De Rossi, Giuseppe | Losing one's head

De Rossi, Giuseppe

A Un Vivo Castrato… Bologna: Tipografia Camerale, 1816

Broadside, two sheets joined (overall: 770 x 528). Decoratively bordered, printed in Italian; a few stray spots, minor browning to old folds. Matted, framed, and glazed; not examined out of frame. 

"Giuseppe De Rossi, a magician from Bologna, ended his run in an unspecified Italian city by decapitating 'Un Vivo Castrato.' In graphic detail, his playbill of July 21, 1816, explained the procedure: [']The Professor will have a live steer brought up to the front part of the stage and while holding a sharp blade he will sever its head and will put it on top of a small table. After having moved away from the severed head he intends—in the twinkling of an eye at the order of anyone who will want to give him the honor—to make sure that the head will disappear from above the table and go to join again the body which will be situated in another area of the stage. In this fashion, the castrated steer, while instantly coming back to life, will be able to stand up again, moo and walk, so that everyone satisfied both with their own eyes and the touch of their own hands will be able without fail to decide that this is one of the most surprising acts of White Magic that De Rossi can do[']" (Jay 72).

REFERENCE:

EE, p. 72-3