Félicien Trewey

Félicien Trewey, born Félicien-François Trevey (23 May 1848 – 2 December 1920), was a French magician, mime, comedian, vaudevillian, tightrope walker, balance artist, dancer, musician, chapeaugraphist and shadowgraphist. The principal of Trewey's entertainment was balancing tricks, which at the time he was a grand master. He was a great card-thrower, scaling cards at great distances. He gave musical entertainment with instruments of his own invention. He had great skill in the uncommon art of writing any words selected by his audience backwards and was an exceptional lightning sketch artist. King Edward VII had witnessed Trewey on many occasions and the Emperor of Austria, Baron Rothschild, as well as many others, have on more than one occasion sent for him to come perform for them. He has also played in several films directed by his good friend Louis Lumière of The Lumière Brothers, including Chapeaux a Transformations (1895), The Photographe (1895), Danseuses des rues (1896), and was uncredited in the 1895 film Partie de cartes ("Card Game"; US title: The Messers. Lumière at Cards).

Trewey was born in a workshop in the paper-making town of Angoulême in France. His father was a machinist who worked at one of the manufactories and lived on the premises. Although his father wanted him to become an engineer at the manufactory, Trewey made up his mind what he wanted to do at seven years old. He was taken to a circus in Marseille and saw a conjurer. He immediately began practicing juggling and magic tricks. His performances were accepted and encouraged by his schoolmates. He set up a "rough proscenium" at a back window of his dad's house where he performed the ever-so-popular Punch and Judy by draping rags over his hands.

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