Ludwig Leopold Döbler was born in Vienna in 1801. He was the best-beloved magician who ever trod the stage. He started life as an engraver of metals, but his fancy turned to necromancy. He gave his best performances in his native city. In 1841 he was touring Holland, and in a letter now in my possession, which he wrote to a director and editor in Vienna under date of March 15th, 1842, he informs his friend that he has sent all his baggage to London from Amsterdam, and is on a visit to Paris. He regrets that he has not all of his apparatus with him, but has given several performances, and mentions the fact that “to-morrow I am engaged to give a performance in the private parlor of Rothschild and then by the Count Montaliset, minister of the King’s mansions.” He also informs his friend that he expects to visit Paris the next season and build his own theatre. He states a fact most interesting to all magicians, namely, that he has rented the St. James Theatre in London for two thousand francs ($400) a night, or more than $2,400 rent for one week. Döbler drew such big audiences and made so much money that he refused to give private performances, only breaking this rule when presenting his show before H. M. Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort.
He played the provinces, then went over to Dublin, where, although unable to speak English, he was a veritable sensation. In 1844 Döbler played a return date at the St. James Theatre, London, and this time he had Anderson as a rival at the Théâtre Royal Adelphia.
Döbler amassed a fortune very rapidly; in fact he retired in 1847, and never again appeared on the stage. He always explained his early retirement by saying: “The public loves me, and I want it to always love me. I may return and be a failure, so it is best to know just when to stop.” He died in a little village near Tunitz, on April 17th, 1864, when one of God’s noblemen was laid to rest.
“The Travelling Bottle” alluded to by Döbler in his programmes was nothing more or less than “The Inexhaustible Bottle.” The following excerpt from the London Chronicle during Döbler’s engagement at the St. James Theatre, April, 1842, is illuminating: