The Robero Don Orange Tree Trick

Houdini wrote about the orange tree trick in his unmasking book. He noted that though Robero Don claimed it as his own invention, it was really a variation of tricks that had been performed by other conjurers for more than a century before he invented it. Houdini traced the automaton's design back to a man named Christopher Pinchbeck senior who died in 1732 and who premiered a trick called the apple tree in 1730. Another popular automaton based act of Robero Don was a miniature bakery sometimes called the confectioner. The Illusionist is an enhanced version inspired by, but not replicating Robero Don's.

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