Legends of Legerdemain: Professor Pinetti
Giuseppe Pinetti de Wildalle, the Roman Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.
Welcome to the inaugural article of Legends of Legerdemain, a regular column dedicated to exploring the fascinating figures that populate the rich history of magic. In this first instalment, we will delve into the life and work of the flamboyant Italian conjurer Professor Pinetti, who captivated audiences across France, Great Britain, Germany, and Russia during the late eighteenth century.
Professor Pinetti, more commonly known as Chevalier Joseph Pinetti in France, was an Italian magician who revolutionised the art of magic during his lifetime. Prior to Pinetti's rise to fame, magic performances were largely relegated to the streets, fairs, and private engagements for the wealthy. He is widely regarded as the most celebrated magician of his era and is credited with transforming magic into a respectable theatrical art form. Pinetti achieved this by taking his performances from the streets to the stage and embracing advertising to make himself known to a wider audience.
His creativity and ingenuity were unmatched, and he was well known for his mechanical inventions that often surpassed those of his contemporaries. In fact, Pinetti's repertoire was almost entirely composed of his own inventions, making him a true pioneer in the world of magic.
Pinetti's performances were often elaborate and involved intricate and ornate apparatus. One of Pinetti's most impressive and baffling tricks involved a chosen playing card, a nail, and a pistol. He would tear the selected card into pieces, burn them, and load the ashes into the pistol's chamber along with a marked nail. Pinetti would then throw a pack of cards into the air and fire the pistol at them as they fell to the ground. The result was astonishing: the destroyed card would reappear nailed to the wall, seemingly defying the laws of physics.
To deepen the mystery, Pinetti would show the ripped corner of the selected card to the audience, revealing that it matched the card fixed to the wall. The marked nail was then verified as the same one loaded into the pistol by the person who marked it, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the performance.
Another notable feat in Pinetti's repertoire was an unusual trick with a small golden head, about the size of a nut, which he would place in a glass and cover with a silver lid. Through its movements, the diminutive body part would answer any question, captivating audiences with its apparent intelligence.
Pinetti also performed a precursor of the modern Rising Card effect. He would ask several spectators to think of a card and then place the pack in a small silver box open at the top and supported on the neck of a bottle previously examined by the audience. The apparatus was then placed on an isolated table, and upon Pinetti's command, the chosen cards would seemingly jump from the pack, leaving the audience spellbound.
In all of these tricks, Pinetti demonstrated his boundless creativity and ingenuity as a magician. By combining elements of sleight of hand, misdirection, and grand illusion, he crafted performances that were nothing short of unforgettable.
Magic Disguised as Science
The Italian conjurer is widely credited with establishing the classical school of magic along with his contemporaries, such as French scientist and magician Comus.1 This style of magic was characterised by the performer, often a self-styled professor or doctor, claiming that their sophisticated stage miracles were based on recently discovered scientific principles and phenomena.
However, these pseudo-scientific explanations often got performers such as Pinetti into trouble, and this form of presentation became unfashionable as new scientific knowledge spread rapidly in the wake of the Enlightenment. Nonetheless, Pinetti's legacy as a master magician lives on, and his influence can still be seen in the performances of modern magicians who continue to build on the foundations he established.
Pinetti’s Early Life
Little is known about the early life of Giovanni Giuseppe Pinetti. He was born in 1750 in the small fortified town of Orbetello, located in the foothills of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy. Today, Orbetello is part of the province of Grosseto and is famous for its beautiful lagoon, which is considered an important nature reserve.
Research conducted by renowned escapologist and magician Harry Houdini revealed that Pinetti was the son of a village innkeeper named Luigi Merci. Despite his humble beginnings, Pinetti's scientific mind led him to become a professor of physics, where he would often showcase electrical and chemical experiments in his classroom. He would also use magic tricks to illustrate concepts to his students, which made his classes very popular.
With the encouragement of his friends, he eventually decided to turn professional and began performing in Germany in 1780, billing himself as the "Roman Professor of Mathematics". Pinetti's elaborate illusions were often passed off as genuine scientific phenomena. His featured mystery during this time was "Theophrastus Paracelsus", a gruesome trick in which a pigeon was suspended from a small scaffold by a ribbon tied around its neck. Pinetti would slash a knife across the shadow cast by the bird, and at that instant, the pigeon appeared to be decapitated. This trick is now considered a cruel ancestor to Teller's famous Shadows routine, in which the mute magician recreates the same sympathetic magic using the shadow of a rose.
Despite the lack of information about Pinetti's early years, it is clear that he went on to become one of the most celebrated magicians of his time. His performances and innovations transformed magic into a respected and popular form of entertainment, and his influence can still be felt in the world of magic today. Though much of his life remains shrouded in mystery, his legacy as a master of illusion continues to inspire magicians and audiences alike.
The Toast of Paris
After performing in Germany, Pinetti journeyed to Paris, where he began performing at the Theätre du Menu-Plaisirs du Roi in 1784. This was an era when exhibitions of mysticism and inexplicable phenomena were all the rage due to the popularity of Italian occultist Cagliostro and German physician Mesmer. Consequently, Pinetti's performances were well-received, and, despite speaking only a few words of French, he quickly became one of the most sought-after performers in the city.
Pinetti's stage was adorned with luxurious yet simple props, such as silk curtains, gilded tables, and two large crystal chandeliers. He wore a court costume featuring silk stockings, silver-buckled shoes, close-fitting satin knee breeches, a brocaded coat, and a powdered wig. Despite his short and pudgy stature, he carried himself with great dignity, as if he were the reigning monarch of France rather than King Louis XVI. He reportedly changed his clothes three or four times per show!
In stark contrast to the itinerant street performers who used brass and tin props stored in bags tied around their waists, Pinetti used gleaming gold and silver apparatus. His performances became so popular that even King Louis requested a private showing, and seats for his show were booked weeks in advance. As a result, Pinetti, and the twenty-three tricks he featured nightly in his program, became the talk of Paris, and he was celebrated as one of the greatest performers in France.
King of Conjurers
Pinetti was a flamboyant showman who enjoyed promoting himself with various titles and distinctions. He went by many names, including Pinetti Willedal de Merci. He also held several esteemed titles, such as Chevalier of the Order of St. Philip, Geographical Engineer, and Pensioner of the Court of Prussia. This grandiose self-presentation may have been influenced by the customs of the time, where titles and distinctions were highly valued and sought after.
The celebrated Italian conjurer has been the subject of many stories, including a famous but possibly fictional anecdote involving Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia. As Pinetti's grand carriage, pulled by four white horses and escorted by four footmen, made its way through the streets of Berlin, it caught the attention of the king, whose modest carriage drawn by just two horses paled in comparison. After learning that it was Pinetti, who was performing at a Berlin theatre, the king was reportedly displeased. The next day, an official order signed by Frederick II was delivered to Pinetti, commanding him to leave the city within twenty-four hours. According to legend, the king felt that Berlin was too small to accommodate two reigning sovereigns: the King of Prussia and the King of Conjurers!
A Bitter Rivalry
In early March 1784, Henri Decremps, a lawyer and polymath who had studied physics, music, and conjuring, published a new book titled La Magie Blanche Dévoilée (Natural Magic Disclosed), which quickly became a bestseller. The book was an attempt to expose the secret methods of the famous Italian conjurer, although Decremps did not mention Pinetti by name. However, it detailed many of his most well-known tricks and included an engraved frontispiece depicting a slender performer on a stage set that was clearly based on the Italian conjurer.
Henri Decremps and Pinetti had a long-standing rivalry, which stemmed from Decremps' unfounded accusations that Pinetti was a fraud, despite him never claiming to possess supernatural powers or using his talents to defraud others. In subsequent volumes, Decremps divulged the secrets to more of Pinetti's tricks and continued to disparage him with derogatory names like "pilferer," "Bohemian," and "Three-Fingered Jack." Such unwarranted criticism was likely fueled by a deep-rooted jealousy of Pinetti's continued success as a celebrated conjurer.
Furthermore, as an amateur magician, Decremps' explanations of Pinetti's wonders were largely guesswork. Although only some of the tricks were correctly explained, the damage was already done, and people became less interested in seeing Pinetti's show since all his mysteries had been revealed. In a short period of time, Henri Decremps managed to publish five volumes, including a supplement and several other works:
1784 - La Magie Blanche Dévoilée (Natural Magic Disclosed)
1785 - Supplément à la Magie Blanche Dévoilée (Supplement to Natural Magic Disclosed)
1786 - Testament de Jéróme Sharp (Testament of Jéróme Sharp)
1788 - Codicille de Jéróme Sharp (Codicil of Jéróme Sharp)
1789 - Les Petites Aventures de Jéróme Sharp (The Little Adventures of Jéróme Sharp)
Encouraged by the sales of his books, Decremps made several failed attempts to perform magic for the public, highlighting that the spiteful lawyer was more skilful with words than with sleight of hand.
Pinetti's response to the exposure was remarkable: he reportedly hired a vagrant to dress in shabby attire and pretend to be Decremps. During Pinetti's show, he publicly denounced the author of the books as a jealous and untalented performer who was unable to appreciate the merits of a truly artistic performance. At this point in the performance, the vagrant would stand up, identify himself as the author, and begin hurling insults at Pinetti. The magician calmly accepted the tirade of abuse and even gave the vagrant a few coins before having him thrown out of the theatre!
In June of 1784, Pinetti also publish a book himself: Amusements Physiques (Physical Amusements), which was later translated as Physical Amusements and Diverting Experiments and sold in England. The text was not a manual of conjuring but a book of tricks and stunts to help people amuse their friends and family. The book included a prominent thank you to the French King for his patronage. Without mentioning Decremps or his book, Pinetti corrected some of the mistakes in La Magie Blanche Dévoilée.
As ticket sales diminished, rather than stop performing, Pinetti ended his run in Paris and travelled to London with his wife. He started performing at the New Theatre to great success, turning people away from the door on a nightly basis.
Pinetti’s advertising was no less boastful in England. He announced in the local newspapers that he would exhibit:
“the most wonderful, stupendous, and absolutely inimitable mechanical, physical and philosophical pieces, which his recent deep scrutiny in these sciences and assiduous exertions have enabled him to invent and construct.”
Decremps' books not only fueled the rivalry between him and Pinetti but also helped other performers replicate Pinetti's tricks. In the long run, the books have provided a lasting legacy for the Italian conjurer. Pinetti continued to achieve great success throughout his travels, performing in London to sold-out audiences and even earning an invitation to perform at Windsor Castle in front of King George III.
He returned to Paris for a brief period before continuing his tour in Lisbon, Berlin, and eventually Russia. Despite Decremps' attempts to discredit him, Pinetti's talent as a conjurer was undeniable and continues to be celebrated by magicians and historians alike.
The First Second Sight Act
During their tour of Europe in the 1780s, Pinetti and his wife introduced a groundbreaking new act to their performances: the apparent transference of thought from one person to another. This involved blindfolding Madame Pinetti and having her accurately describe objects that audience members imagined and presented to her, such as snuffboxes and coins.
This feat of apparent mindreading was widely advertised and is believed to be one of the earliest performances of the second sight act. Pinetti's innovative trick not only captivated audiences but also inspired other magicians to develop their own variations of the same concept.
Pinetti Versus Torrini
In Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin's memoirs, the author recounts an encounter between Professor Pinetti and a rival magician named "Torrini". According to Robert-Houdin, he was a nobleman fleeing the French Revolution and was involved in an adversarial confrontation with Pinetti. Torrini, whose real name was Count Edmond de Grisy, alleged that an ageing Pinetti was jealous of his talents and arranged a performance specifically to sabotage him. However, after this humiliation, de Grisy supposedly became motivated to learn the art of magic so well that his skills eventually outmatched those of his Italian rival.
Although this story is retold in the History of Conjuring and Magic by Henry Ridgely Evans, there is no concrete evidence that the enigmatic Count Edmond de Grisy, or a magician named "Torrini", ever existed. Instead, it is widely believed that Robert-Houdin invented this character as a literary device to make his life story more interesting. Apparently, it's common practice for autobiographers to take creative liberties with their stories to make them more engaging for readers!
Retirement and Death in Russia
Pinetti retired to Russia with a considerable fortune to his name. He became interested in aeronautics and spent a lot of his money building and experimenting with hot air balloons. This gifted man was scarcely fifty when he died.
The Grandfather of Modern Magic?
Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805 to 1871) is known as the "Father of Modern Magic," but his signature tricks were often inspired by earlier magicians, such as Pinetti, who performed decades before him.
Pinetti was a pioneer of theatre magic, and his repertoire included The Blooming Orange Tree Illusion, which later became Robert-Houdin's most famous trick.2 A stunning reenactment of this trick, performed by Scott Penrose, is available for viewing below.
During the first half of the 18th century, magicians had a poor reputation and were often seen as charlatans or associated with petty crime. However, Pinetti changed the perception of magic by transforming it from a pastime for the poor and lower classes to a form of entertainment suitable for the upper classes, including nobility and members of the royal households of Europe. He was also a pioneer of advertising in the world of magic, anticipating the promotional strategies of later magicians like Harry Houdini during the Golden Age of Magic (1850-1940).
Pinetti's performances often made innovative use of mechanical devices, such as automata (self-operating machines), which added a new level of wonder to his tricks. However, this style of magic was mainly suitable for stage performances only due to the need for large, cumbersome props, and is no longer as popular as it once was.
Pinetti was not only a pioneer of modern magic but also responsible for inspiring future magicians such as Robert-Houdin and his namesake Harry Houdini. One of his most significant contributions was the Thumb Tie Escape, a trick that has been replicated countless times by other magicians since its inception.
Pinetti's innovative rope-tying feats also laid the foundation for many of the illusions later used by mediums and magicians performing the Spirit Cabinet, including the infamous Davenport Brothers (pictured above).
Considering his many accomplishments, it is fitting to recognise Professor Pinetti as the "Grandfather of Modern Magic".
Bibliography
Here are the main sources that I consulted when writing this article. If you would like to learn more about Pinetti and his magic, I strongly recommend you read these books. Note: Natural Magic by Philip Astley is a pirated English translation of La Magie Blanche Dévoilée by Henri Decremps. Magicians of old had no problem with plagiarism on a grand scale!
Christopher, Milbourne and Maurine. The Illustrated History of Magic. Portsmouth (New Hampshire): Heinemann, 1996. https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00chri/page/n6/mode/1up.
Ridgely Evans, Henry. History of Conjuring and Magic. Kenton (Ohio): William D. Durbin, 1930. https://archive.org/details/history-of-conjuring-and-magic-by-henry-ridgely-evans-z-lib.org/page/n3/mode/2up.
Decremps, Henri. La Magie Blanche Dévoilée. Paris: Chez J.F. Desoer, 1792. https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008700490/page/n5/mode/2up.
Astley, Philip. Natural Magic. London: Unknown, 1785. https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2008mcyoung46072.
Pinetti, Giuseppe. Physical Amusements and Diverting Experiments. London: Unknown, 1784. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/hme99957/items.
Comus was a magician and noted physicist who styled himself after the Greek god of mirth and revelry. His real name was Nicola-Philippe Ledru. He performed magic for aristocrats, royalty and the general public. He travelled extensively throughout Europe, making a small fortune in the process. Comus was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror but somehow kept his head and fortune.
Pinetti called his version of this trick “Le Bouquet Philosophique”. The Blooming Orange Tree Illusion predates both Robert-Houdin and Pinetti. His trick was based on an earlier illusion performed with a similar mechanical apple tree by the English conjurer Isaac Fawkes.