Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser

Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser (born June 19, 1806, Vienna, Austria—died March 11, 1875, Vienna) was an Austrian amateur magician who was one of the most brilliant inventors of small manipulative tricks, especially with playing cards. Hofzinser, who never appeared outside Austria, was one of the first to advocate simplicity of performance, eliminating elaborate costumes and stage apparatus. Although he requested that his magic secrets be buried with him, Ottokar Fischer searched Hofzinser’s correspondence to friends to compile Kartenkünstler (1910; “Card Tricks”).

(Read Harry Houdini’s 1926 Britannica essay on magic.)