pages: unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf, 100
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unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 100 | CHAPTER III THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE I N his "Memoirs" Robert-Houdin eulogizes the vari- ous automata which he claims to have invented. The picturesque fashion in which he describes the tre- mendous effort put forth ere success crowned his la- , bors would render his arguments most convincing-if stern historical facts did not contradict his every statement. One of the most extraordinary mechanical figures which he exploits as his invention was the writing and drawing figure, which he exhibited at the Quinquennial Exhibition in 1844, but never used in his public perform- ances, though he asserts that he planned to exhibit it between performances at his own theatre. This au- tomaton, he says, laid the foundation of his financial success and opened the way to realizing his dream of appearing as a magician. On page 196 of his "Memoirs," American edition, he starts his romantic description of its conception and manufacture. According to this he had just planned what promised to be the most brilliant of his mechanical in- ventions when financial difficulties intervened. He was obliged to raise two thousand francs to meet a pressing debt. He applied to the ever-convenient Monsieur G-- who had bought automata from him before. He described the writing and drawing figure minutely to his patron, [83] |