Herrmann the magician

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HERRMANN THE MAGICIAN.


LEE'S LIBRARY Or OCCULT SCIENCE HOURS WITH THE GHOSTS; Or XIX Century Witchcraft By Henry R. Evans.

PRACTICAL PALMISTRY; Or Hand Reading Made Easy By Comte C. de Saint-Germain.

HERRMANN THE MAGICIAN; His Life; His Secrets Uy H.J. Burlingame. All profusely illustrated. Bound in Holliston cloth, burnished red top, uncut edges.

EACH, $1.00




J

Herrmann the Magician His Life; His Secrets

BY

H. J. BURLINGAME

ILLUSTRATED

A thorough understanding of the human mind is the necessary hey to all successful conjuring. —ROBERT HOUDIN.

CHICAGO

LAIRD & LEE, Publishers


Entered according to act of Congress, In the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. BY WILLIAM H. LEE, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.


TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface, . . Introduction: Psychology of the Art of Conjuring, " T h e Conjuring H u s b a n d " — a poem. (Illustrated.) . " T h e Magician's Art " — a poem, . . . . .

Page 5 . 7 . 42 46

Chapter I. Herrmann the Magician ; His Birthplace ; His Family ; His Early Years ; T h e Career of His Famous Brother, Carl Herrmann. (Illustrated.) II. T h e Life and Career of Alexander Herrmann, . . III. H e r r m a n n ' s Secrets, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

47 76 118

H e r r m a n n ' s Best Handkerchief Trick, . . . 119 Handkerchief Produced From Bare Hands and Caused to Vanish 123 T h e Vanishing Handkerchief. (Illustrated.) . . 126 T h e Color-Changing Handkerchief. (Illustrated.) . 129 Another Method of Making Silk Handkerchiefs Change Color 131 Changing a Handkerchief Into a Billiard Ball, . . 133 Making a Solid Billiard Ball Vanish Through a Glass of Water. (Illustrated.) 135 T h e Multiplying Billiard Ball 138 T h e Chameleon Billiard Ball 139 Samuels' Improved Chameleon Billiard Ball, . . 141 Rising Cards. (Illustrated.) . . . . . 143 The Bouquet and the Rising Cards. (Illustrated.) . 146 T h e Magic Card Bottle 149 Card Printed on a Handkerchief by a Pistol Shot, . 150 Any Card Thought of Disappears to Reappear Elsewhere, 151 T h e Bottle and the Flags, 152 Herrmann's Ring and Bottle Trick, . . . . 154 T h e Famous Rabbit Trick, . . . . . 157 T h e Multiplying Coins. (Illustrated.) . . . . 161


Page 20. 21. 22. 23.

H e r r m a n n ' s Flower Production, . . . . Flower Production on an E m p t y Plate, . . . T h e Great Shooting Trick H e r r m a n n ' s Rice, Cone and Orange Trick. (Illustrated.)

163 166 167 176

24. 25.

H e r r m a n n ' s Kling Klang Trick. (Illustrated.) H e r r m a n n ' s Fish Bowl Production, . . .

181 184

26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.

C a z e n e u v e ' s C a r d in a n O r a n g e , . . . . . 189 T h e Flying Cage. ( I l l u s t r a t e d . ) . . . . 189 C h r o n o l o g i c a l C a t a s t r o p h e a n d C a n d l e of M e p h i s t o , . 194 Mind Reading by Impression, . . . . . 197 Mind Reading—Cards and Questions 200 Spirit Calculator 202 Heavy Weight F r o m a Hat. (Illustrated.) . . .204 H o w to L i f t a B o w l F u l l of W a t e r w i t h a H a n d in the Bowl, 207 T h e Magi's W a n d . (Illustrated,) . . . .208 T h e Floating Hat, W a n d and Table. ( I l l u s t r a t e d . ) . 210 T h e Artist's D r e a m , . . . . . . 215 T h e Vanishing Lady. (Illustrated.). . . . 218 T h e Spiritualistic Sack 221 Decapitation, by Vaneck 224 Decapitation, by H e r r m a n n , . . . . . 227 T h e Indian Mail. (Illustrated.) . . . . 230 Modern Black Art. (Illustrated.) . . . .234 T h e E s c a p e F r o m S i n g Sing, . . . . . 243 T h e E n c h a n t e d O r g a n ; or t h e U n e x p e c t e d S u p p e r . (Illustrated.) 245 T h e M y s t e r y of " S h e , " 249 Modern Metempsychosis. (Illustrated.) . . . 250 T h e G r e a t F l i g h t of O b j e c t s 256 T h e Cocoon. (Illustrated.) 261 Silent T h o u g h t Transmission 264 A C o m e d y of E r r o r s 292

34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

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T h e L a s t P r o g r a m of H e r r m a n n t h e G r e a t in C h i c a g o , J a n u a r y 15, 1896.


PREFACE Having devoted a number of years to the inventing, manufacturing and sale of many of the most popular magical apparatus made in this country, I now present to the reader, biographies of the two great conjurers known to the world under the names of Carl and Alexander Herrmann, both equally famous in their specialties. The main portion of the book is devoted to clear, compact and illustrated descriptions of the best tricks performed by the two Herrmanns, whom I unite under the appellation of Herrmann the Magician, and by other celebrated per formers, such as Cazeneuve, Kellar, Vanek, Heller, Samuels, Robert-Houdin, etc. I call the attention of the reader to the fact that several of the tricks herein described are easily executed in a private parlor, without cumbersome apparatus, thus affording a pleasant pastime for the home circle. The book contains, also, a number of most curious revelations concerning famous stage tricks that have been pussling the whole world. THE AUTHOR.



HERRMANN THE MAGICIAN INTRODUCTION Psychology of the Art of Conjuring [By Dr, Max Dessoir, with special reference to the feats of mediums, by H. J. Burlingame.]

I still remember how I felt when I saw the first magical performance.

As soon as the doors were opened

I took my seat and waited a full hour for the moment when the curtain would rise in front of this world of wonders. And when the performance began, when eggs changed to dollars, dollars to pocket-handkerchiefs, when bird cages disappeared in the air, and empty boxes held numerous presents, I felt as if I was living in a land of dreams, far away from the earth. Now books without number, from the cheap "sell" of a ten cent pamphlet to a finely bound and fully illustrated edition, offer to initiate you into the mysteries


Copy of the Last PROGRAM OF HERRMANN THE GREAT At the Columbia Theatre, Chicago, for the Week Beginning January 15,1896.

PART I—A

Thirty Minutes with THE INIMITABLE HERRMANN

All Nature's laws set aside. Laughter born of bewilderment and marvel. INTERMISSION—One Minute Only. PART I—B.

Herrmann's New Hypnotic Wonder, TRILBY. By kind permission of Messrs. A. M. Palmer and Paul M. Potter. TRILBY,

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SVENGALI

Madame

Herrmann

Herrmann, T h e Great INTERMISSION.

PART II.

Herrmann's Original Oriental Sensation, THE ASIATIC TRUNK MYSTERY.

PART I I I .

INTERMISSION.

H e r r m a n n ' s Magic Comedy—A sketch taken from life, entitled, T H E ARTIST'S DREAM. CHARACTERS. Annette, t h e Artist's Sweetheart, . Barney, a Servant Artist, . . Mephisto, P A R T IV.

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. . Florine W m . E . Robinson Mme. Herrmann Herrmann, The Great

INTERMISSION.

Mme. Herrmann in her beautiful, bewildering, spectacular dance creations: a—La Nuit; b—Fleur de Lys. PART V—Final.

INTERMISSION.

HERRMANN WITH A BOUQUET OF MYSTIC NOVELTIES. "The closer you watch the less you see."


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