The Queen of Magic

Plus a brand new crossword for you to solve!

Magic and mystery mavens!

In this newsletter:

• Magic History: Adelaide Herrmann “The Queen of Magic”

• Video: Carnac The Magnificent

• A brand new crossword! Say the …

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Magic History: Adelaide Herrmann “The Queen of Magic”

Adelaide Herrmann is perhaps the most prominent female magician to have performed the allied arts. In 1853, Adelaide Scarcez was born in London England to two Belgian parents. She met French magician Alexander Herrmann in 1875 and the two were married shortly after. Herrmann was part of “the first family of magic.” His father Samuel was a prominent magician (and practicing physician), having performed for Napoleon. Both Alexander’s brother Carl and nephew Leon were famous illusionists in their own right.

For the first half of her life, Adelaide toured with her husband, together becoming one of the most successful magic acts of their time. For the most part in the 1870s and 80s, Adelaide played a supporting role. She was fired out of a cannon or rode the velocipede (an early version of the bicycle) while performing a balancing act. She was an accomplished dancer, and presented a dazzling routine of transforming silks into fire. She was an integral part of their version of the Robert-Houdin “Aerial Suspension,” which they titled “The Slave Girl’s Dream,” the “Spirit Cabinet” and the “Cremation Illusion.”

In December 1896, tragedy struck. Alexander had just completed a week in Rochester, NY (my hometown) at the Lyceum. His last night was at a banquet at the Genesee Valley Club (where Ashley and were married!) where he reportedly performed card tricks and told tales from the road into the wee hours of the morning. The next day on the train to Pennsylvania, Herrmann suffered a heart attack and died.  

And Adelaide decided to take the reins. She first reached out to Alexander’s nephew, Leon, to take up the mantle of “Herrmann the Great.” But tensions were high, and their collaboration was short-lived.

So Adelaide struck out on her own as the sole headliner and was quite successful through the mid 1920s. “The Queen of Magic” presented a billiard ball manipulation routine, a bullet catch, and the “Phantom Bride,” one of her most celebrated illusions. In this effect, she would hypnotize a young woman, cover her with a sheet and cause her to levitate. After proving there were no wires or bars holding the woman aloft, she would whisk the sheet away, vanishing the woman entirely.

In “The Witch” Adelaide costumed herself as an old hag. She crept about the stage as an eerie crone in search of a mystical fire. She approached the pyre and suddenly dove into the flames! In the aforementioned “Cremation Illusion,” she would reappear as a specter. But in this revitalized version of the trick, Adelaide, rose from the ashes as a young, beautiful woman. Whatever hex had tormented the twisted old conjuress had been lifted.

Perhaps her most well-known trick was “Noah’s Ark,” in which she produced hundreds of animals on stage including zebras, lions, tigers, and elephants. But everything came to a screeching halt in 1926 when a warehouse fire destroyed all of Adelaide’s props and animals. She was in her 70s at this point, but managed to pull together a simpler show entitled "Magic, Grace and Music." In 1928, “The Queen of Magic” retired, having performed for more than 50 years -- easily eclipsing in years each and every member of the Herrmann dynasty.

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Video: Carnac the Magnificent (Johnny Carson)

You’ll encounter Carnac in the crossword below (did I mention it is a brand new puzzle?!). And I was compelled to share a compilation video of Carson’s Clairvoyant Conjurer. Enjoy!

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Another Crossword! Say the …

Another brand new crossword for you to solve. Play it now! What do y’all think? Please let me know below.

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Events

Interested in booking me for your next event? More info here on private parties, corporate speaking & performances and team-building puzzle hunts.

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Upcoming Shows

After a sold out run at The Kennedy Center, The Enigmatist next moves to Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier in May 2024. The Windy City, get ready for the puzzle party! More info here.

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Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards

Enigmas: Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards. Included within this unique deck are four very special puzzle cards. Solve them all to unlock an online Puzzle Hunt! Available here.

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