enlarge-imagePoster used by Robert-Houdin during an Easter engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry Houdini Collection.Poster used by Robert-Houdin during an Easter engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
When Torrini was able to resume his performances,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 profession of public entertainer. But his ambitions along this line were nipped in the bud by marriage. Mademoiselle Houdin, whose father was a celebrated 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 accrue from so celebrated a family of watch and clock makers, he applied to the council of state and secured the right to annex “Houdin” to his name, Jean-Eugene Robert, and thereafter was known only as Robert-Houdin.
His life between 1838 and 1844 was divided between reading every work obtainable on magic, and his duties in his father-in-law’s shop, where he not only made and repaired clocks, but built and repaired automata of various sorts. His family shared with him many financial vicissitudes, and about 1842-43 his first wife died, leaving him with three young children to raise. Earlier in his “Memoirs” he speaks of having four children, so it is morethan 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.
enlarge-imageRobert-Houdin as he appeared to the English critics. Reproduced from the Illustrated London News, December 23d, 1848.Robert-Houdin as he appeared to the English critics. Reproduced from the Illustrated London News, December 23d, 1848.
enlarge-imageROBERT HOUDIN’S SOIREES FANTASTIQUES Poster used in 1848 in London by Robert-Houdin. From the Harry Houdini Collection.ROBERT HOUDIN’S SOIREES FANTASTIQUES Poster used in 1848 in London by Robert-Houdin. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
By this time he had acquired more than passing fame as a repairer of automata, and in 1844 he mended Vaucanson’s marvellous duck, one of the most remarkable automata ever made. Doubtless other automata foundtheir 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 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,he asserts, he built his famous writing and drawing figure.
enlarge-imagePoster for the Emile-Houdin benefit at St. James’s Theatre in 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.Poster for the Emile-Houdin benefit at St. James’s Theatre in 1848. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
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 in the Palais Royal. Robert-Houdin went about the work of decorating and furnishing this theatre with a view to securing the most dramatic and brilliant effects, surrounding his simple tricks with a setting that made them vastly different from the same offerings by his predecessors. He was what is called to-day an original producer of old ideas. On June 25th, 1845, he gave his first private performance before a few friends. On July 3d of the same year his theatre of magic was opened formally to the public. The programme of this performance is shown on page 37.
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 exhibition in 1844, received a silver medal for it, and very soon sold it to the late P. T. Barnum, who exported it to America.
enlarge-imagePoster 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.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.
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 it was one of the most remarkable of the automata which he claims as the creations of his brain and hands.
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 financial failure.
In 1848 the Revolution closed the doors of Parisian theatres, Robert-Houdin’s among the rest, and he returned 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.
enlarge-imageRobert-Houdin’s grave, in the cemetery at Blois, France. From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry Houdini Collection.Robert-Houdin’s grave, in the cemetery at Blois, France. From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry Houdini Collection.
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 newspaper of 1848, goes to prove that Hamilton was an Englishman who entered Robert-Houdin’s employ. Hamilton 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 formallyretired 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 summoned from his retirement by the Government to make a trip to Algeria and there intimidate revolting Arabs by 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 responsible for revolts. What Robert-Houdin received forperforming this service is not set forth in any of his works. He spent the fall of 1856 in Algeria.
enlarge-imageBas-relief on Robert-Houdin tombstone. From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry Houdini Collection.Bas-relief on Robert-Houdin tombstone. From a photograph taken by the author, especially for this work, and now in the Harry Houdini Collection.
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 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 wassold 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 motion picture films.
enlarge-imageThe last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as the frontispiece for the original French edition of his “Memoirs,” published in 1868.The last photograph taken of Robert-Houdin and used as the frontispiece for the original French edition of his “Memoirs,” published in 1868.
During my investigations in Paris, I was shocked to 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.
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, ThePastry 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.
ROBERT-HOUDIN, on page 179 of the American edition of his “Memoirs,” thus describes the orange-tree trick, which he claims as his invention: “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 contemporaneous newspaper clippings describing their inventions.
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, itappeared 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.
enlarge-imageDiagram of the orange-tree trick, from Wiegleb’s “The Natural Magic,” published in 1794.Diagram of the orange-tree trick, from Wiegleb’s “The Natural Magic,” published in 1794.
The trick was first explained in public print by Henri Decremps in 1784 when his famous exposé of Pinetti was published under the title of “La Magie Blanche Dévoilée,” and in 1786-87 both Halle and Wiegleb exposed the trick completely in their respective works on magic.
That Robert-Houdin was an omnivorous reader is proven by his own writings. That he knew 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:
enlarge-imageChristopher Pinchbeck, Sr. This is the oldest and rarest authentic mezzotint in the world pertaining to the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini Collection.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.
enlarge-imageClipping from the London Daily Post of November 30th, 1728. Used by Christopher Pinchbeck before he joined Fawkes. From the Harry Houdini Collection.Clipping from the London Daily Post of November 30th, 1728. Used by Christopher Pinchbeck before he joined Fawkes. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
Unquestionably, the real inventor of the mysterious tree was Christopher Pinchbeck, who was England’sleading mechanical genius at the close of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. He was a man of high repute, whose history is not that of the charlatan, compiled largely from tradition, but it can be corroborated by court records, biographical works, and encyclopædias, as well as by contemporaneous newspaper clippings.
enlarge-imageAdvertisement 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.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.
According to Vol. XLV. of the “Dictionary of National Biography,” edited by Sidney Lee and published in 1896 by Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, London: “Christopher Pinchbeck was born about 1670, possiblyin 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’sWeekly Journalof July 8th, 1721, it was announced that ‘Christopher Pinchbeck, inventor and maker of the astronomico-musical clock, is removed, from St. George’s Court (now Albion Place) to the sign of the “Astronomico-Musical Clock” in Fleet Street, near the Leg Tavern. He maketh and selleth watches of all sorts and clocks as well for the exact indication of thetime 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.’ TheDaily Journalof August 27th, 1729, announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales went to the Bartholomew Fair to see his exhibition, and there were brief advertisements inThe Daily Postof June 12th, 1729, and theDaily Journalof August 22d and 23d, 1729. 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. He died November 18th, 1732; was buried November 21st, in St. Denison’s Church, Fleet Street.
“In a copy of theGentlemen’s Magazine, 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 122. His will, dated November 10th, 1732, was proved in London on November 18th.”
enlarge-imageA 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.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.
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 automata and apparatus thereafter used by Fawkes, and, inFawkes, he had a master-producer of his tricks. Christopher Pinchbeck never appeared on the program used by Fawkes, save as the maker of the automata or apparatus, but directly after the death of the elder Fawkes, and a few months before his own, the elder Pinchbeck appeared with the son of his deceased partner, and was advertised as doing “the Dexterity of Hand” performance. This indicates that he was inducting young Fawkes into all the mysteries of the profession at which the two elder men, as friends and business partners, had done so well.
Christopher Pinchbeck was survived by two sons, Edward and Christopher, Jr. Edward, the elder, succeeded to his father’s shop and regular business. He was born about 1703, and was well along in years when he entered into his patrimony, which he advertised inThe Daily Postof November 27th, 1732, as follows: “The toys made of the late Mr. Pinchbeck’s curious metal are now sold only by his son and sole executor, Mr. Edward Pinchbeck.”
This announcement settles forever the oft-disputed question as to whether the alloy of copper and zinc which bears the name of Pinchbeck was invented by Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., or by his son Christopher, Jr.
All newspaper and magazine descriptions of the automata invented by the elder Pinchbeck indicate that his hand was as cunning as his brain was inventive, for they showed the most delicate mechanism, and included entire landscapes with figures of rare grace in motion.
enlarge-imageThe best portrait of Isaac Fawkes in existence. The original, now in the Harry Houdini Collection, is supposed to have been engraved by Sutton Nichols. It is said that there is only one more of these engravings extant.The best portrait of Isaac Fawkes in existence. The original, now in the Harry Houdini Collection, is supposed to have been engraved by Sutton Nichols. It is said that there is only one more of these engravings extant.
“Christopher, the second son of Christopher Pinchbeck the elder,” continues the biographical sketch, “was born about 1710 and possessed great mechanical ingenuity.While the elder son, Edward, was made executor and continued his father’s trade in a quiet, conservative fashion, the younger son struck out along new lines and became even more famous as an inventor than his brilliant father had been.
enlarge-imageAn early Fawkes advertisement, clipped from a London paper of 1725. From the Harry Houdini Collection.An early Fawkes advertisement, clipped from a London paper of 1725. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
“He was a member and at one time president of the Smeatonian Society, the precursor of the Institution of Civil Engineers. In 1762 he devised a self-acting pneumatic brake for preventing accidents to the men employed in working wheel-cranes. InThe Gentlemen’s Magazinefor June, 1765, page 296, it is recorded that Messrs. Pinchbeck and Norton had made a complicated astronomical clock for the Queen’s house, some of the calculations of the wheel having been made by James Ferguson, the astronomer. There is no proof that Pinchbeck and Norton were ever in partnership, and there are now two clocks answering to the description at Buckingham Palace, one by Pinchbeck, with four dials and of a very complicated construction, and another by Norton.
enlarge-imageA clipping from the Daily Post, London showing that Fawkes combined forces with Powel, the famous Bartholomew Fair puppet man. From the Harry Houdini Collection.A clipping from the Daily Post, London showing that Fawkes combined forces with Powel, the famous Bartholomew Fair puppet man. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
“Pinchbeck took out three patents: the first (No. 892), granted 1768, was for an improved candlestick with aspring socket for holding the candle firmly, and an arrangement whereby the candle always occupied an upright position, however the candlestick might be held. In 1768 (patent No. 899) he patented his nocturnal remembrancer, a series of tablets with notches, to serve as guides for writing in the dark. His snuffers (No. 1119) patented 1776, continued to be made in Birmingham until the last forty years or so, when snuffers began to go out of use. In 1774 he presented to the Society of Arts a model of a plough for mending roads. Pinchbeck’s name first appears in the London directory in 1778, when it replaced that of Richard Pinchbeck, toyman, of whom nothing is recorded.
“Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., was held in considerable esteem by George III., and he figures in Wilkes’ LondonMuseum (ii-33) in 1770 in the list of the party who called themselves the King’s friends. He died March 17th, 1783, aged 73, and was buried in St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields. His will, which was very curious, is printed in full inThe Horological Journalof November, 1895. One of his daughters married William Hebb, who was described as ‘son-in-law and successor of the late Mr. Pinchbeck at his shop in Cockspur Street’ (imprinted on Pinchbeck’s portrait), whose son Christopher Henry Hebb (1772-1861) practised as a surgeon in Worcester. There is in existence a portrait of Christopher Pinchbeck the younger, by Cunningham, engraved by W. Humphrey.”
The mezzotints of the Pinchbecks, father and son, herewith reproduced, are extremely rare, and when I unearthed them in Berlin I felt myself singularly favored in securing two such treasures of great value to the history of magic. S. Wohl, the antiquarian and dealer from whom they were purchased, acquired them during a tour of old book and print shops in England, and thought them portraits of one and the same person; but by studying the names of the artists and the engravers on the two pictures, it will be seen that they set forth the features of father and son, as indicated by the biographical notes quoted above.
Of the early history of Fawkes, whose brilliant stage performance lent to the Pinchbeck automata a new lustre, little is known. It is practically impossible to trace his family history. His Christian name was never used on his billing nor published in papers or magazines, and after repeated failures I was about to give up the task of discovering it, when in 1904, aided by R. Bennett,the clerk of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields Parish Church, Trafalgar Square, London, England, I came upon the record of his burial. This record, which I found after many days’ search among musty, faded parchments, showed that his Christian name was Isaac, and that he died May 25th or 29th, 1731, and was buried in St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields Parish Church.
enlarge-imageClipping from the London Post during 1728, showing the oldest evidence procurable of the original “Two a Night” performance. From the Harry Houdini Collection: At FAWKES’s Booth in the Upper Moorfields, will be presented the following Entertainments, First his Famous Posture-Master, that for his wonderful dexterity of Body exceeds all Europe. 2. The Musical Temple of Arts, with two moving Pictures, the one a Concert of Musick, the other the Siege and Bay of Gibraltar, being the finest Piece of Clock-work in the World. 3d. Another Machine with three moving Pictures, the first represents the Hill of Parnassus, with Apollo and the Nine Muses playing on various Instruments of Musick, with next a beautiful View of a River, with Swans and other Fowls and Fish, sporting as tho’ Alive. The last gives a Prospect of the New Palace Yard, with the whole Procession of the late Coronation of their preseat Majesties marching from the Hall to the Abbey, Note, Half the Performance can’t be express’d in this advertisement. Note, We show twice every Evening, the First beginning at Five, the other at Seven.Clipping from the London Post during 1728, showing the oldest evidence procurable of the original “Two a Night” performance. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
The records further show that he was buried in the church vault, the coffin being carried by six men. Prayers were said in the church, candles were used, and the great bell was tolled. As the fees amounted to £6 12s., a goodly sum for those days, all signs indicate that the funeral was on a scale more costly and impressive than the ordinary.
Fawkes was worth at his death £10,000, which was considered an enormous sum in those days. Every penny of this he made performing at the fairs.
The earliest announcements of Fawkes’ performance in my collection are dated 1702 and include advertisements headed “Fawkes and Powel,” “Fawkes and Phillips,” and “Fawkes and Pinchbeck.” Powel was the famous puppet man, Phillips a famous posture master (known to-day as contortionist), and Pinchbeck was the greatest of mechanicians. Fawkes seems to have possessed a singular gift for picking out desirable partners.
enlarge-imageClipping from the London Post, February 7th, 1724, in which Fawkes announces his retirement and offers to teach his tricks to all comers. Below this announcement is the advertisement of Clench, famous as an imitator and an instrumentalist.Clipping from the London Post, February 7th, 1724, in which Fawkes announces his retirement and offers to teach his tricks to all comers. Below this announcement is the advertisement of Clench, famous as an imitator and an instrumentalist.
From this mass of evidence I am producing various clippings. By a peculiar coincidence one of these I believe offers the most authentic and earliest record of “two a night” performances in England.
In my collection are a number of other clippings from the press of the same year, in April and May, 1728, but none of them says “twice a night,” therefore I judgethat the custom of giving two performances in a night was tried previously to April, 1728, and then abandoned, or after the first of May.
enlarge-imageClipping from the London Daily Post of August, 1735, in which Fawkes advertises his admission price as twelvepence. From the Harry Houdini Collection.Clipping from the London Daily Post of August, 1735, in which Fawkes advertises his admission price as twelvepence. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
In the LondonPostof February 7th, 1724, Fawkes announced an exhibition “in the Long Room over the piazza at the Opera House in the Haymarket.” At this time he also advertised the fact that he was about to retire and was exposing all his tricks. The clipping of that date from my collection has the following foot-note: “Likewise he designs to follow this business no longer than this season; so he promises to learn any lady or gentleman his fancies in dexterity of hand for their own diversion.”
When Fawkes was not in partnership with some puppet showman, he always advertised his own puppets as “A court of the richest and largest figures ever shown in England, being as big as men and women!” His admission charges varied, but 12 pence seemed his favoritefigure. About six years before his death he had his own theatre in James Street, near the Haymarket, in which he exhibited for months at a time before and after fairs.
enlarge-imageClipping from the London Post, showing that young Fawkes collaborated with Pinchbeck and together they offered the orange-tree trick in 1732. From the Harry Houdini Collection.Clipping from the London Post, showing that young Fawkes collaborated with Pinchbeck and together they offered the orange-tree trick in 1732. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
I reproduce a clipping from my collection showing Fawkes’ last program. Here it will be seen that his first trick was causing a tree to grow up in a flower-pot on the table, and bear fruit in a minute’s time. InThe Gentlemen’s Magazine, that oft-quoted and most reliable periodical, of February 15th, 1731, readers were informed that the Algerian Ambassadors witnessed Fawkes’ performance.
enlarge-imageClipping from the London Post, August 16th, 1736, when young Fawkes was playing alone. From the Harry Houdini Collection.Clipping from the London Post, August 16th, 1736, when young Fawkes was playing alone. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
At their request he showed them “a prospect of Algiers, and raised up an apple-tree which bore ripe fruit in less than a minute’s time, which several of the company tasted of.”
Fawkes, too, had a son, and thus the partnership and the friendship which had existed between the elder Fawkes and the elder Pinchbeck were carried on by thesecond generation. All of the marvellous apparatus made by Pinchbeck the elder, for Fawkes, may have been bequeathed by the latter to his son, but, in 1732, Pinchbeck the elder and Fawkes the younger were in a booth together, and Pinchbeck was advertised as doing “the dexterity of hand” performances. After Christopher Pinchbeck, Sr., died, young Fawkes started out on his own account. In 1746, according to an advertisement in my collection, a Fawkes and a Pinchbeck were together again, so the son of Pinchbeck must have joined the younger Fawkes for exhibition purposes. The accompanying clippings from contemporary publications trace the history of young Fawkes, and prove that the treewhich bore fruit in a minute’s time was still on his programme.
enlarge-imageReproduction of page 1226 of Hone’s “Every-Day Book” in the Harry Houdini Collection. This is a portrait of Fawkes, engraved on a fan by Setchels in 1721 or 1728. Fans like these were distributed at the Bartholomew Fair.Reproduction of page 1226 of Hone’s “Every-Day Book” in the Harry Houdini Collection. This is a portrait of Fawkes, engraved on a fan by Setchels in 1721 or 1728. Fans like these were distributed at the Bartholomew Fair.
For many years it was supposed that only one portrait of Fawkes was in existence, but it now seems that three were made. I publish them all, something which no one has ever before been able to do. One was taken from a Setchels fan published about 1728, although some authorities say 1721. It appeared in Hone’s “Every-Day Book,” page 1226. Another, I believe, was engraved by Sutton Nicols, as Hone mentions it in his description of Fawkes. In the fan engraving, it will be noticed that there appears a man wearing a star on hisleft breast. It is said that this is Sir Robert Walpole, who was Prime Minister while Fawkes was at the height of his success, and who was one of the conjurer’s great admirers. Hogarth also placed Fawkes in one of his engravings as the frontispiece of a most diverting brochure on “Taste,” in which he belittles Burlington Gate. This makes the third portrait from my collection herewith reproduced.
According to an article contributed by Mons. E. Raynaly in theIllusionnisteof June, 1903, the orange tree next appeared in the répertoire of a remarkable peasant conjurer, whose billing Mons. Raynaly found among “Affiches de Paris.” This performer was billed as the Peasant of North Holland, and gave hourly performances at the yearly fairs at Saint-Germain.
It is more than possible that he purchased this trick from Fawkes or Pinchbeck, having seen it at the Bartholomew Fair in England.
He featured the orange tree as follows: “He has a Philosophical Flower Pot, in which he causes to grow on a table in the presence of the spectators trees which flower, and then the flowers fall, and fruit appears absolutely ripe and ready to be eaten.”
His posters are dated 1746-47 and 1751.
The next programme on which the mysterious tree appears is a Pinetti handbill, dated in London, 1784, when the following announcement was made:
“Signore Pinetti will afterwards present the assembly with a Tree called Le Bouquet-philosophique composed of small branches of an orange-tree, the leaves appearing green and natural. He will put it under a bottle, and atsome distance, by throwing some drops of water of his own composition, the leaves will begin to change and the bouquet will produce natural flowers and various fruits.”
enlarge-imageMasquerade and opera at Burlington Gate. Reproduction of Hogarth’s engraving entitled “Taste,” belittling the artistic taste of London. This caricature verifies the Fawkes advertisement, reproduced on page 64, for here the conjurer is pictured leaning from the window of the “long room” and calling attention to his performances. From the Harry Houdini Collection.Masquerade and opera at Burlington Gate. Reproduction of Hogarth’s engraving entitled “Taste,” belittling the artistic taste of London. This caricature verifies the Fawkes advertisement, reproduced on page 64, for here the conjurer is pictured leaning from the window of the “long room” and calling attention to his performances. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
Pinetti is one of the most fascinating and picturesque figures in the history of magic. His full name was Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, and, like Pinchbeck and Fawkes, he was a man of parts and readily made friends with the nobility. In fact, there is some question as to whether he did not come of a noble family.
He was born in 1750 in Orbitelle, a fortified town once claimed by Tuscany. What can be gleaned regarding his early history goes to prove that his family connections were excellent and his education of the best. One of his portraits, reproduced herewith, shows a half-crown of laurel decorating the frame, and on one side of the bust is a globe, while in the rear of the picture is a stack of books. This would establish his claim that he was once a professor of physics and geography. In fact, the legend beneath the portrait, being translated from the French, runs:
“I. I. Pinetti Willedal de Merci, Professor and Demonstrator of Physics, Chevalier of the Order of St. Philipe, Geographical Engineer, Financial Counselor of H.R.H. Prince of Linbourg Holstein, Born in Orbitelle in 1750.”
enlarge-imageA wood-cut used by Pinetti during his engagement at Hamburg, Germany, in October, 1796. From the Harry Houdini Collection.A wood-cut used by Pinetti during his engagement at Hamburg, Germany, in October, 1796. From the Harry Houdini Collection.
As it has so often happened in the history of savants and students, there ran in Pinetti’s blood a love of the mysterious with that peculiar strain of charalatanism which went to make up the clever performer in old-time magic. Evidently he resigned his duties as a professor for the more picturesque life of the travelling magician, and he is first heard from in this capacity in the French provincesin 1783. His fame quickly carried him to Paris, where in 1784 he appeared before the court of Louis XVI. His arrival was most opportune, for just then all Paris and, for that matter, all Europe had been aroused to a new interest in magic by the brilliant Cagliostro.
enlarge-imageThe only authentic portrait of Pinetti in existence, the only known copy extant being in the Harry Houdini Collection.The only authentic portrait of Pinetti in existence, the only known copy extant being in the Harry Houdini Collection.
From Paris he went to London, playing at the Haymarket and creating a sensation equal to that which he made in France. Later he toured Germany, playing inBerlin and Hamburg. Next he went back to his native land, Italy, but later returned to Germany for a second engagement. In 1789 he appeared in Russia and never left that country. There he married a Russian girl, daughter of a carriage manufacturer. They had two children. Pinetti would have left enormous wealth, butin his later years he became interested in ballooning, the sensation of the hour, and spent his entire fortune on balloon experiments. He died in Bartichoff, Volhinie, aged fifty years.
enlarge-imageHenri Decremps, the French author who exposed and endeavored to ruin Pinetti, but succeeded only in immortalizing him.Henri Decremps, the French author who exposed and endeavored to ruin Pinetti, but succeeded only in immortalizing him.
Pinetti was a man of rare inventive genius and almost reconstructed the art of conjuring, so numerous were his inventions. For half a century after his death his successors drew upon Pinetti’s inventions and répertoire for their programmes. Naturally such ability aroused bitter jealousies, especially as Pinetti made no attempt to conciliate his contemporaries, either magicians or writers on magic. He issued one book, whose title-page reads:
“Amusements Physiques et Differentes Expériences Divertissements, Composées et Executées, tant à Paris que dans les diverses Courts de l’Europe. Par M. Joseph Pinetti de Willedal, Romain, Chevalier de l’Ordre Mérite de Saint-Phillipe, Professeur de Mathématiques et de Physiques, Protégé par toute la Maison Royale de France, Pensionnaire de la Cour de Prusse, etc., 1785.”
The work, however, was not a clear and lucid explanation of his methods and tricks. In fact some of his contemporaries claimed that he deliberately misrepresented his methods of performing tricks. Among these writers was Henri Decremps, a brilliant professor of mathematics and physics in Paris, who proceeded to expose all of Pinetti’s tricks in the book referred to in the preceding chapter, “La Magie Blanche Dévoilée.” This work was in five volumes and was so popular in its day that it was translated into nearly every modern language. The following explanation of the trick is taken from page 56 of the English translation, entitled “The Conjurer Unmasked":
“The branches of the tree may be made of tin or paper, so as to be hollow from one end to the other in order that the air which enters at the bottom may find its exit at the top of the branch. These branches are so adjusted that at intervals there appear twigs made from brass wire, but the whole so decorated with leaves made from parchment that the ensemble closely resembles nature.
“The end of each branch is dilated to contain small pieces of gummed silk or very fine gold-beater’s skin,which are to catch the figures of the flowers and fruit when the latter expand by the air driven through the branches to which they were fastened by a silk thread.