New volumes of the Encyclopædia Britannica > Volume 30, K-MOR

MAGIC
was obviously impossible. Yet from within it human
beings emerged in a most startling manner. The secret
consisted in the fact that the “needle” was capable of
being lifted by invisible means, and from the outset
contained two or three persons concealed within it. Not¬
withstanding the fact that this illusion was one of Mr
Maskelyne’s simplest devices, it puzzled even experts for a
considerable time. When at last the secret leaked out,
the principle was seized upon with avidity and utilized
in a variety of ways—for example, by M. Buatier de Kolta
in his beautiful illusion, “ The Cocoon,” first produced at
the Egyptian Hall, London, in 1887. In this case de
Kolta had the advantage of Mr Maskelyne’s assistance in
perfecting the mechanical details. De Kolta’s smaller
tricks have for years supplied the whole army of ordinary
conjurers with novelties. In 1886, at the Eden Theatre,
Paris, he introduced his famous illusion known as “ The
Vanishing Lady.” This mystery, performed as he alone
could perform it, was one of the most effective tricks ever
exhibited. Hundreds of “imitations” were, of course,
produced ; but, like the imitations of Mr Maskelyne’s box,
they sink into insignificance when compared with the
original; and in this case, unfortunately for the
originator, the reputation of the original was speedily
ruined by clumsy exponents, who only succeeded in
exposing the principle. The effect produced by de Kolta
was as follows :—Taking from his pocket what appeared
to be an ordinary newspaper, folded, he opened it out
and laid it upon the stage. Then a chair was shown,
front and back, to the audience, and placed upon the
paper. Madame de Kolta, in ordinary evening dress,
then took her seat upon the chair, and a large piece of
black silk was thrown over her, enveloping her from head
to foot. Then de Kolta would shout, “ I’ll throw you in
the air! ”—or words to that effect—and to all appear¬
ance he grasped her round the waist, lifted her above his
head, and she vanished, covering and all, at his finger-tips.
The trick, as performed by imitators, is well known, and
is described in many works upon conjuring, e.y., in
Hoffman’s Magic.
Among the illusions depending for their effect upon
sudden disappearance, perhaps the most inexplicable was
that produced by Mr Maskelyne in 1891 under the appro¬
priate title of “ Oh ! ”—that being an expression frequently
used by spectators upon witnessing the startling effect.
In the illusion the performer whose disappearance was
to be effected seated himself upon a raised couch, above
which a kind of canopy was supported upon brass rods.
From the canopy depended curtains capable of being
raised or lowered. The right hand of the performer was
strapped to one end of this couch, and the left hand was
secured by means of a strap attached to one end of a
stout cord. The other end of the cord, having been passed
through a hole in the framework of the canopy, was
securely held by a member of the audience. The curtains
were then lowered to within 18 inches of the ground, and
through an aperture in the front curtain the performer’s
right hand was passed. This hand, again, was held by a
second member of the audience. Finally, a sheet of iron
was placed beneath the couch, to prevent any possibility
of the performer’s escape being effected through a trap in
the stage. Thus, with the performer’s right hand in full
view, his left drawn upwards by the cord attached to it,
und a clear space below the couch, escape seemed impos¬
sible ; yet, upon the word “ Go ! ” the right hand disap¬
peared, the cord became slack in the hands of the holder,
t e curtains were instantly raised, and the performer had
vanished. The secret of this mystery, like many others
associated with the Egyptian Hall, has been well pre¬
served. Having a theatre to himself, and being sur-
427
rounded by trusty assistants, Mr Maskelyne possesses a
great advantage. Those of his confreres who are obliged
to perform at variety theatres and elsewhere must neces¬
sarily expose their secrets to stage hands. But, apart
from this fact, some of Mr Maskelyne’s effects are so
elaborate in their mechanism that many weeks are occupied
in making the stage arrangements. Such effects therefore
would be quite impracticable for the purposes of the peri¬
patetic illusionist.
In 1886 M. Buatier de Kolta, in conjunction with
Mr Maskelyne, presented at the Egyptian Hall, London,
a series of illusionary effects upon an entirely novel
principle, to which they gave the name of “Black Magic.”
The main idea was based upon the fact—obvious when
once it is pointed out—that visible form cannot exist in
the absence of shadow or varying tint. In other words,
we can only distinguish forms when they exhibit either
variations in colour or shade. Absolute uniformity must,
necessarily, mean invisibility. To bring about this uni¬
formity, the entire stage was draped in black velvet,
giving it the appearance of a dark and immensely deep
cavern. There were no lights within it, though from the
front it was brilliantly illuminated. Upon the stage, thus
prepared, the most startling appearances and disappear¬
ances took place, within a few feet of the footlights. The
illusions were produced by the simple method of covering
anything to be concealed by screens of black velvet.
These could be brought almost to the front of the stage,
and yet would remain invisible; thus, in an instant,
persons or articles would appear, apparently from space, or
would disappear into it. The principle involved in the
production of these illusions was adopted subsequently
by many conjurers, and has served to produce an almost
endless variety of effects.
The production of innumerable blossoms from a sheet of
paper was undoubtedly the prettiest of M. Buatier de
Kolta’s smaller tricks. A small sheet of cartridge-paper
is twisted into a cone, which is shown to be empty, but
immediately artificial blossoms begin to pour out of it,
until quite a bushel of them are piled up. Unfortunately
for the inventor, the first time he introduced the trick at
the Eden Theatre, Paris, one or two of the “ blossoms ”
were carried by a draught of air into the auditorium.
These were at once sold to a manufacturer of conjuring
appliances, and within a few days de Kolta’s “Spring
Blossoms ” were upon the market.
Another startling trick, by the same inventor, is “The
Flying Cage.” A live bird is imprisoned within a small
cage, held between the performer’s hands, when suddenly,
by a quick movement of the arms, both bird and cage
vanish. The cage simply collapses, and is drawn by a
string up the coat-sleeve, the unfortunate bird being
sometimes maimed, if not killed outright. The Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals once took action
in the matter, and sought to prevent the performance
of the trick at one of the London music-halls; but the
conjurer in this case invited the officials to witness a
private dernonstration, and was clever enough to convince
them that there was no cruelty. Conjuring with animals
has a great charm for young folk, and happily it is very
seldom that a trick involves any cruelty whatever. The
animals, as a rule, quickly become accustomed to the
business, and appear thoroughly to understand what is
required of them.
In recent years the mystery known as “ Second Sight ”
has been vastly improved. The old system, invented by
Pinetti in 1785, and brought to great perfection by Bobert
Houdin, has almost disappeared. It consisted of an
elaborate code of signals, given by means of subtle varia¬
tions in the questions put to the supposed clairvoyant;