The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-06-16
: MaGICIANS TRICKS.
MAKE BELIEVE MIRACLES PERFORM
80 eY MODERN MoRTALs.

80 ey MODERN MoRTALs.
The Mystif,inc Inventions 81 DC ko''a'
"orientai o,caitlsm" Easily Explained
The BLACK Art" l. Very simple When
You Know How.
Magic art has undergone many remark
able transformations since Robert Hou-
din. tho father Of all modern magic, lived
in Paris half a century ago. Perhaps no
ono could compare with him in celebrity.
excepting the original Hermann, who
died 40 Carlsbad a couple Of years ago
and from WHOM, the Hermann who at
present perambulatcs America took his
namc and learned what nc knows. The
present Hermann was known rs Neu-
man, and was an assistant 10 his greater
prototype. llc was always remarkable
for one thing. and that L. his very great
dcxtcrity in slcight OF hand tricks To
DAY there is nobody that can compare
with him i'm this line OF work, what ~
known IA palming I'm fact anything
that can be done with the hands alone
excepting a deaf mute who travels
through the cheaper museums, and who
is said to have csen far gr sater ability in
this line, but without the gift Of express
ing himself.
THE FLYING BIRD CAGE.
Hermann, however. has never been
Am inventor. lie finds his tricks ready
mado for him abroad and buys their Sc
crct "A a result no is compelled to
travel around with a vast paraphernalia
tl,at the old magicians would have looked
upon with great contempt. In fact, the
tendency Of modern magic has been the
elaboration Of tho cumbersome, and
Hermann needs a whole roomful Of fur
niure 10 carry out ono Of his Illusions.
Tho brightest mind in magic at the
present day is a prcstidigitateur named
DE Kolta. lie holds forth in Paris, and.
being almost a gentleman of leisure, only
appears about three nights a week. lie
has made all the most important Of mod
ern inventions in magic. The one that
brought him first into prominence in the
line OF invention was the flying bird
cage. which is now 50 familiar that II
can be bought in magic stores for few
dollars, but it made great sensation at
the time. Kellar was the first to buy II
from DO Kolta, and took tho trick TO
Australia, where he made some S@O,OOO
out of IT, He only paid $500.
Two or three seasons ago in New York
The Vanishing Lady was accepted as
very remarkable novelty. This was also
an invention OF De Kolta's. During the
. past year another Of his inventions, the
Cocoon, has been given in New York
both by Kellar and by Hermann.
But the one that is now most familiar
and surprising De Kolta first brought out
two years ago. We have seen 1t with
Hermann under the name Of Black Art,
and with Kellar under the name Of Orr
entail Occultsm. Tho trick is precisely
the same with them both, and is merely
am illusion of blackness. The whole
stage il draped in the blacklist Of black;
the magician, be it kellar or Hermann,
Is completely robed in white, 50 that he
stands out clearly in the gloom surround
ing him. Then he orders various objects
10 appear, cup, a sword, table, a
chair.
MAGIC IS WANING.
These things seem 10 suddenly start
into being, and yet the device is of the
simplest. The objects in question are
concealed behind black cloth until the
order for them to appear is suddenly
given. Tho cloth concealing them Is
dropped, and they seem to have come
out of chaos. In the same manner Mrs.
Hermann OF Mrs. Kellar stands on the
stage drapcd in white, but holding up q
black cloth between herself and the au-
dience. At the word OF tho magician she
drops the cloth and stands revealed. Tie
the uninitiated the trick is most puzzling.
il is the same way that the head de
tached from the trunk appears TO DO car.
ricd around the stage. The illusion Is
that tho trunk is closed in black, and
standing against the blackness Of the
scene. cannot be distinguished; the head
being white, alone appears. This is per.
laps tho clcverest Of all Do kolta's in.
MENTIONS.
OF mechanical tricks Maskelyne, OF
London, and kellar are tho most noted
inventors. Psyche, or the hand that taps
ON glass table in response to the ma
gician's command, is an invention OF
Kellar, and is simply a piece of very deli
cate and intricate machinery. 1t is very
similar TO tho Clio of Maskelyne, and
both have a family resemblance TO kel'
lars chess board, originally invented by
Msskelyne. Magicians generally give
the palm to kellar for all tricksof q
mathematical kind He has marvel
Ously quick mind in this respect, and
tho most abstruse problems he can solve
il a few seconds--apparently, OF course
allowing it to be done by some mechani
cal figure.
Whether all this comes within the ex-
act domain of magic does not so much
matter rs that such tricks are now &c
ccpted in magical entertainments and
vastly moro enjoyed than the old pistol,
card and rabbit tricks to which some
magicians still adhere-trickst that neces
state the use Of a confederate, and
which are, therefore, OF little account
and at which even locals laugh.
The future of magic is hard to fore
tell, Everything in the Straightforward
way has become familiar, and outside Of
Do kolta there is no invento any
thing new. The result is that recent
prcstidigitateurs. such as Hermann, ar,
compelled TO add to their own some sort
Of variety entertainment to fill out Tho
evening. Even kellar had to SO back to
The old Indian basket trick for novelty
New York Journal