Professor Struck - A Contemptible, Unscrupulous, So-Called Magician?

 This fine specimen of a throwout card relates to Professor Otto Struck, sometimes referred to as a "German magician" in the trade literature, but was almost certainly from Newark. N.J.   Otto Struck certainly has the feel of a stage moniker, yet if he had a different legal name, I've yet to uncover it.  He appears in magic trade publications beginning in or around 1895, which document a number of performances in the U.S. and Canada.   By 1905, The Sphinx still called Struck a "newcomer" whose performance  "promises well for the future."  Amusingly, for reasons that will become clear shortly, a correspondent for Mahatma complimented the young performer in 1904 on his magical ethics, noting that, unlike a magician named Hornmann who shared the bill, Struck "did not have to resort to any exposes to strengthen his act."

His throwing card, obtained in early 2017 from the collection of Ray Goulet, is a Bicycle "Hold Good Cards" piece using a Motorette #2 back, which was introduced in 1907.  Take a good look at his photo - looks unthreatening enough, no?   Well, it was right around the time of the issuance of this card that things started to go south for the promising newcomer.   It seems that, by around 1909 (about when this card was printed), Struck was reportedly imitating the great Alexander Herrmann and, according to some reports, falsely holding himself out as Herrmann's nephew.    The similarity between Struck and Herrmann had long been recognized; as early as 1895, a writer for Mahatma noted that "Otto Struck, whose work, setting and personal appearance remind one strongly of the late Alexander Herrmann."

His false representations, though, placed him in the middle of controversy, culminating in the following warning being published by Adelaide Herrmann, Alexander's widow, in the pages of The Sphinx in 1910:

Bicycle Motorette #2 Back (introduced 1907)

WARNING—To Prof. Struck and Felix Kretchman—A contemptible and unscrupulous team of "so-called Magicians" named Prof. Struck, assisted by a Felix Kretchman, are playing this week at the Third Avenue theatre, this city, and billing themselves as "Herrmann the Great & Co." Repeatedly their agent, Joe Shea, has been notified that said Prof. Struck and his assistant, Felix Kretchman, have stolen my husband's name and my trade-mark. But Shea pays no attention and would rather collect the few dollars commission he receives. 

Is this a square deal? 

I hereby notify everybody, managers and agents in partic- ular, that from this date, Sunday, October 3, 1909, my attorneys. House, Grossman & Vorhaus, will vigorously prosecute each and every manager playing anybody billing themselves as "The Great Herrmann," "Herrmann the Great" or "Herrmann the Great & His Co.." and every agent who procures bookings for acts using said title will be held liable. 

ADELAIDE HERRMANN, Gilsey House. New York.
House, Grossman & Vorhaus, Attorneys at Law, 115 Broadway, N. Y. City. 

Was Professor Struck knocking off Herrmann's act?   Let's compare, side-by-side, that innocuous-looking portrait of Struck with the iconic throwing card of Alexander Herrmann:



I think you'll agree, dear reader, that Struck appeared to be styling himself like the performer who was, at that time, probably the best known magician in the history of magic.

Adelaide Herrmann lodged a complaint letter with The Sphinx concerning this cover.

And what was it about that fellow Felix Kretchman that incurred Madam Herrmann's wrath?  Well, he was more commonly known as Felix Hermann, though he wasn't supposed to be.  In fact, Kretchman was Adelaide's nephew, but she ultimately got a  court injunction forbidding him from holding himself out as being associated with Herrmann the Great.  Most interesting in Madam Herrmann's warning letter is the suggestion that Struck and Kretchman were performing together, though I've found no other references to this fact.  In any event, the battles between Madam Herrmann and Kretchman continued for many years.


I suspect that Struck eventually got out of the imitation business.  After Adelaide's warning, and a few more reports about Struck doing a Herrmann imitation in 1910, the trade press goes largely silent about him for several decades.  But by the 1920s, there are a few notices of his admittance to and participation in the S.A.M., which would have been unlikely to have granted him admission if the issue remained unchecked.  A magic historian writing about the Felix Herrmann saga for The Linking Ring in 1960 put Struck on the right side of that controversy:  "Otto Struck, Larry Crane, Imro Fox, George Holder, Bill Twickward, Edward Biedron or any of the old North Newark magicians, if living, could give you plenty of information regarding Felix 'Herman' Kretschman."

And there the trail goes cold -- at least in the trade press.   Decades later, however, Ted Bogusta of martinka.com, unearthed a trove of material about Struck, leading to this summary on his website:

Professor Otto Struck performed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was a Martinka customer, he performed with T. Nelson Downs and was a friend and assistant to The Great Herrmann. His proudest performing moment was a command performance he gave for President Theodore Roosevelt. He retired from magic due to health reasons and became a farmer. His magic then resided in a barn for nearly 100 years and was recently removed and cataloged by Martinka. 

And that biography was accompanied by a photo of Struck and one of his wands


It's not clear what materials underlie Ted's biographical sketch, but we can be sure of one thing: it wasn't a fan letter from Adelaide Herrmann.