Politics, Magic and a Wooden Chest

Imagine for a moment that President Barack Obama decides the only way to solve the crisis in Afghanistan is to send David Copperfield there to put on a show and demonstrate that American Magic is stronger than anything the Taliban have to offer. Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? Especially given the political climate today with the NSA, IRS, and Secret Service prostitution scandal and all the other various scandals. Frivolous spending is being scrutinized by politicians and the public alike.

But in 1856, this is essentially what happened. Not with the US, but with France. The French Government called upon recently retired magician, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, to travel to the country of Algeria. The government of France was trying to prevent a conflict between themselves and a religious sect called the Marabouts. These Marabouts were thought of as wonder workers and were trying to influence the local Arab tribes to break from France. So the French Government thought, 'why not send Robert-Houdin down there and show them that our magic is far superior to anything the marabouts have to offer'.

Again, think about that. Imagine this conversation, "Hey Penn & Teller, would you mind going to Syria and doing your Bullet Catch to help calm the hostilities there?"  That is basically what Robert-Houdin was asked to do. Crazy, wild, wacky? Yes, but read on...

Don't think that Robert-Houdin only met with the Marabouts either. He went straight to the theatre and put on his show! All the typical magic that he was famous for, but with one unusual addition. He walked to the front of the stage and made the bold claim that he would remove the strength from any warrior present. He asked for a volunteer and he quickly got a male from the audience. Robert-Houdin requested the young man to lift a small wooden chest that was on the floor. With very little effort, the Algerian man raised the wooden box off the ground.

Now, Robert-Houdin proclaimed he would rob the man of his strength. He asked the man to once again lift the box. But this time, the man struggles, he even falls to his knees and screams out. Then he let go of the wooden box and runs off the stage and out the theatre. I can just imagine the pandemonium that must have broke out following this. Needless to say, 'Conflict Averted'.

A wonderful story. Somewhat hard to believe but apparently true. If it happened today, the media would be having a field day with this, and not in a good way. But in 1856, it was a huge victory for the French Govt. Robert-Houdin was a hero, but rather than bask in his celebrity, he returned to retirement to work on scientific inventions and experiments with electricity.

Amazingly, the wooden box, which Robert-Houdin called his "Light & Heavy Chest" still survives. Today it is in the collection of Ken Klosterman and his Salon De Magie. It is a remarkable piece of history and unbelievably it still works today. Though I believe that Ken had it refurbished and tweaked the method slightly. But the fact that it remains is incredible. The "Light & Heavy Chest" has made appearances on a number of TV Specials about Magic History and appeared at more than a couple magic conventions as well. It's basically one of those pieces that has become legendary. Below is a photo of the wonderfully preserved Robert-Houdin Light & Heavy Chest. I would imagine it's the crown jewel in Ken's collection and he knows all about the history of the chest and who owned it after Robert-Houdin and he loves to share the tale of how it arrived in the Salon De Magie!

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Ken Klosterman is writing a monthly column in M-U-M Magazine (which you get as a member of the Society of American Magicians). He'll be featuring different pieces from his extensive collection. Please check it out because it is sure to be great.

New Houdini Family Photos Discovered

I never know what exciting things the day is going to bring. Today was an exceptional surprise. This morning I received an email from one of my readers about a discovery he made of some Houdini Glass Plate Negatives. He had one of Houdini smiling which is pictured above. He purchased these about a year ago at a flea-market!

But it's the second image that is the incredible one. He believes that the image below is of Cecilia Weiss. Jeff from JB Auction House, who is the finder of the plates, pointed out that the photos we have of Cecelia are mostly from 1900-1908. However, Cecilia died five years later, so it's possible this is her. (SEE UPDATES BELOW)

The Mystery Photo

I'm also posting this image of Cecilia with some of her known photos so you can compare for yourselves. Now, if it is NOT Cecilia, then my best guess is it is Hannah Steiner, Cecilia's mother, who was Houdini's Grandmother and is buried in the Houdini plot in NY. This yellowish photo (at the very bottom) shows Hannah on the far left, Rose Steiner and a young Cecilia Steiner.

A big thank you to Jeff for allowing me to post these images. Now folks, PLEASE comment below. Let us know if you think this picture is indeed an older Cecilia or perhaps Hannah.

UPDATE: Leave it to John Cox. He pointed out that there was a photo taken after 1908, this one was 1913 as Houdini was leaving for Europe. The last known photo of Cecilia Weiss and it is not the woman pictured above. However, I still believe this is a relative, probably Hannah. Your thoughts?
UPDATE 2: It looks like folks are leaning towards Hannah Steiner, which to me is still incredible.

 

Hannah, Rose and Cecilia Steiner

1913 image of Cecilia Weiss

FuManchu Floating Ball

I love museums, I love collections of historical items and frankly anything to do with history. Though I have a small collection of my own made up of posters, programs, magic props and one large illusion owned by Harry Blackstone Jr., it's not enough to satisfy my craving for history.

So I seek out other collectors and have been fortunate enough to view a number of really wonderful collections. Every collection is impressive to me. I remember years ago Richard Kaufman showed me his collection of magic sets. It was just so cool to see so many wonderful examples of magic sets from all over the world. Ken Trombly invited me over to see his poster collection a couple years ago and that was truly amazing.

But the one collection that has really stood out above all others for it's magnitude of incredible pieces has been Ken Klosterman's collection. He calls the area he displays the collection the Salon De Magie.
It's awesome beyond words. But I'm not sure how many folks know that there is a second location, kind of an annex with some equally cool items.

There is one item in that collection that really caught my eye. It's a prop that was once owned by David Bamberg. The item is the Fu Manchu Floating Ball. I am sure the ball itself was made by David's father Theo Bamberg. The ball is inside of a plexiglass box which was used during the presentation of the illusion.

The plexiglass box is designed to have the lid open on it's own, as if by magic. The floating ball is often attributed to Okito (Theo Bamberg) but apparently, Theo learned the effect from David Abbott. Today, Teller presents a version of the Abbott Ball effect in the Penn and Teller show in Las Vegas.

By the way, Ken Klosterman is now writing a monthly column in MUM Magazine which features a different item from his collection each month. I'm sure he'll also share with the readers the way he obtained the various items and from whom.