiration were his pen-lashings devoted to men who -deserved such treatment. Under existing circumstances--his debt to Bosco -and Pinetti, whose tricks he filched remorselessly, and the fact that -Anderson's popularity outlived his own in England--his efforts to -belittle these men are unworthy of one who called himself a man and a -master magician. The truly great and successful man rises above petty -jealousy and personalities. This, Robert-Houdin could not do, even when -he sat pen in hand, in retirement, with the fear of competition removed. - -It seems almost incredible that Robert-Houdin should ignore Henri Robin -in his "Memoirs," for Robin was one of the most interesting characters -of that day. He still stands in magic's history as the Chesterfield of -conjuring, a man of many gifts, charming address, and broad education. -Even in his dispute with Robert-Houdin regarding the invention of the -inexhaustible bottle, he never forgot his dignity, but proved his case -by that most potent of arguments, a well-edited magazine published under -his direction, in which an illustration showed him actually performing -the trick in 1844, or a full three years before it appeared on -Robert-Houdin's programme. - -Robert-Houdin was indebted to Robin for another trick, the Garde -Francaise, introduced by Robert-Houdin in October, 1847. Henri Robin had -precisely the same figure, doing precisely the same feats, in the garb -of an Arab. An illustration from Robin's magazine, _L'Almanach -Cagliostro_, shows Robin offering this figure in March, 1846, or a year -and seven months before it was presented by Robert-Houdin. Yet the only -reference made by Robert-Houdin to this popular and gifted contemporary -is in "The Secrets of Stage Conjuring" where he remarks slightingly that -Robin spoiled Mr. Pepper's business by giving a poor imitation of the -latter's ghost show. - -Again, in ignoring Herrmann, he proves his narrowness of mind, his utter -unwillingness to admit any ability in his rivals. Compars Herrmann was -no ordinary trickster or mountebank, but a conjurer who remained in -London almost a year, playing the very best houses, and later scoring -equal popularity in the provinces. He was decorated by various monarchs -and was famous for his large gifts to charities. Even the present -generation, including theatre-goers and students of magic, remembers the -name of Herrmann, when Robert-Houdin is forgotten or would be but for -his cleverly written autobiography. - -Wiljalba Frikell, to whom should go the credit of cutting out heavy -stage draperies, never claimed the innovation as a carefully planned -conceit, but as an accident. His paraphernalia were destroyed in a fire, -but he desired to live up to his contract and give a performance as -announced. He therefore offered sleight-of-hand, pure and simple, with -the aid of a few tables, chairs, and other common properties which were -absolutely undraped. He was also compelled to don regulation, severely -plain, evening clothes. The absence of draperies, which naturally aid a -conjurer in attaining results, created so pleasing a sensation that -Frikell never again draped his stage nor wore fancy raiment. Had -Robert-Houdin told the truth about his so-called innovation, he must -have given Frikell credit, wherefore he conveniently ignores Frikell -completely. - -It is entirely characteristic of Robert-Houdin that he did not openly -assail Pinetti in the pages of his "Memoirs." With cleverness worthy of -a better cause, he quotes the bitter verbal attack as issuing from the -lips of the friend and mentor of his youth, Signor Torrini. - -The major portion of chapter VI., pages 92 to 104 inclusive, American -edition of his autobiography, is devoted to assailing Pinetti's -abilities as a conjurer and his reputation as a man. Granted that -Pinetti did put Torrini to shame on the Neapolitan stage, such revenge -for a wholesale duplication of the magician's tricks might be termed -almost human and natural. Had a minor magician, amateur or professional, -dogged the footsteps of Robert-Houdin, copying his tricks, the entire -repertoire upon which he depended for a livelihood, thus endangering his -future, I doubt that even the author of "Confidences d'un -Prestidigitateur" would have hesitated to unmask and undo his rival. - -In fact, by reference to the editorial note, foot of page 421, American -edition of Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," it will be seen that in 1850 -Robert-Houdin appealed to the law for protection in just such a case. An -employee was sent to prison for two years, as judgment for selling to an -amateur some of his master's secrets. - -[Illustration: Bartolomeo Bosco in his prime. From an engraving in the -Harry Houdini Collection.] - -But in attacking Pinetti, Robert-Houdin goes a step too far and -falsifies, not directly but by innuendo, when he permits the impression -to go forth that Pinetti was hounded and ruined both financially and -professionally by Torrini, as is set forth on page 104. He pictures -Torrini as dogging the footsteps of Pinetti through all Italy and -finally driving him in a state of abject misery to Russia, where he died -in the home of a nobleman, who sheltered him through sheer compassion. -Robert-Houdin must have known this was absolutely untrue, for he quotes -Robertson, who published Pinetti's true experiences in Russia. Pinetti -took a fortune with him to Russia, acquired more wealth there, and then -lost his entire financial holdings through his passion for balloon -experiments, as is set forth in chapter II. of this book. - -Then, to show his own inconsistency, after picturing Pinetti in his -"Memoirs" as a charlatan, a conjurer of vulgar, uncouth pretensions -rather than as a good showman of real ability, Robert-Houdin is forced -to admit on page 25 of "Secrets of Magic" that later conjurers employed -Pinetti programmes as a foundation upon which their performances were -built! Even here, however, Robert-Houdin fails to acknowledge an iota of -the heavy debt which he personally owed the despised Chevalier Pinetti. - -Robert-Houdin devotes the greater part of chapter X., American edition -of his autobiography, to belittling Bosco, a conjurer whose popularity -all over Europe was long-lived. First, he pictures Bosco as a most cruel -creature who literally tortured to death the birds used in his -performances. Here, as in his attack on Pinetti, Robert-Houdin throws -the responsibility for criticism on the shoulders of another. His old -friend Antonio accompanies him to watch Bosco's performance, and it is -Antonio throughout the narrative who inveighs against Bosco's cruelty -and Antonio who insists upon leaving before the performance closes, -because the cruelty of the conjurer nauseates him. - -At that time no society for the protection of animals existed, and, even -if it had, I doubt whether Bosco's performance would have come under the -ban. Certain magicians of to-day employ many of Bosco's tricks in which -birds and even small animals are used, but the conjuring is so deftly -done that the public of 1907, like that of 1838, thinks it is all -sleight-of-hand work and that the birds are neither hurt nor killed. -Even in Bosco's time the bird trick was not in his repertoire -exclusively. All English magicians employed it. Apparently the head of -the fowl was amputated, but often in reality it was tucked under the -wing, and the head and neck of another fowl was shown by -sleight-of-hand. Quite probably the Parisian public did not consider -Bosco cruel. Robert-Houdin and his friend Antonio, being versed in -sleight-of-hand and conjuring methods, read cruelty between the deft -movements. Certain it is that the name of Bosco has not been handed down -to posterity by other writers as a synonym of cruelty. - -The animus of Robert-Houdin's attack on Bosco is evident at every point -of the narrative. Now he accuses him of bad taste in appearing in the -box-office. Again he suggests that the somewhat impressive opening of -Bosco's act savors of both charlatanism and burlesque, when in reality -the secret of showmanship consists not of what you really do, but what -the mystery-loving public thinks you do. Bosco undoubtedly secured -precisely the effect he desired, because Robert-Houdin devotes more than -a page to a most unnecessary attempt to explain away what he considered -Bosco's undeserved popularity. - -Bosco was not only a clever magician, but a man of many adventures, so -that his life reads like a romance. This soldier of fortune, Bartolomeo -Bosco, was born of a noble Piedmont family, on January 11th, 1793, in -Turin, Italy. From boyhood he showed great ability as a necromancer, but -at the age of nineteen he was forced to serve under Napoleon I. in the -Russian campaign. He was a fusilier in the Eleventh Infantry, and at the -battle of Borodino was injured in an engagement with Cossacks. Pierced -by a lance, he lay upon the ground apparently dead. A Cossack callously -roamed among the dead and dying, rifling pockets and belts. When he came -to the form of Bosco, that youth feigned death, knowing that resistance -to the ghoul meant a death wound. But while the Cossack robbed the -Italian soldier, the latter stealthily raised his unwounded arm and by -sleight-of-hand rifled the well-filled pockets of the ghoul, which fact -was not discovered by the Cossack until he was far from the field of the -dead and dying, where he had left one of the enemy considerably better -off, thanks to Bosco's conjuring gifts. - -Later Bosco was sent captive to Siberia, where he perfected his -sleight-of-hand while amusing fellow-prisoners and jailers. In 1814 he -was released and returned to his native land, where he studied medicine, -but eventually decided to become a public entertainer. He was not only a -clever entertainer, but a good business man, and he planned each year on -saving enough money to insure a life of ease in his old age. But events -intervened to ruin all his well-laid plans. The sins of his youth -brought their penalty. An illegitimate son, Eugene, became a heavy drag -upon the retired magician, who was compelled to pay large sums to the -young man in order to prevent his playing in either France or Germany or -assuming the name of Bosco. In a German antiquary's shop at Bonn on the -Rhine I found an agreement in which Bosco agreed to pay this youth five -thousand francs for not using the name of Bosco. This agreement is too -long for reproduction in this volume, but unquestionably it is genuine -and tells all too eloquently the troubles which beset Bosco in his old -age. - -Eugene was said to be the superior of his famous father in -sleight-of-hand, but he was wild and given to excesses. Women and wine -checked what might have been a brilliant professional career. Disabled, -poverty-stricken, and respected by none, he soon disappeared from the -conjuring world, and according to Carl Willman in the "Zauberwelt" he -died miserably in Hungary in 1891. - -[Illustration: Only photograph of Madame Bosco, given to the author by -Mrs. Mueller, Madame Bosco's niece, at the funeral of Wiljalba Frikell.] - -[Illustration: The author at the grave of Bosco. From a photograph in -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -In the mean time, Bosco and his wife lived in poverty in Dresden, where -the once brilliant conjurer died March 2nd, 1863. His wife died three -years later and was interred in the grave with her husband in a cemetery -on Friedrichstrasse. There was nothing on the tombstone to indicate the -double interment, and I discovered the fact only by investigating the -municipal and cemetery records. Here I also learned that the grave had -merely been leased, and as the lease was about to expire the bones of -the great conjurer and his faithful wife might soon be disinterred and -reburied in a neglected corner of the graveyard devoted to the poor and -unclaimed dead. To prevent this, I purchased the lot and tombstone, and -presented the same to the Society of American Magicians, of which -organization, at the present writing, I am a member. - -A man of noble birth and brilliant attainments was the original Bosco, -and his name became a by-word all over the Continent as the synonym, not -of cruelty, but of clever deception, yet never has posterity put the -name of a great performer to such ignoble uses. For who has not heard -the cry of the modern Bosco, "Eat-'em-alive"? - -To-day I can close my eyes and summon two visions. First I see myself -standing bareheaded before a neglected grave in the quiet cemetery on -Friedrichstrasse, Dresden, the sunlight pouring down upon the tombstone -which bears not only the cup-and-balls and wand, insignia of Bosco's -most famous trick, but this inscription: "Ici repose le celebre -Bartolomeo Bosco.--Ne a Turin le 11 Janvier, 1793; decede a Dresden le 2 -Mars, 1863." The history of this clever conjurer, with all its lights -and shadows, sweeps before me like a mental panorama. - -The second vision carries me into the country, to the fairs of England -and the side-shows of America: - -"Bosco! Bosco! Eat-'em-alive Bosco. You can't afford to miss this -marvel. Bosco! Bosco!" - -Follow me into the enclosure and gaze down into a den. There lies a -half-naked human being. His hair is long and matted, a loin cloth does -wretched duty as clothing. Torn sandals are on his feet. The eulogistic -lecturer dilates upon the powers of this twentieth-century Bosco, but -you do not listen. Your fascinated gaze is fixed on various hideous, -wriggling, writhing forms on the floor of the den. Snakes--scores of -them! Now the creature, half-animal, half-human, glances up to make sure -that attention is riveted upon him, then grasps one of the serpents in -his hideous hands and in a flash bites off its head. The writhing body -falls back to the ground. - -You grip the railing in a sudden faintness. Has your brain deceived your -eyes, or your eyes your brain? If you are a conjurer you try to convince -yourself that it is all a clever sleight-of-hand exhibition, but in your -heart you know it is not true. This creature, so near a beast, has -debauched his manhood for a few paltry dollars, and in dragging himself -down has dragged down the name of a worthy, a brilliant, a world-famous -performer. - -Of the twentieth-century Boscos there are, alas, many. You will find -them all over the world, in street carnivals, side-shows, fair-booths, -and museums, and why the public supports such debasing exhibitions I -have never yet been able to understand. I have seen half-starved -Russians pick food from refuse-barrels. I have seen besotted Americans -creep out from low dives to draw the dregs of beer-barrels into tomato -cans. I have seen absinthe fiends in Paris trade body and soul to obtain -their beloved stimulant. I have heard morphine fiends in Russia promise -to exhibit the effect of the needle in return for the price of an -injection. But never has my soul so risen in revolt as at sight of this -bestial exhibition with which the name of Bosco, a nobleman and a -conjurer of merit, has been linked. - -[Illustration: Anderson's opening programme at the Strand Theatre, -Christmas week, 1848, showing that he duplicated the tricks offered by -Robert-Houdin, who, in his "Memoirs," claims that Anderson's programme -was stale and uninteresting by comparison with his own.] - -Even more despicable than his attack upon Bosco is Robert-Houdin's -flaying of John Henry Anderson. In this he is both unmanly and -untruthful. Hinging his attack on his surprise at the press methods -and advertising adopted in England as opposed to the less spectacular -means employed in France, he insinuates that Anderson's entire success -was built not upon merit, ability, originality, or diversified -programmes, but solely upon sensational advertising. On page 325 of the -American edition of his "Memoirs" Robert-Houdin writes thus of his -competitor: - -"On my arrival in England a conjurer of the name of Anderson, who -assumed the title of Great Wizard of the North, had been performing for -a long period at the little Strand Theatre. - -"This artist, fearing, doubtlessly, that public attention might be -divided, tried to crush the publicity of my performances; hence he sent -out on London streets a cavalcade thus organized: - -"Four enormous carriages, covered with posters and pictures representing -all sorts of witchcraft, opened the procession. Then followed -four-and-twenty merry men, each bearing a banner on which was painted a -letter a yard in height. - -"At each cross-road the four carriages stopped side by side and -presented a bill some twenty-five yards in length, while all the men (I -should say letters), on receiving the word of command, drew themselves -up in a line, like the vehicles. - -"Seen in front the letters formed this phrase: - - THE CELEBRATED ANDERSON ! ! ! - -While on the other side of the banners could be read: - - THE GREAT WIZARD OF THE NORTH. - -[Illustration: Handbill used by Anderson in Germany. January, 1848, when -Robert-Houdin claimed that he was playing in the English provinces. From -the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -"Unfortunately for the Wizard, his performances were attacked by a -mortal disease; too long a stay in London had ended by producing -satiety. Besides, his repertory was out-of-date, and could not contend -against the new tricks which I was offering. What could he present to -the public in opposition to the second sight, the suspension, and the -inexhaustible bottle? Hence he was obliged to close his theatre and -start for the provinces, where he managed, as usual, to make excellent -receipts, owing to his powerful means of notoriety." - -In the first place, Robert Houdin insinuates that when they played in -opposition John Henry Anderson's repertoire was stale and uninteresting. -Is it possible that Robert-Houdin could not read Anderson's bills, or -were his statements deliberate falsehoods, emanating from a malicious, -wilful desire to injure Anderson? - -What did Anderson have to offer in opposition to Robert-Houdin's -much-vaunted Suspension, Second Sight, and Inexhaustible Bottle? Consult -the Anderson programme, reproduced, and you will find that the great -Wizard of the North duplicated the French conjurer's repertoire. "The -Ethereal Suspension" of Robert-Houdin's programme was "Suspension -Chloroforeene" on Anderson's. Second Sight appeared on both bills. "The -Inexhaustible Bottle" had wisely been dropped by Anderson because he had -been using it in one form or another for ten years preceding the date of -Robert-Houdin's appearance in London, as is proven in chapter IX. of -this book. - -Therefore, if Anderson's programme was passe and uninteresting, so also -must have been the one offered by Robert-Houdin! - -[Illustration: Poster used by Anderson during his closing week at the -Strand Theatre, London, January 11th, 1848. From the Harry Houdini -Collection.] - -Second, John Henry Anderson was not in London when Robert-Houdin arrived -there in May, 1848. He was on the Continent, and a bill reproduced will -show that he was in Germany in January, 1848, and did not open at the -Strand Theatre until December 26th, 1848. Then it was Robert-Houdin who -had just returned from the provinces, not Anderson. Anderson had been -playing the capitals of Europe. Robert-Houdin had been in Manchester, -England. - -Robert-Houdin again skilfully twists the truth to suit his own ends. He -actually states that Anderson, returning from a tour of the provinces, -used a new poster, a caricature of the famous painting, "Napoleon's -Return from Elba": - -"In the foreground Anderson was seen affecting the attitude of the great -man; above his head fluttered an enormous banner bearing the words 'The -Wonder of the World'; while, behind him and somewhat lost in the shade, -the Emperor of Russia and several other monarchs stood in a respectful -posture. As in the original picture, the fanatic admirers of the Wizard -embraced his knees, while an immense crowd received him triumphantly. In -the distance could be seen the equestrian statue of the Iron Duke, who, -hat in hand, bowed before him, the Great Wizard; and lastly, the very -dome of St. Paul's bent towards him most humbly. - -"At the bottom was the inscription, - - RETURN OF THE NAPOLEON OF NECROMANCY. - -"Regarded seriously, this picture would be found a puff in very bad -taste; but as a caricature it is excessively comic. Besides, it had the -double result of making the London public laugh and bringing a great -number of shillings into the skilful puffer's pockets." - -[Illustration: Eugene Bosco, son of the original Bosco. From the Harry -Houdini Collection.] - -Reference to my collection of Anderson programmes and press clippings -proves that while on the Continent his performances had created such a -sensation that, according to the ethics and etiquette of his profession, -Anderson was quite justified in assuming the title of "The Napoleon of -Necromancy" and in depicting even kings and noblemen admiring his -abilities as a conjurer. But, alas, Robert-Houdin had played only before -English and French monarchs, not before the other crowned heads of -Europe, including the Czar of Russia and the German Kaiser! - -It required weeks and months of browsing in old book- and print-shops, -national libraries, and rare collections on my part to prove that -Anderson had really played these engagements, when his bitter rival, -Robert-Houdin, his heart eaten with jealousy until his sense of honor -and truth was hopelessly blunted, was claiming that Anderson had just -returned from a trip in the English provinces. - -It will be noted by reference to the Anderson programme that he had been -engaged only for the Christmas holidays, but despite Robert-Houdin's -claim that he was a failure and was obliged to close and seek new fields -of conquest in the provinces, Anderson's engagement was extended. He -remained at the Strand until January 11th, 1848, then after a brief -provincial tour he actually returned to London and played to big -receipts. Again and again he appeared in London. Far from being the -unpopular, forgotten ex-magician pictured by Robert-Houdin, he performed -with great success at the St. James Theatre, London, in 1851. -Robert-Houdin appeared in London for the last time in 1853, but in 1865 -"the despised and forgotten Anderson" was there again, creating a furor -in his exposure of the Davenport Brothers. - -[Illustration: John Henry Anderson as he appeared in his later years. -From a cut in the Harry Houdini Collection.] - -Robert-Houdin might have been justified in criticising Anderson's -sensational advertising methods, for these were entirely opposed to the -more elegant and conservative methods employed by the French conjurer. -But certainly he was not justified in picturing his rival as one who -had passed his prime, whose popularity had waned, whose repertoire no -longer attracted the public. For, in addition to duplicating -Robert-Houdin's entire repertoire, Anderson offered tricks of which -Robert-Houdin knew nothing, and for years to come he constantly -reconstructed his programmes, keeping them strictly up-to-date. - -Anderson did die a poor man, but this was not because the -amusement-loving public had wearied of him. A popular performer, like so -many of his class he did not know how to invest his huge earnings. It is -known that he gave $20,000 to various charities, while no record of -Robert-Houdin's charities exists. He was burned out several times. He -lost money through a bad contract made for his Australian tour. Certain -investments dropped in value because of the Civil War in the United -States, during which England sympathized with the South. Finally, during -his American tour after the Civil War, Anderson played the Southern -States, then steeped in bitterness toward the North, and was unfortunate -enough to bill himself as "The Great Wizard of the North." This roused -the Southern prejudice to white heat, he was almost mobbed, and was -finally driven from that section of the country. He went into -bankruptcy, November 19th, 1866, and died at Darlington, County Durham, -England, Feb. 3rd, 1874. His remains were interred, in accordance with -his dying request, at Aberdeen, Scotland. - -So ends the true history of Robert-Houdin. The master-magician, -unmasked, stands forth in all the hideous nakedness of historical proof, -the prince of pilferers. That he might bask for a few hours in public -adulation, he purloined the ideas of magicians long dead and buried, and -proclaimed these as the fruits of his own inventive genius. That he -might be known to posterity as the king of conjurers, he sold his -birthright of manhood and honor for a mere mess of pottage, his -"Memoirs," written by the hand of another man, who at his instigation -belittled his contemporaries, and juggled facts and truth to further his -egotistical, jealous ambitions. - -But the day of reckoning is come. Upon the history of magic as -promulgated by Robert-Houdin the searchlight of modern investigation has -been turned. Credit has been given where it belongs, to those magicians -who preceded Robert-Houdin and upon whose abilities and achievements -Robert-Houdin built his unearned, unmerited fame. The dust of years has -been swept from names long forgotten, which should forever shine in the -annals of magic. - -Thus end, also, my researches, covering almost two decades of time, -researches in which my veneration for old-time magicians grew with each -newly discovered bit of history; researches during which my respect for -the profession of magic has grown by leaps and bounds. And the fruits of -these researches I now lay before the only true jury, the great reading -public. My task is finished. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -Inventions and and Discoveries=> Inventions and Discoveries {pg 14} - -from his autobigraphy=> from his autobiography {pg 34} - -is supposed so have been engraved=> is supposed to have been engraved -{pg 59 illustration caption} - -is his autobiography=> in his autobiography {pg 89 illustration caption} - -woudn=> wound {pg 160} - -perfomances=> performances {pg 187} - -though as far as maiming him for life=> though not as far as maiming him -for life {pg 281} - -the frontispiese=> the frontispiece {pg 48 illustration caption} - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, by Harry Houdini - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN *** - -***** This file should be named 42723.txt or 42723.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/2/42723/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Libraries and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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