en and three wolves - watercolor by Eugène Grasset ( 1900 )
Francois Nicolas Martinet -L ' Escamoteuse ( allegory after François Eisen - mid 18th century )
Woman accused of witchcraft and tortured - French engraving by Émile Deschamps ( 1822-1893 )
CONJURING THE MAGIC SHOW
After the effort to eradicate witches , the surviving witches " disappear " for a time . They emerge as fortune tellers amongst jugglers , crooks and conjurers in public places . A woman of note in this essentially masculine universe is Mademoiselle Regnault , who is considered to be the first magician to practice sleight of hand magic on the Pont Neuf in Paris around 1697 .
In the eighteenth century , magicians and magic shows were dominated exclusively by men . Women ’ s roles were limited to nothing more than a misdirection accessory , serving and assisting the all-powerful conjurer . However , there is evidence of a female illusionist in Leipzig in 1704 which is highly unusual for the time .