17 Facts About Paul Philidor

Paul Philidor was claimed to be from the neighboring County of Flanders.

Paul Philidor was thought to be German when he came to Paris in 1792.

Paul Philidor traded in "physical instruments" and taught some of his tricks to paying customers.

Paul Philidor claimed to have gotten praise of the Dresden court for his new show in 1789.

Paul Philidor reportedly helped a lady who came to him for advice about the theft of clothes from her house: Phylidor said he would make the thief very unhappy for the rest of his life, if the clothes were not returned the next day.

Paul Philidor had been performing in Leeds for six weeks, but his shows weren't very well attended and he had arranged to perform in Wakefield a few days later.

Paul Philidor reportedly left his widow and three children unprovided for, so an appeal was made in the local newspaper to collect funds that would enable the family to move to Hull and get Mrs Philipsthal established at a school over there.

Paul Philidor claimed to be a professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and dressed in courtly attire.

Paul Philidor regarded his shows by no means as supernatural, but as an art which had already found praise at the Dresden court.

Paul Philidor further developed his ghost-raising show, probably making use of the recently invented Argand lamp, into a show that could more easily be seen by large audiences.

Paul Philidor promised different tricks for each evening and presented his show as "Zwarte Konst" in one of his newspaper advertisements.

Paul Philidor advised them to hold each other's hands and the ones on the end to hold the metal hands in order not to fall over and as a protection against the dangers.

Paul Philidor pleaded not to have to do this, but instead to raise the spirit of the deceased father of an Englishman in the audience as agreed upon a few days earlier.

Paul Philidor conjured up this apparition, but the image showed a figure in too fashionable an outfit for someone who had died a few years before.

Paul Philidor found traces of a metal wire that had been attached to the walls, which he thought was intended to ignite some combustible materials to create the illusion of the complete room being on fire.

Tussaud had left France to join up with Paul Philidor, who agreed to allow her to associate with his fame for half of her profits.

Paul Philidor would go on to travel Great Britain and Ireland until settling down for a permanent exhibition on Baker Street in 1835.