WILL COMBINE BOOKS TO SAVE POSTAGE - HARD COVER  WITH DUST JACKET - On an autumn day in 1769, a Hungarian nobleman, Wolfgang von Kempelen, was summoned to witness a conjuring show at the imperial court of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria-Hungary. So unimpressed was Kempelen by the performance that he impetuously declared he could do better himself. It was a boast that would change the course of his life.