Robert-Houdin, Jean-Eugène | Flânerie and feet in February

Robert-Houdin, Jean-Eugène

Autograph letter signed

Autograph letter signed ("Robert-Houdin"), 2 1/3 page bifolium (203 x 140 mm), to an unnamed recipient ("Mon cher Maître"), [Paris], 22 February 1859

The celebrated magician recounts two silly or humorous incidents he witnessed while strolling down the Boulevard de Strassbourg. In the first, a fortune teller whom Robert-Houdin calls "un grand Cophte" has set up shop opposite the Eldorado Café to hawk his elixir that purports to cure corns, plantar warts, and the like. Robert-Houdin jokingly wonders how this august seer could be so reduced in circumstances as to stoop to such an "extremity" as to sell a foot potion.

In the second, a performer is singing a song about feet when an onlooker heckles him by whistling. Another person asks: "Why do you whistle?" The heckler replies in a strong Auvergnat accent: "Why? I find it funny of you to ask. Is it proper to speak of feet in public?"

Robert-Houdin is often credited as being "the father of modern magic." Before him, magicians performed in marketplaces and at fairs for the common public, but Robert-Houdin performed for wealthier patrons in theaters and private salons. He also presented his act in formal dress, a tradition continued by many magicians today who wear tailcoats. After reading Robert-Houdin's autobiography in 1890, the illusionist and escape artist Erik Weisz adopted the stage name "Harry Houdini," in homage to the great French conjuror.