Ionia
, The Queen of Mystery
Ionia
. Magical journals, both past
and present, title her as the youngest daughter of Charles de Vere.
Her career as an illusionist is said to have ended against the historical
backdrop of the Russian Revolution. Although
this is a great story on which to build a legend, it’s not true; the truth is
actually stranger/more unbelievable.
Most
of the images that remain of
Ionia
are posters. It’s recorded that
she had 22 different poster images by Moody Brothers of England, of which only
nine are known today. Some posters
heralded her as “Goddess of Mystery” or “The Enchanctress”.
A few simply show her beauty
and call her “
Ionia
”. In fact, this goddess is a
mystery wrapped in an enigma.
Ionia
was the fourth daughter and the eighth child of Charles and Julia de
Vere. Her birth name was Clementine
de Vere. She was born in
Brussels
on Thursday, December 20 1888. She
had seven siblings, in descending birth order: Caroline, Claude, Camille,
Charles Jr., Constance, Cyril, and Claire. Most
of the children were born on the Continent, yet all were British by birthright
as Charles and Julia were British subjects.
At
the time of Clementine’s birth Charles de Vere (Herbert Shakespeare Gardiner
Williams) and his wife Julia Ferrett, had been living in
Brussels
for at least eleven years. Charles
had set up a theater in the town and, according to P. T. Selbit (The Wizard 1909
page 956), Julia Ferrett began performing at the theatre with her own Japanese
illusion act under the stage name of Okita.
In
1892, the de Vere family moved to
Paris
,
France
, where Charles de Vere, with the assistance of his son Cyril, opened a business
of magic manufacturing and theatrical supplies.
This business, which settled on the same block as the Folies Bergere,
brought the family in close contact with top-level performers, actors, and
agents. The elder de Vere was known
to be a close confidant of Harry Kellar, Servais Le Roy, and The Herrmanns.
In
early 1904, the Bostock circus came to
Paris
and opened at the Hippodrome, Place Clichy.
The de Vere family attended this event for both personal and professional
reasons. A highlight of the evening
would have been the wild animals tamed by a handsome American.
This daring man caught the eye of young Clementine de Vere and won her
heart. His name was Herman Armond
Wirtheim. He was an American lion
tamer and was professionally known as Herman Weedon, “King of the Lion
Tamers”.
After
a brief courtship Herman and Clementine were married on Thursday May 5 1904.
After being married by the
French
State
, the
British
Embassy
Church
in
Paris
blessed their union. In attendance
at both ceremonies were Charles, Julia and Cyril de Vere. On the church
registry, Herman’s profession is listed as artist.
Clementine’s condition is listed as spinster.
She was 15. He was 27.
In
June of the same year, the newlyweds traveled to
America
aboard the SS Deutschland and headed to
New York City
for their honeymoon. The trip was
both for business as well as pleasure. Herman
Weedon as “King of the Lion Tamers” was performing in Bostock’s Arena at
Coney Island
,
New York
, at the opening
Dreamland
Amusement Park
. Herman’s performing schedule
left Clementine with plenty of free time. She
probably spent most of her days visiting with her sister Elise, who was staying
in
New York City
.
Constance
Elise de Vere, Clementine’s older sister, was a
New York
celebrity in 1904. Florenz Ziegfeld
Jr. had seen Elise perform in
Paris
in 1903 at La Scala. He
brought Elise to
New York
for a starring role in his new comique opera, Red Feather.
The audiences of the day must not have found it too comical as Red
Feather ran only 60 performances at the Lyric Theatre, from Nov. 9, 1903 to Jan
2, 1904. Elise continued an
extensive performing schedule in Europe and managed to return to perform in
New York
in various productions over the next several years.
Her performing career ended when she married Frank J. Godsol, an early
film magnate, in 1917.
(Most
articles about
Ionia
have mistakenly named her Elsie.
The confusion probably stems from an early presumption that Elise might
have been
Ionia
and a subsequent and repeated typo. The
situation can be found in l’Escamateur. A
reference to Elsie de Vere performing in
Dresden
is a typo. It was Elise who was in
Dresden
. Elsie never existed.)
From
the time that Clementine and Herman met, he kept an extensive international
itinerary with Bostock’s circus. He
traveled to
Paris
and
New York
(1904),
France
(1905),
Italy
and Eqypt (1906),
New York City
(1907),
Belgian Congo
(1908). Clementine may have
traveled with him on those trips. One
can only imagine the trials of a 12-year difference between the stunning beauty
and the handsome performer tied to an international circus production schedule. Their
first and only child, Frank H. Wirtheim, was born in
France
on December 7, 1907. Clementine and
Herman eventually drifted apart and formally divorced June 23,1917.
Herman traveled internationally with the circus until 1914 and then
settled in as menagerie Head at the Selig Zoo in
Los Angeles
from 1915 - 1920.
By
1909, Clementine’s father, Charles de Vere, and her brother, Camille de Vere,
were running the
Paris
shop together. That same year
Camille died of diabetes and Charles de Vere sold the shop.
Charles de Vere retired to a country estate, Rosny sous Bois, ten miles
out of Paris where, according to P.T. Selbit (Wizard June 1910), “he is
devoting his untiring energies to the exploitation of a big magical show that
will be presented by one of his lovely daughters.
They expect to commence operations in September.”
It’s in Rosny sous Bois that “
Ionia
” is born. Charles de Vere, with
his talents and connections, created the act that would eventually feature six
tons of equipment, 22 lithographs and require the support of nine people.
In
February 1911, the first sightings of “
Ionia
” appeared in the magical journals. By
that time Ionia had performed in
Vienna
,
Berlin
,
Copenhagen
and, of course,
Paris
. On Monday, January 30 1911, Ionia
made her first appearance in
Britain
at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Max
Sterling’s The Magical World of
February 8, 1911, carried a full review of the show that was very well received.
After reading his description, it is easy to see why it was such a crowd
pleaser.
[
Ionia
is of charming presence and handsomely costumed in a mixed Egyptian-Oriental
style. Her act is nicely staged in
spectacular fashion and neatly performed. She
is assisted by a troupe of seven or eight attendants.
Her
opening effect introduces two decanters, one on either side of the stage.
A handkerchief placed in one finds an invisible way to its opposite
neighbor at a pistol shot. A raised
platform is then introduced, with a contrivance resembling an umbrella supported
in the center. The apparatus is
brought forward and displayed empty. A
curtain of draperies masks the vacant space for a moment – another shot –
and curtains fall to disclose a lady wearing a gigantic “Merry Widow” hat,
with which she walks off. The
umbrella has disappeared.
The
production of a fish bowl forms the next effect, and living goldfish are secured
from the atmosphere by aid of a net similar in design to that used to
“produce” pigeons.
An
Egyptian mummy case, supported in an upright position on steps, is next
displayed. A lady assistant is
secured within and raised to mid-air and the steps removed.
The coffin cabinet is spun around, and while still suspended, the lid is
opened to apparently display the lady still within.
The revolver shot signals her disappearance, the cabinet is thrown open
– empty and the lady reappears from the auditorium.
A version of the Parasol Trick was the next effect.
In this, handkerchiefs placed in a paper bag vanish at a revolver shot,
and the skeleton parasol unwrapped from the matting, show the handkerchiefs
properly attached to the ribs, forming the conventional parti-coloured covering.
For
the final effect a large platform is placed in the center of the stage.
Uprights at each corner carry draperies to allow of enclosing.
It is presented as empty; top, flooring, sides, etc., are thoroughly
exhibited. The curtains are then
drawn, and the revolver again brought into play.
On the reopening of the cabinet the “chamber” is discovered
containing two fair maids in picturesque attitude.]
In
March of 1911, Clementine graced the cover of The Sphinx with her lithe stance and famous Egyptian-Oriental style
costume. That same month, she
appeared in
Manchester
,
England
. Charles de Vere came over from
Paris
to see his daughter work. It may
have been the last time he saw “
Ionia
” on stage. After 1911, there are
few references to
Ionia
’s large illusion act. The act,
the costumes, the posters, and even
Ionia
, seem to simply vanish into thin air.
The
most famous reference to Ionia after 1911 comes from her father and places her
in
Moscow
in 1919 during the Revolution that toppled the Russian Monarchy and brought
Vladimir Lenin to power. Charles de
Vere wrote a letter (Now in the collection of Eddie Dawes) to Edmund Springer, a
British magic dealer, and added a vertically placed two line post script that
states, “My daughter who was Ionia was at
Moscow
when the Revolution commenced. All
her material pillaged and she was in cellar of Hotel 3 months.”
Charles de Vere wrote that letter and postscript in 1924, five years
after the 1919 October Revolution.
This
seismic historical backdrop would have been a fitting place to end the career
of one of magic’s most beautiful and elusive performers,
Ionia
, “The Enchantress”. However, recently released information from the de Vere
family reveals that Ionia was not in
Moscow
at the time of the Revolution.
Significantly,
there are few references to
Ionia
after 1911. One to these comes from
Abel Blanche in l’Escomateur, a French magic journal.
He writes that “
Ionia
married, left her act, and abandoned her material, to the grand despair of her
father. He spent a lot of money on
the act, and was looking to sell the tricks and the superb color lithographs.”
Charles de Vere was trying to
recoup some of the investment that he made in his daughter’s act.
In
the same article there is a report from Libre Parole (16 March 1918), Clementine
“was very well known in
Vienna
as
Ionia
l’Enchantress. She played in a
fairy pantomime and lived there at the start of the war, prancing around
the ring, dressed as a red Hussar[flamboyant cavalry person].”
This places Clementine in
Vienna
in 1914. It seems that
Ionia
and her large illusion act vanished from the stage by the end of 1911.
The next time that she’s sighted is in
Vienna
in 1914 performing a dramatically different act, solo and in mime. Gone are the
six tons of props and the nine assistants.
Ionia’s
vanishing may have been caused by the sudden disappearance of a theatre in
New York City
. An advert in the collection of
Peter Scarlett reads, “Owing the closing of the Folies Bergere, of
New York
, Mdlle.
Ionia
, The Queen of all Illusionists, is at liberty for immediate work.
”The Folies Bergere of New York, a Parisian-style cabaret and dinner
theatre, opened April 27, 1911 and closed in October that same year due to low
attendance and high-priced tickets.
“Ionia”
may have been contracted to perform in
New York
in 1912 following her successful performances in
Great Britain
during 1911. The advert reveals
that
Ionia
had eight novel illusions, including her new Oriental Fantasy, entitled –
“As thou treateth, thou shalt be treated.”
This was a large scale production, supported by nine people, that was
deemed, “The most magnificent stage effects ever presented.” The
closing of the
New York
theatre would have changed those plans. The
harsh reality of being left without a place to perform a large illusion show may
have made Clementine rethink her life as a globe-trotting performer.
Ionia
was gone, but what happened to Clementine de Vere?
Better than being “Queen of all Illusionists” in
New York
, she become a Princess in
Europe
. Sometime around 1913 Clementine
met Prince Vladimir Eristavi Tchitcherine in
Austria
. When they married on June 21, 1919
in Paris Clementine de Vere became Princess Clementine Eristavi Tchitcherine.
Her son later took the name Frank Wirtheim Tchitcherine.The details of
the meeting between the magicienne and the Prince may be lost to time.
However, from records unearthed in the holdings of the National Archives
of France and The United States, and from information provided to the author
from de Vere family relatives, a clearer picture of Clementine’s life after
Ionia
emerges. Some of what can be
surmised about her is drawn from interviews of those closest to her.
In
1942 Prince Vladimir Eristavi Tchitcherine was a person of interest to the F.B.I.
because of alleged pro-Nazi statements made by the Prince. (Clementine and the
Vladimir
divorced October 26, 1928. By 1942
the Prince was living on Biscayne Island, Florida and married to his third wife,
Lucy Magraw Thomas Cotton) In
declassified F.B.I. files from the desk of J. Edgar Hoover we learn that
Clementine’s son, Frank Tchitcherine was interviewed by the FBI about his step
father. The files state, “Before
the start of World War I, the Prince took Clementine and Frank from
Vienna
to
Paris
, then onto
Germany
and finally onto
Russia
. According to Frank Tchitcherine,
they were in
Russia
before WWI started.” The reasons
that the trio went to
Russia
are a bit murky, but the Prince, in his autobiography, relates that he was a
cousin of George Tchitcherine, Secretary of State in the Bolshevik government.
He also wrote that he worked for the Russian government in
Moscow
from 1916 until 1918.
So
where was Clementine during the Revolution?
Not in
Moscow
. It was far too dangerous for her
to have stayed there. She held a
foreign passport and she was closely
associated with the Prince who was working for the government.
According to a de Vere family relation, Clementine was in
France
during the Russian Revolution.
After
the Revolution, Prince Vladimir Eristavi Tchitcherine left
Moscow
for
Paris
and worked for the Russian government in exile.
In 1920, he worked in
Washington
,
DC
at the Russian Embassy. Clementine
came with him. Frank, aged 12,
remained in boarding school in
Europe
. By 1921, according to French
census records and personal accounts, the Prince, Clementine and Frank were back
in
Paris
and living at 26 Ave. de
Neuilly
.
Eventually
the Prince and the Princess divorced. Clementine
retained the title and continued to lead a regal life in the strata of high
society as Princess Clementine Eristavi Tchitcherine.
In February 1937, The New York Times reported that the retiring French Ambassador and
an entourage were departing for
France
. Among those traveling with the
ambassador were barons, baronesses, governors, and one Princess, Clementine
Eristavi Tchitcherine.
In
1955 Clementine left her
Paris
residence and moved to Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, just west of
Monaco
. She lived out the rest of her days
there until passing away in Saint Laurent du Var, near Cap Ferrat, at the age of
85 on Saturday, March 31,1973. She
is buried in
Paris
alongside her father and mother.
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