Conjuring Science
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Conjuring Science A History of Scientific Entertainment and Stage Magic in Modern France Sofie Lachapelle Palgrave macmillan
CONJURING SCIENCE Copyright Sofie Lachapelle, 2015. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-49768-0 All rights reserved. First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-55691-5 ISBN 978-1-137-49297-5 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137492975 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lachapelle, Sofie. Conjuring science : a history of scientific entertainment and stage magic in modern France / Sofie Lachapelle. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. 1. Magic shows France History. 2. Magic tricks France History. 3. Magicians France History. 4. Science France History. 5. Amusements France History. 6. Performing arts France History. 7. Entertainment events France History. I. Title. GV1543.3.F7L33 2015 793.80944 dc23 2015014578 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
À Ariane
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Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments i x x i I nt ro duc t ion 1 1. S c ie nc e Me e t s M a g ic on St a g e 11 2. A mu si n g a nd Pl ay f u l S c ie nc e at Home 37 3. C on f ront i n g G ho s t s, Me d iu m s, a nd Fa k i r s 59 4. Confidence Men, Psychologists, and the Secrets of Professional Illusion-Makers 89 5. M a g ic a s Sp e c i a l E f f e c t s 10 9 C onc lu sion 129 Notes 137 Bibliography 175 Index 195
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Figures 1.1 Portrait of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin 20 1. 2 T he or a n g e t re e 2 2 1.3 Th éâ tre Robert-Houdin 2 8 1.4 Cabinet fantastique 33 3.1 Th éâ tre Robert-Houdin 6 4 3. 2 Place de la f ê te 65 3.3 Th éâ tre Robert-Houdin 70 3.4 Eden-Th éâ tre 73 3.5 Th éâ tre Robert-Houdin 74 5.1 Th éâ tre Robert-Houdin 112 C.1 The statue of Jean-Eug è ne Robert-Houdin 134 C.2 Details of the plaque below the statue of Jean-Eug è ne R ob e r t-houd i n 135
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Acknowledgments The idea for this book emerged in the summer of 2006. I was in Paris to gather material for a research project and decided to take a few hours off to visit the Mus é e de la Magie on rue Saint-Paul. I remember being intrigued by the professors of amusing physics featured on nineteenth-century magic show posters. Why did conjurers declare themselves professors? And what was amusing physics? The next day, I searched the online catalog of the Biblioth è que Nationale de France for references to these so-called professors and discovered a world of which I had little knowledge: magic acts framed as scientific experiments, books of wondrous chemistry suggesting tricks to perform at home with family and friends, and boxes of amusing physics associating tricks, such as cupsand-balls, with scientific explanations that seemed more likely to belong to the physics textbooks. How did magic and science coexist from the mideighteenth century to the early twentieth century? What place did science have in the world of conjurers, and what role did magic shows play in the popularization of science and the promulgation of scientific enthusiasm during this period? Over the years, as these questions continued to interest me, I received help from various corners. I am very grateful for the financial and institutional support provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Centre Alexandre Koyr é, and the University of Guelph. I am grateful as well to Charlotte Bigg, Jacqueline Carroy, Gary Cross, Laurent Mannoni, and Leslie Villiaume for generously sharing ideas and material on conjurers, amusing physics, and toys. Many thanks to Christopher Laursen for his help with research early on and to Jenna Healey, Katherine Heyland, and Linda Mahood for reading previous versions of this work. Numerous colleagues and friends have provided guidance and encouragement along the way. In particular, I am grateful to Tara Abraham, David Aubin, Don Bruce, Catherine Carstairs, Stephanie Dupouy, Matthew Hayday, Andreas Mayer, Stuart McCook, Susan Nance, and Karen Racine for their support. Special thanks to Segire, Louis Morel l Horset, É lie Morel
xii Acknowledgments l Horset, and Louis Steven Morel l Horset for making me feel like I always have a family and a home in Paris. Finally, I am immensely grateful to my family, R é jean Lachapelle, Ugo Lachapelle, Ariane Lachapelle-Poulin, Margo Nobert, and, in particular, Francis Poulin for their continuous support and encouragement. Parts of this book have appeared in earlier versions as Science on Stage: Recreational Physics, White Magic, and Scientific Wonder at the Nineteenth-Century French Theatre, History of Science 47, part 3, no. 157 (September 2009): 297 315; and From the Stage to the Laboratory: Magicians, Psychologists, and the Science of Illusion, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 44, no. 4 (Autumn 2008): 319 334.