Who was Adelaide Herrmann? The Queen of Magic

Adelaide Herrmann (1853–1932) was a London-born performer who trained as a dancer and trick cyclist, married the magician Alexander Herrmann in New York in 1875 and spent two decades on stage beside him. When he died in 1896 she kept the show going, performed the dangerous bullet catch, and toured for more than 25 years as “the Queen of Magic”, retiring in 1928.

Adelaide Herrmann spent half her career beside a famous husband and the other half as the star of her own magic show. This post sticks to what our sources agree on, and leaves out the colourful details that only one source mentions.

Where did Adelaide Herrmann come from?

She was born in London in 1853. Her birth surname is spelled differently by different sources: Scarcez, Scarsez or Scarsia.

Before magic, she was a performer of another kind. As a young woman she studied dance and toured as a trick rider on the velocipede, an early bicycle, with a travelling troupe. Dancing brought her to New York in the 1870s.

How did she become part of the Herrmann show?

Adelaide married the magician Alexander Herrmann in 1875 at New York City Hall, in a ceremony performed by the mayor of New York.

She became his on-stage assistant, and the two worked together for about 21 years.

What happened when Alexander died?

Alexander Herrmann died in 1896. Adelaide decided to keep the show going. She first toured with Alexander’s nephew, Leon Herrmann, and the two later went their separate ways, leaving her to lead the show herself.

In 1897, as she took the show back on the road, she performed the bullet catch, one of Alexander’s signature feats, in which marksmen appear to fire at the performer, who catches the bullets. The bullet catch is a real-world danger for any performer and is never something to attempt; we mention it only as history.

Why was she called the Queen of Magic?

She was billed as “the Queen of Magic”, and the name stuck. She headlined in vaudeville for more than 25 years, and she also performed in Europe, including London and Paris.

Her ambition was clear. She is quoted as saying: “I shall not be content until I am recognized by the public as a leader in my profession.”

Her act included a “Noah’s Ark” illusion featuring live animals.

How did her career end?

In 1926 a warehouse fire in New York City destroyed her props and much of her show. Her final performing year was 1928. She died in New York on 19 February 1932, of pneumonia, at the age of 78.

Why does she matter today?

Her story shows a magic show being run, led and headlined by a woman more than a century ago, and it shows how much of a famous double act could rest on the partner billed second. When you read about the stage magicians of that era, her name belongs next to her husband’s.

What helps you take it further?

• Herrmann’s Wizard’s Manual is a free 162-page PDF, a classic 19th-century trick book published under the Herrmann name, with card tricks, sleights and parlour magic. Our copy is a 1916 edition.
• Memoirs of Robert-Houdin is a free ebook of the French magician’s own account of his life, for more on the stage magic of the 1800s.

For more stage history, read about Harry Houdini, Chung Ling Soo and the history of sawing a woman in half.

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