A magic theater in the 19th century!

It was on July 27, 1856, that Bénita Anguinet opened her magic theater at the Pré Catelan in Paris.

About twenty meters long, seven and a half meters wide, and five meters high, this theater, made of wood and canvas, hosted the magician from 1856 to 1858. The theater clearly announced its function with the inscription "Théâtre de magie" on its pediment, which the public could read upon arriving at this venue dedicated to prestidigitation.

Photograph of Bénita Anguinet's theater [Getty Museum Collection]

It is estimated that this theater could accommodate around 170 spectators, with its fourteen rows of bleachers. Some quite exceptional period photographs allow us to relive what spectators could see, with a snapshot of the props that Bénita Anguinet presented during her shows. It includes a large part of Robert-Houdin's repertoire (the wonderful orange tree, the harlequin and his box, the fantastic card, ...) but also more atypical tricks such as the Vendôme column where a chosen card rises to its top.

Scene by Bénita Anguinet [BnF Collection]

The Pré Catelan park, which hosted the magic theater, unfortunately saw its revenues decrease year after year. Bénita Anguinet left her theater in 1858, and from then on, a few other magicians sporadically took over. But in the 1860s, the Pré Catelan went bankrupt, and the magic theater then became a bicycle shed.

Postcard of the velodrome [Pierre Taillefer collection]

A few years later, at an unknown date, this last vestige of Bénita Anguinet's shows was completely razed, forever erasing this magic theater!

If you want to discover more about the life of this famous magician, find the book dedicated to her, containing many unpublished documents, right here below!

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