The Magic of Robert-HoudinPreface
Jacques Voignier
-
If you ask the French public who Robert-Houdin was, the answer will probably be: he was a great magician from the last century, famous for his automata and magic tricks. Ironically, he is sometimes confused with Houdini! At times, he is credited with wild exploits which he never performed, such as destroying the watch-chronometer of a cardinal of the Roman curia with a mortar and pestle, and then miraculously finding it intact in the Pope's pocket. For today's initiated public and especially for magicians, Robert-Houdin was much more: he was simultaneously a highly skilled mechanician, a genius creator in the field of illusions, a savant recognized by his peers, and a writer whose success has lasted for over 150 years!
These are quite a few qualities for one individual, you will say. Well, it is true, and Christian Fechner's book, The Magic of Robert-Houdin: An Artist's Life, is proof of this, because his plan is to reveal all aspects of the personality and genius of this exceptional man, Robert-Houdin.
The reader cannot realize how much work and time must be spent to gather historical elements essential for the narration of a lifetime as full as that of Robert-Houdin. Although Jean Chavigny, an archivist and man of letters, made way for this by writing Robert-Houdin's first biography more than fifty years ago, Christian Fechner's book is a monument. It is both historical through the abundance of its original documents and an iconographic landmark due to the quality of its illustrations, of which a large part have never appeared in print.
For several years, Christian Fechner has consulted national archives, notary documents and accounts, period newspapers, advertisements and playbills, and private archives, especially those of Robert-Houdin's family, not to mention the Tablettes journalières de Robert-Houdin (Robert-Houdin's daily notes), which he discovered and which we get a first glimpse at here. These are precious notes in which the artist confided his impressions and daily activities.
One must therefore not be surprised that the result is equal to the research. On every page, new unpublished documents are examined; some refute accepted ideas or groundless affirmations that have developed over the years. With solid logic, Christian Fechner "starts over from zero." He returns to the sources and original documents. In this manner, we learn of Robin's real role (not very positive) with respect to Robert-Houdin and his other colleagues. We discover when André Voisin set up as a trick manufacturer on Rue Vieille-du-Temple, thereby ending various speculations published in magic literature as to his real relationship with Robert-Houdin. Each one of Robert-Houdin's contemporaries is portrayed in his proper place, in the context of the time, thus highlighting the unique originality of the artist and conjurer's creations.
The Magic of Robert-Houdin: An Artist's Life is also a vast panorama of French magic of the nineteenth century, in which the reader goes from one surprise to the next in an aura of mystery. We learn the importance of Louis Apollinaire Comte, the Conjurer of the Three Kings (Louis XVIII, Charles X, and Louis-Philippe), an important personality whom Robert-Houdin very quickly made his ally. The reader also discovers Robert-Houdin's initiator into magic, who was perhaps a mysterious person from the Bordeaux region and whose role still remains enigmatic. Another surprise (and this is a big one) concerns Robert-Houdin's return to the stage to replace Hamilton, who was on tour (but the reader will discover the real reason!).
Finally, Christian Fechner corrects an important mistake, reprinted by all of Robert-Houdin's commentators, based on Jean Chavigny's book ; although Robert-Houdin lived in The Priory in St. Gervais after selling his theater to Hamilton, it was not at all a place of retirement to permit him to devote himself entirely to scientific research. The reader will realize to what extent this little-known period of Robert-Houdin's life was, on the contrary, very rich in all sorts of creations. It was not exempt from "theatrics," literally and figuratively.
The scientific and artistic activity must not make one forget the man. Who was Robert-Houdin really? The reader will discover a deeply human and generous man, who suffered and was put through tribulations by life. He lost several of his children at a young age and his first wife, Cécile Eglantine, died at the age of thirty-two. She who gave him half of his artist's name never saw him on a stage. The Tablettes journalières show a Robert-Houdin completely devoted to his family in spite of his numerous occupations.
Robert-Houdin revisited! Yes, of course, but an entirely new Robert-Houdin, closer to us, as the reader will discover. Thanks to his relentless work and driving passion, Christian Fechner today gives us this biography, which, I am certain, is the definitive work on Robert-Houdin.
— From Jacques Voignier's preface to The Magic of Robert-Houdin: An Artist's Life