



Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Libraries and the
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[Illustration: Harry Houdini]

_Frontispiece_]




                             THE UNMASKING

                                  _OF_

                             ROBERT-HOUDIN

                                  _BY_

                             HARRY HOUDINI

                             [Illustration]

                               _NEW YORK_

                     _THE PUBLISHERS PRINTING CO._

                                 _1908_

                           _Copyright, 1906_
                           _Copyright, 1907_
                           _Copyright, 1908_

                           _By HARRY HOUDINI_

             _Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, England_
                         _All rights reserved_

               Composition, Electrotyping and Printing by
                    The Publishers Printing Company
                         New York, N.Y., U.S.A.




                               Dedication


        _This Book is affectionately dedicated to the memory of
                               my father,
                    Rev. M. S. Weiss, Ph.D., LL.D.,
      who instilled in me love of study and patience in research_




CONTENTS


                                                                    PAGE

INTRODUCTION,                                                          7

CHAPTER

   I. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF ROBERT-HOUDIN,                33

  II. THE ORANGE-TREE TRICK,                                          51

 III. THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE,                                 83

  IV. THE PASTRY COOK OF THE PALAIS ROYAL,                           116

   V. THE OBEDIENT CARDS--THE CABALISTIC CLOCK--THE
          TRAPEZE AUTOMATON,                                         141

  VI. THE INEXHAUSTIBLE BOTTLE,                                      176

 VII. SECOND SIGHT,                                                  200

VIII. THE SUSPENSION TRICK,                                          222

  IX. THE DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF,                                 245

   X. ROBERT-HOUDIN'S IGNORANCE OF MAGIC AS BETRAYED
          BY HIS OWN PEN,                                            264

  XI. THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S "MEMOIRS,"                   295




INTRODUCTION


This book is the natural result of the moulding, dominating influence
which the spirit and writings of Robert-Houdin have exerted over my
professional career. My interest in conjuring and magic and my
enthusiasm for Robert-Houdin came into existence simultaneously. From
the moment that I began to study the art, he became my guide and hero. I
accepted his writings as my text-book and my gospel. What Blackstone is
to the struggling lawyer, Hardee's "Tactics" to the would-be officer, or
Bismarck's life and writings to the coming statesman, Robert-Houdin's
books were to me.

To my unsophisticated mind, his "Memoirs" gave to the profession a
dignity worth attaining at the cost of earnest, life-long effort. When
it became necessary for me to take a stage-name, and a fellow-player,
possessing a veneer of culture, told me that if I would add the letter
"i" to Houdin's name, it would mean, in the French language, "like
Houdin," I adopted the suggestion with enthusiasm. I asked nothing more
of life