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James S. Harto

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James S. Harto
BornJames S. Harte
May 7, 1870
Webster, Massachusetts
DiedNovember 5, 1933 (age 63)
Indianapolis, Indiana

James S. Harto (1870-1933), born Harte, was a professional magician who performed mind-reading act as "Chandra, The Mystic" presented with his wife, Catherine.

Biography

A life-time friend of Houdini, Harte may have been the first to feature escapes.

His first performance as at the Bristol Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1886.[1]

Years of performing continued with A Night With the Spirit Company, Leon Harto Company, Ringling Shows, Charles Sparks Shows, the original Buffalo Bill Show, The Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill Wild West Shows, Hagenbeck and Wallace Shows, Robinson Shows, and the Walter L. Main Show and vaudeville. He played all over the United States and Canada.[2]

In 1905 he opened a magic shop in Indianapolis as James S. Harto (he also worked as Leon Harto), a business which he maintained until the end of his life in 1933.[3]

Some speculate that Harte collaborated with Erdnase on The Expert at the Card Table.[4][5]

Marketed Tricks

  • The Chandra System of Mind Reading (1926)


References

  1. Who's Who in Magic, Sphinx, February, 1932
  2. Obit, Linking Ring, November 1933
  3. THE LIFE STORY OF JAMES HARTO — TAKEN FROM HIS OWN DIARY, Linking Ring, December 1933
  4. Review of Two Hartes That Beat As One by , Thomas A. Ewing in Magicol MAY 1993
  5. The Man who was Erdnase by Bart Whaley,Martin Gardner,Jeff Busby (1991)