Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (; 7 December 1805 – 13 June 1871) was a French watchmaker, magician and illusionist, widely recognized as the father of the modern style of conjuring. He transformed magic from a pastime for the lower classes, seen at fairs, to an entertainment for the wealthy, which he offered in a theatre opened in Paris, a legacy preserved by the tradition of modern magicians performing in tails.
Early life and entrance into conjuring
Robert-Houdin was born Jean-Eugène Robert in Blois, France, on 7 December 1805—a day after his autobiography said he was. His father, Prosper Robert, was a watchmaker in Blois. Jean-Eugene's mother, the former Marie-Catherine Guillon, died when he was just a young child. Even then, the audiences were not entirely convinced; they tried to trip up Émile by bringing in books written in Greek, or odd tools such as a thread counter. The illusion was also reported to be performed by an Indian conjuror before that, but sitting cross-legged rather than lying down.
The Marvelous Orange Tree trick was used by the eponymous conjurer in Steven Millhauser's short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist" and its film adaptation The Illusionist (2006), where a more complex variant is shown. It is also alluded to in Donald Barthelme's short story "Sentence".
Robert-Houdin's portfolio
Robert-Houdin brought in under his arm a large portfolio used for holding documents or art work. The portfolio was only about one and three-quarters of an inch thick, too small or too thin to hold anything but pictures. The creation of such a site is directly linked to the personality of Robert-Houdin. Several of Robert-Houdin's apparatuses, including automata and mystery clocks, reside in David Copperfield's private museum.
In December 1852, the Theatre Robert-Houdin moved from its original location to the Boulevard des Italiens in Paris. Ownership passed from Hamilton to Cleverman (François Lahire), then to Robert-Houdin's son Émile. Emile was too busy to perform at the theatre, so he arranged for Pierre Edouard Brunnet to present the show.
After his death, Émile's widow sold the theatre to Georges Méliès in 1888. Méliès, himself a magician but best known to history as one of the greatest early innovators of film making, later presented his first movies there. He accidentally discovered stop-action special effects and presented his creation at the Theatre Robert-Houdin. One of his classics is A Trip to the Moon. In 1924, the building was demolished.
Robert-Houdin's autobiography is The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin. His life and works are also cited in Robertson Davies's Deptford Trilogy, notably in the trilogy's third novel, World of Wonders, which takes place on the set of a movie about Robert-Houdin.
In his book Hiding the Elephant, Jim Steinmeyer said that every magician of the 20th century was "haunted" by Robert-Houdin, "... who cast an enormous shadow over their generation".
Robert-Houdin is often credited as being "the father of modern magic". Before him, magicians performed in marketplaces and fairs, for the lower classes, but Robert-Houdin performed magic in theatres and private parties for wealthier patrons.