BAUTIER DE KOLTA: THE FRENCH ILLUSIONARY GENIUS
- Sid Quatrine
- Dec 14
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Joseph Bautier, born in Caluire-et-Cuire (Rhône, France) on November 18, 1847, was the son of fabric merchants Mariette Rambaud and Claude Buatier.
At six, he assisted a traveling magician and received his first magic book, which he thoroughly studied. However, his wife later claimed he was actually 18 at the time.
Although inspired by a magician, his parents hoped he would become a priest. Joseph was one of three brothers; the youngest, August, did become a priest.
Bautier developed an interest in art and began painting with his friend Elie-Joseph Laurent (1841–1926).
He spent two years away from magic, focusing on painting and supporting himself by waiting tables and performing strolling magic.
One evening, Hungarian impresario Julius Vida de Kolta saw Joseph perform and soon becoming his manager, arranging performances throughout Europe, including Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, before an invitation to the Théâtre Robert-Houdin in Paris. He also performed in Geneva, Switzerland, and smaller venues in Rome.
Here he would meet an old priest friend in Rome, who arranged for him to perform for the Catholic Church after Joseph admitted his struggles on the road. This marked a turning point, leading to performances in more prestigious theaters.
He introduced the illusion "La Cage Volante," which evolved into the vanishing birdcage and later the flying cage in 1875.
He would redesign this cage as a square as oppose to the original oblong shape most likely during his tenure at Egyptian Hall around the early 1880's, Charles Bertram would stand in for De Kolta performing the square design within this period around 1886.
Although he never sold a physical copy of the cage, Harry Kellar and Robert Heller acquired versions from Charles DeVier. We would later find out De Kolta sold the secret to a magic dealer in Holland but never the physical effect itself.
He would make his London debut at Egyptian Hall in 1875, facilitated by Dr. Lynn. Lynn was impressed and arranged a schedule where they alternated shows, with Lynn and Buatier using the large hall and Maskelyne and Cooke the smaller room. In July 1875, Maskelyne and Cooke leased the entire hall.
It is speculated that Joseph Buatier arrived in London and saw the posters already printed for his show, he discovered that the British had mixed up his name with his manager’s, calling him “Buatier de Kolta.”
Instead of disputing with the show organizers and asking them to reprint the poster run, Joseph chose to accept it. From that moment, he was known as Buatier de Kolta.
In 1886, J.N. Maskelyne and Buatier collaborated on the "Black Magic" show, with Bautier contributing a parlor-sized performance. He invented most of his illusions, although he later purchased a psycho automaton replica named Altotas, much to the annoyance of Maskelyne.
His unique creations included his version of the rising card trick, the diminishing cards, the five coins coin star, and a mechanical take on the multiplying billiard balls.
He devised his flower cone illusion, an illusion whereby flowers poured from an empty cone into an umbrella, filling the stage.
Returning to Paris, De Kolta pursued larger illusions like La Cocoon In December 1885, , featuring a paper framework with a silkworm outline and a large cocoon from which a woman dressed as a moth or butterfly emerged.
In 1886, in St. Petersburg, Russia, he debuted an illusion with a newspaper sheet, a chair, and a thin sheet, where a lady and the cloth vanished, known as The De Kolta chair illusion.
Maskelyne wanted it for Egyptian Hall, but timing issues led to an agreement for Bertram to perform it there. Alexander Herrmann later presented it in the United States.
He would return to Egyptian Hall in 1887, this would be the last time he performed there.
A lesser-known illusion involved a magic carpet and a disappearing act with a large rug.
He married musician Alice Mumford in the mid-1880s, and they remained married throughout his life.
De Kolta introduced the Captive's Flight, a large vanishing cage featuring his wife as an ornate bird, to protest counter claims of harm to birds in the original illusion.
His most famous effect, The Dice or the expanding die, involved an eight-inch die growing to 30 inches, revealing a woman inside. He introduced the act with a sack, claiming it contained his wife, in placing the smaller dice from the bag onto a small table, and a large Japanese style fan as a backdrop, with a single wave the die would expand almost instantaneously.
he and an assistant would lift the expanded Die revealing his wife.
In 1902, Bautier De Kolta returned to America after a previous appearance in 1891. He performed in New York at the Eden Musee from September 1902 to April 1903, then toured the United States, including a performance at the Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans in September 1903.
He suffered from illness and passed away at 55 on October 7, 1903, from kidney disease. He was a heavy smoker and enjoyed good food. It was revealed he had an affair with Alice Alan, an assistant in his London show, who was five months pregnant at his death.
On March 9, 1904, his only daughter, Violet, was born and remained involved in magic throughout her life.
Morrit stated that De Kolta coined the term "illusionist" and was the first to use it. De Kolta patented most of his illusions to protect against copyright infringement, but many magicians acquired the patents, leading to duplicates of his effects.
Copyright © 2025 by Sid Quatrine, Author, Editor
References:
Genius of Illusion. Pasadena: Magical Publications
Britland, David (2021). David Copperfield's history of magic. New York, NY