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Hercat
| Hercat | |
 1912 | |
| Born | R. D. Chater circa 1843 England |
|---|---|
| Died | circa 1913 (age 69) |
| Categories | Books by Hercat |
Hercat (1843-1913) was a journalist, actor and professional illusionist.
Biography
The great-grandson of Lord Melville, he wrote a number of popular books on magic and the allied arts.
After working as a journalist and actor, he became a professional magician around 1868 and performed with success in America before returning to England, where he billed himself as an American.[1]
Illusion he created included "She", a cremation illusion which was featured at the Egyptian Hall (1888) and the "Blue Room" (~1895).
Stanley Collins in a letter to his friend John Braun in 1957 wrote "Hercat I saw on several occasions and can tell you he was about as bad as a conjurer could be. His patter was banal; his tricks were always clumsily handled and his so-called ventriloquism was just a travesty. How ever he managed to gain the little reputation that he did achieve here is one of life’s mysteries."[2]
Books
- Card Tricks and Conjuring Up to Date (1896)
- Latest Sleights, Illusions, Mind Reading and New Card Effects (1903)
- Ventriloquist and Ventriloquial Dialogues (1905)
- Conjuring Up to Date (1906)
- Card Tricks With and Without Apparatus Up to Date (1906).
- Chapeaugraphy, Shadowgraphy and Paper-Folding (1909)
- More Conjuring (1912)
References