Louis Apollinaire Christien Emmanuel Comte "The King's Conjurer" (born Geneva, June 22, 1788 – Rueil, November 25, 1859), also known simply as Comte, was a celebrated nineteenth-century Parisian magician, greatly admired by Robert-Houdin.

Admission token Théâtre Comte, passage Choiseul, for a family of 4, reverse.
Admission token Théâtre Comte, passage Choiseul, for a family of 4, obverse.

He performed for Louis XVIII at the Tuileries Palace and was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur by Louis-Philippe. He was sometimes called "The Conjurer of the Three Kings" (Louis XVIII, Charles X, and Louis-Philippe).[1] In 1814, Comte became the first conjurer on record to pull a white rabbit out of a top hat[2] though this is also attributed to the much later John Henry Anderson.[3]

Comte owned the Théâtre Comte passage des Panoramas of the 2nd arrondissement of Paris and another one in the Passage Choiseul.

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Jacques Voignier, preface to The Magic of Robert-Houdin: An Artist's Life at The Miracle Factory Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Colin McDowell, Hats: Status, Style, and Glamour, 1992, p. 74. ISBN 0-8478-1572-2.
  3. ^ QI, A Series, Episode 3
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