pages: unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf, 79
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unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 79 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN Museum (ii-33) in 177° in the list of the party who called themselves the King's friends. He died March 17th, 1783, aged 73, and was buried in St. Martin's-in-the- Fields. His will, which was very curious, is printed in full in The Horological Journal of November, 1895. One of his daughters married William Hebb, who was described as 'son-in-law and successor of the late Mr. Pinchbeck at his shop in Cockspur Street' (imprinted on Pinchbeck's portrait), whose son Christopher Henry Hebb (1772- 1861) practised as a surgeon in Worcester. There is in existence a portrait of Christopher Pinchbeck the younger, by Cunningham, engraved by W. Humphrey." The mezzotints of the Pinchbecks, father and son, herewith reproduced, are extremely rare, and when I un- earthed them in Berlin I felt myself singularly favored in securing two such treasures of great value to the history of magic. S. Wohl, the antiquarian and dealer from whom they were purchased, acquired them during a tour of old book and print shops in England, and thought them portraits of one and the same person; but by studying the names of the artists and the engravers on the two pic- tures, it will be seen that they set forth the features of father and son, as indicated by the biographical notes quoted above. Of the early history of Fawkes, whose brilliant stage performance lent to the Pinchbeck automata a new lustre, little is known. It is practically impossible to trace his family history. His Christian name was never used on his billing nor published in papers or magazines, and after repeated failures I was about to give up the task of discovering it, when in I904, aided by R. Bennett, [62] |