Not sure if you have seen this before? From a Spanish site
www.lacapitalmdp.com/contenidos/fotosfamilia/fotos/9630THE SPHINX: On 16-10 1865, a magician promoted as being of French origin and known as Colonel Stodare (1831-1866), presented for the first time a wonderful and undetectable effect: the resurrected sphinx, the head that spoke. The sphinx has been a symbol of secrecy and mystery, so it could not have been chosen a better place than the Egyptian Hall, in Piccadilly, London, to present the effect called that way: The Sphinx. it is somewhat controversial.
His real name could have been Joseph Colonel Stodare or Stoddart, although some historians name him as John or Jack, and his surname Inglis or English. It has been claimed that Colonel was the natural son of John Henry Anderson "The Wizard of the North".
Investigations carried out in the last years affirm that Joseph Colonel Stodare would be his real name; and that "Colonel" (colonel, in Spanish), would not respond to an army rank but to the proper name, since it is the one that appears on his death certificate. Some comment that the title of colonel was used for artistic purposes.
Stodare almost went unnoticed, until he presented two illusions that led to fame. One of them was the Indian or Hindu Basket (Indian Basket Feat), and the other, The Sphinx (The Sphinx).
The Sphinx was the sensation of London; but Colonel's fame and good fortune did not last long, because shortly after the event, he died of tuberculosis at 35 years of age.
With his death, the introductions ceased for some time, until Alfred Inglis, Colonel's younger brother, took up the presentation; and with his new stage name - Alfred Stodare - I continue the success.
But Stodare was only a presenter. Actually, the creator or inventor of The Sphinx was Thomas William Tobin (1844-1883), a scientist who worked as a chemist at the London Polytechnic Institute - then under the direction of John Henry Pepper -, where he also worked as a lecturer and secretary. Almost a teenager, he had received some training in the field of architecture.
Tobin offered the illusion to Pepper and then Anderson, who declined; So he brought it to Stodare, who liked the idea and put it into practice right away. At just 20 years old, The Sphinx was Tobin's second major illusion. The first had been the Cabinet of Proteus and the third The Oracle of Delphi. Three effects with the same scientific principle. Tobin became, in this way, the great promoter of magic based on optical effects......
....THE SPHINX IN ROSARY: On January 17, 1866, the local newspaper El Ferrocarril gave an account of the exploits of a magician in England: An English colonel is in London giving shows much more surprising than all the known mediums have offered up to now. .
Only three months had passed since its presentation at the Egyptian in London. The news did not spread then with the speed of today; but the important thing in this case is the highlight of a magical story in an Argentine newspaper. We can assume that The Railroad took the article from the London Times, which published a lengthy article about the first presentation. How was the effect described? The magician placed a chest on a table without any cloth or tablecloth and, when opening that box, the head of an Egyptian sphinx could be seen. Moving away to avoid suspicion that he was using ventriloquism, he asked the head to open its eyes, to smile, and to answer questions, actions that the sphinx obeyed by moving its eyes from one side to the other. It was clear that the movement of his lips was as natural as anyone's. It was certainly not a mechanical figure....
