François Pelletier was a French illusionist, famed in his time for his use of

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

s as an entertainment basis for his act. His reputation was such that he was invited to perform at the court of

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

Schönbrunn Palace Schönbrunn Palace (Austrian German, German: Schloss Schönbrunn ) was the main summer residence of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning "beautiful spring") ha ...

in 1769. His act inspired the construction of the purported

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

-playing

automaton An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

The Turk, following observation of the performance by the Hungarian Wolfgang von Kempelen.

References

''Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique'', January 1770, pp. 444-5.

"Optique" in ''Nouvelles de la république des lettres et des arts'', 31 July 1782, pp. 231-2.

François Pelletier, ''Hommage aux amateurs des arts, ou Mémoire contenant un détail abrégé d'inventions utiles et agréables dans la mécanique, l'optique'', Saint-Germain-en-Laye chez l'auteur, 1782.

''Mémoires secrets'', 12 juin 1783.

"Course" in ''Journal de Paris'', 23 December 1785, p. 1477.
* Luc-Vincent Thiéry, ''Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris'', 1787, p. 495.
Gallica BNF

Google Books
* Tom Standage, ''The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine''. Walker and Company,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 2002. * Gerald M. Levitt, ''The Turk, Chess Automaton''. McFarland and Company Inc. Publishers,

Jefferson, North Carolina Jefferson is a town in and the county seat of Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,622. History The North Carolina General Assembly created a special commission in 1799 to found a county seat fo ...

, 2000. French magicians Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century French people {{magic-stub