Clémentine de Vère

Born in Brussels in Belgium,[2][3] Clémentine Lisine de Vère was the eighth child of the British-born illusionist Herbert Shakespeare Gardiner Williams (1843-1931),[2] a popular conjurer and magician who took the stage name Charles de Vère, and his wife Julia de Vère (née Ferrett, 1852-1916),[2] who performed the first Oriental magic act under the name "Okita".[4][5][6] He opened a magic shop in London in 1873, and a magic shop/factory in Brussels in 1878. One of Clémentine's sisters was the French actress Élise de Vère (1879-1917). The family moved to Paris in 1892 where Charles de Vère opened another magic shop which he ran until about 1909, assisted by his sons. Here Clémentine de Vère was said to have been influenced by the artists of the Folies Bergère. On 5 May 1904 aged only 15 1/2 she married the American circus artist and tamer Herman Weedon (actually: Herman Armond Wirtheim, 1876-1959) from the Bostock Circus.[7][8]

In June 1904 the newly-married couple travelled to New York as Weedon had a commitment on Coney Island. Clementine accompanied him in the following years on his professional travels in Europe and the United States. From her marriage with Weedon she had a son, Frank H. Weedon (1907-1984),[7] who later was known under the name Frank Wirtheim Tchitcherine. In 1909 Clementine de Vere traveled with Herman Weedon to Denmark, Russia, and Vienna. Between 1900 until 1909 her brother Camille (1885-1909) was working in the family magic business at 13, rue Saulnier in Paris until Camille died of diabetes mellitus. Charles de Vère then gave up his business and retired to Rosny-sous-Bois, where he worked on the preparation of a big show for his daughter Clementine.

Clémentine de Vère as "Ionia" on the cover of The Sphinx March 1911

Clementine performed as "Ionia" for several years in Europe before a series of performances in the UK. On 30 January 1911 she appeared on stage as "Ionia", later sometimes billed as "the Enchantress" or as the "Goddess of Mystery", in an act at the Birmingham Hippodrome in England in a routine which required six tons of equipment and elaborate Egyptian costumes for Clémentine and her male and female assistants.[1][7][9][10] "Ionia" had great success and that year her act was seen in later years in Vienna, Marseilles, Lyon, Prague, and other venues. Her last contemporary mention was apparently in the March 1911 issue of the magazine The Sphinx the cover of which showed a photograph de Vère. The text in this issue dealt with her appearance in Manchester.

"Ionia" was contracted to perform in America, but did not due to the sudden closing of Broadway's Folies Bergere of New York. This theatre was opened in the spring of 1911 and closed in October of the same year because of financial difficulties. Clémentine de Vère had a contract with this theatre and after its closure could not find suitable employment.[11] In 1912 Clementine spends most of the year performing in Vienna at the KaiserGarten and at the Ronacher theatres.

Some of the last recorded appearances of Clémentine de Vère as "Ionia" were in Vienna, at the Ronacher Theatre. By 1914 Charles de Vère was disappointed that his daughter had not continued her elaborate act and tried to sell the tricks and pieces of equipment to curb the financial losses that had arisen for him.[12]

Decorative poster for the magic act "Ionia" c1911

She met a Russian-Georgian Prince Vladimir Eristavi Tchitcherine in Austria in 1913 and married him on 21 June 1919 in Paris, after her first marriage had been dissolved on 23 June 1917.[7][8] The Prince took Clementine to Russia. This is a postscript from her father's letter from 1928, “My daughter who was Ionia was at Moscow when the Revolution commenced.  All her material pillaged and she was in cellar of Hotel 3 months.” Her father's statement is correct, but her materials were not magic. Clementine had given up magic yaers before when she met the Prince. She was not performing magic in Russia. In the 1920s Clémentine de Vère lived temporarily with her second husband in Washington, DC and later in Paris. On 26 October 1928 this second marriage too was dissolved, but Clémentine de Vère retained the title of Princess, which she had received by the marriage. She lived in France for the rest of her life and was buried with her parents in Batignolles Cemetery in Paris, France after her death in 1973.[7]

Although her stage career was relatively short, lasting just five years, "Ionia's" act was spectacular, filling the stage with illusions. Her act was advertised with beautiful posters which many collectors consider to be some of the most artistic posters of magic’s “Golden Age.” Of the 22 known posters for "Ionia" produced by Moody Brothers of Birmingham, only eleven "Ionia" posters have survived and are now considered expensive collectibles.[13][14]

• Charles Greene III, 'Ionia. The Queen of Mystery', Magic, December 2006, p. 68 ff.

• Clémentine de Vère on Magicpedia
• Clémentine de Vère - Video biography
• Clémentine de Vère - Ionia vintage magic posters