SUFFERING HYPERBOLE • RICKY JAY
I
have, I confess, been intrigued by The life, adventures, and unparalleled sufferings of Andrew Oehler since I read of it as a young man with a burgeoning interest in the history of magic. The reasons, I think, were threefold. I found the peripatetic misfortunes of the protagonist amusingly romantic, I was seduced by the book’s rarity, and I just loved, loved, the title. Mostly, however, I was captivated by the thought of a magic show so dangerously compelling that it resulted in the imprisonment of its performer. At the time I was completely persuaded by this tale as it was recounted in the histories of conjuring that I read. I now believe that the book is very largely fictional, that it expresses a strong anti-Catholic bias (also anti-Spanish and anti-Mexican), and that it is not rare (scarce, yes, but not rare). In addition, I now appreciate that the phrase “unparalleled sufferings” was a standard bit of hyperbole, used by many before Oehler. According to his account, Oehler staged in Mexico City the first successful balloon ascension, and to repay the plaudits he received, he staged a Phantasmagoria ghost-show as an entertainment for the Mexican governor and his party. The favor went unappreciated, to say the least: the presentation was so frightening that Oehler was accused of diabolic agency, arrested, and incarcerated in a dungeon 150 feet below the ground. There he languished for six months until an enlightened visitor from Spain explained that such shows were Volume 7 ‹› Number 1 • 11