"Herrmann the Great" by H. J. Burlingame. Chicago: Laird & Lee, (1897). First and only edition.
Alexander Herrmann was the youngest of sixteen children born to the German couple Samuel and Anna Herrmann. Samuel Herrmann was a physician who, it is said, occasionally performed throughout Europe as a conjurer. Alexander’s older brother, Carl (Compars) Herrmann who was 28 years older than Alexander, left medical school at an early age to pursue a successful career as a magician. He served as a role model and inspiration for young Alexander. Carl took his young brother on a tour throughout Europe and Russia and taught him the art of magic, including advanced sleight-of-hand techniques, and Alexander was a brilliant and willing student. By the time they arrived in the United States in 1860, Alexander was seventeen and his adroitness and dexterity soon rivaled that of his famous brother.
Carl introduced Alexander to American audiences as his successor and Alexander performed an amazing “card throwing” act. He could scale a card into the lap of any spectator who raised his hand, bounce cards off of the rear wall of the largest theater and scale the cards all the way to the back of the theater, which made a big impact on the people in the cheaper seats.
Alexander began his independent career as a magician in 1862, brought his own show to London in 1871 and began a three-year stretch at Egyptian Hall as Herrmann the Great. As he got older, he came to resemble his brother Carl. Carl wore an imperial beard and handlebar moustache, and his hair was thinning. Alexander had a full set of curly hair, a thick goatee and a moustache with upturned ends. Even though they resembled each other, Alexander developed his own distinct, magnetic personality. Carl’s humor was sly and he presented his magic in a mysterious manner; he was from the old school of magic. Alexander's performance style, on the other hand, was to interweave comedy with his magic. He was a humorist who aimed to make his performances a joyous occasion. [Source: Wikipedia]
"Herrmann the Great" by H. J. Burlingame. Chicago: Laird & Lee, (1897). First and only edition.
Alexander Herrmann was the youngest of sixteen children born to the German couple Samuel and Anna Herrmann. Samuel Herrmann was a physician who, it is said, occasionally performed throughout Europe as a conjurer. Alexander’s older brother, Carl (Compars) Herrmann who was 28 years older than Alexander, left medical school at an early age to pursue a successful career as a magician. He served as a role model and inspiration for young Alexander. Carl took his young brother on a tour throughout Europe and Russia and taught him the art of magic, including advanced sleight-of-hand techniques, and Alexander was a brilliant and willing student. By the time they arrived in the United States in 1860, Alexander was seventeen and his adroitness and dexterity soon rivaled that of his famous brother.
Carl introduced Alexander to American audiences as his successor and Alexander performed an amazing “card throwing” act. He could scale a card into the lap of any spectator who raised his hand, bounce cards off of the rear wall of the largest theater and scale the cards all the way to the back of the theater, which made a big impact on the people in the cheaper seats.
Alexander began his independent career as a magician in 1862, brought his own show to London in 1871 and began a three-year stretch at Egyptian Hall as Herrmann the Great. As he got older, he came to resemble his brother Carl. Carl wore an imperial beard and handlebar moustache, and his hair was thinning. Alexander had a full set of curly hair, a thick goatee and a moustache with upturned ends. Even though they resembled each other, Alexander developed his own distinct, magnetic personality. Carl’s humor was sly and he presented his magic in a mysterious manner; he was from the old school of magic. Alexander's performance style, on the other hand, was to interweave comedy with his magic. He was a humorist who aimed to make his performances a joyous occasion. [Source: Wikipedia]