Les Animated Photographs de la Maskelyne and Cooke's Provincial Company (Free-Trade Hall, 22-31 décembre 1900) →1901

La Maskelyne and Cooke's Company, dont le responsable est David Devant, parcourt l'Angleterre depuis le mois de juillet 1899, afin d'y présenter son spectacle fait de numéros de magie et prestidigitation. L'équipe vient de donner, pendant quelques jours, des soirées à Wakefield. À Manchester, compte tenu de l'importance de la ville, c'est pendant un mois entier que des séances vont être organisées au Free-Trade Hall, à partir du 22 décembre.

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 18 décembre 1900, p. 1.

La presse de Manchester va consacrer plusieurs articles au spectacle proposé par la Maskelyne and Cooke's Provincial Company, même si les lignes concernant les vues animées restent assez rares, les journalistes préférant s'attarder sur les numéros de magie ou de prestidigitation. L'un des plus complets est publié par le Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser :

MASKELYNE COOKE'S MYSTERIES
" People mutht be amuthed; they can't be alwayth a-learning, nor yet they can't be a-working: they ain't made for it." There is much truth in this pantomimic expression, and at this time of the year more than any other the amusement of the populace is the first consideration, and public entertainers are by no means regardless of the demand for a pure, wholesome, merry-making entertainment. Indeed, so varied is the Christmas "bill of fare" that it is no easy task to make a selection. With these proemial remarks we propose to erect a finger-post pointing directly to one house of entertainment which is worthy of extensive patronage—go to Maskelyne and Cooke's magical entertainment at the Lesser Free-trade Hall. For a good and continuous two and a half hours' entertainment of varied description the programme presented by this enterprising management can hardly be surpassed. Many of the items of which the programme is composed have to be seen to be believed. It is said that Mahomet's coffin, in the Hadjira of Medina, is suspended in mid-air without any support. Many explanations have been given of this phenomenon, the one most generally received being that the coffin is of iron, placed mid-way between two magnets. A gentleman in the audience on Monday evening expressed it as his opinion that such phenomenon was made the more credible after mysterious disappearances that night on a public platform. They were, indeed, to say the least, altogether remarkable. The programme almost entirely composed of thaumaturgy, and does not fail to hold the audience in breathless suspense at very frequent intervals. Perhaps the most sensational mystery is in the case of a young man being bound hands and feet to a specially constructed chair, which, by the way, was, on the occasion of our visit, minutely inspected by two independent gentlemen of the audience. The binding process is conducted in their presence. The cord to which the left wrist is tied was held by one of these gentlemen whilst the other clasped the right hand. A curtain is dropped, and in the twinkling of an eye the occupant of the seat disappears in the most miraculous fashion, leaving the cords with which he was, apparently, securely fastened, behind him. When the rise of the curtain disclosed the vacant chair surprise was writ large the faces of all, and it became the more pronounced when the man who had so wonderfully disappeared strolled leisurely from the back of the hall on to the platform with the most indifferent air imaginable. A fairy fantasy bearing the designation of “The Gnome's Grot" is full of illusions arising out the inventive genius of Messrs. J. N. Maskelyne and D. Devant. During the progress of this item several remarkable achievements are witnessed. A small box built on a table in the centre of the stage. Several minutes are taken to complete its erection, when the unexpected happens. The lid is forced upwards, and a gnome stands upright, attired in Mephistophelian costume. The hermit, pourtrayed by Mr. A. Bert, hangs a curtain before him, and lowering it again immediately discloses a fairy-like young lady, and a little later the head of a young lady is seen hanging in mid-air, depicting the oracle of destiny. is, indeed, a remarkably clever and altogether novel performance, and did not fail to provoke the unstinted applause of the large audience assembled. The exhibition, for which Mr. David Devant is responsible, is alone almost worth the price charged for admission. The presentation of his original magical problems declares him past-master in the art of prestigiation. His hand shadowgraphy, too, secured him the applause he so richly deserved. Following a spiritualistic sketch, in which other remarkable illusions, similar to those described above, appear, the entertainment concludes with an excellent display of animated photographs. They include a most realistic representation of the Paris Exposition and the celebrated travelling platform; London's welcome to the C.I.V.’s—an excellent reproduction—; the falls of Niagara, and several thrilling South African war scenes. There is not a dull moment from start to finish. This is the first and only provincial company ever organised from the Egyptian Hall, London, and, if Monday night’s performance can be taken as a criterion, its stay in Manchester will prove most successful one.

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Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser - Wednesday 26 December 1900, p. 6. 

Les films peuvent provenir de plusieurs éditeurs différents, car il en existe parfois de nombreuses versions comme dans le cas des vues de l'Exposition Universelle de Paris que l'on peut trouver dans plusieurs catalogues de l'époque.

→1901