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Les origines (1867-1899)

Fils d'un brocanteur, Léon Hermann est né à Paris (1867) dans une famille de prestidigitateurs. Il aurait été l'élève de Carl Herrmann :

Né à Paris, en 1867, il est le seul élève du célèbre C. Herrmann, de Vienne, son oncle, avec lequel il a voyagé dès son enfance. Sorti du Collège Srpinger à dix ans, il a parcouru sous sa protection, les principales villes de notre globe, jusqu'à l'âge de vint-et-un ans.

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L'Illusionniste, 2^e année, nº 16, avril 1903, p. 1.

En 1888, il est appelé sous les drapeaux, au 9^e bataillon de Chasseurs à pied et en congé à partir du 5 octobre 1891. Peu après, il épouse Marie, Elisabeth, Aurélie Védie. À cette époque, il est déjà connu comme prestidigitateur comme le montre l'entrefilet suivant :

M. Léon HERMANN donnera ce soir, au Café du Commerce, une petite séance de prestidigitation et calcul rapide.

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Journal d'Indre-et-Loire, Tours, lundi 23 et mardi 24 mai 1892, p. 3.

Après un séjour en Algérie (septembre-novembre 1892), il voyage en particulier en Amérique latine et fait la rencontre de l'empereur Pedro II du Brésil :

"I was a lad of 16," said Hermann, "when I gave my first public performance. Since childhood I had been traveling with my uncle, Carl, and at the time of which I speak, was with him in the city of Rio Janeiro, Brazil. The Emperor, Pedro II, occupied a stage box.
"I had one trick that I then thought my masterpiece. I would hand out to the audience a sealed deck of cards, ask some one to break the seal and select a card, shuffle the deck and hand it to me again. Then I would hand it to another person in the audience and request him to throw the cards into the air. As they rose I would catch on the point of a sword the card that had been first selected.
"As I say the Emperor was in a box, and when the cards came back to me this time, I asked him to throw them in the air. He was a tall man and I shall not forget the air with which he arose and tossed the cards from him, nor the delight he exhibited when I impaled the chosen card on the sword.
"The next day I was summoned to an audience at court, where I was received with every kindnes by the Emperor. He was exceedingly gracious and exceedingly anxious I should teach him how I had done the trick. I complied, and among any greatest treasures, kept carefully and sacredly at home, is the handsome watch the Emperor then presented me.
"From Rio Janeiro my uncle and I made the trip in a chartered steamer, to Asuncion, the capital of the republic of Paraguay. It was through a wild and little settled country and we had some adventures by the way.
"At Asuncion we noticed there was scarcely a man to receive us or to be seen anywhere about. The country had been engaged in one of its numerous wars and all the men were away at the front. Women carried our trunks and other luggage to the hotel, and women, seemingly a countless number of them, followed us about. They were of all shades of color, except white. It had been rarely the case that they were permitted a chance of entertainment, and they were wild with delight at the prospect. It was a fete-a reception, and my uncle asked me to show them something of my skill.
"Well, I performed some simple tricks, among other things went about picking silver dollars from the head-dresses and other garments of the women. I asked one of the women to hold out her hand and commenced to pile into it silver dollars that I took, seemingly from her garments. I had put twenty or twenty-five dollars into her hand by the time I finished and then I held out mine for the money. I didn't get it. The woman said it had been taken from her, that it belonged to her and that she intended to keep it. She did, and walked away, and I never saw her again. That was one time when the joke was on me."

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The Savannah Morning News, Savannah, lundi 20 janvier 1902, p. 8.

On le retrouve ainsi aux quatre coins du monde :

Disons entre parenthèse qu'il a visité dans sa jeune carrière, le Brésil, le Paraguay, l'Uruguay, la République Argentine, le Pérou, le Chili, l'Équateur, Guatemala, le Mexique, le Sénégal, le Portugal, l'Espagne, l'Italie, l'Autriche-Hongrie, la Turquie, la Roumanie...

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L'Illusionniste, 2^e année, nº 16, avril 1903, p. 1.

Alexandre Hermann (c. 1895)	Adelaide Hermann (c. 1900) Source: Library of Congress

Au décès de son oncle Alexandre, connu comme "The Great Hermann", il se rend aux États-Unis, à la demande de sa tante Adelaïde, elle-même artiste :

Adelaide Hermann, in accordance with the wishes of the late Alexander Hermann will keep his company together. Shortly after the death of her husband she cabled Leon Hermann, a nephew of the Wizard and himself a magician of great note, to cancel his European engagements and sail immediately for New York. Mme. Hermann will fill all the dates booked and her spectacular dances will continue a feature of the new organization. She has issued a statement to the press in which she avers that it had been Mr. Hermann's intention to bring his nephew to this country next season and present him to the American public as his successor.

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The Morning Democrat, Davenport, samedi 3 janvier 1897, p. 5.

Il donne son premier spectacle à New York le 28 janvier 1897 :

Leon Hermann, the successor to the late magician, will make his first appearance in public at the Metropolitan Opera House to-morrow night. Adelaide Hermann will perform her husband's fest of catching bullets.

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The New York Times, New York, mercredi 27 janvier 1897, p. 9.

The North Adams Transcript, North Adams, lundi 1^er février 1897, p. 3.

Il va dès lors partager sa carrière entre l'Europe et les États-Unis où il reprend le nom d'artiste de son oncle, "The Great Hermann". Il circule en Espagne, en 1899 et 1900, mais on le retrouve également en janvier 1900 où la presse américaine lui consacre plusieurs articles dont celui-ci :

The name Hermann is a synonym for magic and mirth. that fact was illustrated again last night at the Baker theater by Leon Hermann, nephew and successor to his famous and lamented uncle, the Hermann who used to pack the Lyceum each year and whose death occurred but a few hours after the close of his last visit to this city.
The mystifying tricks of Leon Hermann are in many instances of the same nature as those presented by others of his craft, but they are done as only a Hermann can do them, and are consequently more puzzling because more deftly executed and more finished. The present Hermann possesses many physical characteristics of his uncle and likes to indulge in an occasional verbal joke, but his broken English is a handicap and he is compelled to rely usually upon his tricks to create mirth.
Card tricks, some of them entirely new, furnished Hermann an opportunity to  "get acquainted," and when he had finished with them, his audience was ready to see him do anything and not be surprised, however it might be interested.
"The Mysterious Tub of Nepture" was the first and real "puzzler" which he essayed. A tub was filled with water and into it were thrown three hen's eggs. Three shots from a revolver brought forth three live ducks from the tub. Another was the "Golden Butterfly," in which a wooden frame covered with thin paper was made to produce a huge cocoon from which emerged a young woman.
A musical quartette, the four Luciers, heard in Rochester before, were entertaining, and a young woman with a long name and a short dress sang popular songs, but hardly in a popular way. The closing part was a return of Hermann and the presentation of more legerdemain and illusions. Hermann will appear to-night and twice to-morrow.

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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, vendredi 26 janvier 1900, p. 12.

Mike Caveney's Egyptian Hall collection	Le célèbre professeur Hermann

Le cinématographe (1900-1905)

Dès 1900, Léon Hermann participe à des spectacles où figure également un numéro avec des vues animées. Ainsi, il dirige, avec Mr. Stark, la "Compagnie russe" qui fait tourner un cinématographe. Aux États-Unis, sa route croise, en 1901, celle du Polyscope de William Selig.

The Oregonian, Portland, jeudi 17 octobre 1901, p. 11.

La revue L'Illusionniste donne de Léon Hermann le portrait suivant :

Léon Herrmann n’est pas seulement un prestidigitateur de talent, il est aussi un parfait gentleman, à la tenue très distinguée. Il parle couramment anglais, allemand, espagnol et portugais. Travaillant sans relâche, il est toujours occupé à de nouvelles inventions et son spectacle, aujourd’hui, peut être classé comme étant le plus grand qui existe dans la magie. Il voyage avec une troupe de quinze personnes et trente-deux malles de tours ; avec, aussi, ses propres décors.

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L'illusionniste, 2^e année, avril 1903.

León Hermann revient à de multiples reprises en Europe avant de repartir, comme en 1905, aux États-Unis où il arrive le 24 septembre 1905.

Et après (1907-1909)

Il continue ainsi sa carrière en revenant à plusieurs reprises en France. En 1907, il se rend à nouveau aux États-Unis, avec son épouse, à bord de la Provence, où il arrive à New York le 10 août 1907. L'année suivante, il effectue seul un dernier séjour outre-Atlantique à bord de la Provence et accoste le 29 août 1908.

Encore jeune, Léon Hermann décède en 1909. L'Illusionniste publie sa nécrologie :

Le 19 mai dernier, nous avons eu la douleur d’accompagner à sa dernière demeure, au cimetière de Pantin, notre cher ami et confrère Léon Herrmann, décédé le 17 mai, à l’âge de 42 ans, après une carrière brillante, quoique trop courte, entièrement consacrée à la magie. C’est vers sa dix-huitième année que Léon Herrmann débuta, comme la plupart d’entre nous, dans les cafés de Paris, et, durant la saison d’été, dans les casinos des bains de mer et villes d’eaux.
Puis vint la conscription ; après trois années passées sous la capote bleue du fantassin, il fut appelé en Amérique par sa tante Adélaïde dont le mari, Alexander Herrmann, venait de mourir après avoir imposé son nom a l’admiration du peuple yankee, Léon sut porter allègrement cette lourde succession, il sut faire applaudir les trucs que lui avait légués son oncle en les présentant avec le chic et le bon goût d’un artiste parisien; son élégance en scène était d’ailleurs proverbiale.

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L'illusionniste, nº 90, juin 1909.

Il est inhumé au cimétière de Pantin (Paris).

Sources

"Decorated by Emperor", The Savannah Morning News, lundi 20 janvier 1902, p. 8.

"Léon Herrmann", L'Illusionniste, nº 16, avril 1903.

"The Herrmann Family", The North Adams Transcript, North Adams, lundi 1^er février 1897, p. 4.

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