Nicolas-Philippe Ledru

Nicolas-Philippe Ledru (1731, Paris – October 6, 1807, Fontenay-aux-Roses), known as Comus, was a noted European physicist, prestidigitator and illusionist of the late 18th century.

Nicolas-Philippe Ledru styled himself Comus after the Greek god of mirth and revelry, and entertained royalty, aristocrats, and the general public with his scientific experiments.

He had an office in Paris where he performed various experiments for the public on sound, light, electricity, magnetism, incompressibility of water and so on.

At his office he also introduced tricks of illusion, such as a female robot getting dressed when asked, a small face with eyes taking on the color of the pupil of the one who looked at it, an artificial hand writing thoughts of a spectator, a "siren" answering questions and so on.

Comus occasionally introduced his tricks at the court of Louis XVI, and in May 1777 he gave a performance in Paris for Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.