pages: unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf, 15
This data as json
path | page | folder | text |
---|---|---|---|
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 15 | INTRODUCTION laurels to the fame of Robert-Houdin. By research and study I would unearth history yet unwritten, and record unsung triumphs of this great inventor and artiste. The pen of his most devoted student and follower would awaken new interest in his history. Alas for my golden dreams! My investigations brought forth only bitterest dis- appointment and sad- dest of disillusionment. Stripped of his self- woven veil of romance, Robert-Houdin stood forth, in the uncom- promising light of cold historical facts, a mere pretender, a man who waxed great on the brainwork of others, a mechanician who had boldly filched the in- ventions of the master craftsmen among his predecessors. "Memoirs of Robert- Houdin, Ambassador, Robert-Houdin in his prime, immedi- Author and Conjurer, ately after his retirement. From the Harry Houdini Collection. Written by Himself,' proved to have been the penwork of a brilliant Parisian journalist, em- ployed by Robert-Houdin to write his so-called auto- biography. In the course of his "Memoirs," Robert- [8] |