Auvray
Expérience publique de la cinquième Femme invisible, depuis six mois
Le Courrier des spectacles, ou Journal des théâtres, Paris 11 june 1800, pp. 3-4.
1 volume available
Critical letter by Auvray on the public session held by R. Charles (Charles Rouy) at the Hôtel Longueville, described as the "fifth Invisible Woman in six months". After a tirade against the return of charlatans, phantasmagorias, talking heads and automata (citing the talking head shown in Paris in 1783, the lawsuit over the Shadows between Robertson and Clysorius, and his own critique of the "physicist" of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, i.e. Doctor Laurent), he describes the apparatus: a glass globe a little larger than a pumpkin, hung from the ceiling and crossed by four copper tubes, surrounded by a wooden balustrade. He reports that the perforations denounced by Denis were not found but that, when handkerchiefs were laid on the balustrade, the voice grew weaker; tapping the balustrade he found spots that sounded hollow and felt like tin, but was stopped by R. Charles ("who is not the physicist Charles"). He concludes that the globe is useless and that the hollow balustrade serves to carry the questions to the Invisible, while the answer comes from a speaking-tube hidden in the balustrade. Full transcription and Italian translation.
Language
French
