Jacques de Falaise, whom all of Paris had seen, swallowed eels, birds, live mice; a pipe, nuts, a watch; and even introduced an eighteen-inch saber blade into his stomach (1)
During the heyday of the Comte theater, located on rue de Grenelle-Saint-Honoré in Paris (corresponding today to the southern part of rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau), an artist of particular talent made a name for himself. His name: Jacques Simon, also known as Le polyphage (literally: the one who eats everything). He was reportedly born in 1754 in Falaise (Calvados), which would explain why he was also called Jacques de Falaise.
As a biographical note published during his lifetime (in 1820) indicates, Jacques Simon reportedly first worked as a laborer in the quarries of the city of Montmartre before discovering, at the late age of 60 (2), his talent, which consisted of being able to swallow any object given to him. He discovered this "gift of nature" by chance, when hiding a medallion belonging to a friend who was getting married, and who was playing a game of finding it. To prevent his friend from easily finding the precious jewel, Jacques Simon chose to swallow it, without feeling the slightest discomfort afterward. He subsequently repeated the experiment with countless objects, a complete list of which would be difficult to establish.
A glimpse of the objects swallowed by the Polyphage – Le Bon Genre n° 95 – Thibault Ternon Collection
Thus, he embarked on an artistic career and would present himself swallowing a pipe, a 50-centimeter sword before expelling it, keys, rings, or even a rose covered with thorns. Then, as if to evolve his act, he began to swallow a quantity of live animals such as eels, crayfish, or mice. He quickly gained a certain notoriety and was hired by Louis Comte in his theater, as we mentioned, at least twice in 1816 and 1820. He also worked alongside some of the great prestidigitators of the time, as was the case in Nantes in 1827 where he performed alongside Jules de Rovère (3).
Jacques de Falaise and his pets..! Engraving from Notice sur Jacques de Falaise Source: gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France
But his performances, extraordinary as they were, were not without consequences, and he had to spend two periods in the hospital. The doctors urged and managed to convince him to retrain and thus stop his dangerous artistic activities. He was then hired at the Beaujon hospital where he ended his life on March 30, 1825, having been found hanged in one of the corridors.
Dr. J. P. Beaudé performed an autopsy on the body of the former artist to study the phenomenon that was Jacques de Falaise and wrote a Memoir on a case of Polyphagia, followed by medico-legal considerations on death by suspension. A short summary of this medical examination appears in volume 3 of the Revue médicale française et étrangère (4). A short biographical note of a few pages, in which his portrait is reproduced, appeared under the title Notice sur Jacques de Falaise, ses habitudes, sa nourriture et les moyens qu’il emploie pour conserver sa santé (5)
1 Chaponnier, "Chapter VIII: Digestion," in La physiologie des gens du monde, pour servir de complément à l’éducation, Paris, F. Didot frères, 1829, p. 144.
2 in Notice sur Jacques de Falaise, ses habitudes, sa nourriture et les moyens qu’il emploie pour conserver sa santé, Paris, Impr. de Ballard, 1820, p. 1.
3 “Spectacle de M. Jules Rovère,” L’Ami de la Charte, March 19, 1827, vol. 9, no. 1397, p. 4.
4 “V° Bibliographical notices,” in Revue médicale française et étrangère et journal de clinique de l’Hôtel-Dieu et de la charité de Paris, Paris, Gabon et compagnie, 1826, vol.3.
5 Notice sur Jacques de Falaise, ses habitudes, sa nourriture et les moyens qu’il emploie pour conserver sa santé, Paris, Impr. de Ballard, 1820, 20 p.
