Many great tricks remain unsolved to this day. And the greatest trick has not yet been invented at all (we are talking about the instantaneous transfer of the Kremlin with its inhabitants to the hospitable mouth of the Eyyafyadlayokyul volcano). But a number of grandiose tricks and "prestige" managed to be opened and brought to your understanding.
The bullet-catching trick is one of the most ancient and respected, almost as ancient and respected as the bullet itself. The focus was first mentioned in 1631 in the treatise The Theaters of God's Judgment by the Reverend Thomas Beard. The bullet trick improved over the centuries until it reached its pinnacle with magicians Penn and Teller simultaneously shooting each other and catching the bullet in their mouths.
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Reality
To successfully perform a trick with a bullet, it is not so much painstaking preparatory work how much sleight of hand, cheeks and tongue. The bullets that are shown to the activists from the audience and which are eventually fired are fake, most likely wax, they burst as soon as they leave the muzzle. To make such bullets as similar as possible to real ones, craftsmen coat them acrylic paint lead color. Why don't the volunteers from the audience notice that the bullets are fake? Imagine that a camera is pointed at you, everyone is waiting for your witty answers to the questions of world famous magicians, your palms are sweating - there is no time for skepticism.
Penn clearly states what initials the volunteer puts on the bullet and what he draws on the cartridge case. Drawing, as you understand, is not difficult: most people paint a smiley face, a sun or a wand. At this very time, the assistant behind the scene depicts the initials on the bullet already shot in advance (it can be blurry, after all, the bullet has been in the revolver). Penn and Teller approach the hanger, where protective vests and masks are waiting for them.
Please note: hangers are located next to the curtain. This is a fatal moment: both magicians turn away from the camera, for seconds they are out of sight of others. And then the assistants put bullets in the mouth of Penn and Teller.
It's time to marvel at Penn's conversational skills as he continues his distracting monologue about the dangers of firearms while holding a bullet to his cheek. Further - a matter of technique and training. All that remains for magicians is to aim, fire blanks, and then, hiding behind a curtain of powder, push the bullet out from behind their cheeks and squeeze it between their teeth.
Every illusionist dreams of walking on water. Until the 21st century, only one succeeded, and even then in biblical times. But nowadays, thanks to the development of technology, the focus has become feasible. Among the first it was demonstrated to the world by the British illusionist Steve Frein, known as Dynamo. Yes, how effectively he demonstrated - he did not pass through any water, but along the Thames itself!
Reality
Since the tricks of Dynamo have not yet been revealed by competent people, we will express our version.
Tsimes focus - in a massive non-sinking platform made of plexiglass, which was previously anchored at the embankment. In principle, if it were in a pool of wonderful murmuring chlorinated water, the platform would be visible to the naked eye. But it's about the Thames. Here the water is so dark, wavy and dirty that if an illusionist thought to walk over drowned men dressed in multi-colored feathers, no one would notice this.
The rowers who defiantly swam behind Dynamo do not deserve criticism at all. But we still criticize. The immersion depth of a single kayak is no more than 15 cm.
And if you look closely at this photo, you will see what massive sneakers Dynamo has and how significantly they increase his height. This allows kayaks to float over the platform without disturbing it.
And finally, in this photo we can observe the swell, which is formed only at shallow depths.
Exactly 101 years ago, in 1912 (we clarify, if you accidentally threw a calculator on the other end of the sofa), this trick was performed by the notorious Harry Houdini. Since then, getting out of the water box has become one of the most respected magic tricks in the world, well, just a crème de la crème of illusions. There are dozens of interpretations of liberation. In particular, because, before settling in Copperfield's personal collection, an authentic box for a long time dangled in an unknown place and it was not easy to establish the exact technique for performing the trick. Focus has been actively filmed in films: for example, in the already mentioned The Prestige and House M.D. (season 4, episode 8 "You'd better not know"). But we chose the version of the illusionist duo Sherri and Krall because in 2012, on the centenary of the trick, they repeated the Houdini trick exactly as the maestro performed it. Unless a man climbs into a box of water, but a woman.
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The secret of the trick is mostly in the lock of the camera. Well, in excellent physical training an illusionist who has to get out of it.
As Krall, acting as an assistant, locks the locks on the lid, Sherry discreetly pulls the rods out of the hinges holding the lid in place. Therefore, in order to get out, it is enough for a girl to tighten her abdominal muscles, pull herself up and get out of the open chamber.
Perhaps you are now stretching on the couch and grunting: “Just think, everyone can do it.” In fact, the Chinese water torture chamber is considered the most real fatal number. Judge for yourself: the stunt performer spends at least three minutes hanging upside down, which is a test in itself. Add to this immersion in water, the need physical activity and the risk of losing consciousness from the influx of blood to the head. Still, it's nice that there are people who are ready to risk their lives for our amusement.
To become famous all over the world, David Seth Kotkin had to not only take a prettier surname for himself, but also deprive Americans of their national dignity for a few minutes. The second, by the way, turned out to be much easier than many people think.
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As you must have read on Wikipedia, the Statue of Liberty stands on a small island, away from the lights. big city. The only sources of light on the island come from the statue's own lighting system. Therefore, when a white cloth rises in front of the noses of the audience, all that is required is simply to turn off the internal and external lighting of the girl with the torch.
The white cloth descends and the audience gasps in unison as the statue disappears. Although in reality they should gasp at how imperfect human vision is: the audience cannot see the copper 93-meter colossus, as they were blinded by the illuminated pillars on which the fabric is stretched. When, a few minutes later, Copperfield lifts the fabric, again shielding the statue from the public, their eyes have not yet had time to adapt and consider the outlines dear to the heart of the Yankees.
As for the searchlights crossing the "empty" space, this is also an optical illusion. The searchlights were installed not on the sides of the statue, but in front of it, and, directed vertically, they did not touch the statue and created the illusion of emptiness. Later, when the disappearance was televised, gullible viewers were shown footage taken from a helicopter. And here is a video montage: the statue was removed from the pedestal ahead of time.
The Metamorphosis trick, invented by illusionist John Nevil Maskelyne in the 19th century, has become legendary in the 20th century. To the best of their ability, all magicians tried to perform it, from Houdini to Mark Wilson, and each brought something new to the act. Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were especially distinguished in improving the Metamorphoses. They got their hands and other parts of their bodies into this trick so much that they pulled off the climax in a record-breaking two seconds. With these miserable seconds, the Pendragons entered the 50th anniversary edition of the Guinness Book of Records.
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Reality
First, of course, the bag. The bag is not as simple as it seems. Please note that we never see its bottom, it is always hidden from us by a chest. Therefore, even though Charlotte honestly hides her husband in a bag and ties him up, Jonathan can always get out through the holey bottom of the bag. Which he does as soon as Charlotte closes the lid.
As for the castle, it also locks for real. Well, who cares that inside the chest is equipped with a system for pushing the top cover. As soon as Charlotte climbs onto the box, she closes it and herself with black cloth and at the same time rests against the side walls of the chest. This is where the magic begins. Jonathan, already out of the bag, pushes back the lid. Charlotte does not fall because the side walls she is standing on are stationary. Jonathan stands up on the lid of the drawer and takes the cloth from Charlotte's hand.
Having passed the baton, the girl jumps into the chest and slams the lid. At the same moment, Jonathan throws back the fabric and appears before the audience - out of breath and shiny with pride. While he is bowing, his wife manages to rip off her top swimsuit, under which another one is hidden, of a contrasting color (although, you must admit, a greater effect would be achieved if Mrs. Pendragon jumped out of the chest naked). It remains only to climb into the bag, which Charlotte successfully does.
Meanwhile, Jonathan defiantly draws his saber and unlocks the useless lock. Unties the bag, and - here's a surprise! - His wife is in the bag. In a swimsuit of a different color!*
* Note Phacochoerus "a Funtika:
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Approximately according to this scheme, "Metamorphoses" are always performed. The Pendragons turned out to be the fastest performers of the illusion due to their excellent physical form and the ability to jump from the chest and back without accidentally breaking your neck»
Everyone to court!
As you understand, illusionists do not like very much if their tricks are revealed. When the first American broadcast of the Secrets of the Great Magicians aired in 1997, magician unions around the world sounded the alarm. This did not help: the program, which dissects tricks in detail, is still being filmed. Actually, her contribution to the preparation of this material is invaluable. The host of the program, magician Val Valentino, explained that he reveals tricks so that his colleagues come up with new ones. But we suspect he's making shows for fame and money.
And illusionists are very fond of going to courts and finding out who was the first to come up with the idea of pulling a rabbit out of a sawn box, floating in zero gravity. So, in the 1930s, the case of the magician Horace Goldin against the tobacco company R.J. received wide publicity. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which used explanations of his patented "cutting a woman apart" trick in an advertisement for new cigarettes. The ad campaign was called "It's fun to be fooled... But it's even more fun to know" and consisted entirely of exposing tricks. Goldin never won the case, but henceforth he was more careful and, in order to avoid leakage of information, did not even patent his next high-profile trick, in which he sawed the assistant not with an ordinary saw, but with a circular saw.
Illusion how art appeared in times ancient egypt. This is evidenced by a lot of facts and evidence. The first "review" of the illusionist's session is written on papyrus, which describes the performance of Chatcha-Em-Ankh before King Hu-Fu.
Magicians of that time made jewels disappear and appear, decapitated geese, and then grew their heads back, also with the help of these “forces” a lot of things disappeared from the people in the crowd and turned out to be available to the magician, while he was always in sight. Thus, according to the “will of the gods”, huge gates were thrown open, huge statues of these gods crawled out of the ground, these statues could stretch out their hands to the people (blessing the people), the statue could even cry. Also in Ancient Greece people experienced wild delight and admiration for various tricks, especially for "global" illusions in which large and powerful mechanisms were used. Even the trick with glasses and balls, which many professional illusionists still include in their repertoire, was described by the Roman Seneca as early as the 1st century AD.
But, as history knows, then such demonstrations and performances were often considered both divine power or a gift, and collusion with the forces of darkness, and those who demonstrated them, most often, were priests, sorcerers or prophets. Thus, the art of illusion, in those days, was most often used to manipulate the people. The most terrible of them was the Hindu trick. The magician threw high into the air the end of the rope, which was lost in the sky. The boy who helped him climbed up the rope and immediately disappeared from sight. The sorcerer called to the boy, but there was no answer. Then he himself, taking a knife, climbed up and also disappeared. Then the audience heard the noise of the struggle, and saw how pieces of the cut boy's body fell to the ground ... After a while, the sorcerer calmly went downstairs with a bloody knife. Then he folded the pieces of the boy's torso, and the body came to life!
The craft of a magician could also be punishable by death - in medieval Europe magic tricks were considered witchcraft and magicians paid for this with their lives, but even under such circumstances there were craftsmen who quickly subordinated God-fearing people to their influence.
The Disco-verie of Witchcraft, by an author named Reginald Scott, is considered by many to be the first debunking book to reveal the secrets of many tricks performed with dexterity rather than dark forces. The book revealed the secrets of many well-known tricks associated with coins, cards or ropes. However, the book was not the first revealing manual, but, on the contrary, the first textbook for magicians!
In the 18th century, in England, illusionists and magicians gain some recognition and position in society. At that time, the illusionist had wide fame and celebrity, having earned it by performing tricks right in front of everyone - in fair booths and at dinner parties.
So by the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, hundreds of professional magicians appeared. And the so-called “scientific” tricks, those tricks that the performer (who represented himself as a doctor or professor) explained from a scientific point of view, are gaining wide popularity. For example, Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin explained his trick with levitation as the properties of gas (ether). In fact, gas has nothing to do with the trick, but at that time people were quite sure that it was only this gas. And later they call V “the father of modern focus”, but the most interesting thing in his biography is that he became a professional only at the age of 60. Robert Houdin was also an excellent inventor who improved both the technique of many tricks and the props used for them. Oudin became a legendary figure and the illusionist profession owes much of its popularity to him.
So by the beginning of the 19th century, many groups of magicians and illusionists appeared in the USA and Europe, who very often toured, giving performances in the most different theaters. And in 1873, in London, a certain illusionist opens the first permanent Circus of tricks, which existed for another 40 years.
The 20th century in the history of the development of the art of tricks and illusions becomes the most "fruitful", since such great illusionists appear in the world as, who successfully became famous in tricks with levitation and mind reading, Americans and who became famous in card tricks, as well as Walter Hince, Percy Shelbit and, of course,
The art of illusion has its roots in ancient times, when the techniques and techniques for manipulating people's minds began to be used not only to control them (as shamans and priests did), but also for entertainment (fakirs' performances). In the Middle Ages, more than professional artists: puppeteers, magicians using various mechanisms, as well as card players and cheaters.
In the XV century. The girl was executed for witchcraft. It was in Germany. Her only fault was that she had performed a trick with a handkerchief: tearing it apart and then putting them together. turning into a scarf. Tricks passed down from generation to generation served for several hundred years not only for entertainment, but also to make the poor rich, rich - poor, and also brought joy to one and meant collapse for another.
Simultaneously with the development of magic tricks, there was an active development of deceptive tricks, which does not quite adorn the trick business. However true talent and the skill of the "correct" magicians can bring all dishonest tricks to naught. The first mention of magicians came to us from the distant XVII century. The inhabitants of Germany and Holland were indelibly impressed by the “magician” Ohes Vohes (the magician borrowed this name from the mysterious magician-demon or Norwegian legends).
During his magical sessions, the magician used to say: “Hocus pocus. tone talonus, vade celeriter ubeo*. The spectators, however, disassembled from all this muttering only the mysterious “hocus pocus”. Therefore, the wizard received the nickname of the same name. These magical elephants seemed funny to other representatives of the profession, they picked them up, and soon all illusionists and tricksters began to call their performances tricks.
IN late XVIII- early 19th century with the development of mechanical engineering, mechanical illusory automatic toys appear. Three such mechanical dolls, which depicted human figures, were invented by the director of the physico-mathematical office of Vienna imperial palace Friedrich von Claus. His figures could write on paper.
The designer Jacques de Vaux-canune made functioning mechanical figures of a flutist and a drummer in full human growth and a duck that could quack, peck food and flap its wings. The Hungarian Wolfgang von Kempelen invented the "chess player" piece, with which one could play a game of chess. But in fact, only the hand of the puppet moving the chess pieces on the board was mechanical, but it was controlled by a chess player - a man sitting inside.
In the XVIII century. The performances of magicians were perfected by the Italian Giuseppe Pinetti. It was he who first began to show tricks not on the market squares, but on the real theater stage. He made it an art for a sophisticated audience, furnishing tricks with lush scenery, intricate plots. In the English newspapers of that time, notes about his performances in London in 1784 were preserved. Pinetti surprised the audience with his abilities: he read texts from eyes closed, distinguished objects in closed boxes.
The magician even attracted the attention of the monarch of England, George III, who invited Pinetti to perform in front of members royal family at Windsor Castle. The magician did not lose face, he brought with him a huge number of assistants, exotic animals, complex mechanisms, large mirrors.
After such a performance, Pinetti went on an international tour of Europe, Portugal, France, Germany and even Russia were on his way. In St. Petersburg, he held several performances and was even invited to the palace of Emperor Paul I. When Pinetti was leaving Russia, Tsar Paul I asked him to surprise everyone with some kind of magic. At that time, it was possible to leave St. Petersburg through 15 gates. Pinetti promised the tsar that he would pass through all 15 outposts at the same time, and he kept his word. The tsar was brought 15 reports from 15 outposts that Pinetti left precisely through each outpost. In 1800, Giuseppe died at the age of 50.
Giuseppe adored his tricks, he lived an illusion and created it in his Everyday life. It was said that while walking along the street, the magician could buy a hot bun from the stall and, in front of a crowd of onlookers, breaking it in half, pulled out a gold coin. In a second, this coin turned into a medallion with the magician's initials.
The famous magician Ben Ali often showed such a trick to the fair. He approached any merchant, bought pies from him, in front of the assembled people he broke them in half, and a coin was found in each pie. The surprised merchant could not believe in this miracle and began to “check” all his other pies, in which, of course, there was nothing. The audience laughed. When food was brought to Ben Ali in a restaurant, he covered the entire table with a blanket, and when he took it off, instead of food, there was a shoe on the table. The shoe was covered again and the food returned.
Among the well-known illusionists of that time, one can safely rank two others. famous Italians: Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) and Count Alexander Cagliostro (1743-1795). Numerous legends circulated and circulate about their magic tricks, it is difficult to distinguish what is true in them and what is fiction of an enthusiastic crowd.
At the end of the XVIII - beginning of the XIX century. In Europe, the industrial revolution begins, steam engines, a steamboat, spinning machines and many technical innovations appear. Tricks become more technical and complex, magicians become professionals - the inventors of complex mechanical tricks.
The place of "wizards", "mages" and "sorcerers" is occupied by "doctors" and "professors", giving the tricks "scientific" and "seriousness". These are such "scholarly magicians" as Jean-Eugene-Robert Houdin, who is called the "father of modern magic." Modern magicians still use the mechanisms of Jean-Eugène-Robert Houdin.
Here Short story illusionists and conjurers of the world and the history of the appearance of the word hocus pocus.
O.BULANOVA
It is not known for certain when and where the cards originated. There are only two legends. According to the first, they were created by Indian Brahmins around 800 AD. Another claims that cards appeared in China around 1120 AD. - The then ruler of Seun-Ho became interested in them in order to entertain his concubines.
But the moment when playing cards appeared in Europe is clearly recorded - 1376, Italy. Some scientists believe that Arab travelers brought them, others believe that the crusaders brought the cards with them.
But no one disputes that the Indian and Chinese originals were heavily reworked in Europe. Traces of Italian and Spanish influence are preserved in the name of the deck - Neuris.
"Note that playing cards symbolize the four great features of human nature, wrote the American researcher Jesse Muller in 1956. Love is personified by hearts, the passion for knowledge is reflected by clubs, the desire for wealth can be correlated with tambourines, and the spade suit speaks of death. An interesting observation, especially since there are four card suits were originally stated in Neuris.
The European game of cards, which had developed by 1480, subsequently changed little. True, from the original Italian system with its swords (an analogue of future spades), maces (clubs), cups (hearts) and coins (tambourines), three later stood out: Swiss - with acorns, roses, leaves and coat of arms; German - with acorns, leaves, hearts and bells; French - with clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds.
The last one turned out to be the most stable, which after the Thirty Years' War practically replaced the rest of the symbolism and is now in use almost everywhere.
However, the usual deck acquired a curious polyphony: the melody of human passions was supplemented by the motive of time: red and black colors are consonant with the ideas of day and night, 52 sheets correspond to the number of weeks in a year, not everyone understands the joker reminds of leap year, and the four suits correspond to spring, summer, autumn and winter.
If each jack is valued at 11 points (it comes immediately after the tens), the queen is 12, the king is 13, and the ace is taken as 1, then the sum of points in the deck will be 364. Adding a “single” joker, we come to the number of days in year. Well, 13 lunar months are easy to deduce from the number of cards of each suit. It turns out a coded calendar.
It is extremely difficult to answer the question of when the first card trick was performed. But the name of the first sharper in the annals has been preserved - Ricco de la Moliniere. And the year is 1495. Since that distant time, contempt for cheaters casts its unkind reflection on the work of conjurers.
In general, cards have a unique destiny ... Some do not respect the game of cards because everything obeys the will of chance - and no strategic thinking, like in chess. Only chance and risk. Others objected that true life is the risk, i.e. success or failure. Card game Is it not a model of the zigzag and often unpredictability of the life path?
These two opposite positions public opinion have always been. English king Henry VIII in 1526 he generally declared the cards a “devil's game” and outlawed, and already in 1541 the ban was lifted.
If outside card actions turn out to be a gambling attraction, the hypnotism of sorcery and the showiness of the spectacle, then what are the internal springs? The first, lowest level is the use of pre-prepared decks. A sort of student scale for beginners. Rounders are not even honored with their attention.
Another thing is magicians. Such primitiveness is also suitable for their mysterious sacred rites. And the famous Austrian magician Johann Hoftsinser, who once said that “any trick requires the whole magician from beginning to end,” even developed a classification of special cards, consisting of five divisions.
Hoftsinzer is a legendary person in card illusionism. He is said to have invented over 5,000 card tricks. True, he himself believed that he owns only about 60 original ideas, the rest is just compositional finds. The name of this unique master is associated with a second class of hidden focal springs when tricks are performed with regular cards, but without using sleight of hand. Those. pure mathematics and calculation works.
“Without some sleight of hand, without these manipulations that are fascinating for the performer himself, imparting to his art a piquant excitement and a certain kind of sportiness, according to which, in fact, colleagues evaluate the magician much more strictly than the audience - without this it is difficult to talk about a magician who has reached a worthy level , - wrote the Canadian researcher of illusionism Sid Lorraine. “The sleight of hand here is the underwater part of the iceberg, and the shifting is just a decorative component.” Very accurate and well thought out observation.
20 years after Hoftsinser's death, his friend Georg Heubeck will tell Ottokar Fischer about the remarkable master's card sorcery, and he will devote his life to searching for materials about him.
The highest class of card magic is tricks based solely on sleight of hand. According to the illusionist E.Kio, the Russian magician Pavel Sokolov-Passo “was a real nugget, perhaps the only one of his kind. He worked simultaneously with two decks that instantly appeared and disappeared in his hands. Cards were “pulled out” from the “nose”, “ear”, “mouth” of the audience, they flew through the air, decreased and increased in size. It is known that the cards are always in the hands of the magician, but he moves them so quickly between his fingers that they cease to be visible to the audience. Try to do this with at least two or three cards - and then you will appreciate the skill of Passo, who manipulated two decks.
"Who am I? Where did you come from? Where am I going?" - such questions flaunted on the poster next to the portrait of the masked man, the unique card master José Antenor Gago y Zavala, Marquis d'Orihuela. IN late XIX V. he performed in the famous Monte Carlo, shocking the audience and surprising the experts.
Possessing the highest hand technique, he made the cards just chosen by the audience disappear from the deck, then removing them from the air. He threw them to the last row, and they, circling in the air, returned to him. Well-known cheaters who worked in gambling houses came to the performances and meticulously studied the incomparable technique.
But the most mysterious magician, according to experts, is Charlier, a withdrawn, silent old man with parchment skin and a strand of gray hair. He showed up quietly and unexpectedly - in London, around 1870 or 1874. He settled on the outskirts in a small attic and offered to call himself Charlier.
Charlier was a card magician. He did not recognize any props. “ The Greatest Master in card manipulations,” English expert Angelo Lewis spoke of him. The most prominent masters of that time visited him, and he taught them completely new techniques. For example, the volt (replacement of the upper and lower half decks) was performed only with two hands. Charlier offered to act alone, and this technique went down in history under the name “Volt Charlier”.
ABOUT public speaking Charlier, alas, knows nothing. He made a living by engraving inscriptions on watches and cigarette cases.
In 1882, Charlier disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only the card tricks and legends he invented. Here is one of them: he suggested to a prominent illusionist who visited him to shuffle the deck, take out any card from there and put it face down. From a small drawer, Charlier produced a card with an absolutely blank face. Holding it in his hands, he began to perform some “incredibly organized gestures” in the air over the lying card.
Then, his hands froze in space, and the image of the selected card appeared on the clean side of the card! Then Charlier made several “discharging” passes, and the card in his hands turned white again.
In May 1992, the American magician Tony Hussini visited Moscow. He suggested taking a deck, shuffling it, and then saying aloud the names of any two cards. For example, choose a six and a king. Close cards, say, seven and eight, are not recommended to be called, then the focus may not come out.
The audience called. Hussini clicked on the deck, and the named cards turned out to be lying side by side - either close to each other, or (worst case) separated by one card. Expert colleagues tested Hassini by unrolling the deck. But everything turned out exactly as the magician planned.
According to Anatoly Kartashkin
The history of tricks, or rather, illusions, is interesting because "false magic" in the full sense of the word is the science of magic, albeit not real. Being related to mechanics and optics, this science still retains full right be called high art, combining practical theatrical spectacle with the mystical charm of everything inexplicable.
The art of illusion is purely individual, because a magician is creative person, working exclusively alone (or in the company of assistants of the second plan). Unlike crooks and charlatans, professional illusionists take money only for demonstrating their art, and not for some useful consequences for the viewer, which supposedly will come after the "magic" session. However, for almost its entire history, magic tricks have been nothing more than a fraudulent means of exploitation. popular superstitions and religious myths, designed not so much to entertain the crowd as to intimidate and subdue it.
It's really Hocus Pocus
Continental Europe had the greatest influence on the appearance of modern illusionism. So, in the 17th century in Germany and Holland, the representations of a self-styled "wizard" who called himself Ohes Bohes (in fact, that was the name of the magician and demon from Norwegian legends) and used the pseudonym "Hocus Pocus" (Hocus Pocus) - a confusing phrase uttered by him during the bazaar "witchcraft" (it sounded in full like "hocus pocus, tone talonus, vade celeriter ubeo") in order to divert the attention of the audience.
This "spell", which according to some versions was a perverted text of the Catholic Mass "hoc est enim corpus meum" ("this is really my body"), was immediately picked up by other representatives of this craft and after some time became the hallmark of all illusionists and tricksters. In Russian, this phrase was borrowed as the basis for a concept denoting a cunning trick or trick. It is noteworthy that in the Germanic group of languages the word "focus" is still used only as an optical term borrowed from Latin (focus - hearth, fire).
18th century: Giuseppe lights
The next stage in the development of the art of illusion was the 18th century. While most illusionists were doing small street tricks, the Italian magician Giuseppe Pinetti was able to take a huge step forward by transferring his "magic" to the stage of the theater. Pinetti's performances were distinguished by their sophisticated and opulent surroundings, which brought them to a whole new level of spectator performance.
So, in 1784, he performed in London, demonstrating the possibilities of the "third eye" (reading closed books, identifying objects in boxes, etc.). The success of these performances was so great that it attracted the attention of King George III, who, after some hesitation, invited the famous magician to Windsor Castle. It was there that Pinetti triumphantly staged a brilliant show that included dozens of assistants, exotic animals, as well as hidden mechanisms and complex systems of mirrors. The wings of popularity carried the magician from England to Portugal and Germany. Finally, in 1800, he arrived in Russia, where he died safely at the age of 50.
It is worth noting that various writers and publicists repeatedly tried to uncover Pinetti's tricks and even published books with detailed descriptions of them. This greatly irritated the master, who was used to living in the style of his ideas - independently, richly and brightly. He wore the finest clothes that could be found and rode in the most expensive carriages. He was notable for moderate eccentricity, deliberately attracting the attention of the crowd with his extraordinary antics. For example, walking down the street, Pinetti could suddenly stop near a tray with fresh rolls and, having broken one of them, "discover" inside gold coin, which in a couple of seconds elusively turned into a decorative token with his own initials.
Pinetti belongs to main merit on the development of principles for building the image of a modern magician - recognition, unusualness, courage, artistry and slight pomposity. Speaking of the "sorcerers" of the 18th century, one should also mention Giovanni Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) and Count Alexander Cagliostro (1743-1795), whose magical merits are so famous that they do not need to be listed.
"Matrix" of the Romantic era: dodge this!
Late XVIII - early XIX century - the time of the emergence of hundreds of professional magicians. At that time, "scientific" tricks became especially fashionable, when performers who called themselves "doctors" and "professors" described stage performances in the language of "science". For example, the Frenchman Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin explained his famous trick with levitation by the properties of a certain gaseous substance - ether, supposedly penetrating the entire Universe. Robert-Houdin has become a legendary figure - now he is sometimes called the "father of the modern trick", because. he perfected the technique of performing many tricks and props, which subsequently became widespread.
For illusionism, the entire 19th century was marked by a blind imitation of the style of Giuseppe Pinetti. So, someone Blitz - a native of Hamburg, who received considerable recognition in England and the USA, became known for his creepy trick - shooting at himself with a real combat revolver. A spectacular, but very dangerous performance, from which a little later, on March 23, 1918, the famous “magician” Chung Ling Su died in London (the real name of this artist, who skillfully used makeup to create his signature “Chinese” image, was Robinson). Later, this trick was complicated by the use of two pistols, the barrels of which were pointed at the chest or head of the magician.
What is the strength, Jean? And the power is in the magic!
In 1845, Europe learned the name of a young watchmaker from France who had invested all his money in renting the Valois Gallery in Paris to show absolutely phenomenal tricks. His name was Jean Robert-Houdin, but now he is also known as another "father of modern tricks". Robert-Goodin was and remains the only magician in the world who prevented a global international conflict with the power of his art alone.
The fact is that by the middle of the 19th century, the Algerian colony was on the verge of an uprising against the French occupation. By special order of the government, in 1856, Robert-Houdin left for Africa, where he took part in the competition of magicians, opposing local sorcerers with his latest tricks of catching a flying rifle bullet and effortlessly lifting heavy chests. This performance so impressed the gullible Algerians that a number of tribes immediately left the ranks of the uprising, which soon lost its former relevance and came to naught. This case is the only and largest duel of magicians in the history of mankind, which has real confirmation and decided the fate of several states at once.
The twentieth century was the culminating point in the history of the development of the art of stage magic, enriching it with a whole galaxy of names - the Englishman David Devant (levitation, mind reading), the Americans Thurston and Downes ( card tricks), as well as Serva le Roy, Oswald Williams, Owen Clark, Walter Hince, Louis Nokola, Percy Shelbit and, of course, Harry Houdini (real name Eric Weiss) - an immigrant from Hungary, who had a unique talent for escapist. It seemed that there was not a single rope, chain, handcuffs, bars or chests that could hold him. One of the most popular magicians on the planet died on Halloween night, October 31, 1926, from a ruptured appendix caused by a blow to the stomach, which, with the personal permission of Houdini, was inflicted by his admirer in order to test his famous ability to withstand any force.
Show must go on!
Second World War has thrown a whole bunch of problems to the whole world that are fundamentally incompatible with entertainment. They simply forgot about tricks - only at concerts arranged between battles for the entertainment of soldiers, clowns occasionally performed the most unpretentious manipulative tricks.
In the middle of the century, entertaining illusionism had an unthinkably powerful rival - television, which made a cozy nest for itself in a weak human soul. A similar thing already happened at the end of the nineteenth century, when ancient world The theater fell before the invasion of the silent cinematograph. But fortunately, two-way contact between the viewer and the artist is still in great demand. This keeps both the theater and the circus afloat, which has taken most of today's magicians under its wing.
Currently, there are about 300,000 hardware illusion tricks and about 50,000 tricks based on sleight of hand. Today's stars are Paul Daniels, David Copperfield and Lance Burton. They and their followers will grace the dwindling constellations of non-mass culture until they die. last person on the ground. After all, people always want to believe that there is something that they do not yet know.
