Robert Houdin
The earlier years of Houdin's life was spent working to his family's clockmaking business in the French town of Blois.
It was at this time that he particularly became interested in magic and very soon he was entertaining friends with his skilful sleight of hand tricks. In his mid-20s he married the daughter of a well-known Parisian clockmaker and soon after opened his own clockmaking studio in Paris with his father-in-law's backing.
Of course the fact that he now lived in the French capital gave Houdin much more an opportunity to indulge his love of magic.
It was in 1844 that PT Barnum the famous American circus impresario purchased a small android that Houdin had built for the universal exposition. Houdin was paid 7000 francs for this and this financial injection gave him the opportunity to finish the creations he was building for a magic theatre which he was soon to open in Paris.
It was the sight of Houdin in his elegant evening attire which set him apart from other magicians in their long robes and this has led many to see Houdin as the first 'modern' magician.
