[Illustration: FIGS. 1 AND 2.--THE DEMENY PROJECTION APPARATUS.

1. Arranged for use without electricity or gas.

2. Arrangement for stopping the strip of film.]

Strips of sensitized films from sixty to ninety feet in length were not

available at this time, and it was necessary to employ some makeshift.

Images were taken from the chronophotographic apparatus upon a strip

four or five yards in length, and were printed as positives upon a glass

disk sensitized by chloride of silver, and it was by means of this disk

that the projection was made. The number of images was limited to forty

or fifty, according to the subject, but the advent of the long strips of

sensitized film induced the inventor to so modify the apparatus as to be

able to take images in long series and for projecting them. The

apparatus of M. Demeny, which we show in our engraving, employs strips

of any length, but at present the longest that have been used are one

hundred and fifteen feet. This gives about one thousand images of the

dimensions adopted by the inventor, one and one half by one and three

quarter inches. This wide surface of the image has an immense advantage,

since, with the electric light, it permits of throwing the moving

pictures on a screen sixteen feet high.

For a small screen the oxyhydrogen light will be sufficient. The lantern

is provided with an ordinary condenser, in front of which is placed a

water tank to absorb a portion of the heat. At the opposite end of the

table stands the chronophotographic projector which carries the film

wound around its bobbins. The lantern is so regulated that the luminous

rays will fall exactly upon the aperture as the image passes behind the

objective, O.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--INTERIOR VIEW OF M. DEMENY’S REVERSIBLE

PROJECTION APPARATUS.]

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--FIGURES OF ACTUAL SIZE FROM A STRIP OF FILM 115

FEET IN LENGTH.]

After the focusing has been effected, all that has to be done is to turn

the crank, M. At P and R are seen guide bobbins that serve to put in

their normal direction the films that have been used. As is well known,

the principle of all projecting apparatus of this kind consists of

arresting the film for an instant at the moment it is uncovered by the

shutter. The process employed in the Demeny apparatus is very simple. It

is shown in Fig. 3 of our engraving. Upon coming from the bobbin the

film passes over a guide roller, S, and then over a rod, D, mounted

eccentrically; thence it goes to the toothed roller, C, designed for

causing the images to register accurately. The film then reaches the

magazine roller, B. The mechanism is entirely enclosed in a box, and the

shutter disk, which is not shown in the engraving, is situated at the

other side of the aperture, F. Beneath the bobbin, A, is a rubber

roller, E, mounted upon a spring in such a way that it will bear against

the film, whatever be the thickness of the ribbon on the bobbin. It is

this roller which is moved by gearing that causes the film to unwind in

a continuous manner, and thug prepares it for the eccentric rod, D,

which pulls upon a portion of the film already unwound, but does not

screen it. The film passing under the guide, S, passes between two

velvet-lined frames, H and T, that are provided with an aperture F. It

is upon making its exit thence, and passing over the guide, S, that the

film is taken up by the rod, D, then runs over the toothed roller, C,

and finally over the bobbin, B. All these parts, exclusive of the

shutter, are interdependent, and are connected by gear wheels set in

motion by the crank, M. None of them have a jerky motion. All of the

parts of the mechanism have uniform rotary motion, and the stoppage of

the films is prepared for by a graduated diminution of the velocity. One

advantage of this apparatus is that it is very tender with the films.

Our last engraving represents a few images on a strip made for a

spectacular drama at the Châtelet Theater, Paris. This strip is one

hundred and fifteen feet long, and embraces a thousand images, each of

which was colored by hand. The effect is very pleasing.

THE KINETOSCOPE STEREOPTICON.

Since the time the “kinetoscope” brought the art of moving photography

prominently into notice, many inventors have been striving to perfect

apparatus for successfully projecting these miniature pictures upon the

screen by means of a stereopticon, producing the same effect of motion

as in the kinetoscope. In the kinetoscope the successive images are

illuminated by reflected light, and are seen through a lens enlarging

them considerably, say from half an inch in diameter to about four

inches. The problem of the kinetoscope stereopticon was to successfully

project these little images several thousand times, and secure

sufficient illumination upon the screen to make them appear distinct and

clear. The two factors which aided in solving the problem were the use

of the electric lamp as an illuminant and of continuous flexible

transparent celluloid films. Our first engraving shows some kinetoscopic

pictures taken directly from the negative film, by the “phantoscope”

invented by Mr. C. F. Jenkins. The successive motions of practicing

“putting the shot,” shown in these fifteen pictures, may be traced by

beginning at the lower left-hand corner and reading upward for each

column of pictures. The device for taking the phantoscope pictures is

shown in Figures 5 and 6.

[Illustration: KINETOSCOPE PICTURES--PRACTICING PUTTING THE SHOT.]

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--THE EDISON “VITASCOPE.”]

On a shaft is fixed a disk supporting four lenses, and geared to the

shaft is a vertical shaft engaging a bevel gear on the axis of the

film-winding reel. As the shaft is revolved by the handle on the

outside, the lenses are brought respectively behind the opening in the

front of the box and transmit the momentary images as they pass the

opening to the moving sensitized film which goes in the same direction

as the moving lens, and at the same speed. The exposed film is at the

same time wound up on the top reel. With the same apparatus the positive

pictures may be reeled off of one spool to the other, being projected by

the electric light in the rear, illuminated by rotating condensers, one

for each lamp. The pictures may be looked at in the box, through a small

screen; they are made at the rate of twenty-five to the second, and are

about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and one-quarter of an inch

apart, on a continuous sensitized celluloid strip about one and a half

inches wide, having perforations in its edges, in which the sprocket

wheels of the projecting device engage. The projecting apparatus is

shown in Fig. 1, and consists of an electric arc lamp in front of which

is a condenser. In advance of that is the motor for operating the feed

mechanism, and in front of all is the film traveling device and the

objective. Our second engraving is a view of the stand complete, showing

the rheostat, switches, etc., for regulating the current. The film,

after passing behind the lens, is wound up on the reel below. Our third

engraving shows the use of the apparatus in the theater. It is placed in

a cabinet surrounded by curtains, in an upper gallery, the images being

thrown forward upon a screen upon the stage.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--THE EDISON “VITASCOPE.”]

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--THE “VITASCOPE” IN THE THEATER.]

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--FILM PROJECTING APPARATUS.]

In projecting pictures of this kind it has been usual to employ shutters

operating in unison with the movements of the picture ribbon. After a

series of experiments it was found that the same effect of motion could

be produced by causing the ribbon itself to have an intermittent

movement without the use of shutters at all, which greatly simplifies

the apparatus. A film-working apparatus based on this idea is shown in

detail at Fig. 4. The electric motor operates a main shaft to which it

is geared, a worm engaging a gear on the shaft with the main sprocket

pulley, and draws the picture ribbon downward at a uniform speed. Back

of this shaft may be seen the main shaft, intended to rotate rapidly, on

the end of which is a disk having a roller eccentrically fixed thereto.

Behind this is a standard supporting spring-tension fingers behind the

lens. As the film is drawn forward by the main sprocket pulley, it is

quickly pulled downward by each rotation of the rapidly moving eccentric

roller on the disk. The sprocket pulley meanwhile takes up the slack of

the ribbon, so that at the next rotation the eccentric roller quickly

pulls the film down and makes the change; from the sprocket pulley the

film is carried to the winding wheel operated automatically from the

main shaft by means of pulleys; or, when it is desired to repeat the

subject over and over again, the endless film is allowed to drop into

folds in a box located under the sprocket pulley, passing out at the

rear, upward over pulleys arranged above the spring-tension fingers,

then downward between them again to the main pulley.

[Illustration: FIGS. 5 AND 6.--THE JENKINS “KINETOSCOPE” CAMERA.]

Fig. 7 is a diagram of a film-moving mechanism of an English inventor,

Mr. Birt Acres, which has been successfully operated in London.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.--ACRES’ PROJECTING DEVICE.]

The picture film is drawn from an upper reel, passed over a sprocket

pulley, downward through a retaining clamp, and over a second pulley to

the bottom or winding reel. The film passes over both sprocket pulleys

at a uniform speed, between a stationary and swinging clamp operated

automatically from the shaft of the shutter and which holds the film

stationary when the opening of the shutter is behind the lens, during

the interval the picture is projected on the screen. The clamp is

released; then the pivoted lever below, with a roller on the upper end,

is pulled inward at the other end by a spring and immediately takes up

the slack (as shown by the dotted lines), and causes, by such sudden

movement, the bringing of the next picture into position.

THE “MUTOGRAPH” AND “MUTOSCOPE.”

[Illustration: THE DARK ROOM AND REEL FOR DEVELOPING FILMS.]

The “mutograph” and “mutoscope” are names of very interesting machines

for presenting moving photographs. The camera frame is mounted, by means

of three adjustable legs, upon a triangular turntable, which may be

placed upon any suitable support. Upon the top of the frame is bolted a

two horse-power electric motor which is driven by a set of storage

batteries; the combination of the turntable with a vertical adjustable

enables the camera to be shifted so as to take in the required field. In

the front of the camera is fixed a lens of great light-gathering quality

which produces an image of exceedingly clear detail. Inside the camera

is a strip of gelatine film two and three-quarter inches wide, and

usually about one hundred and sixty feet in length, which is wound upon

a small pulley and drum. The length of the film varies for different

subjects. In case of a prolonged scene it may extend several thousand

feet. The film is led through a series of rollers, and is caused to pass

directly behind the lens of the camera, and is finally wound upon a

drum. The object of the rollers is to cause the film to pass behind the

lens with an intermittent instead of a continuous motion. At ordinary

speeds this could be easily accomplished, but the difficulties are

increased when it is remembered that the impressions are taken at the

rate of forty per second, and that the film, which is running at the

rate of seven or eight feet a second, has to be stopped and started with

equal frequency. The film comes to a rest just as the shutter opens, and

starts again as the shutter closes. The impressions vary in actual

exposure between one one-hundredth and one four-hundredth of a

second. While the ordinary speed is forty a second, the mutoscope can

take equally good pictures at the rate of one hundred per second, if it

is necessary. The highest speed would be used in photographing the

flight of a projectile or other object which was in extremely rapid

motion. After the mutograph has done its work, the films are carefully

packed and sent to the New York establishment of the American Mutoscope

Company. Here they are taken to the dark room, the interior of which is

shown in our engraving. Arranged along each side of this room is a

series of troughs, above which are suspended large skeleton reels three

feet in diameter and seven feet long, the axes of the reels being

journaled in brackets attached to the end of the trough. The films are

wound upon the reels and subjected to the action of the various

solutions for developing, fixing, etc., the reels being transferred from

bath to bath until the films are ready to go to the drying-room. In this

room are also prepared positive transparent strips for use in the

biograph and the bromide prints for the mutoscope.

[Illustration: TAKING PICTURES FOR THE “MUTOSCOPE.”]

[Illustration: DRYING AND RETOUCHING ROOM. “MUTOSCOPE” SHOWN IN THE

FOREGROUND.]

[Illustration: THE SAUSAGE FACTORY.]

The films are unwound on to large wooden drums about the same size as

the reels, where they are carefully dried. At the far end of the room

are seen the machines for cutting up the bromide prints. Here also is

carried on the work of retouching the films and preparing them for use

in the biograph and mutoscope pictures. The biograph is somewhat similar

to machines which we have already described.

The annexed engravings show pictures of clay-pigeon shooting and of the

firing of a ten-inch disappearing gun at Sandy Hook.

[Illustration: “MUTOGRAPH” PICTURES OF CLAY-PIGEON SHOOTING, AND OF THE

FIRING OF A TEN-INCH DISAPPEARING GUN AT SANDY HOOK.]

Upon the roof of the New York establishment of the company there has

been erected a large movable stage for taking photographs of celebrated

scenes from plays or of individual performances in which it is desired

to reproduce the motions as well as the features of the subject. It

consists of a floor of steel I-beams which carries a series of three

concentric steel traps. Upon this rotates the massive frame at one end

of which is a stage supplied with the necessary scenery, and at the

other end a corrugated iron house, in which is located the mutograph.

The stage is bolted to the frame, but the house travels upon a track, so

that it may be moved to or from the stage as required. The frame

carrying the stage and house rotates about the smaller circular track

located beneath the house, and may be swung around so as to throw the

light full upon the scene at any hour of the day.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE “MUTOSCOPE.”]

The “mutoscope” is compact, and the pictures are large. It is not any

larger than the cover of a sewing machine. The enlarged bromide prints,

measuring four by six inches, are mounted in close consecutive order

around the cylinder and extend out like the leaves of a book, as shown

in the illustration. In the operation of the mutoscope the spectator has

the performance entirely under his own control by turning a crank which

is placed conveniently at hand, and may make the operation as quick or

as slow as he desires, and can stop the machine at any particular

picture at will. Each picture is momentarily held in front of the lens

by the action of a slot attached to the roof of the box, which allows

the pictures to slip by in much the same way as the thumb is used upon

the leaves of a book.

[Illustration: MOVABLE STAGE FOR PHOTOGRAPHING SCENES WITH THE

“MUTOGRAPH.”]

“CINEMATOGRAPH” CAMERA.

The “cinematograph” camera, invented by the Messrs. Lumière & Sons,

works on a somewhat different principle from those we have already

described. In this camera the film is carried forward intermittently, no

sprocket wheel being used. The film-moving mechanism is fully

illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3.

[Illustration: FIGS. 1, 2, AND 3.--FILM-MOVING MECHANISM.]

The film-moving device consists of two prongs which somewhat resemble a

fork. It is shown at D in Fig. 3. The prongs are alternately pushed

through or withdrawn from the perforated ribbon by the aid of a rotating

bar, C. The film-moving device, D, has really a shuttle movement, having

a rapid reciprocating motion. The rotating bar, C, which is secured to

the main shaft, is so arranged that its ends, which are bent in opposite

directions, strike on alternate sides of the wedge-shaped piece which is

secured to the fork, D, and thus impart to the latter a reciprocating

motion. The up-and-down motion of the film is accomplished by the aid of

a cam which is secured to the main shaft. The reciprocating yoke piece,

A, is given a vertical motion when the crank shaft is rotated. The arm,

B, is attached to the yoke piece, A, and this carries down the film

through the medium of the fork, D. When the film has been lowered the

distance of one exposure, the rotating bar, C, strikes the fork and

removes the prongs from the film. The yoke piece then raises the prongs,

and the other arm of the rotating bar strikes the wedge-shaped piece,

and forces the fork, D, through the apertures in the film. On the main

shaft is also arranged the shutter, E, which rotates with the

film-moving mechanism. Fig. 2 shows the simplicity of the camera. On the

upper end of the box is the sensitized ribbon, which passes downward

between guides before the lens opening. The bent ends of the cam

operating bar, which give the fork, D, its reciprocating motion, are

shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is a general view of the instrument, showing the

driving gear and film support. Fig. 5 shows the cinematograph camera in

operation. It will be seen that the camera is very portable. The same

camera can be converted into a projecting apparatus for throwing moving

pictures upon the screen. The images are about an inch square.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--DRIVING GEAR AND FILM SUPPORT.]

[Illustration: FIG. 5.--THE CINEMATOGRAPH IN OPERATION.]

CAMERA FOR RIBBON PHOTOGRAPHY.

The camera for ribbon photography which we illustrate is the invention

of Mr. C. F. Jenkins, the inventor of the “vitascope,” which we have

already described. Instead of using a rotary disk shutter, the radial

apertures, and a fixed lens, this camera has a single opening in the

front, the size of the aperture being regulated at its rear end by a

diaphragm disk having radial slots of varying widths cut therein. The

operator is thereby enabled to govern the amount of light admitted to

the lenses according to the subject to be photographed and the length of

the exposure desired. This disk is rotated by hand, like an ordinary

stop in a wide-angle lens. Back of the diaphragm disk is the battery of

lenses, each of the same focus, arranged in a circle, joining each

other, upon a rotating disk which is secured to a shaft which extends

rearward and terminates in a bevel gear wheel which meshes with a side

bevel gear wheel fixed upon the main shaft, suitably geared to the main

driving shaft.

[Illustration: RIBBON PHOTOGRAPHY--A NEW CAMERA.]

The main shaft may be operated by a crank on the outside of the box, by

hand or by any suitable motor. The sensitized celluloid perforated

ribbon film maybe noticed passing downwards near the front end of the

camera, in front of the exposure tension plate, the square aperture in

which is exactly in line with the front aperture in the box. From this

point the film, after exposure, passes downward between the sprocket

wheel and pressure roller to the winding reel in the rear end of the

camera, which is rotated by belt-connection to a pulley on the upper

shaft and takes up the film ribbon as rapidly as it is exposed. A feed

roll for the supply of unexposed film is not shown, but may be located

at the rear of the camera, over the winding reel. The operation will be

readily understood. The camera is placed upon the tripod or stand; the

crank on the outside is rotated, which causes the film to travel

downwards continuously, at exactly the same speed at which the lenses

rotate, so that at every fraction of a second that it takes for each

lens to pass behind the camera aperture an impression of light is made

on the downwardly moving film; and as the lenses and film both move in

unison, it follows that a sharp picture will be the result while the

brilliancy of the illumination is at its maximum. The camera can be

carried about as readily as any other camera. In practice it is found

that the motion of the hand-operated crank is sufficiently uniform to

permit of the proper reproduction of motion by the positive pictures

projected upon the screen.

[Illustration: RIBBON PHOTOGRAPHY--EXPOSING AND PRINTING APPARATUS.]

Our next engraving shows how the positive ribbon pictures for the

vitascope and other forms of apparatus are printed; this is also the

invention of Mr. Jenkins. It consists of reels supported on suitable

upright standards holding respectively the sensitized ribbon film and

the negative film. The film from the negative supply wheel is carried

along over the sensitized film wheel, and both pass in contact, in

continuous motion, under an exposing chamber illuminated by any source

of white light, as an incandescent lamp or a Welsbach incandescent

gaslight, thence over the toothed sprocket driving wheel to the winding

wheels, the exposed film being wound first. This will be better

understood by reference to our detailed diagram of the mechanism. It

will be noticed that the reels are interchangeable, and hence, to make

duplicate copies it is only necessary to remove the negative spool from

the winding-up end to the supply-spool standard of the apparatus, and

begin over again. The perforations in the edges of the film are of a

special square shape, and give the square sprocket wheel of the

propelling pulley a better tension on the film. The teeth pass through

the perforations of both films, causing both to move at exactly the same

time, and at all times to keep in perfect registry. The speed of the

film passing under the exposing chamber must be absolutely uniform; this

is obtained by propelling the sprocket wheel by an electric motor or by

a spring motor. The electric motor is seen in the large wood cut. The

axle of the motor has worm gear operating a cog wheel on the main shaft.

The V-shaped elastic band holds the frame in which is a ground glass in

contact with the film, producing a kind of tension on the film. To the

left of the light chamber is a supplementary tension adjusted by screw

nuts, as shown. Referring to the diagram, two slotted diaphragm cards

will be seen. These are placed over the ground glass just mentioned, at

the bottom of the light chamber, and are for the purpose of regulating

the amount of light that acts on the negative. If the negative film, as

a whole, should be thin, then a card with a narrow slot is used, which

allows a short exposure to be made if the negative and film are passed

under it. If the negative is full of density, then the narrow card is

removed, and the wider slotted card substituted, which allows a larger

volume of light to act upon the negative film. The exposed film is wound

around large open reels from a spool and is developed by passing through

cloths of developer solution. The novelty in the device which we

illustrate consists in the fact that the film moves continuously under a

uniform source of light, under any intermittent motion or the use of

shutters. The operation of exposing the film is carried out in a room

illuminated by the usual ruby light.

[Illustration: RIBBON PHOTOGRAPHY--DIAGRAM OF THE PRINTING DEVICE.]

THE MICROMOTOSCOPE.[17]

[17] By D. F. St. Clair.

The principles of the kinetoscope or mutoscope have been applied to the

microscope, with some interesting results, by Dr. Robert L. Watkins, of

New York City. The instrument, though simple, was made a success only

after many experiments and failures in adjusting the objective of the

microscope in a line with the right sort of light and a rapidly moving

film.

The principal difficulties in making a mutoscope out of so delicate an

instrument as the microscope are the light and the lens. Every electric

lamp in the market, when its light has been concentrated sufficiently

for photography, will, after a short time, with its heat, kill, dry up,

or impair almost any kind of life in the microscopic field. The greater

the magnification, the more intense the light must be and the nearer

the microscope. This difficulty was often enhanced by the length of time

it took to get a focus on the sensitive film, but most of the pictures

taken were good, and show well the various characteristics of the action

taking place in cell life, so far as it can be observed with the

microscope.

[Illustration: A ROTIFER AS SEEN IN THE MICROMOTOSCOPE.]

Whatever is to be photographed, once it is put in the field of the lens,

is adjusted to a horizontal plane. Near one end of the microscope is

placed an electric lantern containing a small arc light concentrated on

the object. Near the other end is the box that covers the apparatus for

moving the long, sensitive gelatine film. The film runs like a belt, on

wheels, and passes in front of a tiny window in the box and on a direct

line with the lens and light. This machinery is turned by a crank, and

its ordinary capacity is about 1,600 pictures per minute. It is possible

to increase it to 2,000 or 2,500, but for most purposes 1,000 or even

less per minute will record every motion taking place in most cell life.

Dr. Watkins found, however, after a number of trials, that he could not

turn the machine fast enough to photograph the motion of the blood

circulating in the web of a frog’s foot. He simply needed a larger

wheel.

The advantages of mutoscopic photography to microscopy are quite

evident, especially as regards the action of bacteria and blood cells.

Nearly all the numerous families of bacteria have motion, many having

motion that the eye cannot always follow clearly. It has already been

discovered that the same kind of bacteria will act very differently

under different circumstances. For instance, a flash of bright light

will suddenly drive some kinds to cover. Some kinds will readily seek

the negative pole of the battery. They will also seek food with avidity

and reject poison with true instinct. All such phenomena can, of course,

be followed with the eye, but not with the same detail in the

microscopic field as in a series of clear photographs. The fact is that

on account of the motion of some bacteria it has been well nigh

impossible to photograph them. The books have had to depend upon the eye

and hand of the draughtsman and upon vague description. This may not be

of much importance either way, but as yet comparatively little is known

about bacteria. It is not yet known whether they are the cause of

disease, or its results, or neither. Photography, under the proper

circumstances, is most needed for the investigator, and it can be only

moving photography.

The capillary or circulatory motion of the blood cells, after the blood

has been drawn, is comparatively slow at best; but the amœboid movement

of the white cells and the changes taking place in the nuclei are

complicated, and often hard to intelligently watch in the field. Many of

these changes occurring in the white cells are certain to escape

attention, but all of them will be clearly recorded on the rapidly

moving sensitive film. These motions in the white cells, though they are

as yet imperfectly understood, are full of meaning to the physiologist

and pathologist. The offices that the blood performs in the body are

believed to be due mainly to the action of the white cells. Certainly,

the character of their amœboid action is one of the surest indications

of health or disease.

But with the micromotoscope it need no longer be impossible to

photograph the blood in actual circulation. With a better light the

cells may be seen in the thin tissue of the ear or the web of the

fingers. They have often been examined in the peritoneum during an

operation, and Dr. Watkins himself has made a close study of them in the

web feet of some birds and the tails of fishes.

Unfortunately, the illustration of blood here reproduced does not show

the white cells. They stuck to the glass, while the red cells, it will

be perceived, retain something of their motion, continuing to flow

across the field for half an hour after the blood was drawn.

[Illustration: MOVEMENT OF BLOOD CORPUSCLES SHOWN BY THE

MICROMOTOSCOPE.]

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

_ADDITIONAL TRICKS._

THE MAGIC TABLE.

This was a trick of the late Alexander Herrmann. In the center of the

stage is placed a light table with three legs and a plush top. The

prestidigitateur moves his hand over the table; suddenly it rises in the

air and follows his hands wherever he moves them. The secret of the

trick will be easily understood by reference to our engraving. A small

nail is driven in the center of the table. This nail is not noticed by

the audience, and the plush top tends to hide it. The magician wears a

ring which is flattened on the inner surface and a small notch is filed

in it. The ring is placed on the middle finger of the right hand; the

hand is spread over the table until the notch fits under the head of the

nail. The table can then be lifted with great ease, and it appears to

follow the hand of the conjurer in obedience to the magic wand.

[Illustration: THE MAGIC TABLE.]

“GONE.”

[Illustration: THE LADY READY FOR ELECTROCUTION.]

This very clever illusion was designed by Mr. W. E. Robinson, the

assistant of the late Herrmann the Great. It has been exhibited in

several of the large cities, and is always a great success. When the

curtain is raised the square frame is seen; this frame is braced

laterally by side pieces. At the lower part of the frame, within easy

reach of the prestidigitateur, is a windlass. Ropes pass from this

windlass, over pulleys, to a crossbar in the upper part of the frame. A

lady is now brought upon the stage and for some terrible crime is

sentenced to be electrocuted. She is seated in a chair, which she grasps

tightly. She is then tied tightly to the chair with ropes, and her hands

are chained together. The prestidigitateur now secures the chair, with

its fair occupant, to the ropes which are connected with the windlass,

by means of hooks which fasten to the top frame of the chair. Wires are

now secured to the unfortunate lady so that it really seems as though

she was to receive the death-dealing current. The professor of magic now

winds away at the windlass and raises the chair until the head of the

victim is on a level with the crossbar. He then discharges a pistol, and

at the same instant the lady disappears and the chair drops to the

floor. Such is, in brief, the mode of operation of the trick called

“Gone.”

[Illustration: RAISING THE LADY BY MEANS OF THE WINDLASS.]

In reality the illusion is a clever adaptation of the “Pepper Ghost” of

which we have already described several variations. A reference to our

first engraving will show that at the sides of the frame is a row of

incandescent lights. While the lady is being secured to the chair, and

while she is being hoisted up to the crossbar, these lamps are kept

lighted; but the instant the pistol is fired, these lights are

extinguished by a stage hand in the side scene. Up over the proscenium

arch is arranged a background which corresponds to the background of the

stage. Two wooden bars cross it. Directly below this screen, and

carefully shielded from the observation of the spectators, is a row of

incandescent lights. As the pistol is fired these lights are turned on,

while those in the frame are extinguished. Now, according to the

principles of the “Pepper Ghost” which we have already described, the

person or thing which is brilliantly lighted has its image projected on

a sheet of glass and appears to be real. The front of the frame, from

the windlass to the horizontal cross piece, is covered with a sheet of

glass which is not apparent to the audience. The image of the

background is projected upon this glass, which hides the lady from view,

although she is immediately behind it, and the pieces of wood and this

artificial background take the place of the back posts of the frame,

thus deceiving the audience. The chair is made in two sections, the lady

being tied to the upper, or skeleton chair. She holds a heavy chair with

her hand tightly, and at the instant when the pistol is fired she

releases the chair, which falls to the floor with a loud noise.

[Illustration: THE ILLUSION OF “GONE” EXPLAINED.]

There is another illusion, called “Out of Sight,” invented also by Mr.

W. E. Robinson, which is somewhat similar, but is not as interesting

from a scientific point of view. It is, however, better adapted for a

traveling company, as there is no glass to break, the large sheet of

plate glass in the front of the frame being entirely dispensed with.

When the pistol is fired, a curtain of the same color as the background

is released by the prestidigitateur, and it is drawn down quickly by

means of rubber bands. It takes only an instant for the curtain to

descend, its lower edge being hidden from view by the windlass. The

audience is usually deceived as easily by this illusion as by the more

complicated one.

THE SPIDER AND THE FLY.

This is one of the most interesting of the series of tricks which depend

upon mirrors, and of which the “Decapitated Princess” is a type. When

the curtain rises, the scene shows a gentleman’s country house set upon

the embankment and surrounded by grass plots and shrubbery. This is

painted scenery such as is usually used in theaters. The house is

approached by a set of stone steps which are built out from the scene

proper, or, in other words, the drop. These are what is known in

theatrical parlance as “practical” steps; that is, they may be ascended.

The steps are encased by side walls, and these walls are surmounted by

vases of flowers and handsome lamp posts. The steps lead to the doorway

of the house; the door is also “practical,” and can be opened and shut.

The story runs that the house was deserted for such a long time that the

steps were covered by a gigantic spider’s web, and the spectator is

surprised to see this web, which extends from post to post and to the

side walls of the steps.

In the center of this gigantic web is seen a spider’s body with a

woman’s head. The steps leading to the doorway of the house are open,

and a person starts to descend, but stops on seeing the spider, and

retreats after taking three or four steps down the stairs. This adds

greatly to the illusion, as it looks as if it could not be produced by a

mirror. You can see both above and below the head, and the steps may be

seen at any angle you choose. The puzzling part of the trick is the

question of the whereabouts of the lady’s body.

[Illustration: THE SPIDER AND THE FLY TRICK.]

Reference to our second and third engravings will give the secret of the

trick. The mirror lies at an angle of 45° and runs from the base of the

posts to the rear of one of the treads of the lower steps. The mirror

extends the full width of the steps. A semicircular hole is cut out of

the center of the mirror, at the top edge; this is to receive the lady’s

head.

[Illustration: THE ILLUSION EXPLAINED.]

The spider’s body is fastened to the network of rope; the lady has

simply to affix this body to her head, and the illusion is complete, as

the body of the lady is concealed behind the glass. The mirror reflects

the lower steps, so that this reflection really appears to be a

continuation of the steps, and the entire flight seems unbroken. When

the person appears at the door and descends the steps, he must be

careful not to come below the line of reflection, as his legs will not

be visible. The top edge of the glass is concealed by a rope of the web,

as it is directly in front of it, and for safety is usually cemented to

the glass.

In our diagram, No. 1 represents the steps; 2, the mirror; 3, the web;

and 4, the lady. This trick requires the most careful preparation and

adjustment, but when this is accomplished, the results are extremely

satisfactory.

[Illustration: DIAGRAM SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF MIRROR.]

THE TRUNK TRICK.

This trick, which attracted the attention of the world for months, is of

English origin, and was presented in England long before it was

introduced into Paris. The experiment consists of having a trunk

examined, tying it, securing a cover over it, tying it a second time,

sealing it with wax, and then showing that in a few seconds a young East

Indian has succeeded in getting inside of it without unfastening the

cords, breaking the seals, or opening the trunk.

[Illustration: THE TRUNK TRICK.]

[Illustration: TRAP DOOR IN TRUNK.]

Half the bottom of the trunk constitutes a trap door which is opened by

inserting a round key in one of the ventilating apertures. As soon as

the trunk has been tied, sealed, and placed under a canopy, the curtains

of which are let down so as to hide the trunk from the spectators, the

East Indian, who is also invisible to the spectators, lays the trunk

down as shown in our second engraving, unbuckles the cover and slides it

down, takes his key, opens the trap door, gets into the trunk, puts the

cover in place, buckles it, and then closes the trap door. To raise the

trunk to its proper position, he takes a long screw, something like a

gimlet, from his pocket, inserts it in one of the holes under him, and

turns it; the trunk rises slowly, and when it has reached its point of

equilibrium, it falls back suddenly on its bottom. The noise thus made

is the signal for the operator, who immediately draws back the curtains,

finds by the weight that something is in the trunk, and then unties it

slowly and presents the mysterious traveler to the audience.

[Illustration: PUTTING ON THE COVER.]

It will be seen by one of our engravings that the Indian appears tied in

a bag in the trunk. This is a variation of the trick. The bag is made of

some light or soft material, and is provided with a hem at the mouth. In

this hem runs a cord or tape; the performer draws the string tight, and

seals the knots at the same time. The bag is then placed in the trunk,

and the trunk is secured as above. The assistant who enters the trunk

has concealed under his blouse a similar bag, the string of which is

long enough to correspond in appearance to that of the other bag when it

is tied and sealed. There are a couple of stitches missing on each side

of the hem, leaving space enough for the assistant to insert his

fingers. When he enters the trunk he removes this bag from his blouse,

placing the original bag in the place of the duplicate. He now goes into

the duplicate bag and places it up over his head, and, inserting his

four fingers into the opening in the hem, draws in all the slack of the

string, thus closing the bag, which is, of course, to all appearances,

tied and sealed as the original.

[Illustration: METHOD OF RAISING THE TRUNK.]

[Illustration: REMOVING THE BAG FROM THE INDIAN.]

“LA STROBEIKA PERSANE.”

This illusion, made popular a few years ago by the late A. Herrmann,

under the name of “Strobeika” was originally produced at Houdin’s Little

Hall, in Paris, by the inventors of it, two Germans, Herren Lutz and

Markgraf.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--“LA STROBEIKA PERSANE.”]

The trick is supposed to take place in a prison or dungeon. In the

center of the stage, quite near the back scene, stand four upright posts

about eight feet high, and set about eight feet apart on the long side,

and four on the short. These posts are made fast to a rectangular iron

frame at the top, from the four corners of which are chains supporting a

plank about an inch and a quarter thick, all in full view of the

audience. Curtains hang from the framework to about a foot below the

level of the board; these curtains can be opened or closed by sliding

them back and forth on the frame, rings being sewed on them to allow of

this being done easily. A man supposed to be a prisoner is stretched

upon the plank; his wrists and ankles are manacled and locked by a

committee from the audience, who can furnish, if they desire, locks of

their own. His neck is also enclosed in a steel collar and locked to the

plank. At a signal the curtains are closed, and, as they reach only a

little way below the plank, permit of a full view underneath, to the

rear wall of the stage. In less than a minute the curtains are withdrawn

again, and a young lady is seen to have taken the place of the man,

who, at the instant of the girl’s discovery, is seen running down the

aisle of the theater. Now, let us see how this strange trick is

accomplished.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--TOP OF BOARD, SHOWING LOCKS AND HASPS.]

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--BOTTOM OF BOARD, SHOWING PLATES.]

The first thing is the explanation of how the man becomes released from

the shackles. It principally lies in the construction of the board.

There is no deception about the keys, locks, or manacles, since it is

not at all necessary to the deception that there should be. The board is

hollow and contains cunningly concealed levers, four in number, which

move simultaneously. The eyes that the manacles slip over, and to which

the locks are fastened, go into the board and are held fast by the ends

of these levers, which enter a hole or notch, as the case may be, in the

eye. The shackles and neck piece and their respective eyes are all made

fast to an iron plate or bed which is bolted to the board; a bolt at

each corner of the plates goes through the board and secures another

plate at the bottom of it, making all firm. There is one bolt, however,

that does not go through; it is riveted to one of the short levers, and

by its means the system of levers is pushed backward or forward. There

is a nut on the bottom plate to make it appear as if this identical bolt

went completely through, the same as the others. The levers run in

grooves made in any suitable part of the board and covered by a strip of

wood or other material, thus rendering the mechanism invisible, and

appearing as if the board was solid.

[Illustration: FIGS. 4-7.--DETAILS OF THE MECHANISM.]

[Illustration: FIG. 8.--THE ESCAPE OF THE PRISONER.]

At each corner of the board is a ring or screw eye, into which the chain

provided with a hook is secured, by which to suspend the board. The four

levers are pivoted to a rocking lever in the center of the board, which

is likewise pivoted. By this means all the levers are moved

simultaneously. When the lever is moved it releases all the shackles,

and the prisoner is then, of course, free, and it is but the work of a

moment to climb out through an opening in the scene at the back, where

the lady who is to take his place is now waiting on the end of a long

board pushed out through the opening in the scene. The lady gets on the

trick board, the man slams the shackles into place, moves the bolt back,

thus shoving the levers back into their notches in the eyes, again

making everything fast, makes his escape through the scene, and appears

a minute later from the front of the theater.

The trick is varied sometimes by using double curtains at the back;

concealed between them is the lady. After the exchange the man hides in

the same place, and another man, his exact counterpart, is the one who

makes his appearance in the audience.

“METEMPSYCHOSIS.”

“Metempsychosis” is the name of an illusion which was the joint

invention of Messrs. Walker and Pepper, of London. It was devised by the

former gentleman, and the latter assisted in perfecting it. It is

probably the most mystifying of any of the optical tricks. It has of

late years been shown in America, by Kellar, under the title of the

“Blue Room.” The first effect produced upon the spectator after

witnessing the illusion is that he has been dreaming, or seeing ghosts

or spirits, for it seems utterly impossible for man to accomplish the

wonders produced by it.

Our first engraving shows the stage set as an artist’s studio. Through

the center of the rear drop scene is seen a small chamber in which is a

suit of armor standing upright. The floor of this apartment is raised

above the level of the stage and is approached by a short flight of

steps. When the curtain is raised a servant makes his appearance and

begins to dust and clean the apartments. He finally comes to the suit of

armor, taking it apart, cleans and dusts it, and finally reassembles it.

No sooner is the suit of armor perfectly articulated than the soulless

mailed figure deals the servant a blow. The domestic, with a cry of

fear, drops his duster, flies down the steps into the large room, the

suit of armor pursuing him, wrestling with him, and kicking him all over

the stage. When the suit of armor considers that it has punished the

servant sufficiently, it returns to its original position in the small

chamber, just as the master of the house enters, brought there by the

noise and cries of the servant, from whom he demands an explanation of

the commotion. Upon being told, he derides the servant’s fear, and, to

prove that he was mistaken, takes the suit of armor apart, throwing it

piece by piece upon the floor. This is only one of the countless effects

which can be produced by this interesting illusion.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--“METEMPSYCHOSIS.”]

The working of the illusion will be understood by reference to the

diagram, Fig. 2. At A we have the proscenium opening; B B are two flats

of scenery which close in the scene from the front wings to the steps,

C, which in their turn lead up to the small chamber, D, at the back, in

which all the changes occur. The walls of the chamber are lettered E¹,

E², E³, E⁴. F is a large mirror extending from floor to ceiling, and

capable of being wheeled back and forth on a truck or carriage. When

this mirror is withdrawn, as seen at the dotted lines, G, the spectators

see through the opening of the chamber to the rear wall. The suit of

armor is marked H. Now, if the mirror be pushed across the chamber, both

the armor, H, and the rear wall disappear, and the walls of the chamber

at E¹ and E² are reflected so that they appear to be the walls E³ and

E⁴. There is another suit of armor at I. It is placed so that, when it

is reflected in the mirror, it will occupy the exact position of the

other suit of armor, H. When the mirror is shoved forward and hides the

suit of armor, H, an actor dressed in a similar suit enters behind the

glass by a secret door, removes the dummy armor, and assumes the same

place himself. All this time the suit of armor at I is reflected in the

mirror, so that a suit of armor is always visible. The mirror is now

drawn back, and the suit of armor which the actor wears is seen. When

the servant now dusts the armor, it suddenly seems to become endowed

with life and chases him around the room; and when it again mounts the

steps in the smaller room, the mirror is shoved forward, the actor

making his escape in time to place the first suit of armor where it

formerly stood. Now the mirror is again drawn out, revealing the sides

of the room, E³ and E⁴, and of course exposing the suit of armor, H. If

the walls, E¹ and E², and the armor, I, are correctly placed as regards

reflection, he can pass the mirror to and fro at will, without any

change being detected, as the reflection takes the place of the reality,

and we suppose we are looking at the real object.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.]

[Illustration: FIG. 3.]

As the edge of the mirror passes the suit of armor a hard line is to be

seen, a distinct vertical line, which would seem to wipe out the object

as it passes. To avoid this, the inventors hit upon a novel and purely

ingenious expedient. They etched vertical lines in the silver back of

the glass at the end which first passes across the field of view,

beginning with thick silvered spaces close together, and tapering, with

the lines farther apart as shown in our diagram, Fig. 3. It can thus be

seen that the reflected article gradually appears instead of coming

suddenly into view, and when the mirror is moved away the real article

gradually appears.

In order that the edges of the glass may be better disguised as it moves

forward or backward, the edge is cut or ground into steps, as shown in

Fig. 4.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.]

By the apparatus described above, many changes can be made, as a living

man appearing in a previously empty chair, flowers growing on an empty

bush, a change of a man into a woman, a painted picture into a living

one, etc. In some effects a table is employed, to all appearances the

common square kitchen table. A person is seen sitting at the table,

which is empty; suddenly there appears before him a large dish of

oranges or a meal. This is arranged by providing the table with a slot

which runs diagonally from corner to corner. This allows the glass to

travel through it, and thus shuts off one-half of the table. Articles

are placed on the table, behind the glass, which is now withdrawn,

leaving them to be seen upon the table. The slot in the top of the table

is covered with sheet rubber or other material.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NATURAL MAGIC AND PRESTIDIGITATION.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

OF

NATURAL MAGIC AND PRESTIDIGITATION.

_COMPILED, WITH NOTES, BY_

HENRY RIDGELY EVANS.

I.

ENGLISH.

ARNOLD, GEORGE, _and_ CAHILL, FRANK. The Magician’s Own Book; or, the

Whole Art of Conjuring. New York, 1857. 8vo. 362 pp.

ASTLEY, PHILIP. Natural Magic. London, 1785.

BACON, ROGER. Discovery of the Miracles of Art, Nature, and Magic.

(About 1260.)

BAILEY, F. H. Hindu Jugglery. Journal of Education (Boston), vol. xliv.

p. 378.

BALL, W. W. ROUSE. Card Tricks. _In his_ Mathematical Recreations.

BANCROFT, FREDERICK. Yogi Magic in India. Scientific American

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BARTLETT, J. Second Sight. Scientific American Supplement, vol. xlii.

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BECKMANN. History of Inventions. (About 1770.)

BENJAMIN, M. Modern Magic and its Explanation. Chautauquan, vol. xi. p.

731.

BERKELEY. Card Tricks and Puzzles. London, 1892. 8vo.

BERTRAM, CHARLES. “Isn’t it Wonderful!” A History of Magic and Mystery.

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BISHOP, WASHINGTON IRVING. Houdin and Heller’s Second Sight. Edinburgh,

1880.

BLITZ, ANTONIO. Fifty Years in the Magic Circle. An Account of the

Author’s Professional Life, his Wonderful Tricks and Feats, with

Laughable Incidents and Adventures as a Magician, Necromancer, and

Ventriloquist. Hartford, 1871. 8vo.

BRESLAW. Last Legacy; or, The Magical Companion. London, 1784.

BREWSTER, _Sir_ DAVID. Letters on Natural Magic. London, 1832. 16mo.

BURLINGAME H. J. Around the World with a Magician and a Juggler.

Chicago, 1896. 8vo. 172 pp.

BURLINGAME, H. J. Herrmann, the Magician. His Life; His Secrets.

Chicago, 1897. 12mo. 250 pp.

---- History of Magic and Magicians. Chicago, 1895. 8vo. 41 pp.

(Pamphlet.)

---- Leaves from Conjurers’ Scrap-Books; or, Modern Magicians and their

Works. Chicago, --. 8vo. 274 pp.

---- Modern Magical Marvels: A Practical Treatise on Magic and Conjuring

for Professionals and Amateurs. (In preparation.)

---- Tricks in Magic: Illusions and Mental Phenomena. Chicago, --. 8vo.

A series of entertaining works on modern magic and its professors.

BURSILL, H. Hand-shadows to be thrown upon the Wall; Consisting of Novel

and Amusing Figures formed by the Hand, from Original Designs. Second

series, in one volume. New York, --.

CARLYLE, THOMAS. Count Cagliostro. _In his_ Miscellaneous Essays.

This is a fascinating sketch of the most famous of charlatans and

pretenders to magic. It is written in Carlyle’s characteristic style,

and is, perhaps, more of a philosophical study of the _genus_ quack

than an impartial biography of the celebrated necromancer of the old

_régime_. A more detailed account of Cagliostro’s romantic career is

to be found in the series of articles by William E. A. Axon, published

in the Dublin University Magazine, vols. lxxviii. and lxxix. (1871,

1872). All biographies of Cagliostro are founded on the work published

in Rome, 1790, under the auspices of the Holy Apostolic Chamber. The

Italian life contains an elaborate _exposé_ of the great magician’s

system of Egyptian masonry, also the full Inquisition sentence

pronounced against him. This highly interesting product of papal

jurisprudence makes strange reading for the nineteenth century. In the

year 1791 the Inquisition biography was translated into French, under

the title of _Le Vie de Joseph Balsamo, connu sous le nom de Comte

Cagliostro_. It has for a frontispiece a steel-engraved portrait of

Cagliostro. Original editions of this rare and curious old work may be

seen in the Peabody Library, of Baltimore, Md.; the Scottish Rite

Library, of Washington, D. C.; and the Masonic Library of Grand

Rapids, Iowa.

Cagliostro made adroit use of hypnotism, optical illusions, and

chemical tricks. He was past master of the art of deception. Modern

professors of conjuring are fond of using the name of Cagliostro for

all sorts of magical feats, such as the “Mask of Balsamo,”

“Cagliostro’s Casket and Cards,” “Cagliostro’s Cabinet,” etc.

CARPENTER, WILLIAM H. At an Algerian Aissaoua. Current Literature, vol.

xix. pp. 409-411.

The Aissaoua are the miracle-mongers of Algeria. For explanation of

their tricks, see the concluding chapter of Robert-Houdin’s memoirs.

CONJURER UNMASKED, THE: With the Tricks of the Divining Rod, Magical

Table, etc. 1790.

CONJURER’S GUIDE. Glasgow, 1850.

CREMER, W. H. Hanky-panky: A Collection of Conjuring Tricks. London, --.

8vo.

---- The Magician’s Own Book. London, --. 8vo.

CUMBERLAND, STUART. A Thought-Reader’s Thoughts: Impressions and

Confessions of a Thought-Reader. London, 1888. 8vo.

DAVENPORT, REUBEN BRIGGS. The Death-Blow to Spiritualism. Being the true

story of the Fox sisters as revealed by authority of Margaret Fox Kane

and Catherine Fox Jencken. New York, 1888. 8vo. 247 pp.

A rare and interesting work, with portraits of Margaret Fox Kane and

Katie Fox Jencken, the pioneer mediums of American spiritualism.

DESSOIR, MAX. The Magic Mirror. Monist, vol. i. p. 87.

---- The Psychology of Legerdemain. Open Court, vol. vii.

Series of articles translated from the German. Of great interest to

psychologists.

DE VERE, M. S. Modern Magic. 1869.

EVANS, HENRY RIDGELY. Hours with the Ghosts; or, XIX. Century

Witchcraft. Investigations into the Phenomena of Spiritualism and

Theosophy. Chicago, 1897. 8vo.

This work, in the main, is a critical study of the phenomena of modern

spiritualism. It is divided into two parts--psychical phenomena and

physical phenomena. Concerning the first, the author ascribes the

manifestations witnessed by him in test séances, with professional and

non-professional subjects, to telepathy, etc., not to spirit

intervention. As regards the second phase, he takes a decidedly

negative view. _Exposés_ are given of psychography, or slate-writing

tests, had with such famous mediums as Pierre Keeler, Dr. Henry Slade,

etc. The alleged miracles of modern theosophy are also treated at

length. Interesting features of the book are the biographies of Madame

Blavatsky, D. D. Home, Dr. Slade, etc., and the history of the

Theosophical Society from its inception to the present time (1897). A

Bibliography of the leading critical treatises on psychic phenomena is

appended to the book.

EWBANK, T. A Descriptive and Historical Account of Hydraulic and Other

Machines for Raising Water, Ancient and Modern, with Observations on

Various Subjects connected with the Mechanic Arts. New York, 1851. 8vo.

Contains many descriptions of magical automata of ancient Greece and

Rome.

FITZGERALD, H. A Chat with Mr. Maskelyne and Mr. Charles Bertram.

Ludgate Illustrated Magazine, vol. vi. p. 198.

FORBES, JOHN. Card-Sharpers; their Tricks Exposed. (Translated from

Robert-Houdin’s _Les Tricheries des Grecs_.) London, 1891. 8vo.

FRIKELL, G. Hanky-panky: A Book of Conjuring Tricks. London, 1875.

---- Magic no Mystery: Conjuring Tricks with Cards, Balls, and Dice;

Magic Writing, Performing Animals, etc. _Edited_ by W. H. Cremer.

London, 1876.

FROST, THOMAS. The Lives of the Conjurers. London, 1881. 8vo.

---- The Old Showmen and the Old London Fairs. London, 1881. 8vo.

GALE. Cabinet of Knowledge: With Mechanical, Magnetical and Magical

Experiments, Card Deceptions, etc. London, 1803.

GANTHONY, R. Practical Ventriloquism and its Sister Arts. London, 1893.

8vo.

GARENNE, _Prof._ HENRI. The Art of Modern Conjuring, Magic, and

Illusions. A Practical Treatise on the Art of Parlor and Stage Magic,

Illusions, Spiritualism, Ventriloquism, Thought-reading, Mesmerism,

Mnemotechny, etc. London, --. 8vo.

GATCHELL, CHARLES. The Methods of Mind-Readers. Forum, vol. xi. pp.

192-204.

Scientific account of the so-called mind-reading feats of Stuart

Cumberland, Washington Irving Bishop, and others, showing them to be

muscle-reading. Worked in conjunction with certain conjuring tricks,

muscle-reading has an all but supernatural effect. Mr. Gatchell

explains many of the devices used by charlatans to imitate

clairvoyance, etc. See also chapters on similar subjects in

Burlingame’s “Leaves from Conjurers’ Scrap-Books,” Carl Willmann’s

“Moderne Wunder,” and Sid. Macaire’s “Mind-Reading, or

Muscle-Reading?”

GOOD, ARTHUR. Magic at Home: Book of Amusing Science. Translated by

Prof. Hoffmann [Angelo Lewis]. London, 1890. 8vo.

HALLE, J. S. Magic. Berlin, 1783.

HART, ERNEST. Hypnotism, Mesmerism, and the New Witchcraft. New York,

1893. 12mo. 212 pp.

A new and enlarged edition, with chapters on “The Eternal Gullible,”

“The Confessions of a Professional Hypnotist,” and notes on the

hypnotism of Trilby.

HATTON, HENRY. Secrets of Conjuring. Scribners, vol. xxi. pp. 304-306.

---- The Art of Second Sight. Scribners, vol. xxi. pp. 65-69.

HEATHER, H. E. Cards and Card Tricks. London, 1879. 8vo.

HENRY, T. SHEKLETON. “Spookland.” A record of research and experiment in

a much-talked-of realm of mystery, with a review and criticism of the

so-called spiritualistic phenomena of spirit materialization, and hints

and illustrations as to the possibility of artificially producing the

same.

HERCAT. Card Tricks and Conjuring up to Date. London, 1896. 8vo. 123 pp.

HERMON, HARRY. Hellerism: Second-sight Mystery; Supernatural Vision, or

Second-sight. What is it? A Mystery; A Complete Manual for Teaching this

Peculiar Art. Boston, 1884. 16mo.

A fine _exposé_ of Robert Heller’s second-sight trick.

HERRMANN, ADDIE. Confessions of an Assistant Magician. Lippincott, vol.

viii. p. 482.

HERRMANN, ALEXANDER. Light on the Black Art. Cosmopolitan, vol. xiv. p.

208.

---- Necromancy Unveiled. Lippincott, vol. viii. p. 475.

---- Some Adventures of a Necromancer. North American Review, vol. clv.

p. 418.

---- The Art of Magic. North American Review, vol. cliii. p. 92.

Interesting magazine articles by the great Herrmann, giving his

personal experiences as a magician.

HOCUS-POCUS, JR. The Anatomy of Legerdemain. Fourth edition. London,

1654.

HODGSON, RICHARD. Indian Magic, and the Testimony of Conjurers.

Proceedings: Society for Psychical Research, Part 25, p. 354.

HOFFMAN, _Prof._ [ANGELO LEWIS]. Drawing-Room Conjuring. London and New

York, 1887. 12mo. 179 pp.

---- Modern Magic. A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring. With an

appendix containing explanations of some of the best known specialties

of Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke. London and New York, --. 12mo. 578 pp.

An elaborate treatise on prestidigitation. Very useful to students.

Palmistry in all its branches explained, as well as stage illusions.

---- More Magic. London and New York, 1890. 12mo. 457 pp.

_See also under_ Robert-Houdin.

HOFFMANN, WALTER J. Juggling Tricks among the Menominee Indians. United

States Bureau of Ethnology; fourteenth annual report, 1892-93. Part I,

pp. 97-100.

HOLDEN. A Wizard’s Wanderings. London, 1886.

[HURST, LULU]. The Revelations of Lulu Hurst, the Georgia Wonder. --.

267 pp.

JASTROW, JOSEPH. Psychological Notes upon Sleight-of-Hand Experts.

Science, vol. iii. pp. 685-689. Reprinted in “Scientific American

Supplement,” vol. xlii. p. 17488.

Professor Jastrow, at his psychological laboratory, subjected the

conjurers Herrmann and Kellar to a series of careful tests to

ascertain their tactile sensibility, sensitiveness to textures,

accuracy of visual perception, quickness of movement, mental

processes, etc. In “Science” he details the results obtained by him in

his experiments, the first of the kind ever made with magicians as

subjects. Read in conjunction with the highly interesting series of

articles on the “Psychology of Deception,” Robert-Houdin’s memoirs and

magical revelations, and Max Dessoir’s fine papers, these studies of

Herrmann and Kellar are of great interest to all students of

experimental psychology. There are no finer illustrations of mental

and visual deception than the tricks of prestidigitateurs.

---- Psychology of Deception. Popular Science Monthly, vol. xxxiv. pp.

145-157; 721-732.

KELLAR, HARRY. High Caste Indian Magic. North American Review, vol.

clvi. pp. 75-86.

In this entertaining paper, Kellar the conjurer describes some of the

magical performances of the Hindu fakirs and Zulu wizards. They not

only out-Herod Herod, but out-Haggard Rider Haggard, the prince of

romancers, for weirdness and improbability. The article reads as if it

had been “written up” for effect, being the product of an elastic and

brilliant imagination, though Kellar claims to have been an

eye-witness of all the marvels he describes. Some few of them,

hypnotic in character, such as the feat of “imitation death,” are

unquestionably true, as witness the evidence of Sir Claude M. Wade and

other eminent Anglo-Indian investigators. The magician Herrmann, who

traveled over India, had but a contemptuous opinion of Hindu fakir

tricks. Modern theosophists have done much to exploit the so-called

miracles of Tibetan and Indian necromancers. Madame Blavatsky’s works

are full of absurd stories of Oriental magic. See her “Caves and

Jungles of Hindustan,” “Isis Unveiled,” etc., for example. But also

see Arthur Lillie’s work, “Madame Blavatsky and her Theosophy,”

London, 1897, for amusing revelations of theosophical marvels.

---- Magic among the Red Men. North American Review, vol. clviii. pp.

591-600.

KUNARD, _Prof._ R. Book of Card Tricks for Drawing-Room and Stage.

London, 1888. 8vo.

---- Modern Magic; a Book of Conjuring for Amateurs. London, 1888. 8vo.

LE ROUX, HUGUES, _and_ GARNIER, JULES. Acrobats and Mountebanks.

Translated by A. P. Morton. London and New York, 1890. 4to.

A very entertaining work, tracing the history of the mountebank from

his inception in the nomadic caravan to his apotheosis in the splendid

modern circus and vaudeville theatre.

LEWIS, T. HANSON. The Great Wizard of the West [J. N. Maskelyne].

English Illustrated Magazine, vol. xii. p. 75.

LOCKHART, W. Advanced Prestidigitation. London, 1894.

LOGAN, OLIVE. The King of Conjurers [Robert-Houdin]. Harper’s Magazine,

vol. lv. pp. 817-831.

MACAIRE, SID. Mind-Reading, or Muscle-Reading? London, 1889.

A capital little work on muscle-reading and pretended second-sight.

MACCABE, FREDERIC. The Art of Ventriloquism. London, --. 12mo. 110 pp.

MAGIC AND PRETENDED MIRACLES. London, 1848.

MARION, F. Wonders of Optics. New York, 1869. 8vo.

Contains interesting translations from the memoirs of Robertson, the

eighteenth-century ghost illusionist.

MASKELYNE, JOHN NEVIL. Modern Spiritualism. London, 1875. (Pamphlet.)

---- Natural Magic. Leisure Hours, vol. xxvii. pp. 5-204.

---- Sharps and Flats. London, 1894. 8vo.

An _exposé_ of the multifarious devices used in cheating at games of

chance and skill. One of the best works on the subject.

---- The Magnetic Lady; or, A Human Magnet Demagnetized. Being an

appendix to “The Supernatural.” London, --. 8vo. 16 pp.

NATURAL MAGIC. Chambers’ Miscellany, No. 82.

NAUDÉ, G. History of Magick, by way of Apology for all the Wise Men who

have been Unjustly Reputed Magicians, from the Earliest Times to the

Present Age. London, 1657.

PEPPER, JOHN HENRY. The Play-Book of Science. London, --. 8vo. 506 pp.

---- The True History of the Ghost, and all about Metempsychosis.

London, 1890. 8vo. 46 pp.

Professor Pepper, inventor of the famous “Ghost,” gives full details

in this little book of the apparatus used in performing the startling

optical illusion, together with many amusing personal experiences

connected with its stage production. There were spiritualists in

London who asserted that Professor Pepper was a powerful medium, and

produced his weird phantasms by some occult influence. They deluged

him with letters on the subject. The illusion known as

“Metempsychosis” is the basis of Kellar’s ingenious “Blue-Room” trick,

which has puzzled thousands of spectators.

PIESSE, G. W. S. Chymical, Natural, and Physical Magic. Third edition.

London, 1865. 16mo.

QUINN, JOHN PHILIP. Nineteenth Century Black Art; or, Gambling Exposed.

With illustrations of all crooked gambling appliances. Chicago, 1896.

12mo. 104 pp.

REVELATIONS OF A SPIRIT-MEDIUM; or, Spiritualistic Mysteries Exposed. A

detailed explanation of the methods used by fraudulent mediums. By A

Medium. St. Paul, Minn., 1891. 8vo. 324 pp.

ROBERT-HOUDIN (JEAN-EUGÈNE). Card-Sharping Exposed. Translated and

edited, with notes, by Professor Hoffmann. London and New York, 1882.

12mo. 316 pp.

---- Memoirs of Robert-Houdin, Ambassador, Author, and Conjurer, written

by himself. Translated from the French by R. Shelton Mackenzie.

Philadelphia, 1859. 12mo. 445 pp.

---- The Secrets of Conjuring and Magic; or, How to Become a Wizard.

Translated and edited, with notes, by Professor Hoffmann. London and New

York, 1878. 12mo. 373 pp.

---- The Secrets of Stage Conjuring. Translated and edited, with notes,

by Professor Hoffmann. London and New York, 1881. 12mo. 252 pp.

Robert-Houdin’s works on magic are genuine classics, and are so

regarded by all conjurers. No more fascinating biography was ever

written than Houdin’s Memoirs. It contains interesting sketches of

old-time magicians, such as Philippe, Bosco, Comte, Torrini, and

Pinetti, also a great deal of scientific and historical information

relating to early inventions, etc. “The Secrets of Conjuring and

Magic” (_Les secrets de la prestidigitation et de la magie_),

published in 1868, is an admirable treatise on sleight of hand. The

French edition is out of print. “The possession of a copy of this

book,” says Angelo Lewis, “was regarded among professors of magic as a

boon of the highest possible value. It is unquestionably the most

scientific work ever written on the art of conjuring.” The English

translation has been received with the greatest favor by amateur and

professional sleight-of-hand performers. Students of psychology will

find much to interest them in this clever book.

ROCHAS, ALBERT DE. Trials by Fire, and Fire Jugglers. Popular Science

Monthly, vol. xxi. pp. 645-650.

ROTERBERG, A. The Modern Wizard. Containing an essay on “The Art of

Magic,” by W. E. Robinson. Chicago, --. 8vo. 120 pp.

---- Latter Day Tricks. A sequel to The Modern Wizard. Chicago, 1896.

8vo. 104 pp.

Capital little manuals of the latest marvels in the magical line.

SACHS, EDWIN O. Modern Theater Stages. Engineering, January 17, 1896, to

June 11, 1897.

---- Sleight of hand; a Practical Manual of Legerdemain for Amateurs and

Others. London, 1885. 12mo. 408 pp.

An excellent work for students. Palmistry carefully explained.

SALVERTE, E. The Occult Sciences; Philosophy of Magic, Prodigies, and

Apparent Miracles. From the French, with notes by A. T. Thomson. 2 vols.

London, 1846. 12mo.

SHAW, W. H. J. Magic and its Mysteries. Chicago, 1893. 8vo. 61 pp.

SKINNER, W. E. (_Compiler_).--Wehmann’s Wizard’s Manual. New York, 1892.

8vo. 122 pp.

SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH: Proceedings, vols. i. to xi. London,

1882-83 to 1895.

Contain many _exposés_ of pretended mediumship, etc.

STANYON, ELLIS. Conjuring for Amateurs. A Practical Treatise on How to

Perform Modern Tricks. London, 1897. 8vo. 122 pp.

TAYLOR, _Rev_. E. S. History of Playing Cards. 48 plates and woodcuts.

London, 1865. 8vo.

Contains anecdotes of the uses of cards in conjuring, fortune-telling,

and card-sharping.

THAUMATURGIA; or, Elucidations of the Marvelous. By an Oxonian. London,

1835. 12mo.

TIMAYENNIS, T. T. History of the Art of Magic. With a Sketch of

Alexander Herrmann. New York, 1887. 8vo.

TINDAL, MARCUS. Tricks with Pennies. New Illustrated Magazine, August,

1897, pp. 373-376.

TISSANDIER, GASTON. Popular Scientific Recreations, a Storehouse of

Instruction and Amusement; in which the Marvels of Natural Philosophy,

Chemistry, Geology, Astronomy, etc., are Explained and Illustrated,

Mainly by Means of Pleasing Experiments and Attractive Pastimes. London

and New York, --. 4to. 884 pp.

This monumental work is a translation of Tissandier’s _Les récréations

scientifiques_, with many additions. It contains a few conjuring feats

of a very simple nature, and an _exposé_ of the ghost illusion and

decapitated-head trick. In the chapter on clocks, the reader will find

an interesting description of Robert-Houdin’s famous magical

timepiece, which ran apparently without works. It will be remembered

that one of these wizard clocks was the means of introducing Houdin to

the French public as a prestidigitateur, as explained in the

introduction--“The Mysteries of Modern Magic.”

TREWEY, FÉLICIAN. Shadowgraphy: How it is Done. London, 1893. 8vo.

(Pamphlet.)

TRUESDELL, JOHN W. The Bottom Facts Concerning the Science of

Spiritualism: derived from careful investigations covering a period of

twenty-five years. New York, 1883. 8vo. 331 pp.

_Exposés_ of slate-writing feats and cabinet arts. A valuable work.

WEATHERBY, L. A. The Supernatural? With chapter on Oriental Magic,

Spiritualism, and Theosophy, by J. N. Maskelyne. London, --. 12mo. 273

pp.

WELTON, THOMAS. Mental Magic; a Rationale of Thought-Reading and its

Phenomena. London, 1884. 4to.

WHITE MAGIC. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. xv. pp. 207-211.

WHOLE ART OF LEGERDEMAIN; or, Hocus-pocus Laid Open and Explained.

[Anon.] Philadelphia, 1852. 18mo.

II.

FRENCH.

ANTONIO, CARLO. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Avec atlas. Paris,

1792-1799. 4to. 900 pp.

Scientific recreations, illusions, and conjuring tricks, ingenious

applications of science to industry, etc. The works of Decremps,

Ozanam, Guyot, Pinetti, and Montucla, etc., are largely drawn upon.

---- Trésor des jeux. The Hague, 1769.

Cup and ball conjuring, tricks with cards, etc., illustrated.

CÉPAK, ABEL. Ce qu’on peut faire avec les œufs. Collection complète et

variée des expériences faciles et amusantes pouvant être exécutées par

tout le monde avec des œufs. Paris, 1889. 12mo. 163 pp.

A work devoted solely to conjuring tricks performed with eggs.

COMBINAISON EGYPTIENNE DU CÉLÈBRE CAGLIOSTRO. Véritable explication des

six cents principaux songes. Figures noires et coloriées. Paris, --.

12mo.

COMTE, _and_ FONTENELLE, JULIE DE. Sorciers, ou la magie blanche

dévoilée par les découvertes de la chimie, de la physique, et de la

mécanique. Paris, --.

COMUS. Physique amusante. Paris, 1801.

DECREMPS, N. La magie blanche dévoilée, ou explication de tours

surprenants qui font depuis peu l’admiration de la capitale et de la

province, avec des réflexions sur la baguette divinatoire, les automates

joueurs d’échecs. Figures explicatives. Paris, 1784, 1788, 1792. 8vo.

---- Supplément à la Magie blanche dévoilée, contenant l’explication de

plusieurs tours nouveaux joués depuis peu à Londres, avec des

éclaircissements sur les artifices des joueurs de profession, les

cadrans sympathiques, le mouvement perpétuel, les chevaux savans, les

poupées parlantes, les automates dansants, les ventriloques, les sabots

élastiques. Figures. Paris, 1785, 1788, 1792. 8vo.

---- Eclaircissements à la Magie blanche dévoilée. Paris, 1785. 8vo.

---- Testament de Jérome Sharp, professeur de physique amusante, où l’on

trouve parmi plusieurs tours de subtilité qu’on peut exécuter sans

aucune dépense, des préceptes, des exemples sur l’art de faire des

chansons impromptu, pour servir de suite et de complément à la Magie

blanche dévoilée. Figures. Paris, 1786, 1788, 1789, 1793. 8vo.

---- Codicile de Jérome Sharp, professeur de physique amusante, où l’on

trouve parmi plusieurs tours, diverses récréations relatives aux

sciences et beaux-arts, pour servir de suite à la Magie blanche.

Figures. Paris, 1788, 1791, 1793. 8vo.

---- Les petites aventures de Jérome Sharp, professeur de physique

amusante, ouvrage contenant autant de tours ingénieux que de leçons

utiles avec quelques petits portraits à la manière noire. Avec 18

figures grav. en bois. Bruxelles et Paris, 1789, 1790, 1793. 8vo.

Original editions of the works of this ingenious writer are

exceedingly rare. They are genuine curiosities in the domain of

magical literature, being the first scientific treatises on the art of

sleight of hand written in the French language. Decremps was a pioneer

in this line, and hundreds of authors, English, French, and German,

are indebted to him for material for their books. He exposed the

tricks and illusions of the eighteenth-century wizards, and, according

to Larousse, did much to dispel by his revelations the pretended

sorcery of Cagliostro. The _Codicile de Jérome Sharp_ was published

during the “Reign of Terror” of the French Revolution. Its author did

not fall a victim to the guillotine, but lived to a good old age,

dying in the year 1826. This work contains a portrait of Decremps.

DE MUSON. La Magie blanche dévoilée. Paris, 1855.

---- Manuel des sorciers. Paris, 1802.

---- Récréations de physique. Paris, 1828.

DICKSONN. Mes trucs. Paris, 1893.

DICTIONNAIRE DE TRUCS; illusions de physique amusante. 1 vol. (with one

volume of steel plates). Paris, 1792. 878 pp.

DICTIONNAIRE DES ANA. Paris, 1794. 4to.

DIDOT. Nouvelle biographie générale. Paris, 1859. _See article_

Robert-Houdin.

DUCRET, ÉTIENNE. Tours d’escamatoge, anciens et nouveaux. Paris, --.

FAIDEAU, F. Les amusements scientifiques, récréations sur les illusions,

ou erreurs des sens. Paris, --.

GANDON, F. A. La seconde vue dévoilée. Paris, 1849.

GRANDPRÉ. Magicien moderne. Paris, --. 570 pp.

GRAND TRAITÉ DES SONGES, ou explication complète des visions et

inspirations nocturnes. Paris, 1831. 18mo.

GUYOT. Nouvelles récréations physiques et mathématiques. Paris, 1769,

1775, 1786, 1790, 1799, 1800.

HATIN. Robert-Houdin, sa vie, ses œuvres, son théâtre. Paris, 1857.

HELION. Physique amusante. 1660.

L’ALBERT MODERNE. Paris, 1782. 2 vols. 12mo

LA MAGIE NATURELLE. Lyons, 1787. Figures.

LANDAU. Petit magicien. Paris, 1810.

LA NOUVELLE MAGIE BLANCHE DÉVOILÉE. Amusante grande initiation à la

vraie pratique des célèbres physiciens et prestidigitateurs. Par un

amateur. Paris, 1855. 8vo. 324 pp.

L’ESCAMOTEUR HABILE, ou l’art d’amuser agréablement une Société,

contenant les tours de cartes, etc. Pesth, 1816.

MAGUS. Magie blanche en famille. Paris, 1895. 352 pp.

MANUEL DES SORCIERS, ou cours de récréations physiques, mathématiques,

tours de cartes et gibecière; suivi des petits jeux de société et le

leurs pénitences. Cinquieme édition, avec figures. Paris, 1820. 16mo.

293 pp.

MARION, F. Magie naturelle, ou optique amusante. _In his_ Optique. 1869.

MARLY. Physique amusante. 1626.

MATHIOT, GERMAIN. Nouvelles récréations physiques et mathématiques.

Paris, 1799.

MOYNET, GEORGES. Trucs et décors. Paris, 1895. 8vo.

----, M. J. L’Envers du théâtre. Paris, 1875. 16mo.

NAUDÉ, G. Apologie pour tous les grands hommes qui ont esté accusez de

magie. Paris, 1669. 24mo.

OZANAM, JACQUES. Récréations mathématiques et physiques. Paris, 1694. 2

vols. 8vo. _Other editions published in_ 1720, 1723, 1725, 1735, 1741,

1749, 1750, 1778, 1790.

Contains many curious scientific diversions, besides tricks with cups

and balls, pyrotechny, etc.

PINETTI, DE WILDALLE, JEAN-JOSEPH. Amusements physiques. Paris, 1784.

8vo. 95 pp.

---- _The Same._ Nouvelle édition augmentée par l’auteur de six

nouvelles grav. Paris, 1785. 8vo.

---- _The Same._ Troisième édition augmentée de quelque nouvelles

expériences physiques et de gravures. Paris, 1791. 8vo.

This work by the famous Pinetti, king of conjurers of the eighteenth

century, is a little handbook of very simple experiments in natural

magic, evidently designed to be sold in the theatre. It contains no

sleight-of-hand experiments, or anything of value to a professional.

Pinetti carefully preserved the secrets of his tricks, and died

without making any revelations. Decremps, however, has sufficiently

acquainted us with them in his _Magie blanche dévoilée_. An edition in

English of Pinetti’s book was published in London. On the title-page

the conjurer expresses himself as follows: “Physical amusements and

diverting experiments composed and performed in different capitals of

Europe, and in London. By Signor Giuseppe Pinetti, de Wilidalle,

Knight of the German Order of Merit of St. Philip, professor of

mathematics and natural philosophy, pensioned by the court of Prussia,

patronized by all the royal family of France, aggregate of the Royal

Academy of Sciences and Belles-lettres of Bordeaux, etc. London,

1784.” 65 pp.

The most interesting thing about this insignificant booklet is a

steel-plate frontispiece containing a portrait of the great magician.

Two winged cherubs are depicted, placing the bust of Pinetti in the

temple of arts. The motto reads: “Des genies placent le buste de M. le

Professeur Pinetti dans le temple des arts, au milieu des instruments

de physique et de mathématiques.”

PONSIN, J. N. Nouvelle magie blanche dévoilée, physique occulte, et

cours complet de prestidigitation, contenant tous les tours nouveaux qui

ont été exécutés jusqu’à ce jour sur les théâtres ou ailleurs, et qui

n’ont pas encore été publiés, et un grand nombre de tours d’un effet

surprenant, d’une exécution facile, et tout à fait inconnus du public et

des professeurs. Paris, 1853. 8vo. 312 pp.

Sleight of hand with cards, coins, cups and balls.

PRESTIDIGITATION MODERNE. Figures. Paris, --.

Scientific recreations, tricks with cards, etc. Spiritism exposed.

RAYNALLY. Les propos d’un escamoteur. Paris, 1894.

ROBERT-HOUDIN (JEAN-EUGÈNE). Les confidences d’un prestidigitateur. 2

vols. Paris, 1858. 8vo.

---- Les secrets de la prestidigitation et de la magie. Paris, 1868.

---- Les tricheries des Grecs. Paris, 1861.

---- Magie et physiques amusante. Paris, 1877.

ROBERTSON, ÉTIENNE-GASPARD. Mémoires récréatifs et anecdotiques. 2 vols.

Paris, 1830-34. 8vo. (With a volume of plates.)

---- Mémoires physiques et phantasmagorie. 2 vols. Paris, 1840.

Very interesting _exposés_ of ghost illusions, phantasmagoria, optical

tricks, etc.

ROBIN, D. Histoire des spectres vivants et impalpables; secrets de la

physique amusante. Paris, 1864. 4to.

Ghost illusions explained. Illusions similar to those described by

Pepper in “The True Story of the Ghost.”

ROCHAS, ALBERT DE. Les origines de la science et ses premières

applications. Paris, 8vo. 288 pp.

A very elaborate treatise on the natural magic of ancient times,

primitive science, etc.

III.

GERMAN.

ANDERS, FRITZ. Der junge Tausendkuenstler. Leipzig, 1884.

COMTE. Das Gedankenspiel oder die Kunst der Menschen Gedanken zu

erforschen; Beitrag zur natuerlichen Magie. Mit 12 Tafeln. Halle, 1782.

8vo.

---- Handbuch der Taschenspielerkunst oder die Geheimnisse der

natuerlichen Magie. 2 Bände mit 3 Tafeln. 1834. 8vo.

CONRADI. Zauber Spiegel, monthly magazine.

---- Karten Künstler.

CUMBERLAND, ARTHUR W. Der Experimental-Spiritist als Orakel, Hellseher,

blinder Rechner und Gedaechtnisskuenstler. Stuttgart, 1895. 8vo. 125 pp.

DIE KUNST ZAUBERER ZU WERDEN, VON PHILADELPHIA. Leipzig, 1870.

ECKARTSHAUSEN, V. Aufschluesse der Magie. 8vo. About 1790. 4 Bde.

Mystische Maechte oder der Schluessel zu den Geheimnissen des

Wunderbaren; Nachtrag zu den Aufschluessen der Magie. Mit Kpfr.

Muenchen, 1791. 8vo.

---- Verschiedenes zum Unterricht und zur Unterhaltung, fuer Liebhaber

der Gaukeltasche, des Magnetismus und anderer Seltenheiten. 2 Bde. mit

Kpfr. Muenchen, 1798. 8vo.

GUETLE, J. Zaubermechanik oder Beschreibung mechanischer

Zauberbelustigungen, mit darzu gehoerigen Maschinen fuer Liebhaber

belustigender Kuenste. 2 Bde. mit 58 Tafeln. Nuernberg, 1794. 8vo.

GUYOT. Neue physikal. und mathemat. Belustigungen oder Sammlung, von

neuen Kunststuecken zum Vergnuegen, mit dem Magnete, mit den Zahlen, aus

der Optik und Chemie. 7 Thle., 4 Bde. mit vielen Kpfrn. Augsburg,

1772-77. 8vo.

HILDEBRAND. Das Buch der alten natuerl. Magie oder Kunst und Wunderbuch,

darin enthalten viele wunderbare Geheimnisse, Kunststuecke, etc.

Baltimore. 8vo.

JACOBY-HARMS. Illustrierte Zauber-Soirée. Leipzig. 117 pp.

KERNDORFFER, _Prof._ Carl Bosco. Zauber-Cabinet. Leipzig, 1874.

MARIAN, RUDOLPH. Das Buch der Kartenkuenste: in 126 Piècen und 75

Illustrationen. Wien, 1890. 8vo. 158 pp.

---- Das Ganze der Salon-Magie; in 169 Vortraegen und 220

Illustrationen. Wien, 1889. 12mo. 240 pp.

MOLWITZ, F. Magische Unterhaltungen oder Taschenbuch fuer magische

Unterhaltungen. Jahrg. 1809-10.

ROCKSTROH, HEINRICH. Mechanemata, oder der Tausendkuenstler. Berlin,

1831. 8vo. 344 pp.

SUHR, H. F. C. Der Kartenkuenstler. Eine Sammlung neuer leicht

ausfuehrbarer Karten-Kunststuecke, mit und ohne Apparate. Stuttgart,

1895. 8vo. 125 pp.

---- Die Magie im Salon. Eine Auswahl neuer, leicht ausfuehrbarer

Zauber-Kunststuecke ohne Apparate. Stuttgart, 1895. 8vo. 104 pp.

---- Zauber-Soirée. Ausfuehrliche und genaue Anleitung zur Vorfuehrung

von Zauber-Kunststuecken in privaten Kreisen. Stuttgart, 1895. 8vo. 94

pp.

TROMBOLDT, J. Streichholzspiele. Leipzig, 1890.

WAGNER, J. Neuestes Zauberkabinet; Auswahl von magischen, Karten,

Rechnungs- u. anderen Kunststuecken. Wien, 1799. 8vo.

WALLBERGENS. Sammlung natuerl. Zauberkuenste oder aufrichtige

Entdeckungen bewaehrter Geheimnisse nebst vielen Kunststuecken, so zu

Haushaltung, Gaertnerey, Wein- u. Feldbau gehoeren. Stuttgart, 1768.

8vo.

WILLMANN, CARL. Die moderne Salon-Magie. Leipzig, 1891. 460 pp.

---- Moderne Wunder. Leipzig, 1892. Third Edition, 1897. 8vo. 320 pp.

“Moderne Wunder” contains interesting _exposés_ of pretended

mediumship, clairvoyance, second sight automata, and stage illusions.

---- Zauber-Welt.

A monthly magazine of natural magic and prestidigitation, edited by

Willmann.

ZAUBER-BUCH. Natürlicher, oder neu eröffneter Spielplatz rarer Künste,

in welchem alle Taschenspieler-, mathemat. und physikal. Künste,

Karten-, Würfel- etc. Spiele beschrieben u. mit vielen Figuren erläutert

werden. Sehr selten u. interessant. Nürnberg, 1762. 8vo. 752 pp.

IV.

SPANISH.

GOMEZ, S. R. Los divertidos, curiosos, juegos de escamoteo.

KRESPEL, KARL. Nuevo manual de magia blanca. Paris, 1888.

MINGUET E YROL, P. Juegos de manos. Madrid, 1733. 16mo.

PALONCA, D. R. El moderno prestidigitador. Valencia, 1887.

V.

ITALIAN.

GIOCHI NUMERICI FATTI ARCANI PALESATI, da Giuseppe Antonio Alberti

Bolognese; seconda edizione adornata di figure. In Venezia, 1780. 8vo.

---- _The Same_ Napoli, 1814. 8vo.

VI.

LATIN.

HILDEBRANDT, W. Magiæ Naturalis, 1610.

HIPPOLYTUS. Ref. Om. Haer, iv. 34, 35.

PORTA, GIOVANNI BATTISTA DELLA. Magiæ Naturalis, sive de miraculis rerum

naturalium, Libri iv. 283 ff., 3~1. Lugduni, apud G. Rovillium, 1561.

SCHOT, K. Physica Curiosa. 2 vols. 1667.

---- Thaumaturgus Physicus sive magiæ universalis naturæ. 1659.

INDEX.

INDEX.

Acres’ projecting device, 500.

Acrobat, weighted, 396.

Altar, Heron’s marvelous, 236.

Altars, marvelous, 210, 211.

Amphitrite, 61.

Ancient magic, 203-250.

Anvil, Siegfried’s, 330.

Apple and ninepin, disappearance of, 130.

Aquarium, ink converted into an, 131.

Aquatic locomotion, 480.

Arena, nautical, 345-347.

Artist, toy, 376.

Automata, 367-379.

Automata and curious toys, 367-406.

Automaton, an ancient, 241.

Automaton, curious, 374.

Automaton, the oldest, 206-208.

Bacchus, shrine of, 204-208.

Baldwins and second sight, the, 196.

Ball, Houdin’s magic, 137.

Ball, the mysterious, 146.

Balsamo, see Cagliostro.

Basket trick, the Indian, 46.

Battle scenes, 308.

Beugnot cited, 5.

Bird that flies, toy, 413.

Birds, photography of, 478.

Black art, 64.

Black ground, photography upon, 425.

Blitz, Signor, 19.

Blue-room trick, 532.

Boiler, Heron’s tubular, 237.

Borders, 259.

Bottle and glass, the traveling, 129.

Bottle magic, 229.

Bridges, 255.

Burlingame, H. J., cited, 6, 19.

Bust, photographic, 448.

Cabaret du Neant, 55.

Cabinet, Houdin’s magic, 81.

Cabinets, Thorn’s, 38.

Cagliostro, 3-6.

Cake baked in a hat, 117.

Camera for ribbon photography, 509.

Camera, pinhole, 454.

Carlotti, 6.

Cart, toy, 401.

Cassadaga propaganda, 35.

Catastrophe, photographing a, 447.

Catcher, photo thief, 457.

Caulk, William B., 50.

Cellini, Benvenuto, invokes sorcery, 3.

Centrifugal force, experiments in, 383.

Chariot and pole, 256.

Chess players, automaton, 367.

Chest, Houdin’s magic, 17.

Chronophotographic apparatus, amateur, 485.

Chronophotographic camera, 465.

Chronophotography, 462-487.

Cinematograph camera, 508.

Coin, the dissolving, 122.

Coins, magic, 121.

Coins, the multiplication of, 120.

Collar, the spirit, 53.

Columbus’s egg, 397.

Comatula, 484.

Composite photography, 459.

Comus, 7.

Conjurer’s tricks, 106-138.

Crash effect, 304.

Crystallized ornaments, 409.

Curious toys, 380.

Curtain, electric, 268.

Curtain, fan drop, 268.

Cybele, the statue of, 209.

Cycloramas, 354-361.

D’Ache, M. Caran, 181-183.

D’Affre, Monseigneur, 12.

Dance, the skirt, 342.

Dancers, the, 392.

Dark chamber, 467.

Day to night effect, 297.

Death’s head, enchanted, 100.

Decapitation, 48.

Demeny chronophotographic apparatus, 491.

Detective thief catcher, 457.

Doll, phonographic, 402.

Dragon in “Siegfried,” 332.

Drawing, magical, 410.

Drinking horn, Heron’s, 225.

Drops, 259.

Duel, electrical, 342.

Duplex photography, 438.

Egg, Columbus’s, 397.

Egg tricks, 105, 115, 119.

Egypt, magic in ancient, 1.

Elasticity, tricks in, 406.

Electric cyclorama, 358.

Electrical stage effects, 328-344.

Electrical toys, 385-387.

Electro-photo thief catcher, 457.

Engine, origin of the steam, 234-238.

Eolipile, Heron’s, 235.

Escalopier, 12-15.

Fafner, 332.

Fire and smoke effects, 305.

Fire, tricks with, 149, 152.

Firearms, theatrical, 309.

Fire eaters, 149, 152.

Fire eaters and sword tricks, 149-163.

Firefly, electric, 335.

Fireworks, 362-366.

Flies, 254.

Flood, after the, 31.

Flowers, the birth of, 112.

Flowers, the cone of, 106.

Flowers, magic, 109.

Flowers, the queen of, 74.

Forge, Siegfried’s, 328.

Ghost, Pepper’s, 55.

Glass, platinized, 86.

Glass of wine, invisible journey of a, 132.

“Gone,” 520.

Gravity, experiments in, 384.

Greek lamps, toys, etc., 239-250.

Gridirons, 253.

Grisi, Comte de, 8-10.

Gull, photograph of, 479.

Gun, photographic, 476.

Hagen’s theatrical system, 275.

Half-woman, the living, 69.

Handkerchief tricks, 105, 123, 131, 133.

Harps, magic, 103.

Hat tricks, 114-119.

Head, photographing a, 444.

Head, the talking, 69.

Heller and second sight, 185.

Heller, Robert, 19.

Heller, Robert, in the East, 1.

Heron cited, 203-250.

Herrmann, Alexander, 21-23.

Herrmann, Carl, 19, 21-22.

Herrmann, Leon, 23.

Horse, photograph of, 464.

Horse race on the stage. 324.

Horse, the decapitated drinking, 244.

Horse’s gallop, photograph of, 475.

Houdin’s magic ball, 137.

Houdin’s magic cabinet, 81.

Illusion, optical, 380.

Illusive photography, 441.

Ink, goblet of, 131.

Introduction, 1-26.

Invention A.D. _vs._ B.C., 217-219.

Isola brothers, 100.

Jacob’s ladder, 399.

Japanese mirrors, 416.

Jewels, electric, 337.

Jugglers, 139, 141.

Jugglers and acrobatic performances, 139-148.

Jumping, photograph of, 470.

Kellar, H., 24.

Kellar’s “Queen of Flowers,” 74.

Kinetograph, 488.

Kinetoscope, stereopticon, 495.

Kircher cited, 212, 239.

Kolta, B. de, 24.

Kolta’s appearing lady, 39-42.

Ladder, Jacob’s, 399.

Lady, the appearing, 39-42.

Lady, the disappearing, 42, 43.

Lamps, perpetual, 239.

Lamps, toys, etc., 239-250.

Lavater, 423.

Lightning effect, 302.

Lohengrin’s swan, 312.

Louis XVIII. and Comte de Grisi, 10.

Lustral water vessel, 219, 220.

Lynn, the mystery of Dr., 63.

Mackaye’s theatrical inventions, 273, 274

Magic, beginning of natural, 2.

Magic boxes, 128.

Magic cabinets, 127.

Magic envelopes, 128.

Magic, mysteries of modern, 1-26.

Magic photographs, 456.

Magic portfolios, 127.

Magic table, the, 519.

Magnetic oracle, 391.

Man, a steam, 377.

Marvelous vessels of the Greeks, 221-233.

Mask of Balsamo, 100.

Maskelyne, J. M., 24.

Match trick, 408.

Maze, mystic, 84.

Medusa, photography of, 482.

Mental magic, 184-202.

Metempsychosis, 532.

Micromotoscope, 514.

Mikado, the, 401.

Mirage, artificial, 438.

Mirrors, Japanese, 416.

Mirrors, magic, 418.

Money maker, 381.

Moon, a trip to the, 348-353.

Moon effects, 298.

Mouse, the animated, 135.

Moving pictures, projection of, 488-516.

Multiphotography, 451.

Multiple portrait, 450.

Mutograph, 501.

Mutoscope, 501.

Muybridge’s experiments, 467.

Mysterious disappearances, 27-54.

Nautical arena, 345-347.

Necktie, photographic, 455.

Neoöcultism, 96.

Nostradamus, 3.

Odometers, 247-250.

Odors, imitation of, 310.

Opera glass, trick, 412.

Opera house, behind the scenes of an, 251-267.

Optical tricks, 55-88.

Oracle, magnetic, 391.

Organ, electrical, 263.

Organs, ancient, 230-233.

Ornaments, crystallized, 409.

Paint bridge, 264.

Palanquin, the magic, 34.

Palladio’s theater, 289.

Pepper, professor, 8.

Phonographic doll, 402.

Photographic diversions, 423-516.

Photographic gun, 476.

Photographic necktie, 455.

Photographic portrait, 448.

Photographing a catastrophe, 447.

Photographing a head, 444.

Photographs, magic, 456.

Photography, composite, 459.

Photography, duplex, 438.

Photography, illusive, 441.

Photography, spirit, 432.

Photography upon black ground, 425.

Photo thief catcher, 456.

Physiological station, 466.

Pictures, moving, projection of, 488-516.

Pigeon, photograph of, 479.

Pinetti, 184.

Pinhole camera, 454.

Planchette table, 414.

Platinized glass, 86.

Portrait, multiple, 450.

Portraits, magic, 411.

Post test, spiritualistic, 52.

Princess, the decapitated, 77.

Property room, 265.

Psycho, 368.

Puppets, animated, 170-172.

Puzzle, novel, 407.

Race course, electrical, 388.

Race on the stage, 324.

Rainbow effect, 300.

Rain effect, 299.

“Rheingold,” floating women in, 314.

Ribbon photography, 509.

Robert-Houdin, 11-19.

Robert-Houdin, second sight, 184.

Robertson, E. G., 7.

Robinson, W. E., 21.

Rochas, A. de, cited, 2.

Rollin, 6.

Rosebush, the magic, 108.

Running, photograph of, 472.

Saint-Amand cited, 4, 5.

Sand frame trick, 136.

Scene painting, 293.

Scenes, changing, 265.

Science in the theater, 251-366.

Scurimobile, 94.

Sea horse, photographs of, 481.

Second sight, 125.

Shadowgraphy, 173-181.

Shadows, French, 181-183.

“She,” 72.

Ship on the stage, 316.

“Siegfried,” effects in, 328-355.

Silhouettes, apparatus for taking, 423.

Skirt dance, 342.

Slates, the spirit, 123.

Sliders, 255.

Snow effect, 304.

Spear, Wotan’s, 334.

Spider and the fly, the, 523.

Spirit photography, 432.

Stage, “Asphaleia,” 280.

Stage effects, 293-310.

Stage, elevator, 271.

Stage inventions, American, 273-276.

Stage, revolving, 276.

Stage tricks, miscellaneous, 89-104.

Stages, ancient and modern, 268-292.

Stages, opera, 252.

Stars, 298.

Statue giving a double image, 88.

Steam engine, origin of the, 234-238.

Stella, 79.

Strobeika Persane, La, 529.

Sun effect, 297.

Sunrise effects, 295.

Sun robe, 315.

Suspended head, 63.

Swan, Lohengrin, 312.

Swing, the haunted, 91.

Switchboard, theater, 261.

Sword swallowers, 156-161.

Sword trick, 152.

Sword walker, 161, 163.

Table rapping, 101.

Tachyscope, electric, 489.

Target, the human, 153.

Temple of Dagon, construction of, 323.

Temple tricks of the Greeks, 203-220.

Temples, the machinery of, 213-217.

Theater, curious pivoted, 287.

Theater, optical, 489.

Theater, Palladio’s, 289.

Theater secrets, 311-344.

Theater with two auditoriums, 283.

The dicaiometer, 221.

Thief catcher, photographic, 457.

Thorn, E., 38, 39.

Thought transference, 197-202.

Thunder effect, 301.

Ties, spiritualistic, 50.

Torch, electric, 337.

Torpedo, 484.

Torrini, see Grisi.

Toy, a Greek, 243.

Toys, ancient, 393.

Toys electrical, 385-393.

Transformation, gradual, 307.

Trapeze, revolving, 142.

Traps, 255, 311.

Trewey the shadowgraphist, 25, 173-181.

Trick photography, 423-516.

Tricks, miscellaneous, 407-421.

Tricks, optical, 55-88.

Trilby, the illusion of, 89.

Trunk, the mysterious, 44.

Trunk trick, the, 526.

Tulips, electric, 335.

Tumbler, 397.

Vanity Fair, 27.

Ventriloquism and animated puppets, 164-172.

Vessels, magical, 227.

Vicenza, theater at, 289.

Vitascope, 497.

Walking on the ceiling, 144.

Walking, photograph of, 471.

Wave effect, 304.

Wine changed to water, 134.

Woman, the invisible, 102.

Woman, the three-headed, 60.

X-ray illusion, 96.

EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE

BY

GEORGE M. HOPKINS

Seventeenth Edition Revised and Enlarged. 840 Pages, 800 Illustrations.

Price by mail, cloth, $4.00; half morocco, $5.00.

[Illustration]

This book treats of various topics of physics in a popular and practical

way, describing the apparatus in detail and explaining the experiments

in full so that those interested in physics can make the apparatus at

small expense and perform the experiments without difficulty. The

subject is not treated from the mathematical side, and thereby its field

of usefulness to a very large number is increased. This book should not

be confounded with books which give hackneyed experiments and

illustrations. Nearly all of the experiments are new or are performed in

a new way. The illustrations cost $10,000. It is impossible to give even

an outline of the book in the present advertisement, but the publishers

will send a four-page circular giving samples of the illustrations and a

full table of contents on request.

MUNN & CO., Publishers

Scientific American Office

361 BROADWAY, - - NEW YORK CITY

THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN CYCLOPEDIA OF RECEIPTS, NOTES AND QUERIES

12,500 Receipts. 708 Pages. Price, in cloth, $5.00; in sheep, $6.00; in

half morocco, $6.50; postpaid.

[Illustration]

This work was edited by Mr. Albert A. Hopkins, the editor of “Magic,

Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions.” It presents a careful

compilation of the most useful receipts given in the Notes and Queries

column of correspondence of the _Scientific American_ during the last

fifty years, together with important additions. This is by far the

latest and most comprehensive volume of the kind ever placed before the

public. Those who are engaged in any branch of industry will find much

of practical value to their respective callings in this work, while

those who are in search of independent business or employment will find

in it hundreds of most excellent suggestions. Many of the principal

substances and raw materials used in the arts are defined and described.

A full-page prospectus will be mailed free on request.

MUNN & CO., Publishers

Scientific American Office

361 BROADWAY, - - NEW YORK CITY

Transcriber’s Notes

Inconsistent spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation have been retained

(including in names), except as mentioned below.

Néant was consistently spelled neant, this was not changed; French

accents have not been corrected, except as mentioned below.

All reference letters in the text have been spaced for consistency.

Inconsistent use of (Greek) letters for parts described have not been

changed when the letters were not included in the accompanying drawings.

The Table of Contents does not fully conform to the text; this has not

been changed.

Page 51, paragraph "In placing his hands ...": this paragraph was copied

verbatim from the original work. Apparently something went wrong during

the book production process: some lines seem to be misplaced or

otherwise garbled. A very similar (if not the same) trick is better

explained in Harry Houdini: Magical Rope Ties and Escapes. London: Will

Goldstone, 1921.

Page 186, spelling of Anna: the code actually spells Anaa.

Page 540, Le Vie de Joseph Balsamo: the actual title is Vie de ....

Page 542, Hoffman: illegible in original, verified with a later edition

of the same book.

Page 550, della Porta: there is probably a figure missing in the number

of pages; the number of pages has been transcribed as 3~1.

Changes made to the text:

Some missing and wrong punctuation has been added and corrected

silently, some obvious typographical errors were corrected silently.

Page 7: Etienne changed to Étienne for consistency

Page 10: surreptiously changed to surreptitiously

Page 23: Russias changed to Russians

Page 87: In the illusion changed to In the illustration

Page 93: but this it not at all changed to but this it is not at all

Page 104: When Robert-Houdin introduces the illusion changed to When

Robert-Houdin introduced the illusion

Page 136: after is returned to you changed to after it is returned to

you

Page 211: analagous changed to analogous

Page 220: Ν Ξ Ο R changed to Ν Ξ Ο Ρ

Page 234: Sais changed to Saïs for consistency

Page 283: Weisbaden changed to Wiesbaden as elsewhere

Page 290: Olympicorun changed to Olympicorum

Page 487: Demeney changed to Demeny for consistency

Page 541: Ewbanks changed to Ewbank

Page 547: mathematiques changed to mathématiques for consistency; et le

leurs changed to et de leurs; Amusantes changed to Amusante; pénitenas

changed to pénitences

Page 549: Wein u. Feldbau changed to Wein- u. Feldbau; Piecen changed to

Piècen.