The record-union., 1897-10-03
BLACK ART EXPOSED.
ILLUSIONS PERFORMED RY
FAMOUS MAGICIANS.
Europeans Have Elaborated and
Perfected the Tricks of
the Hindoos.

the HindOos.
Where do all the wonderful tricks
and illusions which are performed by
magicians come from? Whose fertile
brains originate them? William B.
Caulk, in an interesting illustrated ar
ticle, published in the Scientific Amer
iCan," shows that these light fingered
gentry are indebted for many Of their
best ideas and illusions to the yogis and
Mahatmas of India. Much which has
been said and written of these interest
ing people has the touch of exaggera-
ton, but there is no shadow of doubt
that they are past masters of the black
art, and that they conceived and were
first to perform many of the tricks
from which our modernsma gicians have
founded some of the most startling illu-
sions shown on the stage of to-day.
Take, for instance, the illusion known
as BLACK art" or the midnight mys-
teries of the yogis," made famous in
this country by those master minds of
magic, Harry Kellar and the late Alex
ander Hermann. The weird illusion
is founded on an idea advanced by the
yogis of India
In this illusion the entire stage, from
the first groove to the rear, is hung
with black velvet, the floor covered
with black felt, and the top is covered
with black velvet, thus forming a large
room lined entirely in black The reg
ular fOotlights are turned out and
special set are used, that consist of a
row Of open gas jets placed on a line
with the boxes and carried up the out
side of the black room
The lights throughout the entire
house are either turned very low or put
out, with the exception of the special
lights mentioned above
The curtain rises, disclosing the black
chamber. In a moment the magician
appears, dressed in a white suit; a wave
of his hand, and white wand appears
floating in the air, which the magician
secures. A wave of the wand, and
table appears on the right, then a sec
ond table appears on the left A large
vase appears on one of the tables and a
second vase appears on the magician's
outstreched hand. Both OF the vases
y
one is placed a few orange seeds. and
the wand is passed over the vase, which
instantly becomes filled with oranges.
The oranges are poured into the second,
then returned to the first vase, when
they disappear as quickly and mys-
teriously as they appeared and the
vases are again showed empty and
again placed one on each of the tables.
A borrowed watch is placed in one of
the vases, from which it disappears and
is found in the vase on the other table.
\ life-size sketch now appears ana
iances around the stage, becomes dis
membered, the separated parts floating
about, but they finally rearticulate
themselves, and the skeleton vanishes.
Now a rabbit is seen in one of the
vases, from which it is taken by the
performer, and in his hands it becomes
two, which are tossed in the air and
disappear.
The number and styles of tricks per-
formed in the mysterious black cham
Der are almost unlimited, but an expIa~
nation of the ones mentioned above will
suffice to show how BLACK art is per-
formed
While the stage is draped in black,
everything that appears is painted
white, and the magician is dressed in
white. There is an assistant on the
stage all through the act, but as he is
dressed in black, with gloves on his
hands and hood over his head made of
black velvet, he is not seen by the
spectators, whose sight is somewhat
dazzled by the open gas jets. The tables
are on the stage. but covered with
pieces of black velvet, rendering them
invisible.
The assistant deftly removes the vel
vet and causes a table to appear at
the magician's command.
The vases are also sitting on the
stage, but covered with pieces of black
velvet By picking up the covered
vases the assistant can cause them to
appear, by removing the velvet, one on
the table and the other on the perform
er's hand. The oranges are in a black
velvet bag, from which the assistant
pours them into the vase. To cause the
oranges to vanish, the magician, in
stead of pouring them into the vase,
pours them into the open mouth of g.
large black bag held by the assistant
just over the lower vase. The transpo-
sition of the watch from one vase to
the other is just as easy. The assist
ant merely removes it from the vase
in which the performer placed it, and
places it in the second vase. The ma
nipulation of the rabbit is equally sim
pie. The assistant places the first one
in the vase by means of black bag
in which it was concealed, then places
the second one in the performers hands
from second black bag. In vanishing
the rabbits the performer merely tosses
them into a large open -mouthed black
bag held by the assistant
The skeleton is made of papier mache,
mEE arrsssa xz2.zzE I'm szzszznx In