Alexander Herrmann

Alexander Herrmann (February 10, 1844 – December 17, 1896) was a French magician, better known as The Great Herrmann.

Alexander was born in Paris to Samuel and Anna Sarah Herrmann, a physician who occasionally performed throughout Europe as a conjuror. Alexander's brother Compars Herrmann born (January 23, 1816 died June 8, 1887) left medical school at an early age to pursue a career as a magician and served as a role model and inspiration for Alexander.

Alexander joined his brother's stage show at the age of eight and the brothers toured the world together. Eventually they would go their separate ways, Compars returning to Europe and Alexander to America where he became a naturalized citizen in July 1876 in Boston. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, Alexander and his wife Adelaide Herrmann (née Scarcez; born August 11, 1854 died February 19, 1932) performed together in elaborate stage shows. The pair adapted Robert Houdin's Aerial Suspension routine and performed their own version of the bullet catch.

When Herrmann died from heart failure in 1896, Adelaide continued performing her husband's illusions. She was joined by Alexander's nephew, Leon Herrmann born (March 13, 1867, died May 6, 1909). Even after Leon's death, Madame Herrmann continued to perform until the age of seventy-five in dramatic and lavish shows which had become the hallmark of the Herrmann name.

External links

* [http://victorian-magic.blogspot.com/2006/05/art-of-magic.html The Art of Magic] by Alexander Herrmann
* [http://www.martinka.com/martinka/auction/APSearch.asp?CMD=SEARCH&SearchFor=Herrmann&SearchDesc=Y&SearchClosed=Y Herrmann-related memorabilia]
* [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/herrmann/book_of_magic/ Herrmann's Book of Magic] by Alexander Herrmann