{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 372, "folder": "", "text": "3 6105 004 841 255\n&'\nSTANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES\nSTANFORD AUXILIARY LIBRARY\nSTANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305-6004\n(650) 723-9201\nsalcirc@sulmail.stanford.ed\nAll books are subject to recall.\nDATE DUE\nJUN\nJUC0 1 1002\n2022"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 369, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGB\nTolmaque\n289\nTrick, Suspension\n49,222,31\nTom and Jerry\n230\nTrick, Suspension, Ethereal,\nTom Thumb, Gen\n24I\n222-312\nTorrini, 35,38,52,140,209,\nTrick, Suspension, Chlorifo-\n250,300,301\nreene\n233\nToulet, Mlle. Louise\n289\nTrick, Suspension, of Sheshal 230\nTours de Cartes et de Gibe-\nTrick, The Inexhaustible Bot-\nci\u00e8re\n279\ntle\n49,312\nTravelling Bottle\n185,188\nTrick, The Pastry Cook of the\nTravelling Card, Poster of\nPalais Royal\n49\nJacobs.\n151\nTrick, The Vaulting Trapeze\nTribune, New York\n240,241\nAutomaton\n49, 141\nTrick, Apple-Tree\n5 I\nTrick, Watch in Loaf of\nTrick, Basket, Illustrations,\nBread\n276,277,279\nTrick, Writing and Drawin~\nTrick, Bell\n242\nFigure\n49\nTrick Cabinet of the Daven-\nTwo Elegant Automata\n172\nport Brothers\n290\nTrick, Chinese, of Climbing\nUnmasking of Robert-Hou-\ninto Air\n227\ndin\n33\nChinese, Reproduction\nUre, Andrew, M.D\nof\n227\nT. rick Clock, Diagram of\nI 60\nVan Esten, Mr\n168\nTrick Disappearing Hand-\nVaucanson\n41,95\nkerchief\n245-254\nVerlag. Heusers\n287\nTrick, Indian Basket,\nVoisin\n163\n276,277,291\nTrick. Magic Clock. Diagram\nWalking Cards, The\n156\nof\n160\nWater-spouter\n272,273,275\nTrick, Mystic\n163\nWater-spouter and Juggler\n27.\nTrick, Obedient Card, fea-\nWebster, Daniel\n243\ntured on a Barney Eagle\nWeiss, Rev. M. S.,\nPoster\n156\ndedication page\nTrick, Orange-Tree\n51-55\nWeiss, Ehrich (Harry Hot-\nTrick, Orange-Tree, Diagram\ndini)\nFrest. spi\u00e8ce\nof\n52\nWeiss, Theodore Hardeen 1\n25\nTrick, Rope-tying\n293\nWhite Magic\n35\nTrick, Second Sight 49,200,312\nWhite Magic Exposed\nTrick, Secret of Trained Bird\nWhite, John\nI2\nand Bell\n243\nWhite, John, Portrait of\n15\nTrick, Shoulder of Mutton\nWiegleb, Johann Cliristian\n14\nand Card\n257\nWillmann, Carl\n305\n1-\nGENERAL BOOKBINDING co.\n125ST\nC34\n6017\n75\n53\nED\nQUALITY CONTROL MARK"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 368, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nHenri, Second Sight. 218\nSpirit Bell\n24\nl'Almanach de Ca-\nSuspension, Brahmin Illustra-\nTO\n229\ntion\n229\nge, George, & Co\n278\nSuspension Chloriforeene.\n233\nJules de\n116, 128\nSuspension Chloriforeene\nlarence Theatre\n256\nLithograph\n234\nInn\n166\nSuspension, Ethereal\n222,312\nSuspension featured by Com-\nW\n217\npars Herrmann, a Pro-\nerz\n28q\ngramme of 1848\n232\nRamo, Handbill. 282, 286\nSuspension Trick\n222\nJames\n25\nSuspension Trick, As Mrs.\nJames, Poster\n26\nLeona A. Anderson ap-\nberg\n267\npeared\n236\n112, 116,172,181 182\nSuspension Trick, Programme\nPoster\n114\nPresenting, by Alexander\nProgrammeof 1821, 182\nHeimburger\n242\nProgramme used in\nSuspension Trick used by\n113\nRobert-Houdin\n224\nic Amusements\n35\nSight\n200\nTalking Machine, Hanger\nSight, by M. and Mme.\nAdvertisement\n88\n218\nTaste, Engraving by Hogarth\n7\u00b0\nSight, Illustration\n201\nTestot Handbill\n253\nSight of the Young\nTestot, M. F\u00e9lix\n255\nlanders\n214\nTestot Programme featuring\nde la Prestidigitation 49\nCabalistic Art\n254\nof Conjuring and\nTheatre, Adelphia\n256\n265,278\nTheatre, Garrick\n286\nof Magic\n49,302\nTheatre, Liverpool\n256\nof Stage Conjuring.\nTheatre, Robert-Houdin\n47\n279,281,299\nTheatre, Royal Clarence\n256\n230\nThe Secrets of Conjuring and\nonfectioner's\n166\nMagic\n265-278\nre of Decremps\n75\nThe Secrets of Stage Conjur-\nElder & Co\n54\ning\n279, 281, 299\nof American Magi-\nThe Temple of the Muses\n56\n397\nThe Trapeze Automaton....\n166\nens of Penmanship\nThe Trapeze Performer\n168\nited by Droz's Writing\nThe Trapeze Tumbler\n222\nmaton in 1796 and\nThiodon Bill of 1825\n173.1 174\nrespectively\n84\nThree Talented Highlanders. 214\n[331]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 367, "folder": "", "text": "ILLUSTRATIONS\nPAGE\nHoudin, Robert, Poster Used at St. James Theatre, London\n40\nHoudin, Robert, Poster Used for Emile Houdin Benefit, 1848\n43\nHoudin, Robert, Poster Used in London, 1848\n42\nHoudin, Robert, Poster Used in 1852\n223,224\nHoudin, Robert, Poster Used to Advertise His Trapeze Perform-\nance\n167\nHoudin, Robert, Programme for the Opening of Robert Houdin's\n*\nTheatre in Paris\n37\nHoudin, Robert, The only Poster Showing his Complete Stage-\nsetting\n36\nHoudini, Harry\nFrontispiece\nIndian Basket Trick\n276,277,279\nIndian Juggler's Handbill\n283\nIngleby's Book Frontispiece\n259\nIngleby Handbill Dated 1808\n258\nJacobs, M., Lithograph\n158\nJacobs Poster Featuring the Travelling Card\n151\nJefferini Handbill Dated 1833\n256\nKatterfelto\n165\nKatterfelto Clipping of 1782\n161\nLauro, Ching Lau, Handbill\n23I\nLe Confiseur Galant\n139\nLeschot, Jean Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric, Portrait\n95\nLouis Programme of 1815\n108\nMacallister, Andrew, Portrait\n193\nMacallister, Domingo\n134\nMacallister Programme\n192\nM'Kean, Master, Front and Back of Original Handbill distributed\nin London Streets in 1831\n213\nManfrede, Blasius de Manfre or Blaise, Rare Woodcut\n272\nMarchand, Floram\n275\nMarriot Programme Featuring Cabalistic Art in 1831\n255\nMysterious Lady Billing\n215\nMysterious Lady Cut\n2 1 6\nNeve, Richard, Frontispiece, 1715\n17\nPhilipsthal, de, Poster Used in 1811\n104\nPhilipsthal Programme of 1806\n173\nPhilipsthal Programme of 1803\n102,103\nPhillippe and Assistant Domingo\n134\nPhillippe Lithograph, 1842\n137\nPhillippe Poster\n184\nPhillippe Poster Used in 845-46\n132\n[iv]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 366, "folder": "", "text": "ILLUSTRATIONS\nPAGE\nEckartshausen's Clock Trick\n160\nEngraving, Reproduction of, from an Old German Encyclopedia\n227\nEvanion, Henry Evans\n22\nExposure of Barney Eagle\n154,155\nFaber, Professor, Hanger Advertising Talking Machine\n9\u00b0\nFalck Poster Used in 1835\n183\nFawkes Advertisement\n60,61,62\nFawkes Clipping\n64,65,66,67\nFawkes, Isaac, Portrait\n59\nFrikell, Herr und Frau\n3\u00b0\nFrikell Villa\n28\nFrikell, Wiljalba, in His Youth\n297\nGarnerin Poster Used in 1815\n120\nGoose Poster\n220\nGyngell, Lithograph\n126\nGyngell, Portrait of\n122\nGyngell Poster Used in 1816\nI2I\nGyngell Programme of 1823\n125\nHaddock Advertisement, 1706\n166\nHandbill Advertising the Fake Automatic Artist, 1826\nIII\nHardeen, Theo. Weiss\n25\nHeimburger, Alexander, Illustration\n24\u00b0\nHeimburger, Alexander, Portrait of\n238\nHeimburger, Alexander, Poster\n242\nHeller, Robert and Haidee, Portraits.\n202\nHeller, Robert, Grave of\n208\nHeller, Robert, Programme of 1851, only one in existence\n204\nHeller Poster Used in 1853\n206\nHerrmann, Compars, Billings\n196,19\nHerrmann, Compars, Portrait\n194\nHerrmann, Compars, Programme\n232\nHocus-Pocus, Frontispiece Second Edition, 1635\n10\nHofzinser, Johann Nep, Engraving\n162\nHogarth's Engraving Entitled 'Taste'\n7\u00b0\nHone's Every Day Book,\" Reproduction of page 226\n68\nHoudin and Son Emile\n201\nHoudin Bas-Relief\n47\nHoudin Grave\n46\nHoudin, Robert\n8,24,34,41,48\nHoudin, Robert, Favorite Lithograph for Advertising Purposes\n38\nHoudin, Robert, First Appearance before Queen Victoria\n39\nHoudin, Robert, Poster Used at Sadler's Wells, 1853\n44\n[iii]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 365, "folder": "", "text": "ILLUSTRATIONS\nPAGR\nBreslaw Lithograph\n164\nBuck, English Conjurer, Only Portrait Known\n257\nBuck Handbill Dated 1844\n261\nCabalistic Art\n254\nCabalistic Art Featured on Marriott Programme in 1831\n255\nCabalistic Art Featured on Testot Programme in 1826\n254\nCabinet Trick Offered by Davenport Brothers\n200\nCagliostro, Comtesse de, Portrait of\n251\nCagliostro, l'Almanach de, The Brahmin's Suspension\n229\nCagliostro, Rare Pastel Portrait\n248\nCharles Poster Used in 1820.\n128\nChinese Magicians\n227\nChing Lau Lauro Handbill\n23X\nClipping Advertising the Writing and Drawing Figures Exhibited\nby Jacquet Droz\n99\nClipping of 1812 Proving the Partnership of de Philipsthal and\nMaillardet\n197\nClipping Used by Christopher Pinchbeck in 728\n54\nClock Trick, Eckartshausen's\n160\nCornillot, M., Reproduction of Handbill\n81\nDavenport Brothers' Announcement\n292\nDavenport Brothers\n14\nDavenport Brothers' Cabinet Trick\n200\nDavenport Brothers in Their Prime, Portraits of\n288\nDecremps, Henri\n74\nDecremps Signature\n76\nD\u00f6bler, Farewell Programme\n180\nD\u00f6bler, Ludwig, Portrait\n187,\n100\nD\u00f6bler Programme\n19.1\nD\u00f6bler Programme Dated 1842\n188\nDomingo Macallister\n134\nDon Carlos, \"the Double-sighted Dog Billing Used\n221\nDroz Automaton\n96,98\nDroz Figure of Cupid\n80\nDroz, Henri-Louis Jacquet\n94\nDroz, Jacquet, Drawing Figure\nTOO\nDroz, Pierre Jacquet, Portrait of\n02\nDroz Writing Automaton Specimens in 1796\n86\nDutchwoman, Decoration Used to Advertise\n214\nEagle, Barnardo, Frontispiece from Eagle's Book\n153\nEagle, Barney, Poster\n156\nEckartshausen's Automatic Rope Vaulter\n169\n[ii]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 364, "folder": "", "text": "Anderson Poster Featuring Card Trick Used in 836-37\n142\nAnderson Poster Used in 1838\n147\nAnderson Poster Used in London, 1848\n313\nAnderson's Billing of 1838 Featuring \"Napoleon's Trick\n150\nAnderson's Book Cover Design\n148\nAnderson's Inexhaustible Bottle Trick\n186\nAnderson's, J. H., Birthplace\n145\nAnderson's Opening Programme, 1848\n309\nAnderson's Poster, Exposing Barney' Eagle's Tricks\n154,155\nAstley, Philip, Esq\n19\nBamberg, David Leendert\n140\n\" Barney,\" alias The Impostor Wizard, Window Poster Issued by\nAnderson\nI 55\nBarnum, P. T\n88\nBasch, Ernst\n139\nBertram, Charles (James Bassett)\n20\nBlitz, Signor Antonio\n18\nBologna Bill Used in 1812\n170\nBologna Poster Used in 1820\n118\nBosco, Bartolomeo, in His Prime\n301\nBosco, Eugene\n315\nBosco, Grave of\n306\nBosco, Madame, the only Photograph of\n3\u00b05\nBottle Trick, Inexhaustible\n186\nBrahmin, The Suspension\n229\nBreslaw's Frontispiece on Book on Magic, \"The Last Legacy,\"\nI44\n(i]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 363, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nPinetti, 23,35, 38, 52, 69, 71,\nProgramme of de Philipsthal\n73, 76, 171, 209, 2II, 213,\nBenefit\nIIO\n221, 298, 300, 301, 302\nProgramme of D\u00f6bler\n188\nPinetti, Chevalier\n182\nProgramme of Macallister\n192\nPinetti, Clipping featuring\nPunch\n177\nSecond Sight\n210\nPunch Cartoon reproduced,\nPinetti, Engraving of\n7\u00b2\nproving J. H. Anderson's\nPinetti, Signora\n211,213\nInexhaustible Bottle Trick 186\nPocket, Conjurer's\n160\nPolk, President\n243\nRamo Samee Handbill 282,286\nPolonnese\n1 7 2\nRannin Lithograph\n269\nPonsin, J. N\n278\nRannin Lithograph showing\nPorta, John Baptist\n12\nWalking on Swords\n269\nPorta, John Baptist, Por-\nRare Poster of Learned Goose 220\ntrait of\nII\nRaynaly, Mons. E\n69\nPortrait of Buck\n257\nRecreations, Hooper's\n2II\nPortrait of Compars Herr-\nRecreations, Physical a n d\nmann\n194\nMathematical, by Guyot\n143\nPortrait of Eugene Bosco\n315\nRecr\u00e9ations Physiques\n279\nPortrait of Henry E. Evanion\n22\nRedmond, Professor\n289\nPortrait of Henri Robin\n198\nReproduction of an Engrav-\nPortrait of Robert and\ning of Chinese Trick Climb-\nHaidee Heller\n202\ning into the Air\n227\nPortrait of Wiljalba Frikell\nReproduction of an Illustra-\nin His Youth\n297\ntion in \"Aufschl\u00fcsse zur\nPoster of Robert-Houdin on\nMagie'\n169\nwhich his Complete Reper-\nReproduction of Cartoon in\ntoire Appears\n224\nPunch, 1843, proving An-\nPoster used by Anderson in\nderson's Inexhaustible Bot-\nLondon, 1848\n313\ntle Trick\n186\nPoster used by Falck of Koe-\nReproduction of Handbill\nnigsberg\n183\nused to Advertise Master\nPoster used by Heller\n206\nM'Kean\n212\nPresident Polk\n235,243\nReproduction of Handbills\nPrint showing Cabinet Trick. 290\nused by Mysterious Lady. 216\nProgramme, Farewell, of D\u00f6-\nRobert, Jean-Eugene,\nbler\n189\n33,34,35,40\nProgramme of Anderson 848 309\nRobert, Prosper\n33\nProgramme of Ching Lau\nRobertson, E. G\n76\nLauro\n231\nRobin, Henri, 197,199,217\nProgramme of Compars Herr-\n289,296,297,298\nmann\n196,197,232\nRobin, Henri, Portrait of\n198\n[330]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 362, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nModern Magician\n239\nOrigin of Flowers\n222\nMorley's Memoirs of Bartho-\nOriginal Billing used by Mys-\nlomew Fair\n16\nterious Lady\n215\nMorse, S. F. B\n24I\nMortimer, Dr. W. Golden\n207\nPastel Portrait of Cagliostro. 248\nMortimer's Mysteries\n207\nPastry Cook of the Palais\nMoving Pictures\n67\nRoyal\n116,172,193\nMysterious Lady, Billing used\nPedestal Clock\n166\nby\n215\nPepper, Mr\n299\nMysterious Lady, Cut of\n216\nPererilli, Count\n235\nMystic Bell Trick, The\n163\nPhantasmagoria, A de Phil-\nipsthal Programme\n102,103\nNaconnier, Fran\u00e7oise Mar-\nPhilipsthal's Programme of\nguerite Olympe\n33\n806\n173\nNarrowness of Robert-Hou-\nPhillippe, 23, 45, 116, 129,\ndin's Memoirs\n295\n133, 135, 184, 185, 193, 195\nNatural Magic, by Johann\nPhillippe Lithograph and his\nChristian Wiegleb\n14\nScotch Assistant Domingo. 134\nNatural Magic, by Simon\nPhillippe Pastel Portrait\n130\nWitgeest\nI 2\nPhillippe Poster\n132,184\nNatural Magic Frontispiece\n13\nPhillippe Poster featuring\nNatural Magick in XX Bookes\nthe Infernal Bottle\n184\nby John Baptist Porta\nI 2\nPhilosophy, Course of Exper-\nNeve, Richard\n14\nimental\n181\nNeve, Richard, Frontispiece,\nPhoto-engraving of Bartolo-\nWork on Magic\n17\nmeo Bosco\n301\nNewspaper, The Lady's\n177\nPhotograph of Alexander\nNiblo's Garden\n24I\nHeimburger\n238\nNoriet, M\n35\nPhotograph of Bosco's Grave 306\nNouveau Manuel Complet\nPhotograph of Mme. Bosco.\n305\nSorciers, les sc\u00e8nes de Ven-\nPinchbeck, Christopher,\ntriloquie\n279\n52, 54, 56, 58\nNouveile Magie Blanche D\u00e9-\nPinchbeck, Christopher, Jr.,\nvoil\u00e9e et Cours Complet de\na very rare Mezzotint\n57\nPrestidigitation\n278\nPinchbeck, Christopher, Sr.,\nThe Oldest and Rarest\nObedient Cards, The\n141-156\nMezzotint in the Wor'd\nOld and New Magic\n16\nPertaining to the History\nOld London Fairs\n16\nof Magic\n53\nOld Showman, The\n16\nPinchbeck, Clipping from\nOpre\n140\nLondon Daily Post of Nov.\nOrange Trick\n51-55\n30. 1729\n54\n[329]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 361, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nLee, Sidney\n54\nlin in 1784 by Johann\nLe Manuel des Sorciers\n279\nSamuel Halle\n14\nLe Prieur\u00e9\n49\nMagic, The Old and the New,\nL'Escalopier, Count de\n43,280\nby H. R. Evans\n16\nLes Radiations Lumineuses.\n49\nMagie des XIX. Jahrhun-\nLes Secrets de la Prestidigita-\nderts von Uriarte\n287\ntion et de la Magie\n278\nMagie et Physique amusante,\nLes Tricheries des Grecs\n49\n49,279\nLetter to Evanion from Gyn-\nMahomet\n285\ngell\n124\nMaillardet\n105\nLetters on Natural Magic\n181\nMandeville, Sir John\n11,226\nLe Voltigeur Trapeze\n166\nManfrede, Blaise\n271,274\nLewis, Angelo J\n265\nManfrede, Blaise, Wood-cut. 272\nLithograph of Rannin doing\nMarchand, Floram\n274\nthe Sword-walking Act\n269\nMarchand, Floram, Publica-\nLithograph showing All of\ntion\n275\nPhillippe's Tricks\n137\nMarriott, the Celebrated, Pro-\nLiverpool Theatre\n256\ngramme featuring Cabal-\nLives of the Conjurers\n16,228\nistic Art\n255\nLondon Daily Post Clipping\nMartin, Henri\n104\nof Christopher Pinchbeck,\nMartinka, Francis J\n207\nfrom Nov. 30, 1728\n54\nMaskelyne\nIIO\nLondon Telegraph Clipping\nMasonic Order\n252\nof March, 1812\n107\nMateria Prima\n252\nLouis Programme\n108,171\nMechanism, View of Jacquet-\nDroz Writing Machine\n98\nMacallister\n134,135,195\nMelies, M\n48\nMacallister, Andrew, Por-\nMemoirs of Marquis de Mer-\ntrait of\n193\nville\n287\nMacallister, Brick-mason.\n193\nMemoirs, Robert-Houdin's,\nMacallister Programme\n192\n14-51, 52, 176, 203, 217,\nM'Kean, Louis Gordon\n213\n2 22,225,245,266,268,280,\nM'Kean, Master, Handbill\n212\n295,296,300,302,318\nMacKenzie, R. Shelton\n49,265\nMerode, Cleo de\n3I\nMa\u00eblzel\n266,267\nMerville, Memoirs of Marquis\nMag, Miss Matilda\n289\nde\n287\nMagazine, Gentlemen's\n56\nMezzotint of Christopher\nMagic Bottle\n192\nPinchbeck, Jr\n57\nMagic, Natural and Unnat-\nMezzotint of Christopher\nural, by Gantziony\n1 2\nPinchbeck, Sr\n53\nMagic, or the Magical Power\nMitchell, Dr. J. K\n266\nof Nature, printed in Ber-\nMitchell, John\n45,297\n[328]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 360, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\npeared to the English Crit-\nIndian Jugglers Handbill 283\nics. Reproduced from the\nInexhaustible Bottle, The,\nIllustrated London News,\n176, 181, 184, 186, 188, 195, 222\nDecember 23, 1848\n4t\nInfernal Bottle Poster used\nHoudin, Robert-, Bas-relief\nby Phillippe in 1838\n184\non Tombstone\n47\nIngleby Handbill\n258\nHoudin, Robert-) Grave of\n46\nIngleby the Senior\n256,258\nHoudin, Robert-, last Photo-\nIngleby's Book, Frontispiece,\ngraph taken and used as\nWhole Art of Legerdemain 259\nthe Frontispiece for Mem-\nIntroduction\n7\noirs.\n48\nInventions, History of\n211\nHoudin. Robert-, only Poster\nshowing his Complete Stage\nJacobs, M.\n149,296,297\nSetting\n36\nJacobs, M. Portrait of\n158\nHoudin, Robert-, Portrait\n8\nJacobs, M., Poster\n151\nHoudin, Robert-, Poster on\nJefferini Handbill\n256\nwhich His Complete Reper-\nJefferini. Mr\n256\ntoire Appears\n223\nJeux de Soci\u00e9t\u00e9\n279\nHoudin, Robert- Poster used\nJugglers, Indian, Handbill\n283\nin London in 1848\n42\nJournal des Sciences\n268\nHoudin. Robert-, Poster used\nJournal. The Court\n177\nito Advertise His Trapeze\nPerformance\n167\nKatterfelto\n23,161,166\nHoudin, Robert- Poster when\nKatterfelto Clipping of 1782. 161\nhe Played at Sadler'sWells,\nKatterfelto Portrait\n165\nLondon, in 1853\n44\nKempelen, M. de\n266\nHoudin, Robert-, Rare Litho-\nKing George and Queen Char-\ngraph\n24\nlotte Heads, executed by\nHoudini, Harry, Portrait,\nthe Droz Drawing Figure\nFrontispiece\nin 1774\nTOO\nHow to Become a Wizard\n278\nKoin King, The, T. Nelson\nHulton, Charles\n181\nDowns\n265\nKraus, K. K\n260\nIllusionniste, The\n199\nIllustration of Hindoo Basket\nLady's Newspaper\n177\nTrick\n276,277,279\nL'Almanach Cagliostro\n299\nIllustration of the Brahmin\nLa Magie Blanche D\u00e9voil\u00e9e,\nSuspension\n229\nor White Magic Exposed,\nInaudi\n203\n35.52.211\nIndian Basket Trick,\nLearned Goose\n210\n276,277,279\nLearned Goose Poster\n220\nIndian Jugglers\n275\nLe Confiseur Galant\n137\n[327]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 359, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nHandbill of Jefferini\n256\nHistory of Inventions\n211\nHandbill of Original Indian\nHistory of Inventions and\nJugglers\n283\nDiscoveries, by John Beck-\nHandbill of Ramo Samee.\n282\nmann\n14\nHandbill of Testot\n253\nHobbs, Hart & Cou, London 28:\nHandbill, Reproduced Front\nHocus-Poeus\n43. TSo\nand Back, used to Adver-\nHoeus-Pocus, Frontispiece\ntise Master M'Kean\n: 212\nsecond edition. 1635\n10,12\nHandbill used by Anderson\nHoffmann, Professor,\nin Germany\n311\n265, 278,279. 281, 286\nHandkerchief, Disappearing,\nHofzinser, Johann Nep., rare\n245-254\nEngraving of\n162\nHardee's \"Tactics\"\n7\nHooper's Recreations\n211\nHeads of King George and\nHoudin, Cecile Eglantine\n33\nQueen Charlotte, executed\nHoudin. Emile\n47\nin their Presence by Droz\nHoudin, Emile, Benefit Post-\nDrawing Figure in 1774\n100\ner at St. James Theatre in\nHebb, William\n62\n1848.\n42\nHeimburger, Alexander, II-\nHoudin, Favorite Lithograph\nlustration\n24\u00b0\nfor Advertising Purpos\u00e9s\nHeimburger, Alexander. Pho-\nused by Robert-Houdin\n38\ntograph of\n238\nHoudin, Jean-Eugene Ro-\nHeimburger, Alexander, Pro-\nbert- Portrait taken in 1868\n34\ngramme, the Suspension\nHoudin Poster announcing\nTrick\n242\nthe Appearance of Robert-\nHeimburger, Herr\n233.237\nHoudin before Queen Vic-\nHeller, Robert\n205,207\ntoria and her Court\n39\nHeller, Robert and Haidee,\nHoudin Poster used during\nPortraits of\n202\nan Eastern Engagement at\nHeller, Robert, Grave\n208\nthe St. James Theatre,\nHeller, Robert, Programme. - 204\nLondon\n49\nHeller, Robert, Poster\n206\nHoudin Programme for the\nHenry, M\n116,125\nOpening of Robert-Houdin\nHerald, New York\n241\nTheatre in Paris, July 3.\nHerrmann, Alexander\n179\n845\n37\nHerrmann, Compars,\nHoudin, Robert-, 7. 16, 23,\n25, 195,233,235,296,297,299\n35. 38. 45,\nHerrmann, Compars, Best\n50, 52. 195. 197. 235\nPortrait in Existence\n194\nHoudin, Robert-, and Son\nHerrmann. Compars, Billing 196\nEmile, Illustration pre-\nHerrmann, Compars, Pro-\nsenting Second Sight......\n201\ngrammes\n197,232\nHoudin. Robert-, as he ap-\n[326]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 358, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nFaber, Prof\n88\nGantziony, Natural and Un-\nFalaise, James de\n275\nnatural Magic, dated 1489 I 2:\nFalck of Koenigsberg,\nGarde Fran\u00e7aise\n222\n182, 183, 184\nGarnerin\n116,119\nFalck of Koenigsberg Poster 183\nGarnerin Poster\nI20\nFantastic Portfolio\n222\nGarrick Theatre\n286\nFather of English Prose\n226\nGazette, Evening\n24I\nFawkes\n14, 51, 52, 56,58\nGentlemen's Magazine\n56\nFawkes Advertisement\n55,60\nGlobe, The\n177\nFawkes, Isaac, Portrait of, 59, 68\nGoose, Learned\n219\nFawkes Newspaper Clipping,\nGoose, Learned, Poster\n220,\n61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67\nGrande Initiation au vraie\nFeliciani, Seraphinia, Com-\nPratique des C\u00e9l\u00e8bres Phy-\ntesse de Cagliostro, rare\nsiciens-Prestidigitateurs.\n278:\nPortrait\n251\nGrave of Bartolomeo Bosco\n306\nFifty Years in the Magic Cir-\nGrave of Robert Heller\n208.\ncle\n267\nGrave of Robert-Houdin\n46.\nFlora's Gift\n183,100\nGrisy, Count Edmond de\n38:\nFlowers, Creation of\n190\nGuillon, Marie Catherine\n33:\nFlowers, Origin of\n222\nGun Delusion, The\n128,155\nFrikell, Herr und Frau, Por-\nGutle, Johann Conrad\n163,\ntrait of\n3\u00b0\nGuyot's Physical and Math-\nFrikell, Villa\n28\nematical Recreations\n14.3.\nFrikell, Wiljalba, 9, 26,27\nGyngell,\n29,31.32,235,296,299\n25,116,121,124,166,172\nFrikell, Wiljalba, in his\nGyngell's Colored Lithograph 126.\nYouth\n297\nGyngell's Letter to Evanion 124\nFrontispiece from Breslaw's\nGyngell's Portrait\nI22\nBook on Magic\n144\nGyngell's Poster\nI2I\nFrontispiece from Eagle's\nGyngell's Programme\n125\nBook\n259\nFrontispiece from Hocus Po-\nHaddock\n105,116,117\ncus, second edition of 1635,\nHaddock Advertisement\n106\nIO-12\nHalle, Johann Samuel\n14\nFrontispiece from Ingleby's\nHalle's, Johann Samuel, Ma-\nBook, Whole Art of Leger-\ngic or The Magical Power\ndemain\n259\nof Nature\n14.\nFrontispiece from Richard\nHamilton\n45, 28q.\nNeve's Book on Magic\n17\nHandbill Advertising the\nFrontispiece from Simon\nFake Automatic Artist\nIII\nWitgeest\n13\nHandbill of Buck\n261\nFrost, Thomas.\n16,228\nHandbill of Ingleby\n258:\n1325]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 357, "folder": "", "text": "93\nDecremps's Signature\n75\nDroz, Pierre Jacquet-, Por-\nDe Liska\n25\ntrait and Autograph\n92\nDe Philipsthal 110,171,173,174 Droz Writing Automatons,\nDe Philipsthal Poster\n104\nSpecimens of Penmanship\nDe Philipsthal, Programme\nrespectively in 1796 and\nof Benefit of\nIIO\n1906\n84\nDe Philipsthal Programme\nDunkell\n197\nof 1806\n173\nDutchwoman's\nDecoration\nDer Moderne Zauberer\n239\nused to Advertise\n214\nDesaguliers, Dr\n181\nDiagram Exposes the Magic\nEagle, Barney\n149\nClock Trick\n160\nEagle's, Barney, Tricks Ex-\nDiagram of Orange - tree\nposed on an Anderson Pos-\nTrick\n52\nter\n154,155\nDiavolo, Antonio\n166\nEagle's Book, Frontispiece 153\nDictionary of Arts, Manufac-\nEagle's Poster featuring the\ntures and Mines\n9I\nObedient Clock Trick\n156\nDictionary of National Biog-\nEckeberg, John Carlton\n181\nraphy\n54\nEckartshausen, Hofrath\nDisappearing Handkerchief,\nvon\n143, 160, 163, 169\n245-254\nEgyptian Wine\n252\nD\u00f6bler, 25, 45, 182, 185, 187,\nEscalopier, M. del\n280\n188,192\nEthereal Suspension\n222,312\nD\u00f6bler, Ludwig, Rare Por-\nEvanion, Henry Evans, 20,\ntrait of\n187,190\n2I, 23, 25, 26, 49, 124,259\nD\u00f6bler Programmes. 188, 189,191\nEvanion, Henry Evans, Por-\nDom Pedro\n243\ntrait of\n22\nDon Carlos, Billing used by\n221\nEvanion, Letter from Gyn-\nDon Carlos, Double-sighted\ngell\n124\nDog, Billing\n22I\nEvans, Henry Ridgely, The\nDouble-sighted Dog, Don\nOld and the New Magic\n16\nCarlos\n219\nExploration de la R\u00e9tinue\n49\nDowns, T. Nelson\n265\nExposes the Magic Clock\nDroz, Henri-Louis Jacquet-,\nTrick, Diagram\n160\nPortrait of\n94\nExposing Barney Eagle's\nDroz, Jacquet-. Clipping\nIOI\nTricks on an Anderson\nDroz, Jacquet-, View of Mech-\nPoster\n154,155\nanism of Writing Automa-\nton\n98\nFaber, I\n56\n1324]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 356, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nCagliostro, Comtesse de, rare\nClipping from the London\nPortrait\n251\nTelegraph in March, 1812 107\nCagliostro, l'Almanach\n209\nClock and Watch Maker,\nCagliostro, Pastel Portrait of 248\nBritten's\n56\nCalhoun\n243\nClock, Astronomic Musical.\n55\nCard in the Pocket\n183\nClock Pedestal\n166\nCard Trick as featured by\nClock Trick, Diagram Ex-\nAnderson in 1836-1837\n142\nposes\n160\nCards, The Obedient\n141-156\nClockmaking, Berthoud's\nCaroly's L'Illusionniste\n199\nTreatise on\n35\nCastinia, Sieur\n166\nConfectioner's Shop\n166\nCentury of Inventions\n281\nConfidences d'un Prestidigita-\nCharles\n116,127\nteur\n300\nCharles Poster dated about\nConfidence et R\u00e9v\u00e9lations\n49\n821\n128\nConjurer Unmasked, The,\nChess Congress, Book of First\n74.75.168\nAmerican\n267\nConjurer's Pocket, The\n160\nChess Player, Automaton, 266, 267\nComment on Devient Sorcier 265\nChinese Trick, Reproduction\nCook, the Pastry, of the\nof an Engraving\n227\nPalais Royal\n116,172\nChing Lau Lauro Suspension 230\nCornillot\n25.52\nChing Lau Lauro Programme 231\nCornillot Handbill\n79\nChing Ling Foo.\n240\nCount Pererilli\n235\nChloriforeene Suspension.\n233\nCourse of Experimental Phi-\nChloriforeene Suspension,\nlosophy\n18:\nLithograph\n234\nCreation of Flowers\nIgo\nChronicle, The\n177\nCrystal Balls\n222\nCireus Director Astley\n10\nCrystal Box\n222\nCircus Life and Circus Celeb-\nCupid, The Figure of, as ex-\nrities\n16\necuted by the Droz Draw-\nClay, Henry\n243\ning Figure\n87\nClayton, Sir William\n49\nClipping from Newspaper fea-\nDale, E. J\n207\nturing Pinetti, Second Sight 2T0\nDavenport Brothers,\nClipping from Newspaper of\n149, ,287.289.291,316\nJacquet-Droz\n101\nDavenport Brothers, An-\nClipping from Newspaper of\nnouncement of\n202\nKatterfelto, from 1782\n161\nDavenport Brothers, Cabinet\nClipping from the London\nTrick of\n290\nDaily Post of Nov. 3\u00b0,\nDavenport Brothers, Photo-\n1728, used by Christopher\ngraphs of\n288\nPinchbeck\n54\nDean, Henry\n180\n[323]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 355, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nBalls, Crystal\n222\nBosco\n235,298,302,393\nBalsamo, Joseph\n250\nBosco, Bartolomeo, Photo-\nBamberg\n235\nengraving of\n3\u00b0\nBarnum, P. T....43.85.241) 296\nBosco's Grave, Photograph of 306\nBarnum, P. T., Portrait of\n86\nBosco, Madame, Photogmaph\nBarrel, The Inexhaustible\n180\nof\n305\nBartholomew Fair Memoirs,\nBottle, Inexhaustible, 176,\nby Morley\n16\n181, 84, 186, 188, 195, 222\nBasch, Ernst\n49.138\nBottle, Infernal, Poster used\nBasch, Ernst, and Le Confi-\nby Phillippe\n184\nseur Galant, Photograph\n139\nBottle, Magic\n192\nBasket Trick, Indian\n276,277\nBottle of Sobriety and In-\nBasket Trick, Indian Boy. II-\nebriety\n182\nlustration\n279\nBottle, Travelling\n185\nBatuta, Ian\n226\nBox, Crystal\n222\nBeckett, Mr\n219\nBrahmin Suspension Hlus-\nBeckmann\n211\ntration\n220\nBeckmann's, John, History of\nBreslaw\n3.143.103.209, 221\nInventions and Discoveries\nBreslaw, Book on Magic,\nPublished in 1797\n14\nFrontispiece of\n144\nBell Trick\n242\nBreslaw Lithograph\n164\nBenton\n143\nBreslaw, Triple Colored Lith-\nBerthoud's Treatise on\nograph of\n164\nClockmaking\n35\nBrewster, Sir David\n181\nBertram, Charles\n16\nBrick-mason Macallister\n193\nBertram, Charles, Portrait of\n20\nBritten's Clock and Watch\nBilling used by Mysterious\nMaker\n56\nLady\n215\nBroken Heart, The\n286\nBilling used for the dog, Don\nBuck, Only Known Por-\nCarlos.\n221\ntrait\n257\nBiography, Dictionary of\nBuck Handbill\n261\nNational\n54\nBismarck\n7\nCabalistic Art featured on\nBlackstone\n7\nMarriott Programme\n255\nBlitz, Signor,\n4.235.267\nCabalistic Art featured on\nBlitz, Signor Antonio, Por-\nTestot Programme\n254\ntrait of\n18\nCabalistic or Obedient Clock,\nBoaz\n23\n156-157\nBolin, T\n49,163\nCabinet Trick offered by\nBologna\n116\nDavenport Brothers\n200\nBologna Bill of 1812\n170\nCabinet Trick Print\n290\nBologna Poster\n118\nCagliostro.\n72.250.252,254\n[322]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 354, "folder": "", "text": "INDEX\nPAGE\nPAGE\nAdelphia Theatre\n256\n185, 191, 233,235,289,297\nAdvertisement from the Lon-\n308-310\ndon Daily Post during 1730\nAnderson, Mrs. Hannah\n146\nshowing the Orange Tree\nAnderson, Mrs. Leona A., as\nas Offered by the Senior\nshe Appeared in the Sus-\nFawkes\n55\npension Trick\n236\nAlbum des Soir\u00e9es\n217\nAnderson Poster,\nAlexander the Conjurer\n233\nAlexander the Conjurer, Illus-\nAnderson Window Poster Ex-\ntration\n240\nposing Barney Eagle\n155\nAllen, Prof. George\n267\nAnnouncement used by Day-\nAlthotas\n251,252\nenport Brothers\n292\nAmerican Magicians, Society\nAntonio\n302\nof\n307\nApple-tree Trick\n5r\nAnatomie of Legerdemain\n180\nAppleby's Weekly\n55\nAnciens et Nouveaux Tours\nA rts, Manufactures a n d\nd'Escamotage\n279\nMines, Dictionary of\n9. I\nAnderson and Son Lithograph\nAstley, Philip, Esq., An His-\npresenting\n'Suspension\ntorical Circus Director\n19\nChloriforeene\"\n234\nAstley, Philip, Esq., Portrait\nAnderson Billing of 1838\n150\nof\n19\nAnderson's Book Cover-de-\nAstor Library\n24I\nsign\n148\nAstronomic Musical Clock\n55\nAnderson Handbill used in\nAufschl\u00fcsse zur Magie, Repro-\nHannover, Germany\n311\nduction of an Illustration. 169\nAnderson, J. H., 14, 23, 25,\nAutograph a n d Portrait,\n119,131,145\nPierre Jacquet-Droz\n92\nAnderson, J. H., Lithograph,\nAutograph of Decremps,\n75\n186,317\nAutomata, Two Elegant\n172\nAnderson, J. H., Portrait of\nAutomaton Chess Player, 266, 267\nWife and Son\n146\nAutomaton Trapeze\n166\nAnderson, J. H., Very Rare\nAutomaton Writer of Jac-\nPoster used in 1838, 147,\nquet-Droz\n96\n[321]\n1"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 353, "folder": "", "text": ":"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 352, "folder": "", "text": "ILLUSTRATIONS\nPAGE\nPhillippe, Reproduction of Pastel Portrait\n13\u00b0\nPinchbeck, Jr., Christopher, A Very Rare Mezzotint\n57\nPinchbeck, Sr\n53\nPinetti Clipping of 1784\n2T0\nPinetti, I. I., Portrait of\n73\nPinetti, I. I., Woodcut Used in 1796\n72\nPinetti's Autograph\n79\nPinetti's Book Frontispiece\n78\nPorta, John Baptist\nII\nPoster of the Learned Goose\n220\nPoster Used for Benefit of de Philipsthal, 1829\nIIO\nProgrammes and Posters Reproduced, 26, 37,39.40,42,43,44.81,\n102, 193, 104, 108, IIO, III, II3, II4, 118, 120, 121, 125, 132,\n147. 150, 151, 154, I 55, 156, 161, 167, 170, 173, 182, 183, 184,\n188,189,191,192,196,197,204,206,212,214,215,216,220,\n221,223,224,231,232,234,242,253.254,255,256,258,261,\n269,272,282,283,292,309,311.\n3\u00b03\nRannin Lithograph, Showing Him Doing Sword-Walking Act\n269\nRobin, Henri\n198\nRobin, M. and Mme., in Second Sight\n218\nSamee, Ramo, Handbill\n282\nSavren, James, Poster Used by, in 1855\n26\nSchmidt Programme Used in 1827\n113\nSchmidt Poster\nIT4\nSchmidt Programme of 1821\n182\nSuspension Chloriforeene Lithograph\n234\nThiodon Bill of 1825\n173\nTestot, Programme Featuring Cabalistic Art in 1826\n254\nTestot Rare Handbill Printed about 1800\n253\nWater Spouter\n272\nWater Spouter and Juggler\n275\nWhite, John\n15\nWhole Art of Legerdemain, Frontispiece from Ingleby's Book\n259\nWiegleb's Diagram of Orange-Tree Trick\n52\nWitgeest's, Simon, Frontispiece from Book of Natural Magic, 1682\n13\nWriting and Drawing Figure from Manning's Robert-Houdin\nBrochure\n84\nYoung, E. W., Lithograph\n152"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 348, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\nthe hand of another man, who at his instigation belittled\nhis contemporaries, and juggled facts and truth to further\nhis egotistical, jealous ambitions.\nBut the day of reckoning is come. Upon the history\nof magic as promulgated by Robert-Houdin the search-\nlight of modern investigation has been turned. Credit\nhas been given where it belongs, to those magicians who\npreceded Robert-Houdin and upon whose abilities and\nachievements Robert-Houdin built his unearned, un-\nmerited fame. The dust of years has been swept from\nnames long forgotten, which should forever shine in the\nannals of magic.\nThus end, also, my researches, covering almost two\ndecades of time, researches in which my veneration for\nold-time magicians grew with each newly discovered bit\nof history; researches during which my respect for the\nprofession of magic has grown by leaps and bounds. And\nthe fruits of these researches I now lay before the only\ntrue jury, the great reading public. My task is finished.\n[319 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 347, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nstructed his programmes, keeping them strictly up-to-\ndate.\nAnderson did die a poor man, but this was not because\nthe amusement-loving public had wearied of him. A\npopular performer, like so many of his class he did not\nknow how to invest his huge earnings. It is known that\nhe gave $20,000 to various charities, while no record\nof Robert-Houdin's charities exists. He was burned\nout several times. He lost money through a bad con-\ntract made for his Australian tour. Certain investments\ndropped in value because of the Civil War in the United\nStates, during which England sympathized with the South.\nFinally, during his American tour after the Civil War,\nAnderson played the Southern States, then steeped in\nbitterness toward the North, and was unfortunate enough\nto bill himself as \"The Great Wizard of the North.\" This\nroused the Southern prejudice to white heat, he was al-\nmost mobbed, and was finally driven from that section\nof the country. He went into bankruptcy, November\n19th, 1866, and died at Darlington, County Durham,\nEngland, Feb. 3rd, 1874. His remains were interred, in\naccordance with his dying request, at Aberdeen, Scotland.\nSo ends the true history of Robert-Houdin. The mas-\nter-magician, unmasked, stands forth in all the hideous\nnakedness of historical proof, the prince of pilferers.\nThat he might bask for a few hours in public adulation,\nhe purloined the ideas of magicians long dead and buried,\nand proclaimed these as the fruits of his own inventive\ngenius. That he might be known to posterity as the king\nof conjurers, he sold his birthright of manhood and honor\nfor a mere mess of pottage, his \"Memoirs,\" written by\n[318]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 346, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\ncertainly he was not justified in picturing his rival as\none who had passed his prime, whose popularity had\nwaned, whose r\u00e9pertoire no longer attracted the public.\nJohn Henry Anderson as he appeared in his later years. From a cut\nin the Harry Houdini Collection.\nFor, in addition to duplicating Robert-Houdin's entire r\u00e9-\npertoire, Anderson offered tricks of which Robert-Houdin\nknew nothing, and for years to come he constantly recon-\n[317]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 345, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nand noblemen admiring his abilities as a conjurer. But,\nalas, Robert-Houdin had played only before English and\nFrench monarchs, not before the other crowned heads of\nEurope, including the Czar of Russia and the German\nKaiser!\nIt required weeks and months of browsing in old book-\nand print-shops, national libraries, and rare collections on\nmy part to prove that Anderson had really played these\nengagements, when his bitter rival, Robert-Houdin, his\nheart eaten with jealousy until his sense of honor and\ntruth was hopelessly blunted, was claiming that Anderson\nhad just returned from a trip in the English provinces.\nIt will be noted by reference to the Anderson pro-\ngramme that he had been engaged only for the Christmas\nholidays, but despite Robert-Houdin's claim that he was\na failure and was obliged to close and seek new fields of\nconquest in the provinces, Anderson's engagement was\nextended. He remained at the Strand until January\nIIth, 1848, then after a brief provincial tour he actually\nreturned to London and played to big receipts. Again\nand again he appeared in London. Far from being the\nunpopular, forgotten ex-magician pictured by Robert-\nHoudin, he performed with great success at the St. James\nTheatre, London, in 1851. Robert-Houdin appeared in\nLondon for the last time in 1853, but in 1865 \"the de-\nspised and forgotten Anderson\" was there again, creating\na furor in his exposure of the Davenport Brothers.\nRobert-Houdin might have been justified in criticising\nAnderson's sensational advertising methods, for these\nwere entirely opposed to the more elegant and conserva-\ntive methods employed by the French conjurer. But\n[316]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 344, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\ncomic. Besides, it had the double result of making the\nLondon public laugh and bringing a great number of\nshillings into the skilful puffer's pockets.\"\nReference to my collection of Anderson programmes\nEugene Bosco, son of the original Bosco. From the Harry Houdini\nCollection.\nand press clippings proves that while on the Continent\nhis performances had created such a sensation that,\naccording to the ethics and etiquette of his profession,\nAnderson was quite justified in assuming the title of \"The\nNapoleon of Necromancy \" and in depicting even kings\n[315]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 343, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nSecond, John Henry Anderson was not in London\nwhen Robert-Houdin arrived there in May, 1848. He\nwas on the Continent, and a bill reproduced will show\nthat he was in Germany in January, 1848, and did not\nopen at the Strand Theatre until December 26th, 1848.\nThen it was Robert-Houdin who had just returned from\nthe provinces, not Anderson. Anderson had been play-\ning the capitals of Europe. Robert-Houdin had been in\nManchester, England.\nRobert-Houdin again skilfully twists the truth to suit\nhis own ends. He actually states that Anderson, return-\ning from a tour of the provinces, used a new poster, a\ncaricature of the famous painting, \"Napoleon's Return\nfrom Elba\":\n\"In the foreground Anderson was seen affecting the\nattitude of the great man; above his head fluttered an\nenormous banner bearing the words \"The Wonder of\nthe World'; while, behind him and somewhat lost in the\nshade, the Emperor of Russia and several other monarchs\nstood in a respectful posture. As in the original picture,\nthe fanatic admirers of the Wizard embraced his knees,\nwhile an immense crowd received him triumphantly.\nIn the distance could be seen the equestrian statue of\nthe Iron Duke, who, hat in hand, bowed before him, the\nGreat Wizard; and lastly, the very dome of St. Paul's\nbent towards him most humbly.\n\"At the bottom was the inscription,\nRETURN OF THE NAPOLEON OF NECROMANCY.\n\"Regarded seriously, this picture would be found a\npuff in very bad taste; but as a caricature it is excessively\n[314]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 342, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\nSTRAND THEATRE\nFestively the Last wight of\nPEOFESSOR\nNND ERSON'S\nASTONISHING SOIRKES MYSTEBLEUSES,\nTO sa THE\nLegitimate Wonders of the Nineteenth Century!\nNEW WONDERS OF WITCACHAFT, An NAGIC!\nThis Evening, THURSDMY, Jau.\n-\nthe - APPEGRANCE AND\n1848\nROVAL ENTERTAINMENT,\nMistrative of the Fallecy of Magle,\n-\nTHE\nGREATEST WONDER OF\nTHE\nAGE\nSON\nWILLE\nCONDENSEL CHLOROFORM\n68\nMUST SEC\nSUAPRISING\nSGAIN\nMAZING\nBEATS\nNOYAL PROGRAMNE of SCIENTIZIC WONDERS\nPAST\nPART n.\nThe RECHANTED\n- CMANGEABLE some -\nSIGET; its Fallacy illustrated.\nCANDLE with - ANIMATED MOUCHOS\nThe EFSTIC VOLUNS\nGrand EYDRAULIO\n- NON.EFTUCT on\nThe BANE, 2 Fishing\nGRAND\nSCRAP 8008\nELECTRIS\nSCAAPS\nThes of aux WATCHES -\nThe EYSTIO\nGrand POTROUREI of\nThe Learned Deves, the Broken\nThe - - - LAST woudsa,\nANDER-INS\nOrange, and Exchanted\nSUSPENSION CILOROFOREENE\ncma of the Am; Jack in the\n(8, your NENUT\n\"Jack sa de MASTER ANDERSOS\nS. - - bie . - purcles of\nered - - Me - - - - Elhet of\nDrag. - 2 ** -\nCEAPEAU DU BIASLE\n=\n-\nANDURMON\n-\n-\nTHS will IN THE AIR, \"\n^ - - . n -\nONLT SUPPOS? A VALKING STICS.\nPoster used by Anderson during his closing week at the Strand Theatre,\nLondon, January 11th, 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.\n[ 313 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 341, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\n\"Unfortunately for the Wizard, his performances were\nattacked by a mortal disease; too long a stay in London\nhad ended by producing satiety. Besides, his repertory\nwas out-of-date, and could not contend against the new\ntricks which I was offering. What could he present to\nthe public in opposition to the second sight, the suspen-\nsion, and the inexhaustible bottle Hence he was obliged\nto close his theatre and start for the provinces, where he\nmanaged, as usual, to make excellent receipts, owing to his\npowerful means of notoriety.\"\nIn the first place, Robert Houdin insinuates that when\nthey played in opposition John Henry Anderson's r\u00e9per-\ntoire was stale and uninteresting. Is it possible that\nRobert-Houdin could not read Anderson's bills, or were\nhis statements deliberate falsehoods, emanating from a\nmalicious, wilful desire to injure Anderson ?\nWhat did Anderson have to offer in opposition to Robert-\nHoudin's nuch-vaunted Suspension, Second Sight, and\nInexhaustible Bottle ? Consult the Anderson programme,\nreproduced, and you will find that the great Wizard of the\nNorth duplicated the French conjurer's r\u00e9pertoire. \"The\nEthereal Suspension\" of Robert-Houdin's programme\nwas \"Suspension Chloroforeene\" on Anderson's. Second\nSight appeared on both bills. \"The Inexhaustible Bottle\"\nhad wisely been dropped by Anderson because he had\nbeen using it in one form or another for ten years preced-\ning the date of Robert-Houdin's appearance in London,\nas is proven in chapter IX. of this book.\nTherefore, if Anderson's programme was pass\u00e9 and\nuninteresting, so also must have been the one offered by\nRobert-Houdin!\n[312]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 340, "folder": "", "text": "IM SARL.\nDienstag, dem 25. Januar 1648.\nNeue und ausserordentliche\nVORSTELLUNG\nim Gebiete der\nNAT\u00dcRLICHEN' ZAUBEREI,\nmit H\u00fclfe der Experimental-Physik, Mechanik,\nElectricit\u00e4t, Hydraulik und des Galvanismus,\ngegeben von dem\ngrossen nordischen Zauberer\nProfessor\nI.\nANDERSON aus London\nbekannt in England unter dem Namen:\n\"THE GREAT WIZARD OF THE NORTH.\"\nHerr Professor Anderson schmeicheit sich mit der Hoffunn. dass seine Productio-\nnea, welche in LONBON.PETERSBURG, BERLIN.STOCKHOLN, COP\u00c9NHAGEN und zuletzt in HAMBURG\ndie chrendste Amerkennung fanden. sich auch der Theilnahme des hiesigem hochverehrlichen\nPublikums erfreuen werden.\nProgra me m.\nErste Abtheilung:\n1. Zwei fliehende Schnapfl\u00fccher.\n2. Die wonderbare M\u00fchle und der gelebrte \u00c4gyptier.\n3. Ein neues Zauberspiel, genannt die apsserordentliche Metamorphose.\n4. Der Todte wird lebend, der Lebeade stirbt. (Neu.)\n5. Ein schuell zubereitetes Fr\u00fchst\u00fcck.\n6. Zum Erstenmale! Ausserordentliches Experiment: Herr Professor ANDERSON wird 6 Uhren\ndurch den K\u00f6rper. eines der Anwesenden passiren lassen, ohne dass derselbe lndi-\ngestionen bekomnit.\n7. Ein grosses Man\u00f6ver mit 12 Schnapfl\u00fcchern.\n8- Aus dem Hate irgend eines Anwesenden entwickeln sich auf den Wink des grossen\nZaubrers Tausende von Blumen-Bouquetts, Tausende von Flaggen aller Nationen,\nSchu\u00fcren, Puppen ect. sowie ein vollst\u00e4ndiges zweischl\u00e4friges Federbett.\nZweite Abtheilung:\n1. Banknoten und Preussische Thalerscheine halten die Feuerprobe.\n2 Die gehorsame Flasche.\n3. Die sprechenden und tanzenden Thaler.\n4. Das Wasser wird lebend.\n5. Die schnelle W\u00e4sche. Ein gitter Rath f\u00fcr unerfahrne Hausm\u00fctter.\n6. Die \u00e4gyptischen Wunder.\nPreise der Pl\u00e4tze\nErster Platz 16 Ggr. Zweiter Platz 8 Ggr. Gallerie 4 Ggr.\nCassen-Oeffnung 6 Uhr. Anfang 7 Uhr.\nEatr\u00e9e-Billets sind am Tage der Vorstellung im Ballhofs-Saale bei\nHerrn Evers, zu erhalten.\nHandbill used by Anderson in Germany. January, 1848, when Robert-\nHoudin claimed that he was playing in the English provinces. From the\nHarry Houdini Collection.\n[311]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 339, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nattack on his surprise at the press methods and adver-\ntising adopted in England as opposed to the less spectac-\nular means employed in France, he insinuates that An-\nderson's entire success was built not upon merit, ability,\noriginality, or diversified programmes, but solely upon\nsensational advertising. On page 325 of the American\nedition of his \"Memoirs\" Robert-Houdin writes thus of\nhis competitor:\n\"On my arrival in England a conjurer of the name of\nAnderson, who assumed the title of Great Wizard of the\nNorth, had been performing for a long period at the\nlittle Strand Theatre.\n\"This artist, fearing, doubtlessly, that public atten-\ntion might be divided, tried to crush the publicity of my\nperformances; hence he sent out on London streets a\ncavalcade thus organized:\n\"Four enormous carriages, covered with posters and\npictures representing all sorts of witchcraft, opened the\nprocession. Then followed four-and-twenty merry men,\neach bearing a banner on which was painted a letter a\nyard in height.\n\"At each cross-road the four carriages stopped side by\nside and presented a bill some twenty-five yards in\nlength, while all the men (I should say letters), on receiv-\ning the word of command, drew themselves up in a line,\nlike the vehicles.\n\"Seen in front the letters formed this phrase:\nTHE CELEBRATED ANDERSON ! ! !\nWhile on the other side of the banners could be read :\nTHE GREAT WIZARD OF THE NORTH.\n[310]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 338, "folder": "", "text": "STRAND THEATRE,\nWill be Opened on TUESDAY, Dec. 20th,\nAnd CONTINUE OPEN DURING THE HOLIDAYS, with the\nIMPROVED SOIREES MYSTERIEUSES\nPROFESSORJ.H.ANDERSON\nW\u00e3o - reterend free . T- DENMARK, NORWAY, SWEDEN, RUSSIA, and GERNANY. and bed\nbence\nof\nperforming\nthe\nshale\nof\nthe\nMONARCHY of Northern EUROPE!\nOn TUESDAY EVENING, Dec. 26th, 1848,\nHE MAKE His APPEABASCE AND GITE MIS\nROVAL\nIllestrative of the Fallacy of Magic, Necromancy, Witcheraft, and Demonolegy\n-\nlate\nKISU\nales sel the - the KING - - Falase\nNICHULAS\nof\n-\n-\n-\nthe\nImponal\n-\n,\nil\nthe\nthe\nde\nN\n-\nthese\nTHE EMPERON DEPERIAL THE COURT - the\n-\nSI\nte\nand\nthe\n- ALA THE or NOSTBLAN the - - -\nbe\n-\nand\nbe\n-\nthe\nSHEAT\nMANTER\nof\nwher - Mod-re\nYOU MUST POSITIVELY NAYEA LOOK AT PROFESSOR ANDERSON'S\nMACIC SKETCH BOOK\nSKETCH-BOON\nTHE GREATEST WONDER\nOF THE\nAGE!\nBOYAL PROGBAMNE of SCIENTIFIC WONDERS:\nPART\nPART \".\nThe ENCHANTED HANDEERCETEPS.\nSECOND SIGNT; its Fallacy illustrated.\n... CHANGEANLE IUTTLE and MISTIC\nANINATED\nGrand EYDRAULIC EXPERIEEJT.\nThe EYSTIC VOLUNE:\nm the ESTONISHING NON-EFFECT or PREASTRE\nThe MAGIC BANK, : Fishing extraerdinary.\nGRAND NECHANICAL AMALGA.\nEXTRAGRBINARY ELECTRIC EXPERIMENT,\nASDERMONS nons\nThat uf ecading six WATCHLA threagh esy Geerlemse's\nSCRAPS EXTRAORDIKARY.\nGrand POT-POURRI of\nThe MYSTIC BEEAKFAST.\nThe chole . conclude wish the LAST NEW WONDER of\nProfence\nThe Learned Doves, the Broken Ring, Dissolving\nOrange, and Enchanted Walnut.\nSUSPENSION CHLOROFOREENE,\n(3, Master JOR. MENAY ANDERSO%)\nCEILD of the AIR: or. Jack in the Bex.\"\nR.\n-\n- bre See . inhale - perties of\n- the MISTER ANDERSON.\nand - rieep. He will the dioples the Estrandinary .be\nDrng. which bee bailled the whole a the Noducal\nCEAPEAU DE LA DIABLE\nGermany. and evert Cosnity ANDERSON ***\nsecratly evited. THE CAULD witt. -LFEP IN THE All. III\nosty SUPPORT , VEING TICK\nin ..\nAnderson's opening programme at the Strand Theatre, Christmas week,\n1848, showing that he duplicated the tricks offered by Robert-Houdin, who,\nin his \"Memoirs,\" claims that Anderson's programme was stale and uninter-\nesting by comparison with his own.\n[309"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 337, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nthe floor of the den. Snakes-scores of them! Now the\ncreature, half-animal, half-human, glances up to make\nsure that attention is riveted upon him, then grasps one\nof the serpents in his hideous hands and in a flash bites\noff its head. The writhing body falls back to the ground.\nYou grip the railing in a sudden faintness. Has your\nbrain deceived your eyes, or your eyes your brain ? If\nyou are a conjurer you try to convince yourself that it is\nall a clever sleight-of-hand exhibition, but in your heart\nyou know it is not true. This creature, so near a beast,\nhas debauched his manhood for a few paltry dollars,\nand in dragging himself down has dragged down the\nname of a worthy, a brilliant, a world-famous performer.\nOf the twentieth-century Boscos there are, alas, many.\nYou will find them all over the world, in street carnivals,\nside-shows, fair-booths, and museums, and why the public\nsupports such debasing exhibitions I have never yet been\nable to understand. I have seen half-staryed Russians\npick food from refuse-barrels. I have seen besotted\nAmericans creep out from low dives to draw the dregs\nof beer-barrels into tomato cans. I have seen absinthe\nfiends in Paris trade body and soul to obtain their be-\nloved stimulant. I have heard morphine fiends in Russia\npromise to exhibit the effect of the needle in return for\nthe price of an injection. But never has my soul so risen\nin revolt as at sight of this bestial exhibition with which\nthe name of Bosco, a nobleman and a conjurer of merit,\nhas been linked.\nEven more despicable than his attack upon Bosco is\nRobert-Houdin's flaying of John Henry Anderson. In\nthis he is both unmanly and untruthful. Hinging his\n[308]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 336, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\ngraveyard devoted to the poor and unclaimed dead. To\nprevent this, I purchased the lot and tombstone, and\npresented the same to the Society of American Magicians, of\nwhich organization, at the present writing, I am a member.\nA man of noble birth and brilliant attainments was the\noriginal Bosco, and his name became a by-word all over\nthe Continent as the synonym, not of cruelty, but of clever\ndeception, yet never has posterity put the name of a great\nperformer to such ignoble uses. For who has not heard\nthe cry of the modern Bosco, \"Eat-'em-alive\"?\nTo-day I can close my eyes and summon two visions.\nFirst I see myself standing bareheaded before a neglected\ngrave in the quiet cemetery on Friedrichstrasse, Dresden,\nthe sunlight pouring down upon the tombstone which bears\nnot only the cup-and-balls and wand, insignia of Bosco's\nmost famous trick, but this inscription: \"Ici repose le\nc\u00e9l\u00e8bre Bartolomeo Bosco.-N\u00e9 a Turin le II Janvier,\n1793; d\u00e9c\u00e9d\u00e9 \u00e0 Dresden le 2 Mars, 1863.\" The history\nof this clever conjurer, with all its lights and shadows,\nsweeps before me like a mental panorama.\nThe second vision carries me into the country, to the\nfairs of England and the side-shows of America:\n\"Bosco! Bosco! Eat-'em-alive Bosco. You can't af-\nford to miss this marvel. Bosco! Bosco!\"\nFollow me into the enclosure and gaze down into a\nden. There lies a half-naked human being. His hair\nis long and matted, a loin cloth does wretched duty as\nclothing. Torn sandals are on his feet. The eulogistic\nlecturer dilates upon the powers of this twentieth-century\nBosco, but you do not listen. Your fascinated gaze is\nfixed on various hideous, wriggling, writhing forms on\n[307]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 335, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\n2nd, 1863. His wife died three years later and was interred\nin the grave with her husband in a cemetery on Frie-\ndrichstrasse. There was nothing on the tombstone to indi-\ncate the double interment, and I discovered the fact only\nby investigating the municipal and cemetery records.\nA\nBar tolomeo\nBesco\nThe author at the grave of Bosco. From a photograph in the Harry Houdini\nCollection.\nHere I also learned that the grave had merely been\nleased, and as the lease was about to expire the bones of\nthe great conjurer and his faithful wife might soon be\ndisinterred and reburied in a neglected corner of the\n[306]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 334, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\nEugene was said to be the superior of his famous father\nin sleight-of-hand, but he was wild and given to excesses.\nWomen and wine checked what might have been a brill-\niant professional career. Disabled, poverty-stricken, and\nOnly photograph of Madame Bosco, given to the author by Mrs. Mueller,\nMadame Bosco's niece, at the funeral of Wiljalba Frikell.\nrespected by none, he soon disappeared from the con-\njuring world, and according to Carl Willman in the\n\"Zauberwelt\" he died miserably in Hungary in 1891.\nIn the mean time, Bosco and his wife lived in poverty\nin Dresden, where the once brilliant conjurer died March\n20\n[305]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 333, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nPierced by a lance, he lay upon the ground apparently\ndead. A Cossack callously roamed among the dead and\ndying, rifling pockets and belts. When he came to the\nform of Bosco, that youth feigned death, knowing that\nresistance to the ghoul meant a death wound. But while\nthe Cossack robbed the Italian soldier, the latter stealthily\nraised his unwounded arm and by sleight-of-hand rifled\nthe well-filled pockets of the ghoul, which fact was not\ndiscovered by the Cossack until he was far from the field\nof the dead and dying, where he had left one of the enemy\nconsiderably better off, thanks to Bosco's conjuring gifts.\nLater Bosco was sent captive to Siberia, where he per-\nfected his sleight-of-hand while amusing fellow-prisoners\nand jailers. In 1814 he was released and returned to his\nnative land, where he studied medicine, but eventually\ndecided to become a public entertainer. He was not only\na clever entertainer, but a good business man, and he\nplanned each year on saving enough money to insure a\nlife of ease in his old age. But events intervened to ruin\nall his well-laid plans. The sins of his youth brought\ntheir penalty. An illegitimate son, Eugene, became a\nheavy drag upon the retired magician, who was com-\npelled to pay large sums to the young man in order to\nprevent his playing in either France or Germany or as-\nsuming the name of Bosco. In a German antiquary's\nshop at Bonn on the Rhine I found an agreement in\nwhich Bosco agreed to pay this youth five thousand\nfrancs for not using the name of Bosco. This agreement\nis too long for reproduction in this volume, but unques-\ntionably it is genuine and tells all too eloquently the\ntroubles which beset Bosco in his old age.\n[304]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 332, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\ntime the bird trick was not in his r\u00e9pertoire exclusively.\nAll English magicians employed it. Apparently the head\nof the fowl was amputated, but often in reality it was\ntucked under the wing, and the head and neck of another\nfowl was shown by sleight-of-hand. Quite probably the\nParisian public did not consider Bosco cruel. Robert-\nHoudin and his friend Antonio, being versed in sleight-\nof-hand and conjuring methods, read cruelty between the\ndeft movements. Certain it is that the name of Bosco\nhas not been handed down to posterity by other writers\nas a synonym of cruelty.\nThe animus of Robert-Houdin's attack on Bosco is\nevident at every point of the narrative. Now he accuses\nhim of bad taste in appearing in the box-office. Again he\nsuggests that the somewhat impressive opening of Bosco's\nact savors of both charlatanism and burlesque, when in\nreality the secret of showmanship consists not of what\nyou really do, but what the mystery-loving public thinks\nyou do. Bosco undoubtedly secured precisely the effect\nhe desired, because Robert-Houdin devotes more than a\npage to a most unnecessary attempt to explain away what\nhe considered Bosco's undeserved popularity.\nBosco was not only a clever magician, but a man of\nmany adventures, so that his life reads like a romance.\nThis soldier of fortune, Bartolomeo Bosco, was born of\na noble Piedmont family, on January IIth, 1793, in Turin,\nItaly. From boyhood he showed great ability as a nec-\nromancer, but at the age of nineteen he was forced to\nserve under Napoleon I. in the Russian campaign. He\nwas a fusilier in the Eleventh Infantry, and at the battle\nof Borodino was injured in an engagement with Cossacks.\n[303]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 331, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nentire financial holdings through his passion for balloon\nexperiments, as is set forth in chapter II. of this book.\nThen, to show his own inconsistency, after picturing\nPinetti in his \"Memoirs\" as a charlatan, a conjurer of vul-\ngar, uncouth pretensions rather than as a good showman\nof real ability, Robert-Houdin is forced to admit on page\n25 of \"Secrets of Magic\" that later conjurers employed\nPinetti programmes as a foundation upon which their\nperformances were built! Even here, however, Robert-\nHoudin fails to acknowledge an iota of the heavy debt\nwhich he personally owed the despised Chevalier Pinetti.\nRobert-Houdin devotes the greater part of chapter X.,\nAmerican edition of his autobiography, to belittling Bos-\nco, a conjurer whose popularity all over Europe was long-\nlived. First, he pictures Bosco as a most cruel creature who\nliterally tortured to death the birds used in his perform-\nances. Here, as in his attack on Pinetti, Robert-Houdin\nthrows the responsibility for criticism on the shoulders of\nanother. His old friend Antonio accompanies him to\nwatch Bosco's performance, and it is Antonio throughout\nthe narrative who inveighs against Bosco's cruelty and\nAntonio who insists upon leaving before the performance\ncloses, because the cruelty of the conjurer nauseates him.\nAt that time no society for the protection of animals\nexisted, and, even if it had, I doubt whether Bosco's\nperformance would have come under the ban. Certain\nmagicians of to-day employ many of Bosco's tricks in\nwhich birds and even small animals are used, but the\nconjuring is so deftly done that the public of 1907, like\nthat of 1838, thinks it is all sleight-of-hand work and that\nthe birds are neither hurt nor killed. Even in Bosco's\n[302]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 330, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\nby Torrini, as is set forth on page IO4. He pictures\nTorrini as dogging the footsteps of Pinetti through all\nItaly and finally driving him in a state of abject misery\nto Russia, where he died in the home of a nobleman, who\nsheltered him through sheer compassion. Robert-Houdin\nBartolomeo Bosco in his prime. From an engraving in the Harry Houdini\nCollection.\nmust have known this was absolutely untrue, for he\nquotes Robertson, who published Pinetti's true experi-\nences in Russia. Pinetti took a fortune with him to\nRussia, acquired more wealth there, and then lost his\n[301]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 329, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\ntruth about his so-called innovation, he must have given\nFrikell credit, wherefore he conveniently ignores Frikell\ncompletely.\nIt is entirely characteristic of Robert-Houdin that he\ndid not openly assail Pinetti in the pages of his \"Mem-\noirs.\" With cleverness worthy of a better cause, he quotes\nthe bitter verbal attack as issuing from the lips of the\nfriend and mentor of his youth, Signor Torrini.\nThe major portion of chapter VI., pages 92 to IO4\ninclusive, American edition of his autobiography, is de-\nvoted to assailing Pinetti's abilities as a conjurer and his\nreputation as a man. Granted that Pinetti did put Tor-\nrini to shame on the Neapolitan stage, such revenge for\na wholesale duplication of the magician's tricks might be\ntermed almost human and natural. Had a minor magi-\ncian, amateur or professional, dogged the footsteps of\nRobert-Houdin, copying his tricks, the entire r\u00e9pertoire\nupon which he depended for a livelihood, thus endanger-\ning his future, I doubt that even the author of \"Confi-\ndences d'un Prestidigitateur\" would have hesitated to un-\nmask and undo his rival.\nIn fact, by reference to the editorial note, foot of page\n421, American edition of Robert-Houdin's \"Memoirs,\"\nit will be seen that in 1850 Robert-Houdin appealed to\nthe law for protection in just such a case. An employee\nwas sent to prison for two years, as judgment for selling\nto an amateur some of his master's secrets.\nBut in attacking Pinetti, Robert-Houdin goes a step\ntoo far and falsifies, not directly but by innuendo, when\nhe permits the impression to go forth that Pinetti was\nhounded and ruined both financially and professionally\n[300]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 328, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\nnach Cagliostro, shows Robin offering this figure in March,\n1846, or a year and seven months before it was presented\nby Robert-Houdin. Yet the only reference made by\nRobert-Houdin to this popular and gifted contemporary\nis in \"The Secrets of Stage Conjuring\" where he remarks\nslightingly that Robin spoiled Mr. Pepper's business by\ngiving a poor imitation of the latter's ghost show.\nAgain, in ignoring Herrmann, he proves his narrowness\nof mind, his utter unwillingness to admit any ability in his\nrivals. Compars Herrmann was no ordinary trickster or\nmountebank, but a conjurer who remained in London\nalmost a year, playing the very best houses, and later\nscoring equal popularity in the provinces. He was deco-\nrated by various monarchs and was famous for his large\ngifts to charities. Even the present generation, including\ntheatre-goers and students of magic, remembers the name\nof Herrmann, when Robert-Houdin is forgotten or would\nbe but for his cleverly written autobiography.\nWiljalba Frikell, to whom should go the credit of\ncutting out heavy stage draperies, never claimed the\ninnovation as a carefully planned conceit, but as an acci-\ndent. His paraphernalia were destroyed in a fire, but he\ndesired to live up to his contract and give a performance\nas announced. He therefore offered sleight-of-hand, pure\nand simple, with the aid of a few tables, chairs, and other\ncommion properties which were absolutely undraped. He\nwas also compelled to don regulation, severely plain,\nevening clothes. The absence of draperies, which natu-\nrally aid a conjurer in attaining results, created so pleasing\na sensation that Frikell never again draped his stage\nnor wore fancy raiment. Had Robert-Houdin told the\n[ 299 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 327, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nwas one of Anderson's cleverest imitators and a rival of\nRobert-Houdin in the English provinces.\nThe adroit manner in which Robert-Houdin flays\nPinetti, Anderson, and Bosco would arouse admiration\nwere his pen-lashings devoted to men who deserved such\ntreatment. Under existing circumstances-his debt to\nBosco and Pinetti, whose tricks he filched remorselessly,\nand the fact that Andersoi.'s popularity outlived his own\nin England-his efforts to belittle these men are unworthy\nof one who called himself a man and a master magician.\nThe truly great and successful man rises above petty\njealousy and personalities. This, Robert-Houdin could\nnot do, even when he sat pen in hand, in retirement, with\nthe fear of competition removed.\nIt seems almost incredible that Robert-Houdin should\nignore Henri Robin in his \"Memoirs,\" for Robin was one\nof the most interesting characters of that day. He still\nstands in magic's history as the Chesterfield of conjuring,\na man of many gifts, charming address, and broad edu-\ncation. Even in his dispute with Robert-Houdin regard-\ning the invention of the inexhaustible bottle, he never\nforgot his dignity, but proved his case by that most potent\nof arguments, a well-edited magazine published under his\ndirection, in which an illustration showed him actually\nperforming the trick in 1844, or a full three years before\nit appeared on Robert-Houdin's programme.\nRobert-Houdin was indebted to Robin for another\ntrick, the Garde Fran\u00e7aise, introduced by Robert-Houdin\nin October, 1847. Henri Robin had precisely the same\nfigure, doing precisely the same feats, in the garb of an\nArab. An illustration from Robin's magazine, L'Alma-\n[298]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 326, "folder": "", "text": "NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\nchapter III. of this book will show. Frikell was the pioneer\nin dispensing with cumbersome stage draperies. Robert-\nHoudin claimed this innovation as the product of his own\ningenuity. Compars Herrmann was playing in London\nwhen Robert-Houdin made his English d\u00e9but under\nMinnel\nWiljalba Frikell in his youth, showing the peculiar costume worn by con-\njurers at that time. The author secured this portrait a few weeks before\nFrikell's death and sent it to the veteran conjurer, who was amazed to learn\nthat this print was in existence. Now in the Harry Houdini Collection.\nMitchell's direction, and was presenting, trick for trick,\nthe r\u00e9pertoire claimed by Robert-Houdin as original with\nhim. Henri Robin disputed Robert-Houdin's claim to\nhaving invented the inexhaustible bottle, and proved his\ncase, as will be seen by reference to chapter VIII. Jacobs\n[ 297 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 325, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nthe lad shared his stage triumphs. His other children he\nnever mentions by name. The second wife, who, he\ngrudgingly admits, stood valiantly by him in his days of\npoverty and disappointment, he does not honor by so\nmuch as stating her name before marriage. Rather, he\nrefers to her as a person whom he was constrained to\nplace in charge of his household in order that he might\ncontinue his experiments and his work on automata. A\nless gracious tribute to wifely devotion was never penned.\nBut it is in dealing with contemporary magicians or\nthose whose handiwork in bygone years he cleverly pur-\nloined and proclaimed as his original inventions, that\nthe petty jealousy of the man comes to the surface. When-\never he desires to claim for himself credit due a prede-\ncessor in the world of magic, he either ignores the man's\nvery existence or writes of his competitor in such a man-\nner that the latter's standing as man and magician is\nlowered. Not that he makes broad, sweeping statements.\nRather, he indulges in the innuendo which is far more\ndangerous to the party attacked. He never strikes a\npen-blow which, because of its brutality, might arouse\nthe sympathy of his readers for the object of his attack.\nHere, in the gentle art of innuendo and belittling, if not\nin the conjurer's art, Robert-Houdin is a master.\nIn writing his \"Memoirs\" he deliberately ignores\nCompars Herrmann, Henri Robin, Wiljalba Frikell, M.\nJacobs, and P. T. Barnum, all of whom he knew person-\nally. He might have written most entertainingly of these\nmen, but in each case he had an object in avoiding refer-\nence to the acquaintance. P. T. Barnum knew the true\nhistory of the writing and drawing figure, as reference to\n[296]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 324, "folder": "", "text": "CHAPTER XI\nTHE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S \"MEMOIRS\"\nT\nHE charm of true memoirs lies far beyond the\nprinted pages, in the depth and breadth of\nthe writer's soul. The greatest of all autobi-\nographies are those which detail not only the\nlives of the men who penned them, but which abound in\ndiverting anecdotes and character studies of the men and\nwomen among whom the writer moved. They are not\nautobiographies alone, but vivid, broad-minded pen-\nPictures of the period in which the writer was a vigorous,\nrespect-compelling figure. Memoirs written with a view\nto settling old scores seldom live to accomplish their ends.\nI he narrowness and pettiness of the writer, which intelli-\ngent reading of history is bound to disclose, destroy all\nOther charms which the book may possess.\nAt personal exploitation Robert-Houdin is a brilliant\nSuccess. As a writer of memoirs he is a wretched failure.\nWhenever he writes of himself, his pen seems fairly to\nscintillate. Whenever he refers to other magicians of\nhis times, his pen lags and drops on the pages blots\nwhich can emanate only from a narrow, petty, jeal-\nous nature.\nEven when he writes of his own family, this peculiar\ntrait of petty egotism may be read between the lines. He\nmentions the name of his son \u00c9mile, apparently because\n[ 295 ]\ni"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 323, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nand who desires to hand down to posterity a clean record\nof his attainments will be clever enough and manly\nenough to avoid any attempt to explain that which he\ndoes not understand. By his flagrant misstatements\nregarding the tricks of his predecessors and contempo-\nraries, Robert-Houdin, however, convicts himself of igno-\nrance regarding the fundamental principles of magic, and\narouses in the minds of broad, intelligent readers doubts\nregarding his claims to the invention of the various tricks\nand automata which he declares to have been the output\nof his brain, the production of his own deft hands.\n[ 294 )"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 322, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nshe will be unable to slip her wrists. I do not mean by\nthis any hand-cuff that will not come to any size, or the\ncommon cuffs which when locked will lock only to a\ncertain size, but I mean a cuff that can be locked and\nadjusted to any size of wrist.\nIn rope-tying, the principal trick is to allow yourself to\nbe tied according to certain methods of crossing your\nhands or wrists, so that by eventually straightening your\nhands you have made enough room to allow them to slip\nout very easily. It is not always the size of the wrist that\ncounts. It is the manner of holding your hands when the\nknots are being tied.\nThe gift of seeing in the dark, with which Robert-\nHoudin endowed the Davenports, is equally preposterous.\nProfessor Hoffmann defends Robert-Houdin by citing in-\nstances of prisoners who had been confined in cells for an\nindefinite period and who had learned to see in the dark.\nThis is quite true, but they did not alternate daylight\nand darkness. Eminent opticians and oculists inform me\nthat the faculty of seeing in the dark cannot be acquired\nby parties like the Davenports, who spent most of their\ntime in the light.\nWhile the Davenports were pioneers in rope-tying and\ncabinet s\u00e9ances, had Robert-Houdin been the clever\nsleight-of-hand performer and inventor he claims to have\nbeen, these tricks would have been clear and solvable to\nhim. But as he obviously joined the ranks of the amazed\nand bewildered masses, making only a futile attempt to\nexplain the performances, he convicts himself of igno-\nrance regarding his own art.\nA man who has made a fortune in the world of magic\n[ 293 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 321, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nfailed, too. Even if the entire thumb were cut away, I\nbelieve it would still be impossible to slip a rope that was\nproperly bound around the wrist. You may take any\ncuff of the adjustable make, or a ratchet cuff, place it\nabout a small woman's wrist, and you will find that even\nS T. GEORGE'S HALL,\nLANGZAX PLACE.\nRETURN\nBROTHERS DAVENPORT\nAMD\nM R. FAY.\nTz BROTHERS DAVENPORT and Mr. FAY have the honour\nto announce that, after a tour of three years over the greater part\nof the Continent of Europe, they have returned once more, and\nprobably for the last time, to this Metropolia, where they will give\na few S\u00e9ances previous to their departure for the United States.\nDuring their European tour they have given S\u00e9ances in Paris,\nBerlin, Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburgh, and nearly every great\nContinental Capital; and have had the honour of appearing before\ntheir Majesties the Emperors of France and Russia, the Royal\nFamily of Prussia, and great numbers of the most Distinguished\nPersonages in Europe. Many thousands of persons of the highest\nrank and intelligence have witnessed the astonishing experiments\ngiven in their presence.\nThroughout the Northern American States, from 1853 until\ntheir first visit to England in 1864, they were seen by hundreds\nof thousands of persona.\nIn England, their first S\u00e9ance was given in private, to a most\ndistinguished party of men of science and letters, who gave their\nmost unequivocal testimony to the excellence and perfection of\ntheir experiments.\nTwo S\u00e9anoss of the and Mr. Fax will be\ngiven at\nST. GEORGE'S HALL. LANGHAM PLACE,\nOn THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 23rd,\nAnd SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 25th, 1868,\nat Eight o'clock.\nSTALLS, - 8s.\nBALCONY, - Se.\nADMISSION,\nONE SHILLING.\nAnnouncement used by the Davenport Brothers on their return to London,\nEngland, after their tour of the Continent in April, 1868. From the Harry\nHoudini Collection.\n[ 292]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 320, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nretired from public life, purchased a farm, and rested\non their laurels and a corpulent bank account. One\nof them is said to have admitted that all their work was\nskilful manipulation and not spiritualistic manifestations.\nNevertheless, their names will live so long as spiritualism\nis talked of or cabinet effects tolerated by the public.\nThe trick as offered by the Davenport Brothers con-\nsisted of their being tied hand and foot at opposite ends\nof the cabinet, which was hung with musical instruments,\nbells, etc. The two men slipped in and out of the ropes\nwithout delay or apparent damage to the ropes, and musi-\ncal instruments were played with arms presumably in\nbondage.\nRobert-Houdin, in attempting to expose the trick,\nmakes two flagrant errors. First he claims that \"by dint\nof special practice on the part of our mediums, the thumb\nis made to lie flat in the hand, when the whole assumes\na cylindrical form of scarcely greater diameter than the\nwrist\"; and second that the Davenport Brothers had\ntrained themselves to see in the dark.\nAs releasing myself from fastenings of all sorts, from\nropes to strait-jackets, has been my profession for twenty\nyears, I am in a position to contradict Robert-Houdin's\nfirst claim positively. I have met thousands of persons\nwho claimed that the rope, as well as the handcuff trick,\nwas accomplished by folding the hand together or making\nthe wrist larger than the hand, but never have I met men\nor women who could make their hands smaller than their\nwrists. I have even gone so far as to have iron bands\nmade and press my hands together, hoping eventually\nto make my hands smaller than my wrists, but this has\n[ 29I ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 319, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nduced surpassed my expectations, and your experiments\nwere full of interest to me. I consider it my duty to add\nthat these phenomena are inexplicable; and the more so\nby such persons as have thought themselves able to guess\nyour supposed secret, and who are, in fact, far indeed\nfrom having discovered the truth. Hamilton.\"\nAfter their return to America the Davenport Brothers\nG\n171\nThe cabinet trick offered by the Davenport Brothers. From an old print in the\nHarry Houd\u00edni Collection.\n[290]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 318, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nBoth were below medium height, rather handsome\nmen, and, as will be seen from the accompanying engrav-\ning, looked much alike. Their career, which started in\nAmerica, ran from about 1853 to the early 70's. They\nmade a trip to Europe in 1864, remaining until August,\n1869. Both married abroad; Ira a daughter of France,\nMlle. Louise Toulet, and William Henry a Polish girl,\nMiss Matilda Mag. On the whole, their foreign tour was\nmost profitable, though in some cities they paid a high\nprice for their notoriety. In England they waged bitter\nwarfare with John Henry Anderson, Tolmaque, and Pro-\nfessor Redmond.\nOn the occasion of their Paris opening at the Salle\nHerz they claimed that the hoodlum element mobbed\nthe theatre and broke up their performance at the instiga-\ntion of Henri Robin, who was playing in opposition.\nHamilton, who had succeeded to the management of\nRobert-Houdin's theatre, in a letter published after wit-\nnessing their initial performance announced that he shared\nthis belief; but as Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin were\nbitter rivals, I believe Hamilton's letter was the result of\ntwo things: first the intense ill-will he harbored against\nRobin, and second, as he had Robert-Houdin as his\nmentor, he was really ignorant of the Davenport methods\nand therefore not in a position to defend them. The\nletter, which is given in full, appeared in Gazette des\n\u00c9trangers, Paris, September 27th, 1865:\n\"Messrs. Davenport: Yesterday I had the pleasure of\nbeing present at the s\u00e9ance you gave, and I came away\nfrom it convinced that jealousy alone was the cause of\nthe outcry raised against you. The phenomena pro-\n19\n[289]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 317, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nport Brothers, hailed from Buffalo, N. Y., U. S. A. Ira\nErastus was born September 17th, 1839, and William\nHenry, February ist, 1841. They fairly startled the\nworld by their so-called manifestations of spiritualism\nduring the 60's, and were alternately lauded and reviled\nfor their performances.\n[288]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 316, "folder": "", "text": "possibility, and no chance whatever, that it was either by\naccident or practised trickery to produce such wonderful\nmaterializations. Robert-Houdin, May 18th, 1847.'\nHe further shows his ignorance of s\u00e9ances as offered\nin his times, by his attempt to describe the methods em-\nployed by the Davenport Brothers, to whom he devotes\nchapter XIII., which might be described as a chapter of\nerrors.\nThese picturesque American entertainers, the Daven-\n[287]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 315, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nwhich is a cross between the whistle of a locomotive with\na cold, and a sawed-off and hammered-down flute in\nwhich has been inserted a tin whistle. As this nerve-\nracking music holds the spectators under its awful spell,\nthe basket begins to rock, the contortionist-subject grad-\nually raises himself inside the basket, and when the noise\nis at its height he straightens up in the basket and raises\nit with his back as far as it will go. To the uninitiated it\nactually appears as if he had returned to an empty basket\nin his original position. The trick is a marvellous decep-\ntion, but only a Hindoo can exhibit it with success, for\nno white person would ever indulge in the screechings,\nimbecilities, and contortions which are the spectacular\nand convincing features of the trick.\nSometimes the trick is varied. Instead of the subject\nbeing found in his original position he is seen running\ntoward the crowd as from a distance. This is accom-\nplished by having two subjects, one in the basket and one\nhidden on the outskirts of the crowd, who are \"doubles\"\nor at least who show a marked resemblance and are\ndressed exactly alike.\nThe earliest programmes of Hindoo jugglers in my col-\nlection are dated 1818. The \"Mr. Ramosamee\" featured\non this bill later split his name thus, \"Ramo Samee,\"\nand was engaged to perform alone between the acts of\n\"The Broken Heart\" at the Garrick Theatre, London.\nFrom Ramo Samee, Continental and British magicians\nlearned the trick of juggling brass balls.\nOn page 135 Professor Hoffmann, in a foot-note, com-\nmends Robert-Houdin for the very impartial manner in\nwhich he approaches the question of spiritualism and\n[286]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 314, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\ncover of the basket sinks until the basket seems empty, to\nthe spectators at least. The fakir now takes off the cover\nof the basket, leaving the sheet over it, however. Then he\njumps into the presumably empty basket, stamps all\naround, and takes out the net in which are found the tur-\n:\nban worn by the subject and the thumb tie. To prove\nfurther that the basket is still empty, the fakir seats him-\nil\nself in the basket, as shown in the illustration. The lid\nof the basket is now replaced, and under this friendly\ncover the sheet is taken off and the basket tied up.\nNow commences the true Hindoo magic. The magi-\ncian is a real actor. He apparently adjures Mahomet.\nHe gets very angry and with fierce looks, ejaculations,\nand muttered curses he grabs up a sword or cane and\njabs it through different parts of the basket. During all\nthis time the subject, who is something of a contortion-\nist, is wriggling about on the bottom of the basket, keep-\ning out of reach of the sword, and in fact often guiding\nits thrusts between his legs, as every movement on the\npart of the fakir has been carefully thought out and\nrehearsed in advance.\nBy this time the fakir has convinced his audience that\nthe basket is empty. To be sure he has not allowed any\nspectators to come too near him or the basket, nor has\nany hand save his touched it, but his clever acting almost\npersuades even an intelligent or sceptical onlooker that\nthe basket is empty.\nWith the lid of the basket replaced, this time above\nthe friendly sheet, and the basket tied, he resumes his\nweird incantations. He screams and runs back and\nforth, playing on a small instrument with a hideous tone"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 313, "folder": "", "text": "under the robe of the magician, whose attitude favors\nthis concealment.\nAs the basket trick is the Hindoo magician's most\nwonderful offering, a truthful account of his methods of\nperforming the same may be interesting. In the first\nplace, Robert-Houdin's explanation is impossible and un-\nreasonable because the Hindoo magician does not wear\nflowing robes in which the child could be concealed.\nEvery Hindoo performer I have ever seen wore short\ntrousers and was barefooted.\nThe correct method of performing the trick, which has\nbeen handed down through generations of Hindoos, is as\nfollows: The boy subject is placed in a net in which\nhe is firmly tied, after having had his big toes and thumbs\nfastened down with bandages. Then, with many a grunt\nand a groan, he is lifted into the basket. The subject,\nhowever, pretends that the basket is too small, so he is\nreally seated on one side and keeps his back in the air.\nThis is done to give the appearance eventually that it\nwas impossible for him to crouch down or around the\nbasket. The lid of the basket is now placed on his back,\nand a large sheet is thrown over the entire apparatus,\nwhich conceals from the audience every movement made\nby the subject.\nNow commences the Hindoo \"patter,\" in reality yells,\ngroans, and incantations, while the magician and his\nassistant strike the basket with swords or canes, stamp\non the ground, gnash their teeth, etc. Gradually the\n[284]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 312, "folder": "", "text": "For Six Nights only.\nBY PERMISSION OF\nthe Night the Atayor.\nIn the Large Room, opposite the Custom-House,\nIN WHITEFRIAR-GATE\nThe Inhabitanits of HULL and its yicinity are respeeifully informed, that\nOn Wednesday Evening, Aug. 26, 1818.\nAnd Thursday, Priday, Satarday, Monday ind Eveninge following,\nThe Indian\nJugglers\nWill exhibil their unrivalled Performances:\nThese extraordinary Indians are Natives of Seringapatani, and have been eihibiting for some\ntume past in the Metropolis, before many of the Nobility, who unanimiously pronouaced them to\nbe the first Masters of the Art in this Kingdom.\nAmongst the semerous Performances the follewing may be acticed:\nVarious Deceptions with Cups and Balls;\nCHANGING SAND TO DIFFERENT COLOURS;\nA SERIES or\nEVOLUTIOS\nWith Four hollow Brass Balls, about the size of Oranges.\nThe pewer of the Jeggiot over these is miraculess he causes them to describe every possible Circle-horidontally,\npendiculasiy, obliquely. transversely, rosed his Legs, under bis abost his Head, in small and lange Circumferences,\nwith wondross rapidity, and keeping the whole is Motion at the same timo. This being the solo fruit of Elort, Activity.\nquickesse of Eye, and rapidity of Motion, ao one who has not witocsacd it can form as iden of its excellenco. This part of\nthe Performsece will be accumpanied with Music\nSTRINGING BEADS WITH HIS MOUTH,\nAe the rame time terning Ringt with bi, Fingers and Tees.\nWonberful geat with Large\nTOGETHER WITH SEVERAL\nFeats of Balancing,\nla which ome of the Indians hes a School Doy's common Peg-top, which be commences to spia with great relocity in bis\nhand, and from theace conveys it os a point as hac as a Needle, Which is balenced on his Chie, and in this situation makes\net bow to the Company, while revelving on the before -mentioned point, and afterwards restorce it b, the Werd of Commund,\nto the Equilibriam sad Stcadiness as whes first spea.\nErecting a curious Pagoda on the top of his Nose,\nAND ASNOVING THE SANE WITH INGENUITY.\nHis manly activity in throwing a Large Ball, the size.\nof an Eighteen-pound Shot,\nTo parts of his Body, with the greatest case be places it betwcen bis Foet, and throws is over his Shoulder,\nwhes it alights on his Ara. and thea with the greatest throws it on the back part of his Neck, and after display.\ning . variety of Gambols of this sort, be finally, bet with a masterly jerk,\nThrows this Ball of Twelve Pounds round his Head,\nthe assistence of his llands; and several other Achievements, too sumerous to mestion in the limits of a lland\nHandbill used by the original Indian jugglers in England during 1818, in\nwhich the sword-swallowing trick is featured. From the Harry Houdini\nCollection.\n[283]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 311, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\n\"We will not venture to question the fact vouched for by\nSO high an authority as Robert-Houdin, that the Indian\nBasket Trick may sometimes be performed after the\nTHEJUSTLY CELEBRATED\nRAMO SAMEE,\nCHIEF OF\nThe Indian Jugglers,\nNeving Saushed Are Proviscal Eagagements, will,\nO. MONDAY. JULY 16.\nAad. for a short persod so through the ahole of\nEstraordinary Fente of Strength and Agility,\n222, PICCADILLY,\nConsusting of e Reviso of with\nFOUR BRASS BALLS\nTHE SIZE OF ORANGES.\npossi\nover these le almost miraculous, he casses them to describe every\nDRICIONTALLY, PERPENDICULANLY, OBLIQUELY, TRANSTERSELY ROUND -\n- UNDER in and ABOUT ius MEAD, is large and -\nthe whole is at the - timin. This being the gread - of\n- activity, of the \" and appidity of actica. These who Dave set * -\n- - of ite escellence.\nSEVERAL FEATS OF BALLANCING\nis which la will estroduce the\nBuilding a Canopy with his Tongue\nON THE TOP OF HIS NOSE\n.\nAND RENOVING THE SAME WITE SURPRIZING INGENUITY\nyas\nSpinning of a Tepion a Point as fiue as a Needle,\nave\nBALANCING THE SAME ON IIIS CHIN,\n- * now to the Audiesce while revolving es the\nand by the word of command, restores it to the - Equilibries and\nwhee Grot Spea.\nTRS.\nWONDERFUL FEAT WITH LARGE KNIVES\nase\nSW.ALLOWING A STONE THE arze OF AN EGC.\nAloo. bie maniy Activity is\nThrowing a Large Ballthe size of an\n18-pound Shot\nTo parts of bie Body, with the greated - be places * botwodh N and by -\nthance to averal other parts of Frame: bot finally, with manterly jerti, throws the wand\nspring, throws It over bis Shoulder, from whence it alights os the bond of Nio Ara, asd\nwithout the am\u00e9stance of bie after several other achievements, be will concludo -\nSEVERAL NOVEL FEATS.\nylenical\nPerformances to commence every Day at One o Clock, and every Evening\na Sight Sa ech.Childres Half-prics;\nCA whe\nA Ramo Samee handbill, featuring his stone-swallowing act.\nFrom the\nHarry Houdini Collection.\nmanner above described, but we doubt very much whether\nsuch is the usual or customary method.\"\nRobert-Houdin states that the child is placed in the\nbasket, and the Indian fastens down the lid with leather\nstraps. To facilitate this operation, he rests his knees\n[282]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 310, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nwas not a novelty in his day. The lock which would\nfirst alarm the household by setting off a pistol and then\nbrand the thief's hand, is described by the Marquis of\nWorcester in his. book \"Centurie of Inventions.\" As\nlocks and locksmithing form my hobby, while in England\nI purchased the entire set of patent-books, to add to a\ncollection of locks and fastenings from every known coun-\ntry of the world. In the introduction of the first book of\npatents for inventions relating to locks, latches, bolts,\netc., from A.D. 1774 to 1866, the following quotation will\nbe found:\n\"The Marquis of Worcester in his \"Centurie of Inven-\ntions' thus describes the first detector lock invented, A.D.\n1640, by some mechanical genius of that day: \"This lock\nis so constructed that, if a stranger attempts to open it, it\ncatches his hand as a trap catches a fox, though as far as\nmaiming him for life, yet so far marketh him that if sus-\npected he might easily be detected.'\"\nIt appears that to this lock was fitted a steel barb\nwhich, if a certain tumbler was overlifted in the act of\npicking or otherwise, was projected against the hand of\nthe operator by a spring. I have seen such a lock as this\nin the collection of Hobbs, Hart & Co., London, who\nhave had it in their possession many years. In every\nrespect it answers the description of the invention claimed\nby Robert-Houdin as his own.\nChapter VII. of \"Secrets of Stage Conjuring\" is de-\nvoted to Robert-Houdin's very incorrect explanation of\nthe famous Indian Basket Trick. Even his own trans-\nlator, Professor Hoffmann, takes issue with Robert-Hou-\ndin, as will be seen by reading his foot-note on page IO4:\n[281]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 309, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nstarts his dramatic tale of inventing a detector lock by\nwhich he protected a rich neighbor, M. de l'Escalopier,\nfrom robbery, and incidentally in return secured funds\nwith which to open his theatre in the Palais Royal. In\nhis \"M\u00e9moirs\" Robert-Houdin states that the opening\nof the theatre was made possible by the invention of the\nwriting and drawing automaton whose history has been\ntraced in chapter III. The reader can choose between\nthe two stories. One is as plausible as the other.\nBut to return to the detector lock. Count or M. De\nl'Escalopier having complained grievously to his humble\nneighbor, the watchmaker Robert-Houdin, that he and\nhis family were being robbed, begged that the latter sug-\ngest some means of catching the thief. Robert-Houdin\nthen recalled a childish device by which he had caught\nhis school-fellows in the act of pilfering his desk, etc.,\nand he proposed to the Count that the same device, elab-\norated to meet the strength of a full-grown man, be at-\ntached to his wealthy patron's desk. As first planned, the\ndetector lock was to shoot off a pistol on being tampered\nwith, and then brand the hand of the thief with nitrate\nof silver. Count de l'Escalopier objected to branding a\nman for life, so Robert-Houdin substituted for the nitrate\nof silver a sort of cat's claw which would clamp down on\nthe robber's hand and draw blood. The Count deposited\nten thousand francs in his desk and caught the robber,\nhis confidential servant, red-handed. The ten thousand\nfrancs he presented to Robert-Houdin as a reward for\nstopping the thefts.\nA charming tale this makes, but, unfortunately for\nRobert-Houdin's claims to originality, the detector lock\n[,280]\n-"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 308, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nsc\u00e8nes de Ventriloquie ex\u00e9cut\u00e9es et communiqu\u00e9es par M.\nConte, Physicien du Roi,\" Paris, 1837; \"Anciens et Nou-\nvaux Tours d'Escamotage,\" of which there are innumer-\nable editions; \"Le Manuel des Sorciers. Recr\u00e9ations Phy-\nsiques, Math\u00e9matiques, Tours de Cartes et de Gibeci\u00e8re;\nsuivre, des Jeux de Soci\u00e9t\u00e9,\" Paris, 1802.\nHis third work, \"Magie et Physique Amusante,\" trans-\nPOSITION OF BOY\nIN BASKET\nPosition of the \"vanished\" Hindoo while concealed in the basket. From the\nHarry Houdini Collection.\nlated by Professor Hoffmann under the title of \"The\nSecrets of Stage Conjuring,\" and published in English\nin 1881, is marred by an almost continuous strain of mis-\nstatements, incorrect explanations, and downright falsifi-\ncation.\nOn page 17 of the American edition Robert-Houdin\n[ 279]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 307, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nern human ostriches have all wound up at city hospitals\nwhere surgeons have removed broken glass, knife blades,\nand other foreign matter by means of an operation.\nI quote the above instances simply to prove that the\nstones were actually swallowed and then disgorged, and\nnot hidden, as Robert-Houdin claims, in the folds of the\nMokadem's burnous.\nIn this one chapter alone Robert-Houdin quotes six\nauthorities in explaining the tricks he witnessed, which\nfact only strengthens my belief that he borrowed his\ntricks, as well as his explanations, from able and graphic\nwriters on the art of magic.\nThe next work descriptive of the conjurer's art offered\nby Robert-Houdin was \"Les Secrets de la Prestidigitation\net de la Magie.\" Under the title of \"The Secrets of Con-\njuring and Magic; or, How to Become a Wizard,\" it\nwas translated and edited by Professor Hoffmann and\npublished in 1878 by George Routledge & Co., London\nand New York.\nAbsolutely no originality is displayed in this book, and\nthe majority of the tricks explained can be found in\nFrench books of a similar character which appeared be-\nfore Robert-Houdin turned author. The proof of this\nstatement can be found by reading any of the following\nworks upon which Robert-Houdin patently drew for his\nmaterial:\n\"Nouvelle Magie Blanche D\u00e9voil\u00e9e et Cours Complet\nde Prestidigitation,\" in two volumes, by J. N. Ponsin,\npublished in Paris in 1853; \"Grande Initiation au\nvraie Pratique des C\u00e9l\u00e8bres Physiciens-Prestidigitateurs,'\nParis, 1855; \"Nouveau Manuel Complet Sorciers, les\n[278]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 306, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nIn my collection is the handbill of a stonc-swallower\nwho exhibited at No. IO Cockspur Street, London, charg-\ning an admission fee of half-a-crown.\nThese performers actually swallowed the water, stones,\nIndian fakir seated in the basket after the subject has been \"vanished.\"\npebbles, etc., and retched them up again so cleverly and\nat such carefully selected instants that the audience did\nnot know that the disgorging had been accomplished.\nSwallowing glass was a different matter, and the mod-\n[ 277 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 305, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nswallows the blade of a sabre about thirteen inches long\nof polished steel. This operation he performs very slowly,\nand with some precaution; though he evinces no symp-\ntom of pain. After every solid body that he swallows, he\nPosition taken by the subject in the Indian basket trick before he is covered\nby the sheet.\nalways takes a small dose of wine expressly prepared for\nhim. He does not seem to make any effort to kill the\nliving animals that he takes in his mouth, but boasts that\nhe feels them moving in his stomach.\"\n[276]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 304, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nJames de Falaise, a Norman, about fifty years of age, living\nin the Rue St. Honor\u00e9. It is said that this extraordinary\nman will swallow whole walnuts, shell and all, a tobacco\nFLORAM MARCHAND.\nWater spouter & Juggler.\nFloram Marchand. From an old, undated English publication in the Harry\nHoudini Collection.\npipe, three cards rolled together, a rose with all its leaves,\nlong stalk, and thorns, a living bird, and a living mouse,\nand, lastly, a live eel. Like to the Indian jugglers, he\n[ 275 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 303, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nthem in water very transparent, rose-water, orange-flower-\nwater, and brandy.\n\"I have smelt the several odours of his liquors; nay,\nI have seen him set fire to a handkerchief dipt in that\nwhich smelt like brandy, and it burnt blue like spirituous\nliquors.\nNay, he frequently promised at Venice to\ngive the water back again in milk and oil. But I think he\ndid not keep his word. In short, he concluded this scene\nwith swallowing successfully thirty or forty glasses of\nwater, always from the same bucket, and after having\ngiven notice to the company by his man (who served as\nan interpreter) that he was going to disembogue, he\nthrew his head back, and spouting out the fair water,\nhe made it spring up with an impetuosity like that of\nthe strongest jet d'eau. This last feat delighted the\npeople infinitely more than all the rest, and during the\nmonth he was at Francfort numbers from all parts came\nto see this slovenly exercise. Though he repeated it more\nthan once a day he had more than four hundred specta-\ntors at a time. Some threw their handkerchiefs, and some\ntheir gloves upon the stage, that he might wet them with\nthe water he had cast up, and he returned them differently\nperfumed, sometimes with rose-water, sometimes with\norange-flower-water, and sometimes with brandy.\"\nAnother famous juggler and water-spouter was Floram\nMarchand, whose picture is herewith reproduced. Judg-\ning from his dress, he antedated Manfrede.\nBell's Messenger of July r6th, 1816, tells of a sword-\nswallower whose work is extremely pertinent to this dis-\ncussion, and the clipping is quoted verbatim:\n\"The French papers give a curious account of one\n[274]\n-"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 302, "folder": "", "text": "what is most extraordinary is that this water, which he\nthrew out with violence, appeared red like wine. And\nwhen he had discharged it into two different bottles, it\nwas red in one and russet like beer in the other; as soon\nas he shifted the bottles to the contrary sides, they changed\ntheir complexion respectively to that of wine or beer, and\nso successively so long as he continued vomiting; in the\nmean time, I observed that the water grew less discolored\nin proportion as he continued to discharge. This was the\nfirst act. Then he ranged his two dozen of bottles oppo-\nsite to him on a table, and exposed to everybody's view.\nThen he took an equal number of bottles, plunged them\nanew into the bucket, swallowed them too, and returned\n18\n[ 273 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 301, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nday, and indeed proved that he was capable of execut\nwhat he pretended to. I saw him perform frequen\nand remember it as well as if it was but yesterday.\nsaid he was an Italian; he was short and squat,\nSOLVS stevr SOL\nFAMA\nVOLAT\nEFFITIES DE BLASIS DE SICULE\nBlasius de Manfre or Blaise Manfrede, from a rare old woodcut in the H\nHoudini Collection.\nchest, face, forehead, eyes, and mouth very large.\npretended to be fifty years old, though he did not se\nforty.\n\"He was called the famous Blaise Manfrede, a nat\nof Malta. At Francfort he frequently performed th\ntimes a day: for, besides his performances twice a C\n[272]\n-"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 300, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nyears back in France by a mountebank called \"the Sabre-\nSwallower.'\n\"This man, who performed in the streets, threw back\nhis head so as to form a straight line with his throat, and\nreally thrust down his gullet a sabre, of which only the\nhilt remained outside his mouth.\n\"He also swallowed an egg without cracking it, or\neven nails and pebbles, which he caused to resound,\nby striking his stomach with his fist.\n\"These tricks were the result of a peculiar formation\nin the mountebank's throat, but, if he had lived among\nthe A\u00efssaoua, he would have assuredly been the leading\nman of the company.\"\nThe sabre-swallower never releases his hold on the\nweapon. The pebble and bottle-heel swallower does-\nbut brings them up again, by a system of retching which\nresults from long practice. The Japanese have an egg-\nswallowing trick in which they swallow either small-\nsized ivory balls or eggs, and reproduce them by a retch-\ning so unnoticeable that they could easily show the mouth\nempty.\nThis trick dates back to the offerings of that celebrated\nwater-spouter, Blaise Manfrede, or de Manfre, who trav-\nelled all over Europe. This man could swallow huge\nquantities of water and then eject it in streams or in small\nquantities or fill all sorts of glasses. In fact this one trick\nmade him famous. The European Magazine, London,\nMarch, 1765, pages 194-5, gives a most diverting descrip-\ntion of his trick, taken from an old letter, and here quoted\n:\n\"I have seen, at the September fair in Francfort, a\nman who professed drinking fifty quarts of water in a\n[ 271 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 299, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nforward or sidewise, the weapon would slice his body,\nresulting in instant death or horrible mutilation. I have\nwatched cheap performers of this class of work, in dime\nmuseums or fairs, walk up a ladder of sharp swords\nwhich I had previously held in my hand. They would\nplace the foot down with infinite precision and then press\nit into place. This position will not result in cutting,\nbut let the performer slip or slide and the flesh would\nbe cut instantly. I have also seen an acrobat, working\nin a circus, select two razors in first-class condition, place\nthem on a socket with the edges of the razors uppermost,\nand with his bare hands he would do what is known as\na hand-stand on the keen edges of the blades. This trick\nof absolute balance is acquired by persistent practice\nfrom youth up.\nAgain Robert-Houdin errs wofully in comparing the\nsabre-swallower to the swallower of broken bottle-heels\nand stones. Sabre-swallowing is one trick, swallowing\npebbles and broken glass belongs in quite a different\nclass. And when I say this I do not mean powdered\nglass, but pieces of glass first broken, then chewed, and\nfinally swallowed.\nOn page 426 Robert-Houdin puts the two tricks in the\nsame class, as follows:\n\"When the trick of swallowing bottle-heels and pebbles\nwas to be done, the A\u00efssaoua really put them in his mouth,\nbut I believe, I may say certainly, that he removed them\nat the moment when he placed his head in the folds of the\nMokadem's burnous. However, had he swallowed them,\nthere would have been nothing wonderful about this,\nwhen we compare it with what was done some thirty\n[270]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 298, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nmaintained his balance, but, in reality, they supported\nthe whole weight of his body. Hence, the only require-\nment for this trick is to have the stomach more or less\nPressed in, and I will explain presently that this can be\neffected without any danger or injury.\"\nIn this explanation Robert-Houdin is entirely wrong.\nSinghalese\nTHE\nKANDIN\nfrom the\nIsleorCeylon\nA\nWITH THE IRON SHIN\nA Rannin lithograph, showing him doing the sword-walking act which\nRobert-Houdin claimed to have been a fraud. Rannin is still working in Ger-\nmany, imitated by many, equalled by none. From a photograph in the Harry\nHoudini Collection.\nThe real secret of lying on top of a sharp-edged razor,\nsword, or sabre rests on the fact that the performer does\nactually lie upon it in a perfectly motionless position.\nWere he to move but the width of a hair, backward or\n[ 269]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 297, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nand at fairs, as well as in the better grade of houses.\nHaving worked on the same bill with genuine Arabian\nperformers, I know just how the tricks are accomplished.\nRobert-Houdin undertakes to explain these tricks in\nchapter XXII. of the American edition of his \"Me-\nmoirs.\" So long as he quotes reliable authorities like the\nJournal des Sciences, the explanations are correct. Di-\nrectly he attempts an independent exposure, he strikes\nfar from the correct explanation.\nOn page 424 he states:\n\"In the following experiment, two Arabs held a sabre,\none by the hilt, the other by the point; a third then came\nforward, and after raising his clothes so as to leave the\nabdomen quite bare, laid himself flat on the edge of the\nblade, while a fourth mounted on his back, and seemed\nto press the whole weight of his body on him.\n\"This trick may be easily explained.\n\"Nothing proves to the audience that the sabre is\nreally sharpened, or that the edge is more cutting than\nthe back, although the Arab who holds it by the point is\ncareful to wrap it up in a handkerchief-in this, imitating\nthe jugglers who pretend they have cut their fingers\nwith one of the daggers they use in their tricks.\n\"Besides, in performing this trick, the invulnerable\nturned his back on the audience. He knew the advantage\nto be derived from this circumstance; hence, at the mo-\nment when about to lay himself on the sabre, he very\nadroitly pulled back over his stomach that portion of\nhis clothing he had raised. Lastly, when the fourth actor\nmounted on his back, he rested his hands on the shoulders\nof the Arabs who held the sabre. The latter apparently\n[ 268 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 296, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nand, extending to the Chinese Museum, burnt it down on\nJuly 5th, 1854. An interesting account of the Automaton\nChess-Player, written by Prof. George Allen, of this\ncity, will be found in \"The Book of the First American\nChess Congress,' recently published in New York.\"\nSignor Blitz, in his book \"Fifty Years in the Magic\nCircle,\" corroborates the Mackenzie correction, by telling\nhow he saw Ma\u00eblzel in Havana, Cuba, where the famous\nGerman met his professional Waterloo, first in small\naudiences, then in the death of his faithful confederate,\nSchlomberg. Finally, broken in health and spirit, Ma\u00eblzel\nsailed from Havana for Philadelphia, but death overtook\nhim at sea. His body was consigned to the ocean's depths,\nand his few effects were sold to liquidate the cost of\npassage and other debts.\nThat Robert-Houdin should make an error concerning\na world-famous automaton the history of which could be\ntraced through contemporary periodicals and libraries, is\nalmost inconceivable and proves the carelessness with\nwhich he gathered and presented facts.\nHis inability to grasp the principles on which other\nperformers built their tricks is shown most clearly when\nhe attempts to describe and explain the performances of\nthe Arabian mountebanks whom he saw during his stay\nin Algiers. These tricks have been handed down from\none generation to another, and now that Arabian con-\njurers and acrobats are imported for hippodrome and\nvaudeville performances in all civilized countries, the\ntricks described by Robert-Houdin are familiar to the\ngeneral public. They are also copied by performers of\nother nationalities, and can be seen in circus side-shows\n[ 267 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 295, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\n\"Memoirs\"; and while he does not feature exposures of\ntricks in this work, he offers, in passing, explanations of\ntricks and automata presented by other magicians. For\nthe most part these explanations are obviously incorrect,\nand so prove that he was ignorant of certain fundamental\nprinciples of the art in which he claimed to have shone.\nIn the introduction of the American edition, published\nin 1850, Mr. Mackenzie, the editor, thus apologizes for\none of Robert-Houdin's most flagrant mistakes in tracing\nthe history of magic:\n\"One error which M. Houdin makes must not be\npassed over. His account of M. de Kempelen's cele-\nbrated automaton chess-player (afterward Ma\u00eblzel's) is\nentirely wrong. This remarkable piece of mechanism\nwas constructed in 1769, and not in I796; it was the\nEmpress Maria-Theresa of Austria who played with it,\nand not Catherine II. of Russia; it was in 1783 that it\nfirst visited Paris, where it played at the Caf\u00e9 de la\nRegence; it was not taken to London until 1784, and\nagain in 1819; it was brought to America in 1825, by M.\nMa\u00eblzel, and visited our principal cities, its chief resting-\nplace being Philadelphia; M. Ma\u00eblzel's death was in\n1838, on the voyage from Cuba to the United States, and\nnot, as M. Houdin says, on his return to France; and the\nautomaton, so far from being taken back to France, was\nsold by auction here, finally purchased by the late Dr.\nJ. K. Mitchell, of Philadelphia, reconstructed by him,\nand finally deposited in the Chinese Museum (formerly\nPeale's), where it was consumed in the great fire which\ndestroyed the National Theatre (now the site of the\nContinental Hotel, corner of Ninth and Chestnut Streets),\n[ 266 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 294, "folder": "", "text": "ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC\nthe man sent by an editor to criticise a conjurer's per-\nformance knew little or nothing about the art and could\nnot institute comparisons between different magicians.\nTo-day Robert-Houdin would shine as an exhibitor of\nillusions or mechanical toys. A pistol shot, a puff of\nsmoke-and his confederate or assistant has done the\nreal work behind the scenes.\nHis lack of finesse as a sleight-of-hand performer is\nnowhere more clearly shown than in his own writings.\nOn page 37 of his French expos\u00e9 of the secrets of magic,\nentitled \"Comment on Devient Sorcier\" (page 5I of the\nEnglish translation by Professor Hoffmann, \"The Secrets\nof Conjuring and Magic\"), he thus na\u00efvely describes\nhis masterpiece of coin-palming:\n\"I myself practised palming long and perseveringly,\nand acquired thereat a very considerable degree of skill.\nI used to be able to palm two five-franc pieces at once, the\nhand, nevertheless, remaining as freely open as though\nit held nothing whatever.\"\nAn amateur of his own day would have blushed to\nadmit that he could palm but two coins. Men like T.\nNelson Downs, \"The Koin King,\" think nothing of\npalming twenty five-franc or silver dollars, or forty half-\ndollars, and even this record has been broken.\nEven two writers who contributed to the translation\nand editing of his works, R. Shelton Mackenzie and Pro-\nfessor Hoffmann (Angelo J. Lewis), and who have drawn\nrich royalties for the same, apologize for his flagrant mis-\nstatements, which, they realize, any man or woman with\nbut a slight knowledge of conjuring must recognize.\nHis first contribution to the history of magic was his\n[ 265 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 293, "folder": "", "text": "CHAPTER X\nROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BETRAYED\nBY HIS OWN PEN\nTATEMENTS in Robert-Houdin's various works\nS\non the conjurer's art corroborate my claim that he\nwas not a master-magician, but a clever purloiner\nX\nand adapter of the tricks invented and used by\nhis predecessors and contemporaries. Whenever, in these\nbooks, he attempts to explain or expose a trick which was\nnot part of his r\u00e9pertoire, he betrays an ignorance which\nwould be impossible in a conjurer versed in the finer and\nnore subtle branches of his art. Neither do these expla-\nnations show that he was clever enough as a mechanic to\nhave invented the apparatus which he claimed as his\nhandiwork. He states that practice and still more prac-\ntice are essential, yet no intelligent performer, amateur\nor professional, can study my collection of Robert-Houdin\nprogrammes, handbills, and press notices without realiz-\ning that his r\u00e9pertoire contained little or no trace of what\nshould be the foundation of successful conjuring, sleight-\nof-hand. Changing his fingers over the various air-holes\nof the inexhaustible bottle was as near as he ever came\nto sleight-of-hand, even when he was in the height of his\nsuccess.\nAccording to the press notices he had a pleasing stage\npresence, and also dressed and set forth his tricks richly,\nbut it must be borne in mind that then, as often to-day,\n[ 264 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 292, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\ntime to act, and away we went, leaving the lodge to its\nfeast. So much time had been lost in selecting the com-\nmittee that we reached the wharf just in time to catch\nthe 5 o'clock boat. On landing I received a prearranged\nsignal from my assistants that all was well, and as\nI\nwatched my committee dash up the stairs I knew that\ntheir quest would be rewarded.\nWhen the committee and the writer returned to the\nlodge-room, a mechanic was required to pry open the box.\nThere lay the identical handkerchiefs furnished by my\nspectators, who could hardly believe their eyes.\nOn other occasions I have asked my audience to select\na spokesman, who in a loud voice would announce the\npoint at which the handkerchiefs would be found, and\nthen my man, waiting just outside the door, would mount\nhis bicycle and pedal like mad for the hiding-place,\nnaturally outstripping any committee appointed. But\nthe first method, that of selecting the place beforehand and\nha ving all arrangements made, even to the three prepared\ncards, is safest and is probably the one used by Robert-\nHoudin to deceive the French monarch. I doubt if he\neven had three different cards prepared, as he claims.\nI believe he exaggerated his feat, for that would have\nbeen taking long chances.\nFor this trick I claim not an iota of originality. I\nsimply fitted it to the time, the place, and the audience,\nand that I believe is all Robert-Houdin did when he\n\"invented\" the disappearing handkerchief trick for the\namusement of his sovereign.\n[ 263 )"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 291, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nhandkerchiefs were placed in the tin box, securely sol-\ndered, and then this box was placed inside a second iron\nbox, which was locked. The \"plant\" was then taken\nupstairs and hidden under the top step.\nIn the mean time, with my thoughts following my\nassistant every step of his trip, I was playing out my end\nof the game. The audience was supplied with blank\ncards on which they might write the name of the place\nwhere the handkerchiefs should reappear. This, of\ncourse, took some time, and when the cards, each folded\nto hide the writing thereon, were collected in a hat, I\nshook them up thoroughly, and then turned them out\nupon a plate, deftly adding, on the top, three cards which\nI had concealed in my hand. This was sleight-of-hand\npurely, and I next picked out those three prepared cards on\neach of which was written \"Can you send the handker-\nchiefs under the top step of the Statue of Liberty ?\"\nExplaining that I had in my hand three cards chosen at\nhaphazard, I wished the final choice to be made by a\ndisinterested party. A baby was finally chosen to select\nthe card. Naturally, I refused even to take the slip of\npaper from the baby's hand, and one of the lodge members\nread the question.\nMurmurs of surprise and incredulity echoed from all\nover the hall. The test was too difficult! I then an-\nnounced that if the audience would select its own com-\nmittee, making sure to pick out men who could not be\nbribed, I would accompany them, and we would surely\nreturn with the handkerchiefs, sealed in double boxes,\nas found under the famous stairway. As an elaborate\ncourse luncheon was to be served, the committee had\n[ 262]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 290, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\nor cover. To all in-\ntents and purposes, I\ndid not pass from the\nview of the audience,\nfor fully half of my\n4\nbody was on the stage,\nbut as my assistant\nhanded me a new glass\ncover, he deftly ex-\ntracted the real hand-\nPORTICO ROOMS,\nNEWINGTON, BOLD-ST.\nkerchiefs from under\nTHE ARRIVAL OF\nmy vest. Then, while\nMONS. LE SUCKE,\nTHE\nGREAT\nI returned to the stage\nwith my patter and\nMAGICIAN !\ndescription of the flight\nEMPEROR OF ALL WIZARDS,\nthe handkerchiefs were\nwas WILL MANE mus FIBAT EN THIS TOWN,\nOn Tuesday, June 18, 1844,\nabout to make, my as-\nAND OPEN HIS CRAND\n0\nsistant, with the hand-\n-\nSPLENDED PAINTINGS A TABLES COVERED WITH CRISSON VELVET.\nkerchiefs in his pocket,\n- - Arma the\nthe\nvith af - Transparent Globular lampa,\nwalked unnoticed from\nly\nite\nMITHOLOGY\nTRANS\nthe door, and, once out\n-\nSECRET DA EETS,\nTHE WALKING CARD\nof sight, ran madly to\nFLIGHT OF COINS,\nMAG10 FLIGHT,\n-- -\nLADY'S GLOVE REAIORED.\nPasamera 1908,\n- - -\nthe Subway station.\nAN BINET.\nMAGIC NALIEDESCOPE\nTHE UNLMONY\nTHE CUBES OF CABRIA,\nThere he boarded an\n- esca -\nor\n- TAPER\nMIRACULOUS FEAST,\nexpress and reached\nLAAE AN TLVING WATCE\nVOLCANIA'S CHICLETS\nZamiel's project,\nBOTTLE OF ASMODEOUS,\non\nthe boat landing just\nFIERY COLUMN,\nde\nTHE ERIAL CAND DE\nTRI -\nMISTIC ECCALIOBIOK\nin time to catch the 4-\n- GOLDEN\n-\nFLIGNT or BERCURV,\nFLORA'S GIFT,\nDE -\no'clock boat. At the\nCARDIOLOGIOMANIA,\n07\nCHARHED PAQUET,\nand THE -\nStatue, my brother and\nGobirt of\n-\nWITCI'S\nPLUTO'S BOTTLE,\na tinsmith were wait-\nReproduction of a rare Buck handbill, dated\ning for him. The\n1844. From the Harry Houdini Collection.\n[261]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 289, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nhumble travelling magicians whose names have been\nwritten most faintly in the annals of conjuring, and the\nmuch-vaunted trick \"invented\" by Robert-Houdin for\nthe entertainment of his sovereign.\nThe hall in which the matin\u00e9e was given was located\nin Harlem, Borough of Manhattan, New York City, and\nI had decided that the handkerchiefs which were to make\nthe flying journey should be \"desired\" by some one pres-\nent to appear under the top step of the winding staircase\nin the Statue of Liberty, which is located in New York\nHarbor. This meant a half-hour ride from the hall to\nthe boat in a Subway train; then a run across New York\nHarbor to the Statue. These boats left the dock on the\nhour and the half-hour, so I timed my performance to\nfill just half an hour, starting with some sleight-of-hand,\nthe egg-bag trick, and swallowing a package of needles\nand bringing them up threaded, which latter trick was\nintroduced into magical performances in Europe by K.\nK. Kraus in 1816.\nJust before 3:30 o'clock I borrowed three handkerchiefs\nand tied them together for casier handling. I had three\nhandkerchiefs, similarly tied together, under my vest, and\njust at 3:30, I switched the two sets of handkerchiefs,\nso that the handkerchiefs furnished by the spectators\nwere under my vest and the bogus handkerchiefs in my\nhand. First I dropped the bogus handkerchiefs on the\ntable-trap, picking up the opaque glass cover with which\nthey were to be hidden, and, by a carefully rehearsed bit\nof carelessness, dropped and broke it. Then, leaving\nthe bogus handkerchiefs on the table trap, I stepped\ntoward the wings, apparently to secure another glass bell\n[260]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 288, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\nThe method of performing the trick was so familiar\nto conjurers of Robert-Houdin's time and earlier that\nHenry Evans Evanion was able to describe it to me from\nactual witnessings. Acting on his explanation, on my\nreturn to America I offered the trick, without any great\nFrontispiece from Ingleby's book, \"Whole Art of Legerdemain,\" said to\nbe an excellent likeness of the conjurer-author. From the Harry Houdini\nCollection.\namount of preparation and without a hitch, at a matin\u00e9e\nentertainment given by a secret organization. I will\ndescribe precisely how this was done, and allow my readers\nto judge of the similarity of the trick offered years ago by\n[259]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 287, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nEmperor of all Conjurora.\nand then ordered to be\nput down to roast. After\nperforming some tricks,\nUader the Patronage of Her Royal Highness the Frincess of Wala\nyou recollect the shoulder\nLYCEUM, STRAND.\nof mutton, which is\nNo Performance Wedneodaye er Fridayo. during Lent\nimmediately brought\nMr. Ingleby,\nhalf-roasted, and after\nTHE GREATEST MAN IN THEWORLD,\ncutting it for some time\nIn his Profession,\nyou at length find the\ninforms the Nobility, Gentry, and la geweral, the le Conso-\nquesce of the Art of Deception, he has hed conferred\nupee him the Tide of es EMPEROR or ALL by sumoromo\ncard, and produce it.\nof Condomen particularly through the Triek of\nPown's Assa and a to Lib and for no\nMon anem the - way but therefore, the Hond of bie\nand all remieds Man oult er the\n\"Explanation:\nThe Ase de the Lios's 'The Os and the \"reg,\"\nNo of de Worl,\n\"Having forced a card\nMONDAY, Feb. 29, 1908,\nTuceday, Narch 1, Thureday 3, and Saturday, 5.\non one of the company,\nPART 1.\nyour confederate has an\nMr. INGLEBY, and his merituzious Family,\nFROJ DONDER, SCOTLJIND.\ntha go Nie and -\nby\nopportunity, when the\nDEXTERITY OF HAND,\nmutton is sent to be\nTach . - never before\nH - dod , - ef - Mabilly . -\n-\nM- INGI\nroasted, of conveying a\nComment - - de whole Compit\u00e9 -\nway brash des, - Child - - -\nBa - la Bome - and - - -\n- part a the Feck, and lay dem the Flom: -\nthin duplicate of that\nle firma - Na Fosi - - of Band.\nPark of - - Banda, - - alsing - - Cark, -\n- - - Card - - -\n- de - -\ncard folded into a narrow\nHIS PIXIDES METALLURGY.\nAs - the - \", - gha - -\n.\n- Pages . - w - at\ncompass into the fleshy\n- of farma - - is des - the al the\nthink\nwhich - - Page - le - - nittes\nare el - - visi they - - / el - - Mald\n.\n- - - - the the - - The - - the Wifs. - - de was n. ber W by -\nbe sur\u00e1\npart near the shank,\nAn Operation in Popsomance,\n- INGA,ROY - de to Thragiti of *** Prissa la Cospley, Qws.\nwhich can be easily done\nMa - also - Thonghe a Fira - the et -\nWritts\n,\nCUT A FOWL'S HEAD OFF,\nby means of a sharp\na my other the of . CALF. and ty - Word a Mall de\nperf\u00e9ctly - Man knows the real way bur\nMr. sie - - - - - whi em Fowl, the de - Fueing flaw. that be - shali - Nia\nand -\nand - .\npenknife.\n- Wings de - Ns - l'etter Breass apos be - -\n- - - -\nas wnk. ALEO REHIBIT THE\nSTICKS OF FANCY,\n\"This trick, though\nWhich - - - de aut grens Vorlety of other Dreeptions - to -\n- INGLEST - get lesto esch - estive Artet Commery, - se Nen had, \" .... dell hees, bet\nremarkably simple, has\n- be lives a vil allee - - - de Posal, which N will perfore perher thep.\n- - - - - la the Compaey . - Sall, and no eill let - est . -\n- Ne - - - le were . -\ncreated universal aston-\nPART n.\nTIGHT ROPE DANCING,\nishment at the Minor\nayae - justy INTREPID\nSIGNORA BELINDA,\nTheatre, where it was\nWhe\n- - with Forma, - Weeden na \" de\n- will gerfoss I - - any ofher\nIngleby handbill, dated 1808. From the\nfrequently exhibited by\nHarry Houdini Collection.\nMr. Ingleby.\"\n[258]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 286, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\nshoulder of mutton, which, on being cut, would yield up\na card previously drawn by some spectator. He thus de-\nscribes his trick in his book \"Whole Art of Legerde-\nmain,\" published in London in 1815:\n\"TRICK FOUR.\n\"To cut out of a Shoulder of Mutton a Card which one\nOnly known portrait of the clever English conjurer, Buck. From an engraving\nin the Harry Houdini Collection.\nof the Company had previously drawn out of the Pack.\n\" Having desired a person to draw a Card out of several\nwhich you hold to him, and to remember it, which he\npromises to do, you tell him it shall be in a shoulder of\nmutton which you will send for.\n\" \"Accordingly you desire a servant to go to the butch-\ner's and bring one. When brought, it is examined,\n17\n[ 257]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 285, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nshow that a popular test was to have articles passed fron\nthe Adelphia Theatre t<\nROYAL CLARENCE THEATRE,\nthe gun which was being\nLIVERFOEL STREET,\nUnder - - of - of\n. - Fes. se n - sess,\nwatched by a sentinel.\nof - a Conto - - Thanks - - -\n- - - -- - - - - Pase of - - g - -\n- - - - - - - - Too - - -\nFebruary 22d, 1833,\nto\n-\nCORNUCOP\\E-COMICALLITY\nfound a Mr. Jefferini\nFROJE\nREAL\nLIFR\n1.\nat the Royal Clarence\nPART\nTheatre, Liverpool\nsera.\nILLUBION\nStreet, King's Cross,\nILLUBION\nserra.\nLiverpool. He agreed\nto make \"an article fly\nILLUSION.\nat the rate of five hun-\nserv.\nsona.\ndred miles an hour,\nMr. SHARP,\nfrom King's Cross to\nthe CELETED\nthe Centre of Greece.\"\nFrom the CITY THEATRE, will Displey bie Inimitable Powera,\nle - a the\nM.\nEFFERINI,\nThe original Buck\nAmeng ther\nTHAUIATURGICS\nfeatured on his pro-\nwa -\nIMPOSSIBILITIES,\ngramme a similar trick\nNe - le - - Audience\nA Decanter of Pert Wime imto Pare Water.\nwhich he called \"The\nwe make - \", as\n500 MILESA MINUTE\nLoaf Trick.\" On a bill\narnas gmoss Contre of cassoz predose\nBOTTLE OF WINE\ndated October 26th,\nA LIVING PIG.\n1840, it is announced\nas follows: \"Watch in\nThe Porformente conclude N. INFFERINIS\nCLASSICAL STUDIES\na loaf. The magician\nor the ANOIENT MASTERS.\nMe.\n,\n-\nContures\n-\nwill command any gen-\nat Via, se - Sorce\nsozas .\n-\nPIT,\nGALLERY. \"\ntleman's watch to dis-\nRak Prier . - sozas - et\nThe Ordese - be admitted - ramay -\n-\nde\n-\n-\nde\nabe\nw. a Nottee\nappear. It will be found\nJefferini handbill, dated 1833, in which\nin a loaf at any baker's\nhe announces that any article will be made\nto fly 500 miles a minute.\nshop in Town.\" The\nsenior Ingleby changed\nthe trick somewhat, sending out to any market for\na\n[ 256]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 284, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\nsented by a number of conjurers\nTO\nbefore Robert-Houdin was known\nCharitable.\nin the world of magic. Robert-\nCATHERINE\nHoudin simply employed the trick\nLangan\nfamiliar to both his predecessors\n- to\nle\nfor\n1\ncoming:\nse -\nand contemporaries and redressed\nand destitute - le of\nthe\n-\nof\nmoking\n-\nSie - - - ether astag\nbee in - the -\nit to tickle the fancy of his royal\n-\n-\nat\nthe\nof\nwho\n-\nInterest\nle\nbee\n- . BENEFIT at the of\npatron.\nWODDS\nvea\nIn England this trick was known\nDuke of York Tavern\nCHALRS-STHEET,\namong old conjurers as \"The Ne\nON MONDAY,\nPlus Ultra of the Cabalistic Art.\"\nTuonday and Wednesday Kreaing, the 25th,\n28th and 27th July, 1831,\nWHEN THE CREEBRATED MR.\nIn 1826 one M. F\u00e9lix Testot,\nMARRIOT\nwho claimed to be a compatriot\nof Robert-Houdin, presented the\nRECREATIVE PHILOSOPHY,\nMagicalIllusions\ntrick in the British provinces, and\nMelamorphesis and Transformations,\nNes Ne - by\none of his bills I am reproducing\nYoung SPRI.VG.\nThe Part will - New and\nbecause it shows that the trick he\nDead Bird resiored lo Life!\nThe Postama. - The Magie Methed of Printing, withert\nthe - of lok or Pres.\noffered the provincial Britons and\nTHE BOTTLE;\nOr, MIRACULOUS NOTE.\nWhish will, at retera asy Car\u00e9 - a - of the Andlesso.\nthe trick which Robert-Houdin\nA New Method of Coining Money,\noa THE WAY TO GET RICH:\nA Bunhei of Rice - . of Coffee. - eschnage their Pus.\noffered the royal family at St.\n- at the word of com-\nMe. x. - - ofher Ponta, - the Autionce - -\nDaneing and Speaking Moucy ! I\nCloud were identical. It also\nWhich\n-\nthe\n- Pless Mests and the of asy\n- othes\nNr. M. - introduse -\nproves that London had seen the\nThe Cabalistic Art.\nNe.\ntrick; and what London had seen,\n-\nParis, including Robert-Houdin,\nthe\n-\neseveyed\n.\n-\nThe\nof\nhad heard of.\nSIG. MARRIOTT\nwis perfora ALBS\nA programme used by \"The\nTreble Scale of Glassee.\nThe Posformance - - cach Krening as Soven\nCelebrated Mr. Marriot, Professor\nADMISSION TWO SHILLINGS.\nof Recreative Philosophy,\" in\nMarriot programme fea-\nturing \"Cabalistic Art' in\n1831, contains word for word the\n1831, or fifteen years before\nRobert-lloudin claims to\nannouncement of the trick used\nhave invented the disappear-\ning handkerchief trick. From\non Testot's bill, which goes to\nthe Harry Houdini Collection.\n[255]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 283, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nmonk fought for his life so effectually that it was he, and\nnot Cagliostro, who escaped. Cagliostro was literally\nburied alive in a subterranean dungeon, as punishment\nfor his final offence, and his wife immured herself in a\nRoman convent, where she died in 1794.\nIn Paris, perhaps, Cagliostro enjoyed his greatest\nFree Masons' Lodge, Myton-Gate.\nMORE NEW PERFORMANCES.\nFor THREE NIGHTS Longer.\nMons. Felix Testot,\nImpressed with . dee - of graditude to the Pabilic for the patronage eviscad tewards the\ndurlag stay le Sell, - - leave to solicit - that the Solection be -\nthate\nwill - with the - Apprebades they hove alrendy - agee\nOn\nThursday, Friday, and Saturday Evenings,\nOctober 19, 20, and 21, 1896.\nAmong other NEW FEATS, Mom , T. - that Font of\nTHE NE PLUS ULTRA OF THE\nCabalistic Art.\nThe Company - be requested to favear M. T.T. with losa of . variety of of -\npersome as hase set lest asy thing will hove an apportucity to commend N to retere a the ardicios\nbet making theis choice to thate coppostive oveera. Ho ush thes the erticios to\nand be found immodiately, whorever the Company - regaire, that - asy,\nIN ANY PART OF the rown.\nThe\nesecution of this Musice le Londes cassed of the greatent delight - the astiale\nbese - conveyed from the Adelphi Thentre to the greas Gast Se fert,\nGee 6 night and day under the immediate charge of . Sondeal. It also - grestast\nand delight le Ozferd, where the articles berrowal were eseveyed freas - Reom,\nto the top of Usiveruity Chered, and - reponted feer eveelage la - almeet\nble\nplaces. Alse le by the articles being esereyed to the top of Neleos's Mosement\nTHE WICK PIDGEON.\nas WILL INTRODUCE THE NEW AND EITRAORDINARY\nTransformation of a BIRD\nINTO A CHILD!\nGROWING INTO\nLADY!!\nwia - other exporiments, which lore\nNomal , t. performence with bie EVOLUTIONS\nand Fom CM bave geleed - appliente dese\nDasus to be at Sovee and the to at\nFRONT SEATS,\n-\n-\nTestot programme, featuring Cabalistic Art\" in 1826. From the Harry\nHoudini Collection.\ntriumphs of charlatanism, and it is not remarkable\nthat the appearance of his seal in the midst of Robert-\nHoudin's trick should seem almost uncanny to the royal\nfamily.\nBut to return to the disappearing-handkerchief trick.\nRobert-Houdin did not invent this trick. It was pre-\n[ 254]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 282, "folder": "", "text": "TEWPLE OF AST, SCIENCE. AND MYSTERY!\nGRAND SOIREES FANTASTIQUES\nIntely reterned to Fagiond. aftse visiting Germany, Premin. Austria, Naplui he.\nhue brfare the Courte of Berlin, de. as. and surgrising all by his\nFOR A FRW VIGHTS over.\nNewly Anvented sje INCO. \" EMSIBLE FEA TS.\n- Passessout, the - Arte - Pasta) loge - de\nthe Ant be ever M append la the query. These - - - ether, -\nthe LARGE ROON,\n(se - and thas - the eyes - the the Sigestalers of the - the . - Pross, . epee\ndies\nthe\npresented\n-\nle\n-\n-\nrems.\n-\n-\n-\nthe\ntendeary,\nof\nthis\nof\nTue\nthe\n-\n-\nNew Experiments! Great Novelties!f\nquise - the - , - issridate bee for - THS\nThe of have beea honoured by the approbation of the Heads of Euroge.\nstey aford delight (e the Lovers of\nPROPESSOR\nRECREATIVE PHILOSOPHY,\nTheir MORAL TENDENCY ever wire the of the Clangy. and the of dus\ncotrusted with the Fducation u Youth.\nSYNUPHIS or THS EACH AVENIKO.\nMUNS.TESTOT,\nPART\n845 basses' vans seves's\nTRE sox\nWax Candite\nSagie Seshed of Betating. withers or evees,\n. sil and the . personal le -\n- Ress\nLOST BING CSSCOUERER &\nRESTORED TO LIFE.\nwayse.\nl'artsian Enchanter and Emperer of all the Wieards.\nca\nTRS AND ENCILANTZO\nMAGIC BOTTLE,\nWhich will asy card chomen by the Andienes\nTHE\nN. TEATOR - ether frate esich - the &\nOPISTONS os\n\" Madeve Athees, diepley\nos\nCELEBRATED LOAF TRICK,\nThe Bencing -\nTHE PRESS\nfree the - be Goued - - Lee\n- - - quetes the Compery - prepere.\nthe PRESS.\nast - at Nusse and deine the a -\nsey le\n- - othee experiments\nor the way to get\nvus DSVEIVING DIC& noz\nPARTE\n\" de Sold\nSURPRISINC CHAYGES or SUGAR ase COFFER,\n- periods\no3n\nThe\nThe Enchanted Nest\nthe a Negirtes of -\nOr,\n- disploying hi. -\nthe Mag.\no a 0 w A\nvass es CANARY SCED. Mystical\nThe desteri.y. the *********,\nhes dering this bees amis\nse:! the astounding of bee\ntriebe . deser\u00e9 ite\nand\n(w.\nSECALT CONCEALER. TNE ATPLIN ', BELLZUUS\nMarvelloy\nbe aren le he He\nthe\nThe Necremantic Cabiner.\n.. le terperd the . *\n,\nrend,\nDestgrous menogement of Cupa, Balla, Birds, Flowers, &\nsed \" def, the -\najle\nResta, Ze cd. Reata. Se. Sach sa. amd n -\n- to the -\nat\nSevem.\nsed\nto\nas\npreet,\n- is to performe lue -\nade\nand may be secured at the lloom, Private Parties Atteuded, and Lessons given is the\nWore we\nSelect Trints for one l'ound. your o .. \",\nquere sed - - -\n:\n, . se se othere\nof\nresportable\ntoni\nGERPTU rustes, keurs\nle Lie - are aude the\nthe\negee thag le Liverpeed weeld\nhave Highty -\n- bo\n- ky\nVery rare Testot handbill printed about 1800, presented by Testot to HIenry Evanion. From the Harry Houdini Collection."}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 281, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nlanguages. These two adventurers travelled in Egypt,\nand when Althotas died Cagliostro went to Naples and\nRome, where he married a beautiful girdle-maker named\nSeraphinia Feliciani. This woman shared both his tri-\numphs and his disgrace. In 1776 they arrived in London,\nwhere he announced himself as the Count di Cagliostro.\nThe title was assumed, the name was borrowed from his\nmother's side of the house. Here for the first time Cag-\nliostro announced himself also a worker of miracles or\nwonders.\nHe exhibited two mysterious substances, \"Materia\nPrima,\" with which he transmuted all baser metals into\ngold, and \"Egyptian Winc,\" with which he claimed to\nprolong life. His wife, who was just past twenty, he\ndeclared was more than sixty, her youthful appearance\nbeing due to the use of his elixir. He founded a spurious\nEgyptian rite in connection with the Masonic order\nwhich has been recognized as a blot upon Masonic history,\nand he claimed thousands of Masonic dupes. All over the\nContinent he and his beautiful wife travelled, now healing\nthe poor for nothing, now duping the rich, but always\nliving in a most picturesque, voluptuous fashion. He\ndipped into spiritualism and mesmerism, but wherever\nhe went his converts followed after.\nIn 1789, while in Rome, he was seized by that invincible\npower, the Holy Inquisition, and was condemned to death.\nLater Pope Pius VI. changed the sentence to life imprison-\nment. Confinement made him more daring than ever.\nHe asked for a confessor, and when a Capuchin monk\nwas permitted to enter his cell in this capacity Cagliostro\nendeavored to choke him and escape in his robes. The\n[ 252]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 280, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\ntion and cleverly planned, ofttimes brilliantly executed\ncrimes. He fled Palermo after forging theatre tickets\nand a will, and duping a goldsmith out of sixty pieces of\nReproduction of a rare portrait of Seraphinia Feliciani, Comtesse de Caglios-\ntro, wrongfully called Lorenzo in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. From the\nHarry Houdini Collection.\ngold. At Messina he fell in with an alchemist named\nAlthotas, a man of some learning who spoke a variety of\n[251]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 279, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\non the celebrated alchemist's bottles of elixir and liquid\ngold, I had obtained from Torrini, who had been an old\nfriend of Cagliostro's.\n\"It is certainly the same,' my royal spectator answered,\nafter comparing the two seals. Still, in his impatience to\nlearn the contents of the parcel, the King quickly tore\nopen the envelope, and soon displayed before the aston-\nished spectators the six handkerchiefs, which, a few\nmoments before, were still on my table.\"\nWhile the use of the Cagliostro seal really formed no\npart of the trick, its possession by Robert-Houdin goes\nto show how indefatigably he collected conjuring curios\nand how quick he was to utilize any part of his collection,\nand score thereby a brilliant showing.\nCagliostro seals were by no means rare. This prince\nof charlatans had seals, like adventures, in great variety ;\nand in this connection, it is not out of place to tell some-\nthing of Cagliostro and thus explain why the parchment\nbearing his seal created such a sensation at St. Cloud.\nCagliostro has no match in the annals of magic. Not a\nconjurer in the sense of being a public entertainer, he\nyet mystified and bewitched his thousands. Something\nof a physician, more of an alchemist, and altogether a\ncharlatan, he left behind him a trail of brilliant chicanery,\ndaring adventure, and ignominious failure and undoing\nunequalled in the history of Europe.\nCagliostro was born Joseph Balsamo, in Palermo,\nItaly, June 8th, 1743. His parents were in humble cir-\ncumstances and he started his career as a novice in the\nConvent of Benfratelli, from which he was expelled for\nincorrigibility. Then he plunged into a life of dissipa-\n[250]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 278, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\nreplied with a smile; 'but that is impossible, and I must,\ntherefore, ask for proofs of your assertion.'\n\"If your Majesty will be kind enough to open this\ncasket they will be supplied.\n\" 'Certainly; but I shall require a key for that.'\n\"It only depends on yourself, Sire, to have one.\nDeign to remove it from the neck of this turtle dove,\nwhich has just brought it to you.'\n\"Louis Philippe unfastened a ribbon that held a small\nTusty key with which he hastened to unlock the coffer.\nThe first thing that caught the King's eye was a parch-\nment, on which he read the following statements:\n\"This day, the sixth of June, 1786, this iron box,\ncontaining six handkerchiefs, was placed among the roots\nof an orange tree by me, Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro,\nto serve in performing an act of magic which will be exe-\ncuted on the same day sixty years hence before Louis\nPhilippe of Orl\u00e9ans and his family.'\n\"There is, decidedly, witchcraft about this,' the King\nsaid, more and more amazed. 'Nothing is wanting, for\nthe seal and signature of the celebrated sorcerer are placed\nat the foot of this statement, which, Heaven pardon mc,\nsmells strongly of sulphur.'\n\"At this jest the audience began to laugh.\n\"'But,' the King added, taking out of the box a carefully\nsealed packet, 'can the handkerchiefs, by possibility, be\nin this?\n\"'Indeed, Sire, they are; but, before opening the\nparcel, I would request your Majesty to notice that it,\nalso, bears the impression of Cagliostro's seal.'\n\"This seal, once rendered so famous by being placed\n[ 249]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 277, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\ntricks? Your Majesty will doubtless be still more sur-\nprised when I prove to your satisfaction that this coffer\nReproduction of a very rare pastel portrait of Cagliostro. From the\nHarry Houdini Collection.\nas well as its contents was deposited in the chest of the\norange-tree sixty years ago.'\n\"I should like to believe your statement,' the King\n[ 248]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 276, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\n\"The King then walked quickly to the door, whence he\nlooked in the direction of the orange-tree, to assure him-\nself that the guards were at their post; when this was\ndone, he began to smile and shrug his shoulders.\n\"Ah! M. Robert-Houdin,' he said, somewhat ironi-\ncally, 'I much fear for the virtue of your magic staff.'\nThen he added, as he returned to the end of the room,\nwhere several servants. were standing, \"Tell William to\nopen immediately the last chest at the end of the avenue,\nand bring me carefully what he finds there-if he does\nfind anything.'\n\"William soon proceeded to the orange-tree, and,\nthough much astonished at the orders given him, he began\nto carry them out.\n\"He carefully removed one of the sides of the chest,\nthrust his hand in, and almost touched the roots of the\ntree before he found anything. All at once he uttered a\ncry of surprise as he drew out a small iron coffer caten\nby the rust.\n\"This curious find, after having been cleaned from the\nmould, was brought in and placed on a small ottoman\nby the King's side.\n\"Well, M. Robert-Houdin,' Louis Philippe said to me,\nwith a movement of impatient curiosity, 'here is a box;\nam I to conclude it contains the handkerchiefs?\n\"Yes, Sire,' I replied with assurance, 'and they have\nbeen there, too, for a long period.'\n\"How can that be? The handkerchiefs were lent\nyou scarce a quarter of an hour ago.\n\"I cannot deny it, Sire; but what would my magic\npowers avail me if I could not perform incomprehensible\n[ 247 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 275, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nthree of the cards at hazard, and choose from them the\nplace he might consider most suitable.\n\"'Let us see,' Louis Philippe said, what this one says\n\"I desire the handkerchiefs to be found beneath one of\nthe candelabra on the mantelpiece.\" That is too easy\nfor a sorcerer; so we will pass to the next card: \"The\nhandkerchiefs are to be transported to the dome of the\nInvalides.\" That would suit me, but it is much too far\nnot for the handkerchiefs, but for us. Ah, ah!' the King\nadded, looking at the last card, 'I am afraid, M\nRobert-Houdin, I am about to embarrass you. Do you\nknow what this card proposes?\n'Will your Majesty deign to inform me?'\n\"It is desired that you should send the handkerchiefs\ninto the chest of the last orange-tree on the right of the\navenue.'\nOnly that, Sire? Deign to order, and I shall obey.'\n\"'Very good, then; I should like to see such a magio\nact: I, therefore, choose the orange-tree chest.\n\"The King gave some orders in a low voice, and ]\ndirectly saw several persons run to the orange-tree, ir\norder to watch it and prevent any fraud.\n\"I was delighted at this precaution, which must add\nto the effect of my experiment, for the trick was already\narranged, and the precaution hence too late.\n\"I had now to send the handkerchiefs on their travels.\nso I placed them beneath a bell of opaque glass, and\ntaking my wand, I ordered my invisible travellers to pro-\nceed to the spot the King had chosen.\n\"I raised the bell; the little parcel was no longer there\nand a white turtle-dove had taken its place.\n[ 246]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 274, "folder": "", "text": "CHAPTER IX\nTHE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF\nS\nUPREME egotism and utter disregard for the truth\nmay be traced in all of Robert-Houdin's writings,\nbut they reached a veritable climax when he indited\nchapter XVI. of his \"Memoirs.\" During the\ncourse of this chapter he described the so-called invention\nand first production of the disappearing-handkerchief trick.\nAccording to the American edition of his \"Memoirs,\"\npage 3\u00b03, he received a command to appear before Louis\nPhilippe and his family at St. Cloud in November, 1846.\nDuring the six days intervening between the official in-\nvitation and his appearance before the royal family, he\narranged a trick from which, he states, he had every reason\nto expect excellent results. On page 305 he goes even\nfurther in his claims and announces:\n\"All my tricks were favorably received, and the one\nI had invented for the occasion gained me unbounded\napplause.\"\nHe then gives the following description of the trick and\nits performance:\n\"I borrowed from my noble spectators several handker-\nchiefs, which I made into a parcel, and laid on the table.\nThen, at my request, different persons wrote on the cards\nthe names of places whither they desired their handker-\nchiefs to be invisibly transported.\n\"When this had been done, I begged the King to take\n[ 245 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 273, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nrod was fitted into a special place in the corset, also in\nthe platform. This method was improved, first to make\nit a self-raising suspension, then eventually with a steel\nrod from the back of the stage, eliminating the use of\nboth rods under the arms.\nSpectators and reviewers commented on the rigid,\nalmost painful, carriage of Robert-Houdin's son during\nthe performance, which they laid to the effect of ether.\nUnquestionably Robert-Houdin used this crude corset-\nand-rod method of working the trick.\nThe fumes of ether which reached the audience, he\nadmits, were caused by pouring a little ether over hot\nirons in the wings.\nBut whatever the method employed by Robert-Houdin\nto secure the effects of \"suspension \u00e9th\u00e9r\u00e9enne,\" he was\nmerely introducing a century-old trick, which other\ncontemporary magicians were also exhibiting. The name\nof the real maker of the apparatus may never be known,\nbut some clever mechanician supplied Robert-Houdin,\nCompars Herrmann, and John Henry Anderson with\nprecisely the same method of working the trick, at pre-\ncisely the same time. Robert-Houdin alone was audacious\nenough to claim the invention as his own.\n[ 244]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 272, "folder": "", "text": "THE SUSPENSION TRICK\nbell hangs. Others use an electric magnet. Herr Alex-\nander placed his bell on top of a fancy case which\nhe could set anywhere, and the bell would ring at\ncommand. The secFet was a small bird, trained to jump\nfrom one rung of a tiny ladder to another, at word of\ncommand or the waving of a stick or wand which the\nbird could see from its point of imprisonment. Every\ntime that it jumped from one rung to another, it would\npull down a step which was so arranged that by the\nsmallest overweight it would release a catch, which in\nturn would throw the hammer against the glass. When\nthe bird stepped off, the hammer would again come back\nto its original position and be ready for the second blow.\nThis bird he bought from a street fortune-teller, who\nhad trained it to go up different steps of a ladder and\nselect envelopes containing variously printed fortunes.\nAlexander enjoyed personal acquaintance with Presi-\ndent Polk, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Calhoun, and\ntheir fellow-statesmen in the United States. Through\nhis friendship with President Polk he carried to the West\nIndies and Brazil letters so influential that the aristocracy\nin these countries opened its doors to him. He was\nwelcomed at the palace of Dom Pedro, and has in his\npossession letters from both the King and his consort,\ndated 1850.\nSo much for the history of a man who was brave enough\nto admit that he developed the suspension trick from\nprinciples laid down by humble Indian fakirs.\nThe crudest method used for accomplishing the sus-\npension trick consisted of a steel corset, an iron rod\npainted to resemble wood, and a platform. The steel\n[ 243 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 271, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nAlexander called this trick \"The Spirit Bell,\" an\nworked by one method or another, it has been used\nmany magicians. Some employ a thread and hoo\n\"\nEXPRADRDINARIA\nHERR ALEXANDER,\n- atiss LN\nEN EL SALORK DE LA\nH\nERR ALENANDER, al tribetar al martable Publire de les - -\n- agraderimirates per la brenela acejido que le la digresado. di *\nque dara, a prticios de markas que le ree sa des\ndinarias, a que se ejecular\u00e1e las serries mas serpredentes, que se has tiste es las asteriores, ... *gunas\netras sernas ! myy asembresar.\nLa fencios * hoy se dislinguira per la mas tifril I mas admirable sarrie.\nEL XILIGRO DEL I\\DOSTIT. O EL SISPEIDIDO ll El URE.\nORDEN DE LA FUNCION.\ndel mode \u00e9\n7. PARTE.\n2.CHRTE.\ngelota\n1.--1 1.\n2-11 del\nemable.\n4.-1sva\ncumplido\n%.-\n6.-La recomendacion\n6.-U nomo del herhicero oriental;\nsuspendedo va el\nENTRADA GENERAL.\nquente numerado. pur - auche\npres.\nper\nAlexander Heimburger presenting the suspension trick during his engageme\nin Brazil. From the Harry Houdini Collection.\ncausing the clapper to strike by pulling the thread whic\nruns through an innocent-looking ribbon on which tl\n[242 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 270, "folder": "", "text": "THE SUSPENSION TRICK\njurcr to offer this Chinese trick in America, as it is gener-\nally supposed. Alexander added that all the old-timers\nwould change their programmes by introducing the Chi-\nnese tricks, and, to verify his statement, readers need only to\nsee the following files in Astor Library, New York City:\nNew York Herald, New York Tribune, and New York\nEvening Gazette of November 6th, 1845.\nHerr Alexander had arrived in New York almost\npenniless, after a disastrous tour of other American cities.\nHe tried to hire Niblo's Garden, but was informed that\nthe auditorium was never opened in winter. Through\nthe intercession of Mrs. Niblo, however, he finally secured\nit at a rental of twenty dollars per night. He opened to a\nsmall house and for thrce nights did not even pay expenses,\nbut the fourth night witnessed a change in his fortunes\nand for three months he played literally to standing room.\nThen because he had no new tricks to offer, and his pride\nforbade his presenting his old r\u00e9pertoire until receipts\ngrew lighter, he closed his New York season.\nWhile playing in Saratoga, Alexander was approached\nby the late P. T. Barnum, who was accompanied by Gen.\nTom Thumb. Alexander declined Mr. Barnum's offer\nbecause he thought to join the Barnum staff of entertainers\nwould injure his professional rating. Barnum's admission\nfee was 25 cents, while Alexander charged 50 cents and $1.\nAbout this time the fame of Alexander attracted the\nattention of no less a personage than S. F. B. Morse, of\ntelegraphic fame; and Alexander had on his programme\none trick which mystified Morse, who honestly believed\nthat the conjurer had discovered some new law of nature\nthat might be of service to scientists.\n16\n[ 241 ]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 269, "folder": "", "text": "THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN\nclaims, with much justice, is rated as one of the gems of\nGerman literature, as well as the best book ever written\nby a conjurer. It is built from extracts from his diary\nand is on the style of Sig. Blitz's book, but is far more\ndiversified and interesting.\nHis scrap-book also told a most romantic tale of vicissi-\na\nAlexander Heimburger, known in conjuring as Alexander the Conjurer,\nfrom a quaint illustration in \"The North American,\" published in Mexico.\ntudes. A half-page article in the New York Tribune,\ndated October, 1845, showed Alexander arrayed in a\nChinese costume, and producing huge bowls of water,\nflowers, and various sorts of heavy articles. This proves\nconclusively that Ching Ling Foo was not the first con-\n[240]"}
{"path": "unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf", "page": 268, "folder": "", "text": "THE SUSPENSION TRICK\nhowever, I received a card with the following melancholy\nmessage\nMy DEAR FRIEND-Have not been very well of late, and\nhave been expecting my last days. All preparations have been\nmade and Death the Visitor arrived, but instead of calling for\nme, he has taken away my beloved wife. I am not capable of\nwriting more. God be with you. From your old friend,\nALEXANDER HEIMBURGER.\nAlexander Heimburger or, as he was billed, Alexander\nthe Conjurer, was born December 4th, 1818. From\nI 844 to 1854 he toured North and South America, return-\ning to his native country with the intention of there follow-\ning his calling as a professional entertainer. But his fame\nhad preceded him, and, as his fortune was large, his\nsouvenirs and tales of travel many and interesting, he\nwas taken up by the world of fashion and lionized. This\npractically closed his career as a conjurer, for in those\ndays magicians occupied no such reputable position in\nthe professional world as they do to-day, and to have\nreturned to his stage work would have closed the doors of\naristocracy to him. He married one of M\u00fcnster's prettiest\ngirls, who bore him six children, two sons and four daugh-\nters. So he passed the remainder of his days, living\nmodestly but comfortably on the money he had amassed\nin America, entertained by a large circle of appreciative\nfriends, and well content to live thus, far from the madding\ncrowd in which the professional entertainer must move.\nWhile the recollections of his public career and his\nmeetings with other magicians, as well as notable men in\nother walks of life, were fresh, he wrote his book, \"Der\nModerne Zauberer\" (The Modern Magician), which he\n[ 239 ]"}