The paragraph above smacks of having been printed directly from publicity material supplied by the magician. On March 24 [Sydney Morning Herald] he advertised a programme including the Enchanted Orange Tree, the Telescope of Mephistobel, The Magic Casket, The Obedient and Intellectual Clock, The Travelling Half-Crowns, the Atmospheric Washerwoman, The Mysterious Portfolio and Animated Pictures, The Bowl of Neptune, The Shower of Gold Fish, and The Horn of Plenty.  In the event, Mons. Theo had not found enough time to fully set up his apparatus for his first appearance.

Emperor Napoleon III had indeed visited Windsor in 1855. The Sydney Morning Herald of March 24, 1855 mentions M. Theo and includes a favourable quote from the British ‘Windsor and Eton Express’ in May 1855.  From brief excerpts found, that newspaper reveals that Theo was performing at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, in May, and intended travelling to Australia in the future. He was also providing private entertainments, and being French it is reasonable to conclude that he may have made some appearance before the royals, although no specific mention is made in the papers or Court Notices.

The most useful piece of information from the Windsor and Eton Express comes in a report (1) of legal charges laid against a hackney cab driver, who had kept two hats left in his cab, being the property of Mr. Theophilus Lacombe (“M. Theo, the French Magician”).

The Empire of March 26, 1856 commented favourably on Mons. Theo’s performance …. ‘were performed generally with a dexterity and ease that showed an entire mastery of his mysterious art; but that which called forth the loudest applause from the audience was the metamorphosis of a pocket handkerchief, blackened and stained after the most undesirable fashion, to its pristine whiteness….”

In two more ominous comments, the article remarked that the ‘attendance was very scant, and must have tended somewhat to disconcert the operations of the worthy professor on the occasion of his debut’ and that ‘many remarks … could not be generally be appreciated by the audience, on account of his limited knowledge of the English language.’

The Sydney Morning Herald remarked upon the “really clever performance in the art of legerdemain and mechanical delusion ….” and the” chaste and elegant” arrangement of the stage, with tables wholly uncovered and without any drapery about them.

Performing, with a change of programme, until at least March 31 at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Mons. Theo had announced (2) his intention of proceeding to Melbourne and the gold diggings. Whether or not he succeeded in reaching any country regions is doubtful; he certainly did not play Melbourne.

On August 8, 1856, the Empire advertised a sad sale; the entirety of Monsieur Theo’s show. Perhaps strong competition, in Sydney, from the Wizard Jacobs, had proven too much, but it appears that Theo could not draw audiences and was forced to sell. One can only hope that some fortunate person bought the collector’s treasure-cavern of props and that they still exist somewhere in the world.

Will Alma (3) stated that he “was an interesting French Magician, whose real name was Degago; he always wore a mask during his performance. Showed the mechanical effects as introduced by Robert-Houdin, and is credited as being the first magician to feature a ‘gift show’ in Australia.”

(1) Windsor and Eton Express, May 12, 1855.

(2) The Argus, Melbourne, April 7, 1856 p.8

(3) Will Alma’s “Magic Circle Mirror”, April 1972.

(4) http://geniimagazine.com/magicpedia/L'Homme_Masque