Hartwig Seeman (3 June 1833 – 25 March 1886) was a Swedish magician. He died while on a tour of the southwestern United States in Kosse, Texas. His father was a high-ranking officer in the

Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

. His mother had died when he was ten years old. In his youth Seeman had developed an interest in magic trickery. Early in his career he worked as an artist and poet in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

. In 1860, he started performing professional magic. He had toured throughout Germany as a successful conjurer. He saved his money and travelled around Sweden and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, he became famous for performing an illusion known as "The Sphinx". He has been described by magic historians as the "foremost magician of Sweden". On June 24, 1872, Seeman travelled to

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

in India to learn the tricks of

fakir Fakir, faqeer, or faqīr (; (noun of faqr)), derived from ''faqr'' (, 'poverty'), is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do ...

s. Whilst in India, Seeman observed a

levitation Levitation, Levitate, or Levitating may refer to: Concepts *Levitation (illusion), an illusion where a magician appears to levitate a person or object *Levitation (paranormal), the claimed paranormal phenomenon of levitation, occurring without an ...

trick that involved a young girl floating into the air. In 1880, Seeman performed an "electra" illusion at the

Academy of Music (New York City) The Academy of Music was a New York City opera house, located on the northeast corner of East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan. The 4,000-seat hall opened on October 2, 1854. The review in ''The New York Times'' declared it to be a ...

. It is considered to be an early suspension trick.Stencell, A. W. (2002). ''Seeing is Believing: America's Sideshows''. ECW Press. p. 137. "One of the first suspension tricks in America was presented at the N.Y.C. Academy of Music in 1880 by magician/showman Baron Hartwig Seeman. His Electra illusion resembled a gun turret with the barrel projecting out between an opening in the curtains to suspend a flying subject over the audience." His son Adolph Seeman was also a magician.

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