The timing was excellent, as it allowed Robert-Houdin time to finish the pieces he was building for a magical theater he would soon open in Paris. The public was enchanted by his elegantly appointed theater at the old Palais Royal, which featured numbers clearly inspired by Phillipe but with novel twists of their own. Even in this first endeavor, Robert-Houdin displayed a gift for presentation which would set him apart. In particular, his practice of appearing in normal evening attire, rather than elaborate robes, caught on and has led many to see him as the first "modern" magician.
The routine that turned Robert-Houdin into a major attraction was not mechanical at all, but a number called "Second Sight," in which his son, blindfolded on stage, correctly identified objects held by his father in the audience. . .
Georges Méliès, último propietario del teatro Robert-Houdin, prestidigitador antes de convertirse en uno de los pioneros del cinematógrafo. El cine nace en pleno centro del ilusionismo. También en este ámbito, Robert-Houdin es un precursor: su arte, al igual que sus trabajos científicos en oftalmología, giran alrededor de las posibles aplicaciones de lo visual, de la relación de lo invisible y lo visible, de la ciencia y el arte.
Perhaps inspired by the complex mechanical devices, or automata, demonstrated by Philippe and other conjurers, Robert-Houdin started building more than clocks. In 1844, a small android he had built for the Universal Exposition was purchased by American circus impresario P.T. Barnum for the handsome price of seven thousand francs.
