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practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,76 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 76 | 66 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. done so, remove the stopper at bottom of the large bottle as you place it on its stand, and immediately place the large cover over it. The mixed liquid will gradually run out into the concealed cavity in the stand. You must now talk a little magic nonsense, to draw off the at- tention, while you place the special covers over each of the small bottles, so that the descending pipes in the covers fit in the necks of the bottles. Remove the tinfoil with which you had covered the holes at A and B. With a few magic waves of your wand, and words of art, say : "I shall now cause the mixed liquids in the centre bottle to ap- pear severally in their own original bottles." Let the covers re, main a few seconds. Clap your hands. saying: "Change, be- gone !" Lift the centre cover : the large bottle will be seen to be empty. Lift successively the covers from the small bottles : they will be seen to have each their proper wine-one port, the other sherry. TRICK 29.-To Furnish a Treat to the Gentlemen. For this th 3 magic bottle must be procured. One with three or four compartments is amply sufficient. In these placo gin, sherry, and port wine, respectively. The bottle will have three or four holes, on which you place your fingers as if stopping the holes of a flute. You may have a bucket of water and a com- mon bottle, resembling the magic one in size and appearance, near your table. Havo ready also a tray of wine-glasses of thick glass, and holding only a very small quantity. Exhibit the common lottle to the audience, and then place it on your table, and direct attention to somo of the other articles on your table. "Now I must begin my experiment. I will wash and drain my bottle, that you may scc the experiment from the beginning to the end." Place it in the bucket, and while shaking it about, and letting the water run out, exchange it for the magic bottle lying by the bucket. Wipe that carefully with a napkin, as if drying it, and calling two or three of the audi- ence forward at a time, inquire whic… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,77 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 77 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 67 VENTRILOQUISM MADE EASY. WHAT IS VENTRILOQUISM? BEFORE we take the reader into the precise and minute instruc- tions which he will have to study and practice ere he can become the possessor of the coveted art, it will be necessary to inform him what Ventriloquism* is, and in what it consists. In doing so, we shall endeavor to be as plain and clear as possible. Ventrilo- quism may be divided into two sections, or general heads, the first of which may be appropriately designated as Polyphonism, and consists of the simple imitation of the voices of human creatures, of animals, of musical instruments, and sounds and noises of every description in which no illusion is intended, but where, on the contrary, the imitation is avowedly executed by the mimic, amongst which we may classify sawing, planing, door- creaking, sounds of musical instruments, and other similar imi- tations. Secondly, we have ventriloquism proper, which consists in the imitation of such voices, sounds, and noises, not as originating in him, but in some other appropriate source at a given or varying distance, in any or even in several directions, cither singly or to- gether-a process exciting both wonder and amusement, and which may be accomplished by thousands who have hitherto viewed the ventriloquist as invested with a power wholly denied by nature to themsclves. It is needless to observe, that when the limitations are effected without a movement of mouth, features, or body, the astonishment of the audience is considerably en- hanced. The terms polyphony, mimicry, or limitation, are employed to designate results obtained in reference to the first division of the subject, where no illusion is intended while the term ven- triloquism distinguishes those under the second division, where an illusion is palpably produced. The first is much more com- mon than the latter ; indeed, there is scarcely a public school which does not possess at least one boy capapble of limitating the mewing of a cat, the barking of a dog, or the squ… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,78 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 78 | 68 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. an old woman. On the other hand, from a want of the know- ledge of how to proceed, it is very seldom that even a blundering attempt at ventriloquism is heard, except from a public plat- form. There have been many statements put forward defining ven- triloquism, but we are decidedly of opinion that the theory of two of the most celebrated of foreign ventriloquists, Baron de Men- gen and M. St. Gille, who were sufficiently unselfish to avow the secret of their art, is not only the most correct, but it is at once the most reasonable and the most natural. From Baron de Mengen's account of himself, and the observa- tions made by M. de la Chapelle, in his frequent examinations of St. Gille, whom weshall afterwards refer to, it seems that the factitious ventriloquist voice does not (as the etymology of the word imports) proceed from the belly, but is formed in the in- ner parts of the mouth and throat. The art does not depend on a particular structure or organiza- tion of these parts, but may be acquired by almost any one ar- dently desirous of attaining it, and determined to persevere in repeated trials. The judgments we form concerning the situation and distance of bodies, by means of the senses mutually assisting and correct- ing each other, seem to be entirely founded on experience ; and we pass from the sign to the thing signified by it immediately, or at least without any intermediate steps perceptible to our- selves. llence it follows that if a man, though in the same room with another, can by any peculiar modifications of the organs of speech, produce a sound which, in faintness, tone, body, and every othrer sensible quality, perfectly resembles a sound delivered from the roof of an opposite house, the ear will naturally, with- out examination, refer it to that situation and distance ; the sound which he hears being only a sign, which from infancy he has become accustomed, by experience, to associate with the idea of a person speaking from a house-top. A deception of this kind is pract… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,79 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 79 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 69 depend on the impulse in the ear, but on other facts, will be per- ceived when the original communication is interrupted, provided there be a sensible ccho. This circumstance will be acknowl- edged by any person who has had occasion to walk along a valley, intercepted with buildings, at the time that a peal of bells is ring- ing in it. The sound of the bells, instead of arriving constantly at the cars of the person so situated, is frequently reflected in a short time fron two or three difierent places. These deceptions are, in many cases, so much diversified by the successive interpositions of fresh objects, that the steeple appears, in the hearer's judgment, to perform the part of an expert ventriloquist on a theatre-the extent of which is adapted to its own powers, and not to those of the human voice. The similarity of effect which connects this phenomenon with ventriloquism, convinced the author, whenever he heard it, that what we know to be the cause in one instance, is also the cause in the other, viz., that the echo reaches the ear, while the original sound is intercepted by accident in the case of the bells but by art, in the case of the ventriloquist. It is the business of the ventriloquist to amuse his admirers with tricks resembling the foregoing delusion; and it will be read- ily granted that he has a subtle sense, highly corrected by exper- ience to manage, on which account the judgment must be cheated as well as the car. This can only be accomplished by making the pulses, constitu- ting his words striike the heads of his hearers, not in the right lines that join their persons and his. He must therefore, know how to disguise the true direction of his voice; because the arti- fice will give him an opportunity to substitute almost any ccho he choses in the place of it. But the superior part of the human body has been already proved to form an extensive seat of sound, from every point of which the pulses are repelled as if they diverge from a common centre. This is the reason w… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,80 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 80 | 70 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. prised that the French Academy adopted this view of the subject, and laid down that the art consists in an accurate imitation of any given sound (IS it reachis the car. In conformity with a thcory so incontrovertible, physiologists have suggested a varicty of movements of the vocal organs to explain still further the ori- ginating cause; and some have gone so far as to contend for a peculiarity of structure in these organs as an essential require- ment but they have wisely omitted to specify what. Noth- ing, however, can be more accurate than the description of "therssence" of ventriloquy in the "English Cyclopadia --name- ly, that it "consists in creating illusions as to the distance and direc- tion whence a sound has travelled." How those sounds are pro- duced, we shall show in another chapter, VENTRILOQUISM AMONGST THE ANCIENTS. Charles Lamb gave utterance to the thouglit that it was " pleasant to contemplate the head of the Ganges," but tho student of ventriloquism finds it difficult to obtain a view of the source of his art. In the dim and misty ages of antiquity, he may trace under various guises the practice of it. Many of the old superstitions were fostered by its neans ; from the cra- dle of mankind to the birthplace of idolatry, we incidentally learn of the belief in a familiar spirit-a second voice, which afterwards took the form of divination. The various kinds of divination amongst the nations of an- tiquity which were stated by the priesthood to be by a spirit, a familiar spirit, cr a spirit of divination, are now supposed to have been effected by means cf ventriloquism. Divination by a fam- iliar spirit can be tracked through a long period of time. By reference to Leviticus XX. 27 it will be seen that the Mosaic law forbade the Hebrews to consult those having familiar spirits, and to put to death the possessor. The Mosaic law was given about fifteen hundred years before Clirist. Divining by a familiar spirit was, however, so familiar to the Jews, that the prophet Isaiah d… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,81 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 81 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 71 heard to speak when the first rays of the worshipped sun glanced on its impassive features. The magic words were undoubtedly pronounced by the attendant priest, for we find a similar trick prevalent throughout the whole history of ventriloquism, and even now the public professors of the art know how much dc- pends on fixing the attention of their audience on the object or placc from whence the sound is supposed to proceed. The Jews carried the art with them into Palestine, for we tracce the agency throughout their history. The Grecks practised a mode of divination termed gastromancy, where the diviner replied without moving his lips, so that the consulter believed he heard the actual voice of a spirit speaking from its residence within the priest's belly. In the Acts of the Apostles (xvi. 16), mention is made of a young woman with a familiar spirit meeting the Apostles in the city of Philippi, in Macedonia, - St. Chrysostom and other early Fathers of the Christian Church mention divination by a familiar spirit as practised in their day. The practice of similar divina- tion is still common in the East ; it lingers on the banks of the Nile, and is even practised among the Esquimaux. This divina- tion by a familiar spirit has been practised upwards of three thousand years. MODERN PROFESSORS OF THE ART. The earliest notice of ventriloquial illusion, as carried out in modern times, has reference to Louis Brabant, valet-de-chambre of Francis I., who is said to have fallen in love with a beautiful and rich heiress, but was rejected by the parents as a low, unsuitable match. However, the father dying, he visits the widow ; and on his first appearance in the house she hears accosted in a voice resembling that of her dead husband, and which seemed to proceed from above. Give my daughter in marriage to Louis Brabant, who is a man of great fortune and excellent character. I now endure the inexpressible torments of purgatory, for having refused her to him ; obey this admonition and I shall soon bc d… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,82 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 82 | 72 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. usury, and extortion, and was haunted by remorse of conscience. After some conversation on demons and spectres, the pains of pur gatory, &c., during an interval of silence, a voice is heard, like that of the banker's deceased father, complaining of his dreadful situation in purgatory, and calling upon him to rescue him from thence, by putting into the hands of Louis Brabant, then with him, a large sum for the redemption of Christians in slavery with the Turks ; threatening him at the same time with eternal damna- tion if he did not thus expiate his own sins. Upon a second in- terview, in which his ears were saluted with the complaints and groans of his father, and of all his deceased relations, imploring him, for the love of God, and in the name of every saint in the calendar, to have mercy on his own soul and others, Cornu obeyed the heavenly voice, and gave Louis 10,000 crowns, with which hc returned to Paris, and married his mistress. The works of M. L'Abbe La Chapelle, issued 1772, and be- fore alluded to, contain descriptions of the ventriloquial achieve- ments of Baron Mengen at Vienna ; and those of M. St. Gille, near Paris, are equally interesting and astonishing. The former ingeniously constructed a doll with moveable lips, which he could readily control by a movement of the fingers under the dress ; and with this automaton he was accustomed to hold hu- morous and satirical dialogues. He ascribed proficiency in his art to the frequent gratification of a propensity for counterfeiting the cries of the lower animals, and the voices of persons with whom he was brought in contact. So expert, indeed, had prac- tice rendered him in this way, that the sounds uttered by him did not seem to issue from his own mouth. La Chapelle, having heard many surprising circumstances related concerning one M. St. Gille, a grocer at St. Germainen-Laye, near Paris, whose powers as a ventriloquist had given occasion to many singular and divert- ing scenes, formed the resolution of seeing him. Being seat… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,83 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 83 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 73 in his countenance be discovered. But he observed that M. St. Gille presented only the profile of his face to him while he was speaking as a ventriloquist. On another occasion, M. St. Gille sought for shelter from a storm in a neighboring convent ; and finding the community in mourning, and inquiring the cause, he was told that one of their body, much esteemed by them, had lately died. Some of their rc- ligious attended him to the church, and showing him the tomb of their deceased brother, spoke very feelingly of the scanty hon- ors that had been bestowed on his memory, when suddenly, a voice was heard, apparently proceeding from the roof of the choir, lamenting the situation of the defunct in purgatory, and reproaching the brotherhood with their want of zeal on his ac- count. The whole community being afterwards convened in the church, the voice from the roof renewed its lamentations and rc- proaches, and the whole convent fell on their faces, and vowed a solemn reparation. Accordingly, they first chanted a De profun- dis in full choir ; during the intervals of which the ghost occa- sionally expressed the comfort he received from their pious exercises and ejaculations in his bchalf. The prior, when this religious service was concluded, entered into a serious conversa- tion with M. St. Gille, and inveighed against the .incredulity of our modern sceptics and pretended philosophers on the article of ghosts and apparitions ; and St. Gille found it difficult to convince the fathers that the whole was a deception. M. St. Gille, in 1771, submitted his attainments in this direction to several experiments before MM. Leroy and Fouchy, Commis- sioners of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and other persons of exhalted rank, in order to demonstrate that his mimicry was so perfect as to reach the point of complete illusion. For this purpose a report was circulated that a spirit's voice had been licard at times in the envions of St. Germain, and that the commission was appointed to verify the fact. The … | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,84 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 84 | 74 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. lic and private, made his company in high request among the up- per circles. The Lord Mayor of the City, in particular, received the ventriloquist with great distinction, and invited him several times to dine at the Mansion House. But it unluckily happened that on every occasion when M. Alexandre dined there, le could not stay to spend the evening, having contracted engagements elsewhiere. The Lord Mayor expressed much regret at this, and the ventriloquist himself was annoyed on the same account, being willing to do his best to entertain the guests whom the Lord May- or had asked each time to meet him. At last, on meeting M. Alexandre one day, the Lord Mayor en- gaged him to dine at the Mansion House on a remote day. 'I fix it purposely, " said his lordship, "at so distant a period, because I wish to make sure this time of your remaining with us through the evening. Through fear of seeming purposely to slight his lordship, M. Alexandre did not dare to tell the Mayor that on that very morning he had accepted an invitation from a noble- ble man of high rank to spend at his house the evening of the identical day so unfortunately pitched on by the civic dignitary. All the ventriloquist said in reply was, "I promise, my lord to remain at the Mansion House, till you, yourself think it time for me to take my leave." Ah, well," said the Lord Mayor, and he went off perfectly satisfied. At the appointed day Alexandre sat himself down at the mag- istrate's board. Never had the ventriloquist comported himself with so much spirit and gaiety. He insisted on devoting bumpers to each and every lady present. The toasts went round, the old port flowed like water, and the artiste in particular seemed in danger of loosing his reason under its potent influence. When others stopped, he stopped not, but continued filling and emptying incessantly. By and-by, his eyes began to stare, his visage became purple, his tongue grew con- fused, his whole body seemed to steam of wine, and finally he sank from his chair … | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,85 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 85 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 75 toxication, and dressed himself anew, M. Alexandre then betook himself. himself to the mansion of the nobleman to whom he had engaged On the following day the fashionable newspapers gave a de- tailed account of the grand party at his Grace the Duke of----'s, and culogized to the skies the entertaining performances of M. Alexandre, who, they said, had surpassed himself on this occas- sion. Some days afterwards, the Lord Mayor encountered M. Alexandre. Ah, how are you?" said his lordship. " Very well, my lord," was the reply. " Our newspapers are pretty pieces of veracity, said his lordship. "Have you seen the Courier of the other day? Why, it makes you out to have cxhibit- cd in great style last Thursday night at his Grace of- "It has but told the truth, " said the mimic. 'What? impossible!" cried the Mayor. " You do not remember, then, the state into which you unfortunately got at the Mansion House? And thereupon the worthy magistrate detailed to the ventriloquist the circumstances of his inotxication, and the care that had been taken with him, with other points of the case. M. Alexandro heard his lordship to an cnd, and then confessed the stratagem which he had played off, and the cause of it. " I had promised," said Alexandre, "to be with his Grace at half-past ten. I had also promised not to leave you till you your- self considered it fit time. I kept my word in both cases-you know the way.' The civic functionary laughed heartily, and on the following evening Alexandre made up for his trick by making the Mansion House ring with laughter till daylight. Many anecdotes are told respecting M. Alexandre's power of assuming the faces of other people. At Abbotsford, during a visit there, he actually sat to a sculptor five times in the char- acter of a noted clergyman, with whose real features the sculp- tor was well acquainted. When the sittings were closed and the bust modelled, the mimic cast off his wig and assumed dress, and appeared with his own natural countenance, to the terror almos… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,86 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 86 | 76 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. voice urged them to make haste, but the feelings of the people may be imagined when the cart was empty and nobody was found, while Alexandre and his friend walked off laughing at the unex- pected results of their trick. It would be obviously invidious to compare the merits of liv- ing professors. Mr. Maccabe, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Thurton and Mr. Macmillan have long been favorites with the public. -- THE THEORY OF VENTRILOQUISM. Many physiologists aver that ventriloquism is obtained by speaking during the inspiration of air. It is quite possible to ar- ticulate under these circumstances, and the plan may with advan- tage be occasionally adopted; but our own practical experience and close observation of many public performers, and of not a few private friends who have attained distinctness and no smallamount of facility in the art, convince us that-the general current of utterance is, as in ordinary speech, during oxpiration of the breath. Some imagine that the means of procuring the required imitation are comprised in a thorough management of the echoes of sound. Unfortunately, however, for this theory, an ccho only repeats what has been already brought into cxist- ence. Several eminent ventriloquists, including the late Mr. Matthews, have displayed the vocal illusion while walking in the streets. Baron Mengen describes as follows his mode of speaking, when he desired the illusion to take the direction of a voice emanating from the doll : "I press my tongue against the tecth, and then circumscribe a cavity between left check and teeth, in which the voice is produced by the air held 723 receive in the pharynx. The sounds thus reccive a hollow and muffled tonc, which causes them to appear to come from a distance." The Baron furthermore mentions that it is essential to have the breath well under control, and not to respire more than can be avoided. M. St. Gille was scen to look somewhat exhausted when the vo- cal illusion grew less perfect. Wc ourselves, and all ventrilo- quists with whom we … | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,87 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 87 | THE PRACTICAL MAG:CIAN. 77 distinctions of pitch, loudness, and quality, by the ordinary ac- tions of the vocal organs. In ordinary language, we speak of noise, of common sound, and of musical sound-terms employed by Dr. Thomas Young in illustrating the mechanical agencies of articulation A quill striking against a piece of wood causes a noise, but striking successively against the teeth of a wheel, or of a comb, a continued sound, and, if the teeth of the wheel are at equal distances, and the velocity of the rotation is constant, a musical sound. The general terms-pitch, loudness, quality, and duration, embrace all the distinctions with which the musician has to deal, and which he uses in his art." The distinguishing feature of musical sound is its uniform pitch througliout its duration, and acoustically musical sound is composed of an equal number of impulses or noises produced in equal tones. The general terms-pitch, loudness, quality, and duration, also embrace all the distinctions heard in ordinary sounds. These sounds differ from the musical in the pitch constantly varying throughout their duration, as the human voice in speaking, and the voice of quadrupeds. Acoustically such sounds are composed of an unequal number of impulses or noises produced in equal tones. And from this circumstance pitch, in the strictly musical sense, is not a property of ordinary sound. The general erms-loudness and quality, embrace all the dis- tinctions heard in a noise, as in the collision of two unclastic sticks. Pitch and duration can scarcely be considered as belong- ing to common noise. Thus we have-(1) noise whose audible distinctions are comprehended under the general terms loudness and quality ; (2) common sound, whose audible distinctions are comprehended under the general erms-loudness, quality, duration, and every varying pitch (3) musical sound, whose audible distinctions are comprehended under the general terms- loudness, quality, duration, and uniform pitch. Phonation, or the production of voice, is a result of act… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,88 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 88 | 78 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. or contracting the pharynx; by dilating or contracting the mouth ; by contracting the communication between the pharynx and mouth, so as to constitute them distinct chambers, or by dila- ting the opening so as to throw them into one, which is chiefly attained by movements of the soft palate and by altering- the form of the mouth'scavity, which is effected by varying the position of the tongue. Each of these modifications of the vocal tube con- veys a peculiarity of quality to the voice,-all however, being local or laryngeal sounds. Moreover, sounds can be produced in the vocal tube, apart from the larynx. These, strictly speaking, are not vocal sounds, though some of them may be of a definite and uniform pitch, while others are mere noises-as rustling, whisper- ing, gurgling, whistling, snoring, and the like. Now, as every- thing audible comes under the classes of noise, sound, or musical sound, and as each variety originates in the vocal apparatus of man, it is obvious that an ordinary vocal apparatus is all that is required foi the achicvement of the fents of ventriloquism. A person having an ear acutely perceptive to the nice distinc- tions of sounds, may, by a little practice, imitate many sounds with accuracy. Those persons, however, who are highly endow- ed with the mental requisites, which consist of an intense desire to mimic, coupled with the ability to originate mimetic ideas, are able to imitate sounds at first hearing. We next proceed to treat of those illusions, where the voice so perfectly counterfeits the reality intended, that it appears not to issue from the mimic, but from an appropriate source, in what- ever direction, and at whatever distance the source may be. Wo do not hear the distance which a sound has travelled from its source, but we judge the distance from our former experience, by comparing the loudness which we hear with the known distance and known loudness of similar sounds heard on former occasions. Common experience will prove that we oftener err in esti… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,89 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 89 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 79 comes seemas to be judged of by the right or left ear receiving the stronger impression, which, however, can only take place when the sound's source is in a planc, or ncarly so, with a line passing through both ears. It is familiarly known that a person in a house cannot by the noise of an approaching carriage judge with certainty whether it is coming from the right or left. lic accu- rately judges it to bc approaching, passing, or receding, as the case may be, by the gradations of loudness, but is unable to de- cide with certainty whether its approach or recession is from up Or down the street. Enough has been stated to show that we do not hear, but that we judge the direction a sound has travilicd from its source on reaching the car." The ventriloquist indicates, either di- rectly or indirectly, the direction from which he wishes his audience to believe the sound is coming. Thus he directly indi- cates it by words, such as- Arc you up there?" "He is up the chimney, " He is in the cellar," " Are you down there?' &c., ns illustrated in the various examples. He indirectly indicates it by some suggestive circumstance, as an action or gesture, which is so skilfully unobtrusive and natural as to effect its object with- out being discovered. Thus, when the ventriloquist looks or listens in any direction, or even simply turns towards any point, as if he expected sound to come thence, the attention of 7722 auaience is by that means anstantly directed also to the same place. Thus, before a sound is produced, the audience expect it to come in the suggestcd direction ; and the ventriloquist has mercly, by his adjustment of tocal loudness, to indicate the necessary distance, when a misjudg- ment of the undienre will complite the illusion which he has begun." The effect which 1S produced on sound by its travelling from a distance, is observed to be :- (1) That its loudness is reduced in proportion to its dis- tance. (2) That its pitch remains unaltered. (3) That its quality or tone is somewhat alte… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,90 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 90 | 80 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. with the previous chapter, as to the effect to be produced, not on himself, but on the spectators and audience. And we may assure him, that if he has a fair range of voice, a dilligent observance of the rules which we are about to lay down, coupled with attention to the nature of sound as it falls upon the ear, will lead him to such triumphs as, in all probability, he never imagined he could have attained-ar assurance which we are emboldened to offer from our own pursuit and practical realization of the art. The student must bear in mind that the means are simply natural ones, used in accordance with natural laws. We have given him the acoustical theory of the effect on the auric nerve, and the means are the organs of respiration and sound, with the adjoining muscles. They are the diaphragm, the lungs, the trachea, the larynx, the pharynx, and the mouth. The diaphragm is a very large convex muscle, situated below the lungs, and having full power over respiration. The lungs are the organs of respiration, and are seated at each side of the chest ; they consist of air-tubes minutely ramified in a loose tissue, and terminating in very small sacs, termed air-cells. The trachea is a tube, the continuation of the larynx, commonly called the windpipe : through this the air passes to and from the lungs. Iti formed of cartilaginous rings, by means of which it may be clongated or shortened. The larynx is that portion of the air-tube immediately above the trachea : its position is indicated by a large projection in the throat. In the interior of this part of the throat are situated the vocal chords. They are four bands of clastic substance somewhat similar to India-rubber. The cavity, or opening between these vocal chords is called the glottis : it possesses the power of expanding or contracting under the influence of the muscles of the larynx The pharynx is a cavity above the larynx, communicating with the nasal passages : it is partially visible when the mouth is opened and the tongue lowered. Ne… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,91 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 91 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 81 Too much attention cannot be bestowed on the study of sound as it falls on the car, and an endeavor to imitate it as it is heard- for the "secret" of the art 1S, that as perspective is to the eye so is ventruloquism to the car. When we look at a painting of a land- scape, some of the objects appear at a distance ; but we know that it is only the skill of the artist which has made it appear as the eye has seen it in reality. In exactly the same manner a ven- triloquist acts upon and deceives the ear, by producing sounds as they are heard from any known distances. PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. No. I. THE VOICE IN. THE CLOSET This is the voice in which Mr. Frederic Maccabe, the celebra- ted mimic and ventriloquist, excels, and the clever manner in which he can adapt it off-hand, as it were, will be best illustrated by the fact mentioned to us by the gentleman in question, whom we call Mr. B. in Mr. Maccabe's presence. Mr. B., who was an invalid, suffering from some nervous disorder, originating by over- work and anxiety, was travelling in Ireland in search of health, and when on his way from Dublin to Cork, lic lay exhausted in a corner of a railway-carriage, muflled up in cloaks and wrap- pers in a paroxysm of pain. At Mallow, two gentlemen entered the carriage, one of whom was in exuberant spirits, and commenc- ed telling some amusing anecdotes. At length the porter came to collect the tickets. They were all handed in but one, when the following colloquy ensued :- l'orter.- gentleman hasn't given me his ticket. Gentleman.-Bill, in the next compartment, has the ticket, (tap- ping at the partition). Haven't you, Bill ? The imaginary Bill, who appeared to be suffering from a se- vere cold, replied that he had, and the porter would not take it. The official went off to find the ticket, but Bill, in the mean time had vanished. Back came the porter and indig- nantly demanded the ticket. He was interrupted by a shrill voice in the opposite compartment, crying,- Porter ! porter ! why don't you come a… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,92 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 92 | 82 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. was thrown out, and the train moved on. And Mr. Frederic Maccabe stood confessed, but not penitent. Voice No 1. .-To acquire this voice, which we so name for dis- tinction's sake, speak any word or sentence in your own natural tones ; then open the mouth and fix the jaws fast, as though you were trying to hinder any one from opening them farther or shut- ting them ; draw the tongue back. in a ball ; speak the same words, and the sound, instcad of being formed in the mouth will be formed in the pharynx. Great attention must be paid to holding the jaws rigid. The sound will then be found to imi- tate a voice heard from the other side of a door when it is closed, or under a floor, or through a wall. To ventriloquize with this voice, let the operator stand with his back to the au- dience against a door. Give a gentle tap at the door, and call aloud in a natural voice, inquiring "Who is there ?" This will have the effect of drawing the attention of the audience to a person supposed to be outside. Then fix the jaw as de- scribed, and utter in voice No. 1, any words you please, such as "I want to come in.' Ask quostions in the natural voice and answer in the other. When you have done this, open the door a little, and hold a conversation with the imaginary person. As the door is now open, it is obvious that the voice must be altered, for a voice will not sound to the car when a door is open the same as when closed. Therefore the voice must be made to ap- pear face to face, or close to the ventriloquist. To do this the voice must not be altered from the original tiote or pitch, but be made in another part of the mouth. This is done by closing the lips tight and drawing onecorner of the mouth downwards, O) towards the ear. Then let the lips open at that corner only, the other part to remain closed. Next breathe, as it were, the worde out of the orifice formed. Do not speak distinctly, but expcl tho breath in short puffs at each word, and as loud as possible. By so doing you will cousc the illusio… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,93 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 93 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 83 STUDENT (pointing to the box with an air of astonishment) : What is that ? VOICE: 1 won't do so any more. I am nearly dead. STUDENT : Who are you How came you there ? VOICE : I only wanted to see what was going on. Let me out, do. STUDENT : But I don't know who you are. VOICE : Oh yes, you do. STUDENT : Who are you ? VOICE : Your old schoolfellow, Tom, . You know me. STUDENT : Why, he's in Canada. VOICE (sharply) : No he aint, he's here ; but be quick, STUDENT (opening the lid) Perhaps lic's come by the under- ground railroad ? Hallo ! VOICE (not so muffled as described in direction) : Now then, give us a hand. STUDENT (closing the lid or door sharply) : No, I wont. VOICE (ns before) : Have pity (Tom, or Jack, or Mr. , as the case may be), or I shall be choked. STUDENT : I don't believe you are what you say. VOICE : Why don't you let me out and see before I am dead ? STUDENT (opening and shutting the lid or door and varying the voice accordingly) : Dead ! not you. When did you leave Can- ada ? VOICE : Last week. Oh ? I am choking. STUDENT : Shall I let him out ? (opening the door). There's no one here. 2. THE MILKMAN AT THE DOOR.-TI affords a capital op- portunity of introducing a beggar, watercress or milkman, and may be varied accordingly. We will take Skyblue, the milkman; and we would impress on the student, that, although we give these simple dialogues, they are merely intended as illustrations for the modest tyro, not to be implicitly followed when greater confidence and proficiency are attained. VOICE : Milk below ! STUDENT : Is it not provoking that a milkman always comes when he is not wanted, and is absent when we are waiting for the cream ? VOICE : (whistling a bar of 11 Shoo Fly"). STUDENT : Oh, yes, always the broken-hearted milkman as if he was not as happy as a king. VOICE (nearer) : Milk below ! Why, Sally, where's the can ? ] STUDENT : Sally will be long in answering, I think. VOICE : Sally's gadding with the police. Milk below ! STUDENT (slightly opening the door.) : W… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,94 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 94 | 84 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. ANOTHER VOICE : Watercresses ! STUDENT : Really, this is too bad. Go away. VOICE : You owe mc ten cents for last week's milk; I was to wait. STUDENT : This is intolerable. I'll send for the police. VOICE [ironically] ; Send for Sally and p'lice, l'll foller. STUDENT ; Impudent rascal : VOICE ; Keep your compliments at home, Master Idlebones. STUDENT [opening the door]: I'll report you to your master. VOICE [louder, as the door is opened] ; Will you, young Whipper- snapper, pay us the dime, and let us go? STUDENT offers to pay, while the voice gets weaker in the dis- tance with Milk below !" until it becomes inaudible. A conversation may be held in a similar strain with thecellarman : and, as a rule, the lowernotes of the voice will be best for voices in the basement, and formed as low in the chest as possible. STUDENT : Thomas, are you coming? VOICE BELOW [grufty] ; I should think I was. STUDENT ; We are waiting for the beer. VOICE [partly aside]: The longer you wait, the greater our honor. Mary, have another drop. STUDENT ; Why, the scamp is drinking the beer ! Thomas ! Who's there with you? VOICE : Myself. [Aside] Make haste with the pot, Mary ; he's in such a hurry. STUDENT ; You drinking rascal, how dare you ! VOICE : Coming, sir. The barrel's nearly empty. STUDENT : I should think so, tippling: as you are at it. VOICE ; Now don't be saucy. STUDENT : The fellow is getting intoxicated. Thomas ! Vorca ; Wait till I come. I have waited for you many times. STUDENT : I suppose it is of no use hurrying you? VOICE ; No, it isn't, my young tippler. I'm COMING ! coming ! ! coming ! ! ! From this illustration the student may proceed to try the second voice. No. II. Voice No. 2. - -This is the more easy to be acquired. It is the voice by which all ventriloquists make a supposed person speak from a long distance, or from, or through the cciling. In the first place, with your back to the audience, direct their attention to the ceiling by pointing to it or by intently nt it. Call loudly, and ack … | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,95 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 95 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 85 Then in exactly the same tone and pitch answer ; but, in order that the same voice may seem to proceed from the point indicated, the words must be formed at the back part of the roof of the mouth. To do this the lower jaw must be drawn back and held there, the mouth open, which woll, cruse il.c palate to be devated (in il 10 and the sound will be reflected in that cavity, and appear 1,0 come from the roof. Too much attention cannot be paid to the man- ner in which the breath is used in this voice. When speaking to the supposed person, expel the words with a deep, quick breath. When answering in the imitative manner, the breath must be held buck and exp. lled very slowoly, and the voice will come i? a subducd and muffled manner, little above a whisper, but so as to be well distinguished. To cause the supposed voice to come nearer by degrees, call loudly, and say, I want you down here,' or words to that effect. At the same time make a motion dounwar is with your hand Hold some conversation with the voice and cause it to say, I am coming," or, "Ilcre I am, each time indienting the descunt with the hand (scecramples). When the voice is supposed to approach nearer, the sound must alter, to denote the progress of the movement. Therefore let the voice at every suppcsed step, roll, as it were, by degrees, from thepharynx more into the cavily of the mouth, and at each supposed stcp, contracting the opening of the mouth, until the lips are drawn up as if you were whistling. By so doing the cavity of the mouth will be very much enlarged. This will cause the voice to be obscurid, and so "ppear to come nearer by de- grees. At the same time, care must be taken not to articulate the consonant sounds plainly, as that would cause the disarrangement of the lips and cavity ofthe mouth ; and in all imitation roicis the consonants must scarcely bc articulated at all, especially if the t'ent- riloquist facis the audience. For cxample ; suppose the imitative voice i3 made to say, "Mind what you are doing, you… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,96 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 96 | 86 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. VOICE : Hallo ! who's that? STUDENT ; It's I ! Are you nearly finished? VOICE : Only three more slates to put on, master. STUDENT ; I want you here, Jem. VOICE ; I am coming directly. STUDENT : Which way, Jem? VOICE : Over the roof and down the trap. (Voice is supposed to be moving as the student turns and points with his finger.) STUDENT Which way? VOICE (nearcr) Through the trap and down the stairs. STUDENT : How long shall you be? VOICE : Only a few minutes. I am coming as fast as I can. The voice now approaches the door, and is taken up by the same tone, but produced as in the first voice. As another illus- tration, we will introduce the reader to THE INVISIBLE SWEEP.-This is a striking example of the second voice. Let the student pretend to look up the chimney, and rehearse the following or some similar colloquy :- STUDENT : Are you up there? VOICE : Yes. Chimley want sweep? STUDENT : Really, it is extraordinary. What are you doing? VOICE : Looking for birds'-nests. STUDENT : Birds'-nests ! There are none there. VOICE : Dick says there be. STUDENT : Come down ! VOICE : I shan't. STUDENT : (stirring the fire) ; I'll make you show yourself. VOICE : I say, don't ; it's so hot. STUDENT ; Come down, then. VOICE ; Don't be so stupid. Let I alone. STUDENT ; Will you come down? VOICE : Yes, I will. STUDENT : What's your name? VOICE (much nearer) : Sam Lillyvite. I sdy, what do you want mc for among company? STUDENT : To show yourself. VOICE (nearer) : What for? STUDENT : To let these ladies and gentlemen see that there are many strange things between heaven and carth, but not Sam Lillyvite, the sweep. Another good illustration is to hold a conservation with a friend wholives on the first floor, and with whom you can con- verse on any subject-as the retired and mystcrious student-but the moment the student can master the elementary sounds, he will not need our assistance in providing him with dialogues, which, however simple they may be to rend, have an extraordinary effect when properly sp… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,97 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 97 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 87 POLYPHONIC IMITATIONS. The TORMENTING BEE.- is related that Mr. Love, when young, took great delight in imitating the buzzing of insects and the cries of animals ; indeed, it is difficult to decide whether he or Mr. Thurton most excelled in this particular species of mimetic illusion. In all limitations of insect noises, the, bee should be heard to hum gently at first, so as in a private party not likely to attract attention till the right pitch is obtained, and be it remem- bered that the sound, without being particularly loud, can be made to penetrate every corner of a large room. The illusion is greatly increased by pretending to catch the offending and intru- sive insect. The humble bee, the wasp, and the bluebottle fly are best to imitate, and afford an agreeable relief to the other exerci- ses of ventriloquial power. To imitate the tormenting bec, the student must use considerable pressure on his chest, as if he was about to groan suddenly, but instead of which, the sound must be confined and prolonged in the throat the greater the pressure, the higher will be the faint note produced, and which will per- fectly resemble the buzzing of the bee or wasp. Now, toimitate the buzzing of a bluebottle fly, it will be neces- sary for the sound to be made with the lips instead of the throat ; this is donc by closing the lips very tight, except at one corner, where: small aperture is left, fill that cheek full of wind, but not the other, then slowly blow or force the wind contained in the cheek out of the aperture : if this is done properly, it will cause a sound exactly like the buzzing of a bluebottle fly. These two in- stances will show how necessary it is for the ventriloquist to study minutely the different effects of sound upon his hearers in all his exploits. And to make the above properly effective, he should turn his face to a wall ; with a handkerchief strike at the pretended bee or fly, at the same time pretend to follow his victim first this way and then that, and finally to" dab… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,98 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 98 | 88 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. plane is made as though you were dwelling on the last part of the word hush-dwell upon the sh a little, as tsh, and then clip it short by, causing the tongue to close with the palate, then over again. Letters will not convey the peculiar sound of sawing-it must be studied from nature. A MOUNTAIN ECHO. Some persons imagine ventriloquism to be an echo ; but, as wo have said, an echo only repeats what has been said before-it could not answer a question. An echo is reflected sound, and the reflecting body must be at such a distance that the interval between the perception of the original and reflected sounds may be sufficient to prevent them from being blended together. No reflecting surface will produce a distant echo, unless its distance from the spot where the sound proceeds is at least 562 feet, because the shortest interval sufficient to render sounds distinctly appreçiable by the ear is about onc- tenth of a second ; therefore, if sounds follow at a shorter inter- val, they will form a resonance instead of an echo ; and the time a sound would take to go and return from a reflecting surface, 561 feet distance, would be onc-tenth of a second. It would, therefore, be impossible for a ventriloquist to produce an echo in a room of ordinary size, as the walls, being so near, would cause the sounds to be blended, and would only produce one impression on the car ; and yet the skilled ventriloquist can with case imitate, in a room, a mountain ccho. We will give the instructions, as it is very amusing. Turn your back to the listeners ; whistle loud several short, quick notes, just as if you were whistling for a dog then, as quick as possible, after the last note, and as softly and subdued as possible to be heard, whistle about a third the number of notes, but it must be in the same note 01° pitch ; this will cause the last whistle to appear just like an echo at a great distance. This im- itation, if well donc, never fails to take the listeners by surprise, and causes astonishment. The same thin… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,99 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 99 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 69 that the power and acuteness of hearing is possessed in , veater or less degree by different individuals, and depends upon the sen- sibility of the auric nerves. It will not be out of place nor unin- teresting to show the effect of sound and the manner in which it is heard by the organs of the car. It is said that the human car is capable of appreciating as many as twenty-four thousand vibra- tions ina sccond, and that the whole range of human liearing, from the lowest note of the organ to the highest known cry of in- sects, as of the cricket, includes ninc octaves. Sound first strikes the drum or tympanum, a thin membrane which closes the aperture of the car ; when this drum vibrates by the sonorous undulations of the external air ; the vibrations are communicated by minute bones, muscles, and fluid in the cavity of the car, and are then conveyed to the brain ; and to show how absolutely necessary it is that all the organs of the would-be ven- triloquist should be entire and without fault to succeed well, we will show how the ventriloquist makes that nice distinction of the gradation of sound, and by which he is cnabled to judge whether lic is causing his voice to "ppcar at the proper distance from his audience or not. Let any one firmly closc both cars by stopping them, then speak a few words: now, as the cars are stopped, the sound cannot enter immediately to the drum of the car, but it takes cognizance of the sound by a passage called the custachian tube, which ex- tends from the back part of the mouth to the cavity immediately behind the drum of the car. The sound vibrations made in the mouth are transmitted along this tube to the interior part of the organs of hearing. Now it is by a nice judgment of sound by this tube that the profes- sional ventriloquist judges the majority of his voices, especially thosc greatly obscured or mufiled. Not only must the auric nerves of the would-be ventriloquist be perfect, but he will become more proficient as he is able to study and understand t… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,100 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 100 | or at a distance. Ample directions have been given how all this is donc, but let it be understood that it is most essential. The stu- dent may then practice before a friend, and he will be astonished to find that he can deceive any listener, as to the point from which the sound comes ; and will be gratified that he has become the source of great amusement to himself as well as in the circle in which he moves. Thus we have acquired a working power in the art which, we trust, we have now explained to the satisfaction of the reader. The progress of the student will, of course, be facilitated by an inherent propensity of mimicry, which often approaches some of the minor attainments of ventriloquism. In every company some person may be found who, without any professional instruction, can give admirable limitations, of the voice, gait, and peculiarities of a frient or acquaintance; thus proving that Nature, to some extent, supplies the basis upon which, if we may use the phrase, | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,101 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 101 | THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. 91 the complete superstructure of vocal illusion may be raised. The possession of this quality would amount, comparatively, to little, without instruction and perseverance. Here, as in other respects, practice makes perfect ; and, more than that, a dilligent applica- tion of our rules will invest the originally defective ainateur with an attainment which the ignorant will attribute to the possession of a supernatural gift. All we need say in conclusion is, that the rules propounded will not only clear away imaginary difficulties from the path of the student, but entitle him, like ourselves, to an acquirement more or less near perfection, according to a natural gift of mimicry, and to the zeal with which he may study and practice the art. THE MAGIC WHISTLE. It will be pleasant when the wind is howling without, among the snow-laden limbs of the trees, to be reminded of the gay sum- mer by the counterfeit notes of the woodland songsters ; or, wan- dering among the woods and fields in spring or summer time, how glorious to challenge the feathered musicians to a contest of skill with you in their own sweet language. Wc propose to in- struct the reader in the manufacture of a little instrument by which the notes of birds, voices of animals, and various peculiar sounds may bc imitated. First, look at the annexed diagram, and then procure a leek and cut off from the green leaf thereof a piece about the size of the diagram ; then lay it on a smooth table, and with the thumb-nail delicately scrape away a small semi-circular patch of the green pulpy substance of the leaf [as represented in the diagram], being careful to leave the fine membrane of outer skin of the leaf un- injured-and there is the instrument complete. It may require several experimens to make the first onc, but once having discov- cred the right way, they are very casily manufactured. The reader may not be aware of the fact that the leaf of the leck has a fine transparent outer skin, which is quite tough, but by breaking and carefull… | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,102 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 102 | 92 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. imitate the barking of a dog and the neighing of a horse. With two or three weeks' practice, you will be able to imitate some of the song birds ; but to produce exact counterfeits of the best sing- ing birds will probably require months of study ; the result, how- ever, will reward you for all your pains, for certainly to be able to carry a mocking bird, canary, thrush, cat-bird and sucking-pig in your vest pocket, is no small accomplishment. When not using the instrument, it should be kept in a glass of water to prevent its drying. | |
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practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,109 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 109 | 5 | |
practicalmagicia00harr.pdf,114 | practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 114 | AR 2 - | |
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unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,1 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 1 | Google This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project to make the world's books discoverable online. It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you. Usage guidelines Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. We also ask that you: + Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes. + Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. + Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. + Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are respo… | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,3 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 3 | UNITED STERARIES | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,6 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 6 | THF UNMANKING ROBER | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,8 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 8 | 8061 '00 3H.L MEN INICHOH 18 NIGNOH - JO DNINSVINNO TH.L | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,9 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 9 | 313341 Copyright, 1906 Copyright, 1907 Copyright, 1908 By HARRY HOUDINI Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, England All rights reserved Composition. Electrotyping and Printing by The Publishers Printing Company New York, N. Y., U.S.A. | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,10 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 10 | Dedication This Book is affectionately dedicated to the memory of my father, Rev. M. S. Weiss, Ph.D., LL.D., who instilled in me love of study and patience in research | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,12 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 12 | CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION, 7 CHAPTER I. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT- HOUDIN, 33 II. THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK, 5I III. THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE, 83 IV. THE PASTRY Cook OF THE PALAIS ROYAL, II6 V. THE OBEDIENT CARDS-THE CABALISTIC CLOCK-THE TRAPEZE AUTOMATON, I4I VI. THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE, . 176 VII. SECOND SIGHT, . 200 VIII. THE SUSPENSION TRICK, . 222 IX. THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF, 245 X. ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BE- TRAYED BY His OWN PEN, . 264 XI. THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S "MEMOIRS," 295 [5] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,14 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 14 | INTRODUCTION T HIS book is the natural result of the moulding, dominating influence which the spirit and wri- tings of Robert-Houdin have exerted over my professional career. My interest in conjur- ing and magic and my enthusiasm for Robert-Houdin came into existence simultaneously. From the moment that I began to study the art, he became my guide and hero. I accepted his writings as my text-book and my gospel. What Blackstone is to the struggling lawyer, Hardee's "Tactics" to the would-be officer, or Bismarck's life and writings to the coming statesman, Robert-Houdin's books were to me. To my unsophisticated mind, his "Memoirs" gave to the profession a dignity worth attaining at the cost of earnest, life-long effort. When it became necessary for me to take a stage-name, and a fellow-player, possessing a veneer of culture, told me that if I would add the letter "i" to Houdin's name, it would mean, in the French language, "like Houdin," I adopted the suggestion with enthusiasm. I asked nothing more of life than to become in my profession "like Robert-Houdin." By this time I had re-read his works until I could re- cite passage after passage from memory. Then, when Fate turned kind and the golden pathway of success led me into broader avenues of work, I determined that my first tour abroad should be dedicated to adding new [7] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,15 | 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] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,16 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 16 | INTRODUCTION Houdin, over his own signature, claimed credit for the invention of many tricks and automata which may be said to have marked the golden age in magic. My in- vestigations disproved each claim in order. He had announced himself as the first magician to appear in regulation evening clothes, discarding flowing sleeves and heavily draped stage apparatus. The credit for this revo- lution in conjuring belonged to Wiljalba Frikell. Robert- Houdin's explanation of tricks performed by other magicians and not included in his repertoire, proved so incorrect and inaccurate as to brand him an ignoramus in certain lines of conjuring. Yet to the great charm of his diction and the romantic development of his personal reminiscences later writers have yielded unquestioningly and have built upon the historically weak foundations of his statements all the later so-called histories of magic. For a time the disappointment killed all. creative power. With no laurel wreath to carve, my tools lay idle. The spirit of investigation languished. Then came the reaction. There was work to be done. Those who had wrought honestly deserved the credit that had been taken from them. In justice to the living as well as the dead the history of the magic must be revised. The book, accepted for more than half a century as an authority on our craft, must stand forth for what it is, a clever romance, a well-written volume of fiction. That is why to-day I offer to the profession of magic, to the world of laymen readers to whom its history has always appealed, and to the literary savants who dip into it as a recreation, the results of my investigations. These, I believe, will show Robert-Houdin's true place in the [9] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,17 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 17 | INTRODUCTION history of magic and give to his predecessors, in a pro- fession which in each generation becomes more serious and more dignified, the credit they deserve. My investigations cover nearly twenty years of a busy a or focus b2 the Frontispiece of "Hocus Pocus," Second Edition, 1635, one of the earliest works on magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection. professional career. Every hour which I could spare from my professional work was given over to study in libraries, to interviews with retired magicians and col- lectors, and to browsing in old bookstores and antique [10] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,18 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 18 | INTRODUCTION shops where rare collections of programs, newspapers, and prints might be found. In order to conduct my researches intelligently, I was compelled to pick up a smattering of the language of JOH BAPT PORTA Ca Philosoph, Madamatitor and Atrologic zus govo. on John Baptist Porta, the Neapolitan writer on magic. From an old woodcut in the Harry Houdini Collection. each country in which I played. The average collector or proprietor of an old bookshop is a canny, suspicious individual who must accept you as a friend before he will uncover his choicest treasures. As authorities, books on magic and kindred arts are practically worthless. The earliest books, like the magi- cian stories written by Sir John Mandeville in 1356, read like prototypes of to-day's dime novels. They are thrill- [ II ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,19 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 19 | INTRODUCTION ing tales of travellers who witnessedmagical performances, but they are not authentic records of performers and their work. One of the oldest books in my collection is "Natural and Unnatural Magic" by Gantziony, dated 1489. It is the author's script, exquisite in its German chirography, artistic in its illuminated illustrations, but worthless as an historical record, though many of the writer's descriptions and explanations of old-time tricks are most interesting. Early in the seventeenth century appeared "Hocus Pocus," the most widely copied book in the literature of magic. The second edition, dated 1635, I have in my library. I have never been able to find a copy of the first edition or to ascertain the date at which it was published. A few years later, in 1658, came a very important con- tribution to the history of magic in "Natural Magick in XX. Bookes," by John Baptist Porta, a Neapolitan. This has been translated into nearly every language. It was the first really important and exhaustive work on the subject, but, unfortunately, it gives the explanation of tricks, rather than an authentic record of their in- vention. In 1682, Simon Witgeest of Amsterdam, Holland, wrote an admirable work, whose title reads "Book of Natural Magic." This work was translated into German, ran through many an edition, and had an enormous sale in both Holland and Germany. In 1715, John White, an Englishman, published a work entitled "Art's Treasury and Hocus Pocus; or a Rich Cabinet of Legerdemain Curiosities." This is [iz] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,20 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 20 | INTRODUCTION Het Natuurlijk TOVER-BOECK of SPEEL =TONEEL der KONSTEN Frontispiece from Simon Witgeest's "Book of Natural Magic" (1682), showing the early Dutch conception of conjuring. From the Harry Houdini Collection. [*3] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,21 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 21 | INTRODUCTION fully as reliable a book as the earlier "Hocus Pocus" books, but it is not so generally known. Richard Neve, who was a popular English conjurer just before the time of Fawkes, published a book on somewhat similar lines in I715. Germany contributed the next notable works on magic. First came Johann Samuel Halle's "Magic or the Magical Power of Nature," printed in Berlin, in 1784. One of his compatriots, Johann Christian Wiegleb, wrote eighteen books on "The Natural Magic" and while I shall always contend that the German books are the most complete, yet they cannot be accepted as authorities save that, in describing early tricks, they prove the existence of inventions and working methods claimed later as original by men like Robert-Houdin. English books on magic were not accepted seriously until the early part of the ninetcenth century. In Vol. III. of John Beckmann's "History of Inventions and and Discoveries," published in 1797, will be found a chapter on "Jugglers" which presents interesting matter regarding magicians and mysterious entertainers. I quote from this book in disproving Robert-Houdin's claims to the invention of automata and second-sight. About 1840, J. H. Anderson, a popular magician, brought out a series of inexpensive, paper-bound vol- umes, entitled "A Shilling's Worth of Magic," "Parlor Magic," etc., which are valuable only as giving a glimpse of the tricks contemporary with his personal successes. In 1859 came Robert-Houdin's "Memoirs," magic's classic. Signor Blitz, in 1872, published his reminis- cences, "Fifty Years in the Magic Circle," but here [14 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,22 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 22 | INTRODUCTION C JOHN WHITE, Autbor of ART's Treafury, and Hocus Pocus ; or a Rich Cabinet of Legerdemain Curiofities. John White, an English writer on magic and kindred arts in the early part of the eighteenth century. Only portrait in existence and published for the first time since his book was issued in 1715. From the Harry Houdini Col- lection. [ 15 | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,23 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 23 | INTRODUCTION again we have a purely local and personal history, without general value. Thomas Frost wrote three books relating to the history of magic, commencing about 1870. This list included 'Circus Life and Circus Celebrities,' "The Old Show- men and the Old London Fairs," and "Lives of the Conjurers." These were the best books of their kind up to the time of their publication, but they are marked by glaring errors, showing that Frost compiled rather than investigated, or, more properly speaking, that his in- vestigations never went much further than Morley's "Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair." Charles Bertram who wrote "Isn't it Wonderful?" closed the nincteenth-century list of English writers on magic, but his work is marred by mis-statements which even the humblest of magicians could refute, and, like Frost, he drew heavily on writers who preceded him. So far, in the twentieth century, the most notable con- tribution to the literature of magic is Henry Ridgely Evans' "The Old and the New Magic," but Mr. Evans falls into the error of his predecessors in accepting as authoritative the history of magic and magicians fur- nished by Robert-Houdin. He has made no effort whatever to verify or refute the statements made by Robert-Houdin, but has merely compiled and re-written them to suit his twentieth-century readers. The true historian does not compile. He delves for facts and proofs, and having found these he arrays his indisputable facts, his uncontrovertible proofs, to refute the statements of those who have merely compiled. That is what I have done to prove my case against Robert- [r6 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,24 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 24 | INTRODUCTION Frontispiece from Richard Neve's work on magic, showing him performing the egg and bag trick about 1715. Photographed from the original in the British Museum by the author. 2 [ (17 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,25 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 25 | INTRODUCTION Houdin. I have not borrowed from the books of other writers on magic. I have gone to the very fountain head of information, records of contemporary literature, news- papers, programmes and advertisements of magicians who Signor Antonio Blitz, author of "Fifty Years in the Magic Circle" (1872). Original negative of this photograpli is in the Harry Houdini Collection. preceded Robert-Houdin, sometimes by a century. It would cost fully a million dollars to forge the collection of evidence now in my hands. Men who lived a hundred years before Robert-Houdin was born did not invent [ 18] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,26 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 26 | INTRODUCTION posters or write advertisements in order to refute the claims of those who were to follow in the profession of magic. These programmes, advertisements, newspaper notices, and crude cuts trace the true history of magic as Philip Astley, Esq. Ruc. by Alex. Bogg. & c. Aug 1.1806. Philip Astley, Esq., an historical circus director, a famous character of Bartholomew Fair days, and author of "Natural Magic" (1784). From the Harry Houdini Collection. no romancer, no historian of a single generation possibly could. They are the ghosts of dead and gone magicians, rising in this century of research and progress to claim the credit due them. [r9] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,27 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 27 | INTRODUCTION Often when the bookshops and auction sales did not yield fruit worth plucking, I had the good fortune to meet a private collector or a retired performer whose assistance proved invaluable, and the histories of Charles Bertram (James Bassett), the English author and conjurer, who wrote "Isn't it Wonderful ?" Born 1853, died Feb. 28th, 1907. From the Harry Houdini Collection. these meetings read almost like romances, so skilfully did the Fates seem to juggle with my efforts to secure credible proof. To the late Henry Evans Evanion I am indebted for [20] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,28 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 28 | INTRODUCTION many of the most important additions to my collection of conjuring curios and my library of magic, recog- nized by fellow-artistes and litterateurs as the most complete in the world. Evanion was an Englishman, by profession a parlor magician, by choice and habit a collector and savant. He was an entertainer from 1849 to the year of his death. For fifty years he spent every spare hour at the British Museum collecting data bearing on his marvellous col- lection, and his interest in the history of magic was shared by his excellent wife who conducted a "sweet shop" near one of London's public schools. While playing at the London Hippodrome in 1904 I was confined to my room by orders of my physician. During this illness I was interviewed by a reporter who, noticing the clippings and bills with which my room was strewn, made some reference to my collection in the course of his article. The very day on which this inter- view appeared, I received from Henry Evanion a merc scrawl stating that he, too, collected programmes, bills, etc., in which I might be interested. I wrote at once asking him to call at one o'clock the next afternoon, but as the hour passed and he did not appear, I decided that, like many others who asked for interviews, he had felt but a passing whim. That after- noon about four o'clock my physician suggested that, as the day was mild, I walk once around the block. As I stepped from the lift, the hotel porter informed me that since one o'clock an old man had been waiting to see me, but so shabby was his appearance, they had not dared send him up to my room. He pointed to a bent figure, [ 2I ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,29 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 29 | H Eranion Last photograph of Henry Evans Evanion, conjurer and collector, taken especially for this book in which he was deeply interested. Died June 17th. 1905. From the Harry Houdini Collection. [ 22] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,30 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 30 | INTRODUCTION clad in rusty raiment. When I approached the old man he rose and informed me that he had brought some clippings, bills, etc., for me to see. I asked him to be as expeditious as possible, for I was too weak to stand long and my head was a-whirl from the effects of la grippe. With some hesitancy of speech but the loving touch of a collector he opened his parcel. "I have brought you, sir, only a few of my treasures, sir, but if you will call- " I heard no more. I remember only raising my hands before my eyes, as if I had been dazzled by a sudden shower of diamonds. In his trembling hands lay price- less treasures for which I had sought in vain-original programmes and bills of Robert-Houdin, Phillippe, Ander- son, Breslaw, Pinetti, Katterfelto, Boaz, in fact all the conjuring celebrities of the eighteenth century, together with lithographs long considered unobtainable, and news- papers to be found only in the files of national libraries. I felt as if the King of England stood before me and I must do him homage. Physician or no physician, I made an engagement with him for the next morning, when I was bundled into a cab and went as fast as the driver could urge his horse to Evanion's home, a musty room in the basement of No. I2 Methley Street, Kennington Park Road, S.E. In the presence of his collection I lost all track of time. Occasionally we paused in our work to drink tea which he made for us on his pathetically small stove. The drops of the first tea which we drank together can yet be found on certain papers in my collection. . His ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,31 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 31 | INTRODUCTION Very rare and extraordinarily fine lithograph of Robert-Houdin, which he gave only to his friends. It depicts him among his so-called inventions. His son, Emile, doing second siglit, is behind him. The writing and drawing figure is on his left. On his right under the clockwork is a drawing which, on close examination of the original, shows the suspension trick. From the Harry Houdini Collection. [ 24] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,32 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 32 | his chief anxiety was for the future of his wife and then for his own decent burial. When these sad offices had been provided for, he became more peaceful, and when I rose to leave him, knowing that we had met probably for the last time, he drew forth his chiefest treasure, a superb book of Robert-Houdin's programmes, his one [25] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,33 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 33 | INTRODUCTION Corn Exchange, Maidstone, legacy, which is now the central jewel in my col- FOR TWO NIGHTS ONLY. lection. Evanion died UNDER DISTINGUASHED PATRONAGE. THEBAND ten days later, June 17th, and within a short time or THE vertzun LIGET INFANTSY MILITIA his good wife followed wn attend on each Erening by the tund cerminsion of Col. Ser Thos. M. Wilson, Bart. him into the Great Un- known. Even more dramatic was my meeting with the widow of Frikell, the great German conjurer. I had heard that Frikell and not Robert-Houdin SOIREES MYSTERIEUSES 1! was the first magician MR. J. SAVREN, to discard cumbersome, draped stage apparatus, Artist in Experimental Philosophy, and Natural Magic, Sege . inform the - of thet of and to don evening . Novel - The te deme by - - of the The MISTICAL ILLUSTRATION will MODERN clothes, and I was most anxious to verify this MAGIC rumor, as well as to in- terview him regarding equally important data The Illusionary of Natural Science, Egyptian Mystery, the Manipulation of the Chinese, the greatest Recamotes in the World. PROGBAMME EXTRAORDINAIRR bearing on the history of PARE L The Obediees Carde and theie Eccestricities Le Mouchod- de confocum, " What wit be The Croutal Torala, its Divination, ne the Oracle Hundred Yeare? magic. Having heard of Fomale Destiny The Grand Escomotago, the Mireculous Pre- The VANGAL of VENUS is the Prisco of sectasion to the Bacchue The Bassers of - - Molti- The Wateh Mascrovre, or the Wooders of Magical farione Production in of the that he lived in Kötchen- Manipsiation ALLIES PART IL A Night is the PALACE of NANKIN, or Novel The Coffers of the Stores Represvetation of the Wonder Working broda, a suburb of Dres- and Spint like Tou de phymique Magie of the great Celestial Empire of The Evenoncent Powers of Bodino CHINA Fiora's Tree . Minatore and CONE a Liquid Metamorphosi and reprodection of the Le Estraordisaire, les Bonlots des Allies Coldee Circled in Peratorial The CHINESE CREATION, the mout Brilliant den, I wrote to him from The Mesallic Currency, i… | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,34 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 34 | INTRODUCTION "Herr verreist," meaning "The master is on tour." This, I knew, from his age, could not be true, SO I took a week off for personal investigation. I ar- rived at Kötchenbroda on the morning of April 8th, 1903, at 4 o'clock, and was directed to his home, known as "Villa Frikell." Having found my bearings and studied well the exterior of the house, I returned to the depot to await daylight. At 8:30 I reappeared at his door, and was told by his wife that Herr Frikell had gone away. I then sought the police department from which I secured the following information: "Dr." Wiljalba Frikell was indeed the retired magician whom I was so anxious to meet. He was eighty-seven years old, and in 1884 had celebrated his golden anniversary as a conjurer. Living in the same town was an adopted daughter, but she could not or would not assist me. The venerable magician had suf- fered from domestic disappointments and had made a VOW that he would see no one. In fact he was leading a hermit-like life. Armed with this information, I employed a photog- rapher, giving him instructions to post himself opposite the house and make a snap shot of the magician, should he appear in the doorway. But I had counted without my host. All morning the photographer lounged across the street and all morning I stood bareheaded before the door of Herr Frikell, pleading with his wife who leaned from the window overhead. With that peculiar fervency which comes only when the heart's desire is at stake, I begged that the past master of magic would lend a help- ing hand to one ready to sit at his feet and learn. I urged [27] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,35 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 35 | The Author standing in front of Villa Frikell at Kötohenbroda, Germany. where the master magician, Wiljalba Frikell, assent the yearn of his life. From the Harry Houdini Collection. | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,36 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 36 | INTRODUCTION the debt which he owed to the literature of magic and which he could pay by giving me such direct information as I needed for my book. Frau Frikell heard my pleadings with tears running down her cheeks, and later I learned that Herr Frikell also listened- to them, lying grimly on the other side of the shuttered window. At length, yielding to physical exhaustion, I went away, but I was still undaunted. I continued to bombard Herr Frikell with letters, press clippings regarding my work, etc., and finally in Russia I received a letter from him. I might send him a package containing a certain brand of Russian tea of which he was particularly fond. You may be sure I lost no time in shipping the little gift, and shortly I was rewarded by the letter for which I longed. Having decided that I cared more for him than did some of his relatives, he would receive me when next I played near Kötchenbroda. With this interview in prospect, I made the earliest engagement obtainable in Dresden, intending to give every possible moment to my hardly-won acquaintance. But Fate interfered. One business problem after another arose, concerning my forthcoming engagement in Eng- land, and I had to postpone my visit to Herr Frikell until the latter part of the week. In the mean time, he had agreed to visit a Dresden photographer, as I wanted an up-to-date photograph of him and he had only pictures taken in his more youthful days. On the day when he came to Dresden for his sitting, he called at the theatre, but the attachés, without informing me, refused to give him the name of the hotel where I was stopping. [29] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,37 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 37 | [OE] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,38 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 38 | INTRODUCTION After the performance I dropped into the König Kaffe and was much annoyed by the staring and gesticulations of an elderly couple at a distant table. It was Frikell with his wife, but I did not recognize them and, not being certain on his side, he failed to make himself known. That was mid-week, and for Saturday, which fell on October 8th, 1903, I had an engagement to call at the Villa Frikell. On Thursday, the Central Theatre being sold out to Cleo de Merode, who was playing special engagements in Germany with her own company, I made a flying business trip to Berlin, and on my return I passed through Kötchenbroda. As the train pulled into the station I hesitated. Should I drop off and see Herr Frikell, or wait for my appointment on the morrow? Fate turned the wheel by a mere thread and I went on to Dresden. So does she often dash our fondest hopes! My appointment for Saturday was at 2 P.M., and as my train landed me in Kötchenbroda a trifle too early I walked slowly from the depot to the Villa Frikell, not wishing to disturb my aged host by arriving ahead of time. I rang the bell. It echoed through the house with pe- culiar shrillness. The air seemed charged with a quality which I presumed was the intense pleasure of realizing my long cherished hope of meeting the great magician. A lady opened the door and greeted me with the words: "You are being waited for." I entered. He was waiting. for me indeed, this man who had consented to meet me, after vowing that he would never again look into the face of a stranger. And Fate had forced him to keep that VOW. Wiljalba Frikell was dead. The body, clad in the best his wardrobe afforded, [ 3I ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,39 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 39 | INTRODUCTION all of which had been donned in honor of his expected guest, was not yet cold. Heart failure had come suddenly and unannounced. The day before he had cleaned up his souvenirs in readiness for my coming and arranged a quan- tity of data for me. On the wall above the silent form were all of his gold medals, photographs taken at various stages of his life, orders presented to him by royalty- all the outward and visible signs of a vigorous, active, and successful life, the life of which he would have told me, had I arrived ahead of Death. And when all these were arranged, he had forgotten his morbid dislike of strangers. The old instincts of hospitality tugged at his heart strings, and his wife said he was almost young and happy once more, when suddenly he grasped at his heart, crying, "My heart! What is the matter with my heart ? " That was all! There we stood together, the woman who had loved the dear old wizard for years and the young magician who would have been SO willing to love him had he been allowed to know him. His face was still wet from the cologne she had thrown over him in vain hope of reviving the fading soul. On the floor lay the cloths, used SO ineffectually to bathe the pulseless face, and now laughing mockingly at one who saw himself defeated after weary months of writing and pleading for the much-desired meeting. I feel sure that the personal note struck in these remi- niscences will be forgiven. In no other way could I prove the authoritativeness of my collection, the thorough- ness of my research, and the incontrovertibility of the facts which I desire to set forth in this volume. [ 32 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,40 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 40 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBER'T-HOUDIN - CHAPTER I SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-EOUDIN R OBERT-HOUDIN was born in Blois, France; December 6th, 1805. His real name was Jean-Eugene Robert, and his father was Prosper Robert, a watchmaker in moderate circum- stances. His mother's maiden name was Marie Catherine Guillon. His first wife was Josephe Cecile Eglantine Houdin, whose family name he assumed for business rea- sons. He was married the second time to Françoise Mar- guerite Olympe Naconnier. His death, caused by pneu- monia, occurred at St. Gervais, France, on June 13th, 1871. Barring the above facts, which were gleaned from the register of the civil authorities of St. Gervais, all information regarding his life previous to his first public appearance in 1844 must be drawn from his own works, particularly from his autobigraphy, published in the form of "Memoirs." Because of his supreme egotism, his obvious desire to make his autobiography picturesque and interesting rather than historically correct, and his utter indifference to dates, exact names of places, theatres, books, etc., it is extremely hard to present logical and con- 3 [33] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,41 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 41 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN sistent statements regarding his life. Such discrepancies arise as the mention of three chiklsen in one chapter and four in another, while he does net give the names of either Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. Photograph taken about 1868. From the HIarry Houdini Collection. wife, though he admits his obligation to both good women. According to his autobiography, Jean-Eugene Robert was sent to college at Orleans at the tender age of eleven, and remained there until he was eighteen. He was then placed in a notary's office to study law, but his mechanical [ 34] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,42 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 42 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN tastes led him back to his father's trade, watchmaking. While working for his cousin at Blois, he visited a book- shop in search of Berthoud's "Treatise on Clockmaking," but by mistake he was given several volumes of an old encyclopaedia, one of which contained a dissertation on "Scientific Amusements," or an exposition of magic. This simple incident, he asserts, changed the entire current of his life. At eighteen, he first turned his atten- tion to magic. At forty, he made his first appearance as an independent magician or public performer. On page 44 of his "Memoirs," American edition, Robert- Houdin refers to this book as an encyclopaedia, but several times later he calls it "White Magic." In all probability it was the famous work by Henri Decremps in five vol- umes, known as "La Magie Banche Dévoilée," or "White Magic Exposed." This was written by Decremps to injure Pinetti, and it exposed all the latter's tricks, in- cluding the orange tree, the vaulting trapeze automaton, and in fact the majority of the tricks later claimed by Robert-Houdin as his own inventions. In 1828, while working for M. Noriet, a watchmaker in Tours, Jean-Eugene Robert was poisoned by improperly prepared food, and in his delirium started for his old home in Blois. He was picked up on the roadside by Torrini, a travelling magician, who nursed him back to health in his portable theatre. Just as young Jean recovered Torrini was injured in an accident, and his erstwhile patient remained to nurse his benefactor and later to help Torrini's assistant present the programme of magic by which they made their living. His first public appearance as the representative of Torrini was made at Aubusson. [ 35 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,43 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 43 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN - [36] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,44 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 44 | To=bay, Thursbay, July 3, 1845, first Representation OF The fantastic Goirces OF Robert-Toubin, Automata, Sleight-of-Hand, Magic. The Performance will be composed of entirely novel Experiments invented by M. ROBERT-HOUDIN, Among them being : The Cabalistic Clock Obedient Cards Auriol and Debureau The Miraculous Fish The Orange-Tree The Fascinating Owl The Mysterious Boquet The Pastrycook of the Pierrot in the Egg Palais Royal To Commence at Cight o'clocli. open at balf:past beurn. Price of Places: Upper Boxes, I fr. 50 C.; Stalls, 3 fr.; Boxes, 4 fr.; Dress Circle, 5 fr. Programme for the opening of Robert-Houdin's theatre in Paris. Repro- duced from the American edition of his *Memoirs." [ 37] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,45 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 45 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN Torrini was an Italian whose real name was Count Edmond de Grisy. He was a contemporary of Pinetti. In all probability, during the long summer of their inti- mate companionship, Torrini not only initiated his fas- cinated young guest into his own methods of performing ILLUSIONS. IVE A G x E. Robert-Houdin's favorite lithograph for advertising purposes. Used on the majority of his posters and in the original edition of his "Memoirs." From the Harry Houdini Collection. tricks, but also into the secrets of Pinetti's tricks. In his "Memoirs," Robert-Houdin makes no secret of the fact that both Comus and Pinetti, together with their tricks, were topics of conversation between himself and Torrini. When Torrini was able to resume his performances, [38] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,46 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 46 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN Raser " esprees Datrensge e Gracess THE QUEEN, HIS ROYAL HIOHNESS THE PRINCE ALBERT. HEA ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUCEESS OF KENT, THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES THE DUEE & DUCHESS OF CAXBRIDO&, KEA ROYAL HIOHNESS THE DUCHESS OF OLOUCESTEL A GRAND MORNING FETE, A CONCERT & DANCING, " Batts and for the Labouting Classes, IN COULSTON PLACE Ox WEDNESDAY, JULY TR$ 19ta, Under the above exalted Patronage, AT The Residence of ARTSUR Esq. Waich Ass most hindly placed et the dispesal the Ledies TEE CONCERT san sombine sminent et the tollsting use babe most estigingis assistants MADAME GRISI, MADAME CASTELLAN, MADLLE ALBONI, MARIO, M. ROGER, sto. TAMBURINI, a SIG. LABLACHS. CONDUOTOR SIGNOR COSTA. A TENT WILL BE ERECTED IN THE GROUNDS, " ROBERT-HOUDIN. whe Ase .... - The Grounds will be open from One o'Clock untu Sigbs. TICKETS FOR THE TETE, THE or WHICN will et LIMITED, Can only be procured on the presentitation of Vouchers from the following LADIES Decesse or os es Ricameyo. or VIMCUNTEN ****** or (revers os es or os ances. Orcatse or Stocistom. or Leav Acasa: becusss or or LADT as &suse. or Mostross. " LADT Stamist. o or Decuses or os Lem os Cocatus Gast. Leot os or or WATEAPORN Laos o " PROUNADA. COFNTESS os or Cor>rase Lare Gastam. os Bases, os LAM Jewn Mabast V. as or LIONEL Da or Tes L.DT or Ducomes, Now *** Nuarom. Nas. Nims. Single Tickete 22 2s. esch." detional for comorried Sons and Deughters of the same Pamily. 21 1. - N° Venchers will be exchanged at Mr. MITCHELL' Zoyal Libras, 33, O14 Sond Street on TN& tava, lern. - tare JULV. Robert-Houdin's first appearance before Queen Victoria, July 19th, 1848. A very rare, and possibly the only, programme in existence, chronicling The original, now in the Harry Houdini Collection, was presented to James Savren by Robert-Houdin. [39] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,47 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 47 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN Jean-Eugene returned to his family in Blois. During the next few years he mixed amateur acting with his daily labor, leaning more and more toward the profes- sion of public entertainer. But his ambitions along this line were nipped in the bud by ST. JAMES'S THEATRE marriage. Mademoiselle Houdin, Menday, March 28, And Curing the Week. whose father was a celebrated GREAT FREACN CONJOREA, watchmaker in Paris, visited old friends in Blois, their native town, and became the fiancée of young Robert. As the new son-in-law was to share the elder Houdin's business and naturally wished to secure such benefits as might ac- crue from SO celebrated a family - - sy Mest Gracions Majesty " of watch and clock makers, he -- - mas - - - vamar, masom se, sessy at THEE ABOVE DURING SASTER wase. applied to the council of state SVERY - - à DAY PERFORMANCE and secured the right to annex MESBAY & SATURBAY "Houdin" to his name, Jean- masom so APRIL " Eugene Robert, and thereafter was vervass known only as Robert-Houdin. His life between 1838 and 1844 Poster used by Robert- Houdin during an Easter was divided between reading every engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. work obtainable on magic, and his From the Harry Houdini duties in his father-in-law's shop, Collection. where he not only made and re- paired clocks, but built and repaired automata of various sorts. His family shared with him many financial vicissi- tudes, and about 1842-43 his first wife died, leaving him with three young children to raise. Earlier in his "Mem- oirs" he speaks of having four children, so it is more [40] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,48 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 48 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN than likely that one died before his wife. He married again soon, and though he gives his second wife great credit as a helpmate he does not state her name. By this time he had acquired more than passing fame Robert-Houdin as he appeared to the English critics. Reproduced from the Illustrated London News, December 23d, 1848. as a repairer of automata, and in 1844 he mended Vau- canson's marvellous duck, one of the most remarkable automata ever made. Doubtless other automata found [ 4I ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,49 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 49 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN their way to his workshop and aided him in his study of a profession which he still hoped to follow. During these discouraging times he was often assisted financially by ST, - regest ENTERTAINMENT Tuesday. Thursday Saturday Evenings, DAY. PERFORMANCE 90 Wednesday Morning. at Poster used in 1848 in London by Robert-Houdin. From the Harry Houdini Collection. one Monsieur G-- who either advanced money on his automata or bought them outright. In the same year, 1844, he retired to a suburb of Paris, and there, [42] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,50 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 50 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN he asserts, he built his famous writing and drawing figure. The next year, 1845, he was assisted by Count de L'Escalopier, a devotee of conjuring and automata, who advanced the money to fit up and furnish a small theatre ST JAMES'S THEATRÉ Saturday Evening, Aug. 19. in the Palais Royal. Robert- POSITIVELY THE Houdin went about the work LAST NIGHT of decorating and furnishing this OF THE SEASON. theatre with a view to securing BENEFIT OF the most dramatic and brilliant MILE-HOUDIN effects, surrounding his simple ROBERT tricks with a setting that made HOUDIN them vastly different from the will POSTIVELY MAEE ats same offerings by his predeces- Last Appearamce in Lendon Naturday Evening, Aug. 19,5' sors. He was what is called to- Outes to Nio Eagagement et the Theatre Reyal, Mascheath. which Tuesday Evening aexi, Arges $2. THE PROGRAMNE day an original producer of old BITS & INVENTIONS THE avexava ideas. On June 25th, 1845, he MILE-HOUDIN Me , SECOND SIGNT, us gave his first private perform- " INVISIBILETE," ESCAMOTAGE EXTRAORDINAIRE, ance before a few friends. On AMILK-HOUDIN Suspension Ethereenne, BY UGENE-BOUDIN. July 3d of the same year his aoxgs, da. PIT, GAL STALLS, la se. PRIVATE BUXES ... STALLS - SOVAL sa, theatre of magic was opened formally to the public. The programme of this performance Poster for theEmile-Houdin benefit at St. James's Thea- is shown on page 37. tre in 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection. It will be noted that the famous writing and drawing figure was not then included in Robert- Houdin's répertoire, nor does it ever appear on any of his programmes. He exhibited it at the quinquennial exhibi- tion in 1844, received a silver medal for it, and very soon sold it to the late P. T. Barnum, who exported it to America. [43] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,51 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 51 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN This question naturally arises: If Robert-Houdin built the original writing and drawing figure, why could he not make a duplicate and include it in his programme? Surely Sadier's "Wells POSITIVE NIGETS ROBERT SERIES of MAGICAL ILLUSIONS MONDAY, MAY 9th, 1853. and Every During the Woek. The Entreptd Soldier. The Produstion of Flowers. The Animated Oards. The Instantaneous Transpesition The Marvellous Oraage Tree. The Golden Shower. The Mephistepheles Telescope. The Enchanted Garland of Flowerte The Traveiling Turtile Devea. A Wonderfal Surprise fer the Sadies. The Transparent Oryatal Eex. varmo PART. The Confectioner. The Taeshaustible Sowl of SECOND PABT. The Orystal Balle, or Great Series Bobert Mondia's Portfelle of stight et Hand Wricks. astonishing Envisibility. Press Circie, . Sa. Bexes, - Sa. PII, - Is. Gallery . PRIVATE soxma as, - as N. su. . of The - - - Poster used by Robert-Houdin when he played at Sadler's Wells, London, in 1853. He never refers to this engagement in his writings because he was not proud of having appeared in a second-class theatre, while his rival, ,Anderson, held the fashionable audiences at the St. James's, where Robert-Houdin had worn out his welcome. From the Harry Houdini Collection. it was one of the most remarkable of the automata which he claims as the creations of his brain and hands. [44] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,52 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 52 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN In 1846 he claims to have invented second sight, and at the opening of the season in 1847 he presented as his own creation the suspension trick. During the interim he played an engagement in Brussels which was a finan- cial failure. In 1848 the Revolution closed the doors of Parisian theatres, Robert-Houdin's among the rest, and he re- turned to clockmaking and automata building, until he received from John Mitchell, who had met with great success in managing Ludwig Döbler and Phillippe, an offer to appear in London at the St. James's Theatre. This engagement was a brilliant success and for the first time in his career Robert-Houdin reaped big financial returns. Later Robert-Houdin toured the English provinces under his own management and made return trips to London, but his tour under Mitchell was the most notable engagement of his career. In 1850, while playing in Paris, he decided to retire, and to turn over his theatre and tricks to one Hamilton. A contemporary clipping, taken from an English news- paper of 1848, goes to prove that Hamilton was an Englishman who entered Robert-Houdin's employ. Ham- ilton signed a dual contract, agreeing to produce Robert- Houdin's tricks as his acknowledged successor and to marry Robert-Houdin's sister, thus keeping the tricks and the theatre in the family. During the next two years Robert-Houdin spent part of his time instructing his brother-in-law in all the mysteries of his art. In July, 1852, he played a few engagements in Germany, including Berlin and various bathing resorts, and then formally [45] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,53 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 53 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN retired to his home at St. Gervais. Here he continued to work along mechanical and electrical lines, and in 1855 he again came into public notice, winning awards at the Exhibition for electrical power as applied to mechanical uses. In 1856, according to his autobiography, he was Robert-Houdin's grave, in the cemetery at Blois, France. From a photo- graph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry Houdini Collection. summoned from his retirement by the Government to make a trip to Algeria and there intimidate revolting Arabsby1 the exhibition of his sleight-of-hand tricks. These were greatly superior to the work of the Marabouts or Arabian magicians, whose influence was often held re- sponsible for revolts. What Robert-Houdin received for [ 46 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,54 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 54 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN performing this service is not set forth in any of his works. He spent the fall of 1856 in Algeria. From the date of his return to St. Gervais to the time of his death, June 13th, 1871, Robert-Houdin devoted his energies to improving his inventions and writing his R Bas-relief on Robert-Houdin tombstone. From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry Houdini Collection. books, though, as stated before, it was generally believed by contemporary magicians that in the latter task he entrusted most of the real work to a Parisian journalist whose name was never known. He was survived by a wife, a son named Emile, and a step-daughter. Emile Houdin managed his father's theatre until his death in 1883, when the theatre was [ 47 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,55 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 55 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN sold for 35,000 francs. The historic temple of magic still stands under the title of "Théâtre Robert-Houdin," under the management of M. Mclies, a maker of mo- tion picture films. During my investigations in Paris, I was shocked to - The last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as the frontispiese for the original French edition of his "Memoirs," published in 1868. find how little the memory of Robert-Houdin was revered and how little was known of France's greatest magician. In fact, I was more than once informed that Robert- Houdin was still alive and giving performances at the theatre which bears his name. 1 48 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,56 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 56 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN Contemporary magicians of Robert-Houdin and men of high repute in other walks of life seem to agree that Robert-Houdin was an entertainer of only average merit. Among the men who advanced this theory were the late Henry Evanion of whose deep interest in magic I wrote in the introduction, Sir William Clayton who was Robert- Houdin's personal friend in London, Ernest Basch who saw Robert-Houdin in Berlin, and T. Bolin of Moscow, Russia, who bought all his tricks in Paris and there saw Robert-Houdin and studied his work as a conjurer. Robert-Houdin's contributions to literature, all of which are eulogistic of his own talents, are as follows: "Confidence et Révélations," published in Paris in 1858 and translated into English by Lascelles Wraxall, with an introduction by R. Shelton Mackenzie. "Les Tricheries des Grecs" (Card-Sharping Exposed), published in Paris in 1861. "Secrets de la Prestidigitation" (Secrets of Magic), published in Paris in 1868. "Le Prieuré" (The Priory, being an account of his electrically equipped house), published in Paris in 1867. "Les Radiations Lumineuses," published in Blois in 1869. "Exploration de la Rétinue," published in Blois, 1869. "Magic et Physique Amusante" (œuvre posthume), published in Paris in 1877, six years after Robert-Houdin's death. In his autobiography, Robert-Houdin makes specific claim to the honor of having invented the following tricks: The Orange Tree, Second Sight, Suspension, The Cabalistic Clock. The Inexhaustible Bottle, The 4 [ 49 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,57 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 57 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal, The Vaulting Trapeze Automaton, and the Writing and Drawing Figure. His fame, which has been sung by writers of magic without number since his death, rests principally on the invention of second sight, suspension, and the writing and drawing automaton. It is my intention to trace the true history of each of these tricks and of all others to which he laid claim as inventor, and show just how small a proportion of the credit was due to Robert-Houdin and how much he owed to magicians who preceded him and whose brain-work he claimed as his own. [50] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,58 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 58 | CHAPTER II THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK R OBERT-HOUDIN, on page I79 of the American edition of his "Memoirs," thus describes the orange-tree trick, which he claims as his inven- tion: "The next was a mysterious orange-tree, on which flowers and fruit burst into life at the request of the ladies. As the finale, a handkerchief I borrowed was conveyed into an orange purposely left on the tree. This opened and displayed the handkerchief, which two butterflies took by the corners and unfolded before the spectators." On page 245 of the same volume he presents the programme given at the first public performance in the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, stating: "The performance will be composed of entirely novel Experiments invented by M. Robert-Houdin. Among them being The Orange-Tree, etc." Now to retrace our steps in the history of magic as set forth in handbills and advertisements of earlier and con- temporaneous newspaper clippings describing their in- ventions. Under the title of "The Apple-Tree" this mechanical trick appeared on a Fawkes programme dated I730. This was II5 years before Robert-Houdin claimed it as his invention. In I732, just before Pinchbeck's death, it [ 51 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,59 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 59 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN appeared on a programme used by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., and the younger Fawkes. In 1784 it was included in the répertoire of the Italian conjurer, Pinetti, in the guise of "Le Bouquet-philosophique." In 1822 the same trick, but this time called "An Enchanted Garden," was featured by M. Cornillot, who appeared in England as the pupil and successor of Pinetti. The trick was first explained in public print by Henri De- cremps in 1784 when his famous exposé of Pinetti was published 0 under the title of "La Magie Blanche Dévoilée," and in 1786- 87 both Halle and Wiegleb ex- posed the trick completely in their respective works on magic. That Robert-Houdin was an Diagram of the orange-tree omnivorous reader is proven by trick, from Wiegleb's The Natural Magic," published in his own writings. That he knew 1794. the history and tricks of Pinetti is proven by his own words, for in Chapter VI. of his "Memoirs" he devoted fourteen pages to Pinetti and the latter's relations with Torrini. Now to prove that the tree tricks offered by Fawkes, Pinchbeck, Pinetti, Cornillot, and Robert-Houdin were practically one and the same, and to tell something of the history of the four magicians who featured the trick before Robert-Houdin had been heard of: Unquestionably, the real inventor of the mysterious tree was Christopher Pinchbeck, who was England's [52] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,60 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 60 | Pinchestic stopher Pinchbeck, Sr. This is the oldest and rarest authentic mezzotint in the orld pertaining to the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection. [ 53 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,61 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 61 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN leading mechanical genius at the close of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eightcenth. He was a man of high repute, whose history is not that of the charlatan, compiled largely from tradition, but it can be At YOUNGS Gront Riem, the of unite Mall, faring de Hay-Market, feem The GAAND TREATHE of the MUSES, jaft find Mr. PINCHBECK, THIS wonderful Machine is the Altonifh- men et of that fee it. the Magnificraçe of bs the Deliescy of the Painitag und Seulprure, and the great variety of moving Figures makes it the moit fur- priling Piece of An thaz has ever yer appear'd in Europe. It regrefenta a Landfeape, witha view of the Sea. termina- sing infentibly NE 4 vall wich Shipsfailing, plying to doubling Capes, and diminithing by degrees an des difappear, Swans in . River filling and pluming Duck Hunring to Perfection, and grest variety Motions Likewife Piéture, re- OEPUTUS in playing amang rhe Bealts fiere the very T res, as well du Bnnes, are feea 10 move, as if animared and compell'd by the Hamony of bia Harp. It allo perfoins on feveral Infrumenta great variety of moit excellent Pieces of Mulick compos'd by Mr. HANDRE, Co- RELET Bosescims, and orher celebtated wich fuch wonderful Exaänel, that fearce any Hand em equal. It liacwife imitates the fwee Hamony of any Avi- ary of Birds, wherein the refpeltive Notes of the Nightin- gale, Woodfark, Cuckoo, &c. are performed 10 to gieat a Perfebtion, as not to be dillioguillid from Nature it felf. Wirh feveral other grand 100 dious to men- tiow, Prices rs. 25, 6 d. and To be feem from to in the Morning rill To Nighr, by two, or more, without lofe of Time. Nate, This curious Machine will be removed ia a few Days next Deas but oxie to the Leg Tavem in Fleetflieet, Clipping from the London Daily Post of November 30th, 1798. Used by Christopher Pinchbeck before he joined Fawkes. From the Harry Houdini Collection. corroborated by court records, biographical works, and encyclopaedias, as well as by contemporaneous newspaper clippings. … | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,62 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 62 | THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK in Clerkenwell, London. He was a clockmaker and inventor of the copper and zinc alloy called after his name. He invented and made the famous astronomico-musical clock. In Appleby's Weekly Journal of July 8th, I721, At FAWKFS's THEATRE, In near the Hay-market, will be prefentedite following Entertaimments. Firtt, H IS Diverting and Incomparable feveral Thingscatirely new. of HAND, in whichie performe N. n. In particular be caufera Tree to grow up in a Flower- Pot upon the Table, which will blow and bear ripe Fruit in.a Minute's Time, Second, His Famous linde Thind, The CLOCN, with two moving Pilures Tascly made b, Mr. Pinchbeck. Fourth, The Vest TIAN MACKINE, being the huen Piece et Workmaufhip in the World, for moving other Cariofities. Fifth, The ANTIFICIAL Vrow of the wherein is very nateraly imitared the Formament fpangled with Multitude of Stari; the Moon's Increale and Décreate the Pawa of Day il the diffufing his Lightar has Rifing : the beautiful Redneis of the Horizin at hts a in a fine Summer Evening, The Occait it alfo repreferred, with Ships under Sail, Miles the Water, Difance; and their others they pafs B near by that Fort, their Shadows as &cc, the' are they at leea levent lis 28 muy each other with Guits, the Report anddeccho of which are as plaialy heard as the from Places they Anpear to be. Every Weck are diffevent Nore, Every Night tlats Week will be following 1. The Ciry of Granz In the Drifredom of Stirla in Germany. 11. The Clry of Autwerp Nin Brabant in III. The City of Grand Cairo in Egres. IV The City of Africa. every Evening precifely ar SFx n° Clock. Pic AL Middle Upper 64 And thanhe Company may not be with Coll, theve is Contrivanzes TO keep der Warn. Note, Gendeaco and may have a privale Performance, giving Noute the Sight befort. Advertisement from the London Daily Post during 1730, showing the orange tree as offered by the senior Fawkes, just previous to his death. From the Harry Houdini Collection. it was announced that Christopher Pinchbeck, inventor and maker… | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,63 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 63 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERTT-HOUDIN time only as astronomical, for showing the various motions and phenomena of planets and fixed stars.' Mention is also made of musical automata in imitation of singing birds and barrel organs for churches, as among Pinchbeck's manufactures. "Pinchbeck was in the habit of exhibiting collections of his automata at fairs, sometimes in conjunction with a juggler named Fawkes, and he entitled his stall "The Temple of the Muses,' 'Grand Theatre of the Muses, or 'Multum in Parvo.' The Daily Journal of August 27th, 1729, announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales went to the Bartholomew Fair to see hisexhibition, and there were brief advertisements in The Daily Post of June 1 2th, 1729, and the Daily Journal of August 22d and 23d, I729. There is still a large broadside in the British Museum (1850 C. 10-17) headed 'Multum in Parvo,' relating to Pinchbeck's exhibition, with a blank left for place and date, evidently intended for use as a poster. Ile died November 18th, 1732; was buried No: vember 2ist, in St. Denison's Church, Fleet Street. "In a copy of the Gentlemen's Magasine, printed 1732 page 1083, there is an engraved portrait by I. Faber, after a painting by Isaac Wood, a reproduction of which appears in 'Britten's Clock and Watch Maker,' page I22. His will, dated November roth, 1732, was proved in London on November 18th." During one of his engagements at the Bartholomew Fair, Pinchbeck probably met Fawkes, the cleverest sleight-of-hand performer that magic has ever known, and the two joined forces. Pinchbeck made all the auto- mata and apparatus thereafter used by Fawkes, and, in [56] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,64 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 64 | A very rare mezzotint of Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., combining the work of Cunningham, the greatest designer, and William Humphrey, the greatest portrait etcher of his day. From the Harry Houdini Collection. [57] : | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,65 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 65 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN sold for 35,000 francs. The historic temple of magic still stands under the title of "Théâtre Robert-Houdin," under the management of M. Melies, a maker of mo- tion picture films. During my investigations in Paris, I was shocked to - The last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as the frontispiese for the original French edition of his "Memoirs," published in 1868. find how little the memory of Robert-Houdin was revered and how little was known of France's greatest magician. In fact, I was more than once informed that Robert- Houdin was still alive and giving performances at the theatre which bears his name. 1 48 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,66 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 66 | EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN Contemporary magicians of Robert-Houdin and men of high repute in other walks of life seem to agree that Robert-Houdin was an entertainer of only average merit. Among the men who advanced this theory were the late Henry Evanion of whose deep interest in magic I wrote in the introduction, Sir William Clayton who was Robert- Houdin's personal friend in London, Ernest Basch who saw Robert-Houdin in Berlin, and T. Bolin of Moscow, Russia, who bought all his tricks in Paris and there saw Robert-Houdin and studied his work as a conjurer. Robert-Houdin's contributions to literature, all of which are eulogistic of his own talents, are as follows: "Confidence et Révélations," published in Paris in 1858 and translated into English by Lascelles Wraxall, with an introduction by R. Shelton Mackenzie. "Les Tricheries des Grecs" (Card-Sharping Exposed), published in Paris in 1861. "Secrets de la Prestidigitation" (Secrets of Magic), published in Paris in 1868. "Le Prieuré" (The Priory, being an account of his electrically equipped house), published in Paris in 1867. "Les Radiations Lumineuses," published in Blois in 1869. " "Exploration de la Rétinue," published in Blois, 1869. "Magic et Physique Amusante" (œuvre posthume), published in Paris in 1877, six years after Robert-Houdin's death. In his autobiography, Robert-Houdin makes specific claim to the honor of having invented the following tricks: The Orange Tree, Second Sight, Suspension, The Cabalistic Clock. The Inexhaustible Bottle, The 4 [ 49 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,67 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 67 | invention of second sight, suspension, and the writing and drawing automaton. It is my intention to trace the true history of each of these tricks and of all others to which he laid claim as inventor, and show just how small a proportion of the credit was due to Robert-Houdin and how much he owed to magicians who preceded him and whose brain-work he claimed as his own. [50] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,68 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 68 | CHAPTER II THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK R OBERT-HOUDIN, on page I79 of the American edition of his "Memoirs," thus describes the orange-tree trick, which he claims as his inven- tion: "The next was a mysterious orange-tree, on which flowers and fruit burst into life at the request of the ladies. As the finale, a handkerchief I borrowed was conveyed into an orange purposely left on the tree. This opened and displayed the handkerchief, which two butterflies took by the corners and unfolded before the spectators." On page 245 of the same volume he presents the programme given at the first public performance in the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, stating: "The performance will be composed of entirely novel Experiments invented by M. Robert-Houdin. Among them being The Orange-Tree, etc." Now to retrace our steps in the history of magic as set forth in handbills and advertisements of earlier and con- temporaneous newspaper clippings describing their in- ventions. Under the title of "The Apple-Tree" this mechanical trick appeared on a Fawkes programme dated 1730. This was 115 years before Robert-Houdin claimed it as his invention. In 1732, just before Pinchbeck's death, it [ 51 ] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,69 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 69 | THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT-HOUDIN appeared on a programme used by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., and the younger Fawkes. In 1784 it was included in the répertoire of the Italian conjurer, Pinetti, in the guise of "Le Bouquet-philosophique." In 1822 the same trick, but this time called "An Enchanted Garden," was featured by M. Cornillot, who appeared in England as the pupil and successor of Pinetti. The trick was first explained in public print by Henri De- cremps in 1784 when his famous exposé of Pinetti was published B under the title of "La Magie Blanche Dévoilée," and in 1786- 87 both Halle and Wiegleb ex- posed the trick completely in their respective works on magic. That Robert-Houdin was an Diagram of the orange-tree trick, from Wiegleb's The omnivorous reader is proven by Natural Magic," published in his own writings. That he knew 1794. the history and tricks of Pinetti is proven by his own words, for in Chapter VI. of his "Memoirs" he devoted fourteen pages to Pinetti and the latter's relations with Torrini. Now to prove that the tree tricks offered by Fawkes, Pinchbeck, Pinetti, Cornillot, and Robert-Houdin were practically one and the same, and to tell something of the history of the four magicians who featured the trick before Robert-Houdin had been heard of: Unquestionably, the real inventor of the mysteriot tree was Christopher Pinchbeck, who was England [52] | |
unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf,70 | unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 70 | and - Pinchester Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr. This is the oldest and rarest authentic mezzotint in the world pertaining to the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection. [ 53 |
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