Harry Houdin: The Great Polynational Mimic
Publisher: Interval Magic
Published: September 2012
Place of publication: San Diego, USA
Format: E-book
Description: Introducing Harry Houdin—one of the most versatile performers you've never heard of. Born decades before the great Harry Houdini, he claimed to be the nephew of Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, the famous French conjurer of the 19th century. Houdin, who billed himself as "The Great Polynational Mimic," toured Australia and New Zealand between 1860 and 1863 with a one-man act featuring drawing-room magic and international impersonations done to song and dance. Harry Houdin: "The Great Polynational Mimic" is the first formal work of research written about this virtually unknown, albeit colorful, entertainer.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Drawing-Room Magic; title: The "Celebrated Gun Trick"; title: Musical Mimicry; title: Dance Challenges; title: Life, Interrupted; title: Retirement from Show Business; title: A "Confirmed Lunatic"; title: Death of a "Successful Mimic"; title: Dignam Dug Up; title: Other "Polynational" Entertainers; title: Conclusion; title: Houdin's Tour Chronology; title: Credits; title: Notes; title: About the Author