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Édouard Isidore Buguet (1840–1901) was a French
Édouard Isidore Buguet (1840–1901) was a French medium
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and spirit photographer. Harry Houdini. (2011 edition). Originally published in 1924. ''A Magician Among the Spirits''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 120-124.
Buguet became a "sensation" among spiritualists
Spiritualism is the metaphysics, metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spir ...
during the early 1870s. He was even loaned money to set up his own studio. In June 1875, a police sting operation in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
discovered that Buguet's photographic plates had pre-exposed images on them. After the exposure, Buguet admitted in court that his photographs were fraudulent. He was convicted and served a year jail time. According to the magician Harry Houdini, the police discovered figures and doll
A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...
heads at Buguet's studio. He had used these as his "spirit" extras. Houdini noted that although Buguet was exposed as a fraud and he had confessed, some spiritualists still insisted his spirit photographs were genuine.
The English medium Stainton Moses
William Stainton Moses (1839 – 5 September 1892) was an English cleric and spiritualist medium. He promoted spirit photography and automatic writing, and co-founded what became the College of Psychic Studies. He resisted scientific examination ...
had supported Buguet in an article for ''Human Nature'' in May 1875. After Buguet was exposed later in the same year, Moses insisted that Buguet was still a genuine medium and he had been bribed to make a false confession. The case has been cited by researchers as an example of spiritualists willing to believe and refusing to accept evidence of fraud.Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher (23 March 1914 – 17 June 1984) was a prominent American illusionist, magic historian, and author.
President of the Society of American Magicians, an honorary vice-president to The Magic Circle, and one of the founding m ...
. (1975). ''Mediums, Mystics & the Occult''. Thomas Y. Crowell. p. 114.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buguet, Edouard Isidore 1840 births 1901 deaths French spiritual mediums Place of birth missing