Samri Baldwin
| Samri Baldwin | |
|---|---|
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| Occupation | Magician |
Samuel Spencer Baldwin (1848-1924), or Samri Baldwin, most well known as "The White Mahatma" was an American magician.
Biography
Baldwin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He became interested in magic whilst watching the Davenport brothers perform séances. He began to duplicate the tricks of fraudulent mediums such as Anna Eva Fay.[1] He was one of the first magicians to have practiced a stage escape from handcuffs.[2] He was the first to take the "question and answer" mentalism act to the stage.[3]
Baldwin exposed the tricks of fraudulent mediums and claimed to have learned the tricks of the fakirs of India.[4] He was married to the stage mentalist Kitty (1853-1934) would assist him in his performances, they had one daughter Shadow.[5]
The magician Fulton Oursler when writing on the subject of magic and spiritualism, used the name Samri Frikell. He made it by combining the names of Samri Baldwin and another magician, Wiljalba Frikell.[6]
Publications
- The Secrets of Mahatma Land Explained (1895)
- Spirit Mediums Exposed (1879)
References
- ↑ Milbourne Christopher. (1975). Mediums, Mystics & the Occult. Thomas Y. Crowell. p. 176. ISBN 978-0690004762
- ↑ Adam Woog. (1999). Magicians and Illusionists. Lucent Books. p. 60. ISBN 978-1560065739
- ↑ Massimo Polidoro. (2001). Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle. Prometheus Books. p. 59. ISBN 978-1573928960
- ↑ Lee Siegel. (1991). Net of Magic: Wonders and Deceptions in India. University Of Chicago Press. p. 396. ISBN 978-0226756875
- ↑ Kitty Baldwin (1853-1934)
- ↑ John Mulholland. (1938). Beware Familiar Spirits. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 138. ISBN 978-0684161815