The Beginning & Maybe The End of Rabbits From Hats

Comte

The rabbit and hat trick. Old as recorded magic history some might think. But actually not quite so old. The first recorded event of rabbits magically appearing did not in fact come from a hat, but rather from a woman giving birth to them. The woman's name was Mary Toft and she was from Surrey England. She apparently gave birth to numerous rabbits over a short period of time. News of this event caused quite an uproar and soon an investigation took place. Eventually, Mary Toft would admit the entire thing was a hoax. Too bad. I do not see a real connection to conjuring however, even though Barry & Stuart used this incident as an idea for their 'rabbit from hat' routine. There is a video of B&S doing their rabbit routine but I'm not going to post a link because it's graphic (not meant for younger eyes).

The first magician to pull a rabbit from a top hat might have been Louis Apollinaire Christian Emmanuel Comte, known as 'The Kings Conjurer'. Born June 22, 1788 in Geneva Switzerland, Comte became a popular Parisian performer. One of his more famous effects was borrowing a hat and producing various objects from it.  I have found several places that list Comte as the first to present the rabbit from top hat effect, but I don't can't seem to find where the original source information came from.

John Henry Anderson

Milbourne Christopher in his book The Illustrated History of Magic says the rabbit from hat trick originated in the 1830s, but does not give the name of the first person to present the effect. 1830 was the height of Comte's career so perhaps he was the one.

But Christopher does give a great deal of credit to John Henry Anderson, the Great Wizard of the North, for popularizing the trick. John Henry Anderson was born in 1814 in  Scotland. I had always heard that Anderson was the first to do the rabbit from top hat, but if it began in 1830, it would have been before J.H. Anderson's career started. There are numerous posters and woodcut illustrations of Anderson not only pulling a single rabbit from a hat, but numerous rabbits from a top hat.

The top hat itself seems to have originated in Europe sometime in the late 1700s. Given the size and shape of the hat it was an ideal object for a magician to borrow and make things appear from. Even into the 20th Century magicians were still using a borrowed hat for productions and even for the Misers Dream effect.

Magicians today have shifted from the top hat to other ways of producing rabbits but unfortunately, those days may be coming to an end. The long arm of the US Federal Govt has decided that magicians and rabbits need governmental supervision. They now require magicians to have a liscense to use a rabbit in their show and apparently, magicians must also provide the USDA with a detailed disaster plan for protecting the rabbit in case of dangerous weather. This news came about from magician Marty Hahne of Missouri who has been all over the news of late with his story of the USDA Rabbit Police. No offense to rabbits, but I don't even have a written disaster plan for myself! I guess this means every undocumented rabbit puller is now an outlaw. Fantastic (not)! For the record, I've never pulled/removed/extracted/picked up or lifted a rabbit out of a hat. I don't own a rabbit, so nothing to see here, move along! I have recently purchased a top hat as strange as that is for me to admit, but upon last check, it was rabbit free!

The Grave of Compars Herrmann

photo courtesy Heinz König

I received the quite the surprise in my email today from Heinz König who found and photographed the grave of Compars Herrmann. I had a photo from the Sphinx magazine which showed the grave and location but now we have a full color image of what the grave site looks like today. Some of the decorative metal work is missing, and the names have been painted in with gold leaf recently. So I assume that there are repairs going on. Actually, if I'm not mistaken, Magic Christian was working to get the grave of Compars Herrmann repaired, so perhaps we are seeing the grave in transition. It does appear that the top of the structure is missing. There was a marble piece at the top in the shape of an urn or vase.

Also buried in this cemetery are fellow magicians Johann Hofzinser and Kratky Bashik.

Compars Herrmann -Born Jan 23, 1816 Died June 8, 1887

Wiener Zentralfriedhof (Vienna Central Cemetery)

: XI. Simmeringer Hauptstrasse 234, Vienna Austria

Section: T1 Group: 6 Row: 29 Grave: 38

 photo courtesy Heinz König

Deceptive Practice /Documentary - Review

I was very fortunate to see the new documentary about the life and mentors of Ricky Jay. I have a lot of admiration for Ricky Jay so I was looking forward to this documentary. The full title is Deceptive Practice The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay. The documentary is just as much about the history of magic as it is about Ricky. There is archival footage of Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, Al Flosso, Tony Slydini, Cardini, Francis Carlyle and more. Portions are narrated by Dick Cavett, long time magic enthusiast and former talk show host. But mostly we hear Ricky telling his own story.

I thought it was very well done. It was interesting watching the movie as a magic insider and also enjoying the reactions of those in the viewing audience who were witnessing much of this magic for the first time. There were bouts of laughter as Slydini presented his Paper Balls O.T.H. routine (from the Dick Cavett Show). And gasps during some of Ricky Jays demonstrations that were caught on film from this stage show Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants. Oh, and Dai Vernon steals the show several times sharing stories which are quite hilarious and told as only Vernon could tell them.

You'll also get to see a very young Ricky doing magic as he apparently began performing at a very young age. He even took lessons from Slydini and wore one of those incredible costumes that were hand made my Tony. In fact, you see a pretty decent progression from young Ricky Potash to a young long haired Ricky Jay. He mentions his first TV appearance was on the Tonight Show but they did not show that footage. They do however show footage of Ricky from The Alan Thicke Show, DINAH, Mike Douglas, the HBO Special and numerous other TV spots.

You also gain some insight on Ricky through interviews with Michael Weber, who is a friend and business associate of Ricky's. And you get to hear from Ricky's Manager and also from his long time film and stage collaborator David Mamet. One of my favorite stories from the documentary comes from a reporter with the Guardian Newspaper who shared a story of going to lunch with Ricky and having such a profoundly magical experience that it caused her to cry. I don't want to tell you what she said, but for those of us who do magic, pay attention. She tries her best to explain why she was moved so much by the experience. It's worth taking the time to contemplate everything she says because she expresses well, something we often take for granted.

All in all, it was an enjoyable journey through magic history and the life of Ricky Jay. You can see how Ricky is a direct link to magic's past. He learned from Vernon, Charlie Miller and others and even saw Cardini live. Performers who are legends today were personal friends of Ricky Jay. The documentary treats magic respectfully and as a serious performing artform. Do yourself a favor and go see it if it's playing anywhere near you, you'll be glad you did.

It's playing in Washington D.C. at the E St Theatre from now until July 4th. The website lists other locations across the country where it is playing.
http://www.rickyjaymovie.com/
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