Felicien Trewey

Félicien Trewey
Born	Félicien-François Trevey May 23, 1848 Angoulême, France
Died	December 02, 1920 (age 72) Asnieres sur Seine, France
Nationality	French

Félicien Trewey (b.1848-d.1920) was born Félicien-François Trevey in France. At the age of fifteen Trewey ran away from home to become a magician and tight rope walker. Trewey popularised the art of Shadowgraphy and Chapeaugraphy. During his career as a magician and vaudville performer, Trewey performed all over Europe and London.

Biography

In 1871, Trewey saw Fusier give a chapeaugraphy performance, and by 1875 he was performing thirty-two to thirty-five differently shaped hats. His act was called "Twenty-Five Heads Under One Hat. Trewey would pantomime different faces of the various characters beneath the hats he created. His performances were so successful in France, Britain, America and Europe that Chapaugraphy became known by the name of Treweyism.

Trewey was a friend of the Lumières and had appeared in several of their early films, including Assiettes tournantes (Spinning Plates); Chapeaux a transformation (Hat Transformation Tricks) (1895); and Partie d'écarté (A Game of Cards). On February 20, 1896, after the building of a one thousand seat theater in England, Trewey bought the Lumiere brothers to this stage for the first presentation of Cinematograph before a paying audience. In 1889, he joined Alexander Herrmann in New York performing his Shadowgraphy act.

Trewey became one of the most popular entertainers in Paris during the latter half of the nineteenth century.

In Mahatma magazine (Oct. 1895) his skills as a magician was noted as:

"In legerdemain he is equally fine, his dexterity in throwing cards being extraordinary; for he is able to project these little pieces of glazed cardboard from the stage of the Alhambra (the largest hall in Europe) to the furthest part of the top gallery. He also possesses great skill in the uncommon art of writing backwards any words selected by the audience and is a lightning sketch artist of ability".

Books

• The Art of Shadowgraphy (1891)
• How It Is Done (1894)

References

• Mahatma, Vol. 1, No. 8, October 1895, A FRENCH FANTAISIST, by Harry R. Evans, page 9
• Trewey by Henry Ridgely Evans, Mahatma Vol 6, No. 8 (February 1903)
• The Old and the New Magic, by Henry R. Evans, 1906, TREWEYISM, page 331
• M-U-M, Vol. 10, No. 8, January 1921, TREWEY – AN APPRECIATION, by Henry R. Evans, page 33
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 9, No. 8, September 1929, cover, Felicien Trewey, by Henry R. Evans, page 780
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 17, No. 7, September 1937, AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF A FAMOUS FANTAISISTE, by Henrry R. Evans, page 425
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 17, No. 8, October 1937, AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF A FAMOUS FANTAISISTE, by Henrry R. Evans, page 473 (continued from No. 7)
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 20, No. 3, May 1940, MAGICIANS IN RETIREMENT, by Henry R. Evans, Félicien Trewey…, page 198
• Tops Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1942, Felicien Trewey – Fantaiste Extraordinary, by H. Adrian Smith, page 11
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 28, No. 10, December 1948, Felicien Trewey – Famous French Fantaisiste, by Henry R. Evans, page 21
• The New Tops, Vol. 34, No. 12, December 1994, Men Of Magic, by Robert Olson, page 6
• Bio-bibliographisches Lexikon der Zauberkünstler Edition Volker Huber, April 2002, Trewey, Félicien eig. Félicien Trevey, franz. Gymnastiker; Zauberkünstler (*23.05.1848 Angoulême; †02.12.1920), page 343