THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE
While Robert-Houdin claims to have invented "The Inexhaustible Bottle"
for a special programme designed to create a sensation at the opening of
his season of 1848, in the illustrated appendix of the original French
edition of his "Memoirs" he states that it had its premier presentation
December 1st, 1847. These discrepancies occur with such frequency that
it is difficult to refute his claims in chronological order. Perhaps he
adopted this method intentionally, to confuse future historians of
magic, particularly concerning his own achievements.
In order to emphasize the brilliancy of this trick, Robert-Houdin turned
boastful in describing it. On page 348 of the American edition of his
"Memoirs," he states that the trick had created such a sensation and was
so much exploited in the London newspapers that the fame of his
inexhaustible bottle spread to the provinces, and on his appearance in
Manchester with the bottle in his hand the workmen who made up the
audience nearly mobbed him. In fact, the description of this scene is
the most dramatic pen-picture in his "Memoirs."
The truth, sad to state, is that the bottle trick did not create the
sensation he claims for it in London, nor did the press eulogize it. It
was classed with other ordinary tricks, and twenty London papers bear
mute testimony to this fact. In a complete collection of press clippings
regarding his first London appearance, only four of the London papers
mention the trick. _The Times_, the great conservative English paper, in
reviewing Robert-Houdin's performance in its issue of May 3d, 1847,
ignored the trick entirely. The four London papers which made mention of
the bottle trick, and then only in a passing comment, were _The
Chronicle_, _The Globe_, _The Lady's Newspaper_, and _The Court
Journal_. Any one acquainted with the two last-named periodicals will
know that they rarely reach the hands of the humble artisans in
Manchester. _Punch_, London's great comic paper, gave the trick some
space, however.
The trick of pouring several sorts of liquors from the same bottle has
been presented in various forms and under different names. To prove the
futility of Robert-Houdin's claims I will explain the mystery of this
trick, which is of an interesting nature.
To all intents and purposes the bottle used looks like glass; but it is
invariably made of tin, heavily japanned. Ranged around the central
space, which is free from deception, are five compartments, each
tapering to a narrow-mouthed tube which terminates about an inch or an
inch and a half from within the neck of the bottle. A small pinhole is
drilled through the outer surface of the bottle into each compartment,
the holes being so placed that when the bottle is grasped with the hand
in the ordinary way, the performer covers all but one of the pinholes
with his fingers and thumb. The centre section is left empty, but the
other compartments are filled with a funnel which has a tapering nozzle
made specially for this purpose.
The trick is generally started by proving to the audience that the
bottle is empty. It is then filled with water, which is immediately
poured out again, all this time the five pinholes being covered tightly
with the hand or fingers which are holding the bottle. When a liquor is
called for, the performer raises the finger over the air-hole above that
particular liquor, and the liquor will flow out. When a large number of
liquors may be called for, the performer has one compartment filled with
a perfectly colorless liquor, which he pours into glasses previously
flavored with strong essences. Certain gins and cordials can be
simulated in this fashion.
Various improvements have been made in this bottle trick. For instance,
after the bottle has yielded its various sorts of liquors, it is broken,
and from the bottle the performer produces some borrowed article which
has been "vanished" in a previous trick and then apparently forgotten.
This may have been a ring, glove, or handkerchief, which will be
discovered tied around the neck of a small guinea-pig or dove taken from
the broken bottle.
This is accomplished by having the bottle especially constructed. Its
compartments end a few inches above the bottom of the bottle and the
portion below having a wavy or cracked appearance, is made to slip on
and off. The conjurer goes through the motions of actually breaking the
bottle by tapping it near the bottom with a small hammer or wand, and
the appearance of the guinea-pig or lost article causes surprise, so
that the pretended breaking of the bottle passes unnoticed.
Again, this bottle can be genuine, with no loose bottom at all, and a
small article can be inserted, but this makes a great deal of trouble,
and the effect is not greatly increased. In doing the trick thus, I was
always compelled to have an optician cut the bottom from the bottle, and
then at times even he would break it.
To explain further how the article is "loaded" into the bottle, the
performer borrows several articles, for example a ring and two watches.
He will place the ring and watches into a funnel at the end of a large
horse-pistol, and shoot them at the target. The two watches appear on
the target or in a frame or any place that he may choose. In obtaining
the articles, he may have wrapped them up in a handkerchief which he has
hidden in the front of his vest. Alexander Herrmann was exceptionally
clever in making this exchange, his iron nerve and perpetual smile being
great aids in the trick.
The performer now places the duplicate handkerchief on the table in full
view of the audience, and walks to another table for a gun. While
reaching for this gun, he places the original articles which he borrowed
behind his table on a servante, so that his hidden assistant may reach
for them, place the two watches on the "turn-about target," tie the ring
on the neck of the guinea-pig, shove him into the bottle, and insert the
false bottom. The trick is then ready in its entirety.
The magician calls for something to use as a target, and the assistant
responds with the revolving target or frame. When the conjurer shoots,
the two watches appear on the target or in the frame. This part of the
trick is accomplished by having the centre of the target revolve, or,
if the frame is used, by having a black velvet curtain pulled up by
rapid springs or strong rubbers.
While all this is going on, some one has brought on the stage the loaded
bottle, and as no attention is called to this, by the time the watches
have been restored to the owners the conjurer introduces the bottle
trick, pours out the various liquors, and eventually breaks the bottle
and reproduces the borrowed article tied about the neck of the
guinea-pig or dove.
Many names have been given to this trick. The old-time magicians who
remained for months in one theatre had to change their programmes
frequently, so for one night they would present the bottle without
breaking it, and on the next they would break the bottle, so as to vary
the trick.
This bottle trick originated in "The Inexhaustible Barrel." The first
trace that I can find of this wonderful barrel is in "Hocus Pocus, Jr.,
The Anatomie of Legerdemain," written by Henry Dean in 1635 (Second
Edition). On page 21 is described a barrel with a single spout, from
which can be drawn three different kinds of liquors. This was worked
precisely on the same principle as was the inexhaustible bottle trick
centuries later, by shutting up the air-holes of compartments from which
liquors were not flowing.
Its first public appearance, according to the data in my collection,
clipped from London papers of 1707 and 1712, was when the "famous
water-works of the late ingenious Mr. Henry Winstanly" were exhibited by
his servants for the benefit of his widow; and the exhibition included
a view of "the Barrel that plays so many Liquors and is broke in pieces
before the Spectators."
In 1780 Dr. Desaguliers presented in London a performance entitled "A
Course of Experimental Philosophy wherein the Principles of Mechanics,
Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, and Optics are proved and demonstrated by more
than 300 Experiments."
In the course of these lectures he produced a sort of barrel, worked by
holding the fingers over the air-holes. He also exposed the real source
of strength of the notorious strong man of his day, John Carl von
Eckeberg, who allowed horses to pull against him, permitted heavy stones
to be broken on his bare chest, and who broke heavy ropes simply by
stretching or straightening his knees. These lectures and exposés made
Dr. Desaguliers so famous that he has been given considerable space in
Sir David Brewster's "Letters on Natural Magic," published in London in
1851, in which book the various deceptions used by strong men are fully
described. In fact the book is one that should be in every conjurer's
library.
The old Dutch books explain the barrel trick, and in 1803 Charles
Hutton, professor of Woolwich Royal Academy, translated four books from
Ozanam and Montucla, exposing quite a number of old conjuring tricks.
The barrel trick will be found on page 94 of Volume II.
The first use of "The Inexhaustible Bottle" by modern conjurers I found
in an announcement of Herr Schmidt, a German performer, who for a time
controlled the original writing and drawing figure, as will be found by
reference to Chapter III., which is devoted to the history of that
automaton. The programme published in that chapter is dated 1827, and
does not include the famous bottle, because it was no longer a novelty
in Herr Schmidt's répertoire; but the advertisement reproduced herewith,
dated 1821, schedules the bottle trick thus: "The Bottle of Sobriety and
Inebriety, proving the inutility of a set of decanters, when various
liquors can be produced by one." Thus Schmidt antedated Houdin's
offering of the trick by more than a quarter of a century.
[Illustration: A Schmidt programme of 1821, featuring the "Bottle of
Sobriety and Inebriety." From the Harry Houdini Collection.]
Next the bottle turned up in 1835 in London, where it was presented by a
German who styled himself "Falck of Koenigsberg, Pupil of the celebrated
Chevalier Pinnetty," and who introduced the programme with which Döbler
made such a sensation in 1842.
[Illustration: Poster used by Falck of Koenigsberg in 1835, featuring
the trick of exchange of wine. From the Harry Houdini Collection.]
Mr. Falck opened at the Queen's Bazaar, Oxford Street, London, November
8th, 1835. Before opening, however, he gave a private performance for
the press, and received quite a number of notices. A half-column
clipping in my collection, dated November 4th, 1835, which I think is
cut from _The Chronicle_ or _The Globe_, mentions the trick among other
effects like "Flora's Gift," "The Card in the Pocket," etc., and adds
that the "exchange of wine was so that if once in Mr. Falck's company,
we should not wish to exchange it, for he poured three sorts of wine,
Port, Sherry, and Champagne, out of one bottle. Then he put them
together, and from such a mixture produced sherry in one glass, and port
in another."
From this notice it will be seen that Falck had "The Inexhaustible
Bottle," and had some method of returning all the liquors not drunk back
into the bottle and then pouring out two different kinds of liquor.
Perhaps he resorted to chemicals, but one thing is evident--the bottle
was used for six different kinds of liquors at one and the same time.
[Illustration: Poster used by Phillippe during his Edinburgh engagement
in 1838, featuring "The Infernal Bottle." From the Harry Houdini
Collection.]
Phillippe from 1836 to 1838 featured "An Infernal Bottle" trick, also
"The Inexhaustible Bottle" trick. The trick also was seen on programmes
used by John Henry Anderson, the Wizard of the North, in the same years.
According to these programmes Phillippe and Anderson showed the bottle
empty, filled it with water, and then served five different liquors.
On April 30th, 1838, Anderson thus announced the trick on a programme
used at Victoria Rooms, Hull:
"Handkerchiefs will be borrowed from three gentlemen; the magician will
load his mystic gun, in which he will place the handkerchiefs; he will
fire a bottle containing wine, the bottle will be broken and the
handkerchiefs will appear."
Programmes in my collection show that Anderson presented the trick,
serving various sorts of liquors, when he played London in 1840, but
little attention was drawn to the wonderful bottle. In 1842 Ludwig
Döbler, Germany's best-beloved magician, came to London and featured
what he termed "The Travelling Bottle."
[Illustration: Reproduction of a political cartoon in _Punch_, published
during Anderson's London engagement, April, 1843, proving that the
"Inexhaustible Bottle Trick" was used by Anderson before Robert-Houdin
was a professional entertainer. From the Harry Houdini Collection.]
[Illustration: Ludwig Döbler in his prime, taken about 1839. The
original of this rare picture was discovered by the author in a small
print shop in Moscow, Russia. It is now a part of his Collection.]
Ludwig Leopold Döbler was born in Vienna in 1801. He was the
best-beloved magician who ever trod the stage. He started life as an
engraver of metals, but his fancy turned to necromancy. He gave his best
performances in his native city. In 1841 he was touring Holland, and in
a letter now in my possession, which he wrote to a director and editor
in Vienna under date of March 15th, 1842, he informs his friend that he
has sent all his baggage to London from Amsterdam, and is on a visit to
Paris. He regrets that he has not all of his apparatus with him, but has
given several performances, and mentions the fact that "to-morrow I am
engaged to give a performance in the private parlor of Rothschild and
then by the Count Montaliset, minister of the King's mansions." He
also informs his friend that he expects to visit Paris the next season
and build his own theatre. He states a fact most interesting to all
magicians, namely, that he has rented the St. James Theatre in London
for two thousand francs ($400) a night, or more than $2,400 rent for one
week. Döbler drew such big audiences and made so much money that he
refused to give private performances, only breaking this rule when
presenting his show before H. M. Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort.
[Illustration: A Döbler programme from the Evanion collection, dated
1842, now in the possession of the author.]
He played the provinces, then went over to Dublin, where, although
unable to speak English, he was a veritable sensation. In 1844 Döbler
played a return date at the St. James Theatre, London, and this time he
had Anderson as a rival at the Théâtre Royal Adelphia.
Döbler amassed a fortune very rapidly; in fact he retired in 1847, and
never again appeared on the stage. He always explained his early
retirement by saying: "The public loves me, and I want it to always love
me. I may return and be a failure, so it is best to know just when to
stop." He died in a little village near Tunitz, on April 17th, 1864,
when one of God's noblemen was laid to rest.
"The Travelling Bottle" alluded to by Döbler in his programmes was
nothing more or less than "The Inexhaustible Bottle." The following
excerpt from the London _Chronicle_ during Döbler's engagement at the
St. James Theatre, April, 1842, is illuminating:
[Illustration: Döbler's farewell programme in verse, used when he played
his last engagement in the Josephstadter Theatre, Vienna. Original given
by Döbler personally to Henry Evanion; now in the Harry Houdini
Collection.]
[Illustration: Ludwig Döbler in his prime, offering his most popular
trick, "The Creation of Flowers." From a rare lithograph in the Harry
Houdini Collection.]
"DÖBLER--ST. JAMES THEATRE.--Among the illusions that more particularly
struck our fancy was one entitled 'The Travelling Bottle,' where Herr
Döbler, filling a common bottle with water, transformed this water into
a collection of wines of all countries, amicably assembled together in
one receptacle, and he fills out first a glass of sherry, then one of
port, then one of champagne, and so on."
The critic then describes how the bottle was broken, and the borrowed
handkerchief was found inside the bottle.
[Illustration: Döbler programme with illustrations of his tricks, used
during his engagement at the St. James Theatre, London. From the Harry
Houdini Collection.]
Probably because of the prominence which Herr Döbler gave to this trick
it attracted more attention when Anderson presented it during his London
run of 1843. He announced it as "Water vs. Wine, or Changing Water into
Different Liquids--Sherry, Port, Champagne, Gin, Milk, Rum, and Water."
[Illustration: Programme used by Macallister at the Bowery Theatre,
August 11th, 1852, during his second engagement in New York City.
Featuring the "Magic Bottle" from which twenty-two kinds of liquor could
be drawn. Careful reading will unearth Macallister's ill-will toward
Anderson. From the Harry Houdini Collection.]
The London _Sun_ of April 18th, 1843, says:
"Mr. Anderson, besides the feats by which his reputation was established
in his former exhibitions in the metropolis, performed with perfect ease
and success some of greater difficulty than those by which Herr Döbler
astonished the world, such as serving several kinds of wines from the
same bottle."
_The Morning Advertiser_ (London) of the same date said:
"With the utmost ease he produced from an empty bottle wine, water,
port, sherry, and champagne, and immediately afterward, under a blaze of
wax and gas, he broke the same bottle and produced from it half a dozen
cambric handkerchiefs, which had previously been deposited under lock
and key at a considerable distance."
[Illustration: Andrew Macallister as he appeared during his engagement
in the United States. From the Harry Houdini Collection.]
Macallister, the Scotch brick-mason, who became the pupil and assistant
of Phillippe, as described in the chapter on "The Pastry Cook of the
Palais Royal," also claimed the bottle trick as his invention. I have
been unable to obtain any of the early programmes used by Macallister,
but I am reproducing the one he utilized during his engagement at the
Bowery Theatre, New York City, in 1852. This was not his first
appearance in New York, however. In December, 1848, and January, 1849,
he played at the same theatre, and announced that he had just concluded
a successful engagement at the Grand Theatre Tacon, Havana, Cuba.
[Illustration: The original Compars Herrmann, who was Robert-Houdin's
very active rival during the latter's first engagement in London. Best
portrait now in existence, and only one showing Herrmann in his prime.
Original photograph loaned for this work by James L. Kernan, of
Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.]
Although Macallister claims to have invented "The Inexhaustible Bottle"
trick, it is more likely that, having been connected so long with
Phillippe, he knew the secret several years before Robert-Houdin
appeared in public. But as Macallister also claimed to have invented the
peacock and the harlequin automata, both of which are recognized as the
inventions of his predecessors, his claim cannot be given serious
consideration.
He advertised to produce twenty-two kinds of liquors from one bottle,
and therefore he must have utilized the essence glasses in connection
with the bottle.
What must have been Robert-Houdin's feeling when, on arriving in London
in 1848, he found another magician, Compars Herrmann, heavily advertised
at the Théâtre Royal, and already offering each and every trick included
by the Frenchman in his répertoire. Even the much-vaunted bottle was in
Herrmann's list of tricks. No one seems able to tell where Compars
Herrmann obtained the tricks he used, but he must be given credit for
never advertising them as his own inventions. His record in this respect
was clean throughout his life as a mysterious entertainer.
The programme presented by Herrmann at the Théâtre Royal during
Robert-Houdin's opening week at the St. James Theatre is herewith
reproduced. Herrmann remained some time in London, playing at the
Adelphia, then at the Royal Princess, and finally at the Surrey
Theatre. A bill used by Herrmann at the Princess is reproduced on page
232. It evidently proved satisfactory to the public and he used it
without change for many years.
[Illustration: Billing used by Compars Herrmann when he played in
opposition to Robert-Houdin on the latter's arrival in London. This
shows that Herrmann duplicated all of Robert-Houdin's tricks. From the
Harry Houdini Collection.]
Probably the most notable warfare waged over the honor of having
invented this trick arose between Robert-Houdin and Henri Robin, who
were contemporaries.
[Illustration: A Herrmann programme dated April, 1848, showing that
Herrmann presented the inexhaustible bottle two months before
Robert-Houdin appeared in London.]
[Illustration: Henri Robin, generally conceded to have been the most
polished conjurer in the history of magic. From the Harry Houdini
Collection.]
Robin, whose right name was Dunkell, was of Holland birth and died in
Paris in 1874. He was at his prime about 1839-40, when he toured the
Continent. He was popular in London, Paris, and both the English and
French provinces. A polished man, famous for the elegance of his speech
and manners, he conducted his performance and all his business in a
quiet, conservative fashion. In both Paris and London, he had playhouses
named temporarily in his honor, Salle de Robin, and at one time in
London he also appeared at the Egyptian Hall. He published his own
magazine, _L'Almanach d'Cagliostro_, an illustrated periodical which was
quite pretentious.
Robin presented all the tricks and automata that Robert-Houdin claimed
as his original inventions, and in the famous controversy, Robert-Houdin
came out second best. Robin proved that he had used the bottle trick
before Robert-Houdin did, by showing back numbers of his magazine, whose
illustrations pictured Robin performing the trick at his theatre in
Milan, Italy, July 6th, 1844, or three years before Robert-Houdin
presented it in Paris.
Robin, however, never wrote an autobiography nor any exhaustive work
dealing with the history of magic, while Robert-Houdin did. The latter
set forth his claims over other magicians so skilfully that for more
than half a century the intelligent and thoughtful reading public has
been deceived and has accepted his statements as authoritative.
According to an article published in _L'Illusionniste_, scientists to
this day, in explaining the law of physics as operated by the use of
air-holes in the inexhaustible bottle, refer to it as the "Robert-Houdin
bottle," when in reality the honor of its invention belongs to some
obscure mechanic or magician whose name must remain forever unsung by
writers on magic.