Ventriloquism.org

Magician & Ventriloquist

Signor Blitz

Let's be straight about him from the first line: he was a magician, one of the best of his century. This archive claims him anyway, for the voice underneath the tricks and the birds that seemed to think for themselves.

  • 1810–1877
Engraved portrait of Signor Blitz, an older man with white hair and a full white beard, in a dark coat and bow tie
Signor Blitz late in life. Engraved portrait contributed to Find a Grave by Carnegie.

Here's the honest version, folks, no dressing it up. Signor Blitz sold tickets as a conjuror. Bullet catching, plate spinning, an automaton trumpeter, an egg sack that never ran dry.[2] That's the poster. That's what put people in the seats. But down in the smaller print of that poster, night after night for fifty years, sat a working ventriloquist, and by the account on his own grave record, one of the first American performers ever to hand a wooden figure a voice and build an act around it.[1] So pull up a chair. I want to tell you about the man underneath the magic.

A Moravian who was never a Moravian

He was born Antonio Blitz in Deal, on the Kent coast of England, June 21, 1810.[1] Some of the modern reference sites give his birth name as Antonio van Zandt.[3][4] I'll pass that along without swearing to it, because his own daughter later married into a Van Zandt family, and I can't tell you which fact came first and which one got borrowed.

Here's the part I really want you to sit with. Blitz billed himself as a Moravian, a foreigner with an exotic pedigree, because a foreign accent booked better than an English one.[2][3] The whole "Signor" was a costume before he ever stepped on a stage. He started performing for money at thirteen, in Hamburg, Germany, and it worked so well he never dropped the character for the rest of his life, right through the autobiography he wrote at the end of it.[2][3] A showman who invents his own name and his own country before he invents his own act. I respect that kind of nerve.

He crossed to America in 1834 and opened at Niblo's Garden in New York.[2] From there he worked the whole map: up and down the states, into Canada, through the West Indies, and eventually he settled for good in Philadelphia, the city that buried him.[3][4]

The doctor, the dead men, and the voice from nowhere

He told this story on himself in his own memoir, and it's the best origin story in this whole archive. Dublin, early in his career. A prominent surgeon named Dr. Crampton had befriended him and invited him along to watch a dissection at the college. Three bodies lay in the room. The doctor lifted his knife to make the first cut.[5]

That's when a voice came out of the corpse on the table. "Oh, doctor, doctor, do not injure me! pray have pity, for I was once mortal!" Another voice answered from the corner: "So were we, doctor!" The surgeons and students went for the door. Some swore the devil had come for the knife.[5]

Blitz followed the shaken doctor out to his carriage and threw his voice one more time, just to watch the man's face. Dr. Crampton demanded the whole thing be kept quiet so he and his students wouldn't be laughed out of the college. Blitz kept the secret for forty years, until the doctor was long dead, and then he wrote it down.[5] That was the moment, by his own account, he knew the voice trick belonged in the show for good.[5]

Bobby, and thirteen men wearing his name

His figure was named Bobby, an automaton boy Blitz traveled with and packed in his own trunk case.[5] Once, at a depot in Boston, a baggage-master heaved Bobby's box onto its end, and a voice inside hollered, "Don't, don't stand me on my head!" The baggage-master tried to charge fare for "the young gentleman in the box." Blitz told him the truth: he'd carried that passenger over a hundred thousand miles of railroad and never once paid his fare.[5]

That's the kind of stage presence that gets a name stolen. Blitz drew so well that other performers just started calling themselves Blitz too, right down to copying his posters. The reference book The Illustrated History of Magic counts as many as thirteen men working under his name at once.[3] Any nineteenth-century newspaper notice for a touring "Signor Blitz" has to be read with that in mind: it might be him, and it might be one of thirteen other men riding his coattails.

Selling lessons off the bottom of a Washington playbill

In February 1843, Blitz ran five nights at Carusi's Saloon in Washington, D.C. Down at the foot of his own newspaper advertisement, past the ticket prices, sat one more line: private performances at parties, and lessons given in ventriloquism, on application to "Signor B."[6] That's the earliest sale of ventriloquial instruction on record in this whole archive, ninety-one years before Maher Studios ever printed a course. A public show, private house parties, and paid lessons, all off one man's bottom line, in 1843.

Fame like that gets you into rooms. Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, greeted him with both arms thrown over his papers: "Welcome, Signor! No hocus-pocus among my papers!" When Blitz joked that the only government job he wanted was counting the treasury notes, Webster laughed him off: there were sharper conjurors than him already on the government payroll.[5] President Fillmore remembered him from years back and ran his fingers through Blitz's graying hair, marveling that neither of them had guessed he'd end up President.[5] And Henry Clay, after one show, told Blitz he ought to come down to the Senate chamber and throw his voice among the opposition, just to hear the excitement it would cause.[5] Nobody in that century had a better joke to make about ventriloquism and politics, and every one of these men made it to his face.

When John Wyman, the ventriloquist and magician who came right after him, died in 1881, his own obituary said Wyman had "succeeded the late Signor Blitz in popular favor."[3] The whole art passed hand to hand that way before there was a union, a convention, or a museum to keep the line straight. Blitz held popular favor. Then he didn't. Then somebody else did. That's the business, and he knew it.

Lincoln asked him once how many children he'd made happy. Blitz said it must be thousands. Lincoln answered, "I fear that I have made thousands and tens of thousands unhappy."

The canaries

If you'd asked a ticket-buyer in 1863 Philadelphia what Blitz's show actually was, plenty would have said: the birds. His "Learned Canary Birds" topped the bill on at least one surviving playbill that year, canaries that sat inside rings of fire, pulled tiny wheeled carts, stood on their heads, and did a bit where they seemed to drop dead and then spring back to life.[7] It's a magic act and a ventriloquism act wearing the same coat: the birds performed, and Blitz's voice work sold the illusion that they understood him.

He carried those birds into asylums, and the effect on the patients moved him enough that he wrote about it years later. The lady patients of the Worcester Asylum in Massachusetts sent him a letter after one 1860 visit: "The sweet little birds were so pretty and astonishing, that we wish we had them as companions... Your visiting us in our solitude proves you have a good heart."[5] A little girl once asked him to turn her into a canary bird so she could grow wings and fly up to see God. He was so touched he bought her a real one the next day.[5] Another little girl, at a different show, handed him a piece of paper folded around her own dead pet canary, Dickey, and begged him to bring it back the way he brought his stage birds back. He couldn't, and he told her so, gently. Then he gave her one of his own to take home.[5] A conjuror lies for a living, on a stage, by agreement with the audience. Off the stage, in front of a grieving child, this one told the truth and covered the gap with a kindness instead of a trick.

He kept booking these little town halls until the very end of his working life. A Pennsylvania library benefit in March 1873, near the end of his working life, billed him with his own stated motto printed right on the sheet: "Let those laugh now who never laughed before, and those who always laugh now laugh the more."[12] That's as good a mission statement as I've read from any performer in this whole archive.

A good laugh, a Union hospital

By his own count, Blitz gave something like 132 shows to 63,000 recovering soldiers in the Philadelphia hospitals of the Civil War.[7] He wrote about the wounded men who begged their surgeons, against orders, to be dressed and carried down to see him. One soldier, who'd lost a leg and taken a gunshot to the arm, put it to Blitz plainly: "Is not laughing good for health?" Another told him straight out, "A good laugh will raise our spirits, and bring about a speedy recovery."[5] A lady running the ward's prayer meetings once asked if Blitz could turn his gift toward getting the men to Sunday service instead. He told her honestly that his whole talent ran the other direction, toward mirth, not solemnity, and left it there.[5]

The book and the bill

Engraved portrait of Signor Blitz as it appeared in his 1872 printing

Fifty Years in the Magic Circle

He wrote his own life story in 1871, published in Hartford by Belknap & Bliss,[5] reissued the following year under the title Life and Adventures of Signor Blitz. This portrait ran inside that 1872 printing.[3]

Photo via Magicpedia
Title page of The Vagaries of a Ventriloquist, an 1851 pitch book sold at Blitz's shows

The Vagaries of a Ventriloquist

A cheap pitch book he sold after shows at Philadelphia's Chinese Museum in 1851, press notices and anecdotes bundled together, "together with his Learned Canary Birds." A surviving copy sold at auction in 2023.[11]

Photo via Invaluable

The circle

Some of these names never touched a ventriloquist figure in their lives. I'm including them anyway, because this is who Blitz's fame put in a room with him.

figure Bobby, the automaton boy successor John Wyman guest Daniel Webster guest President Millard Fillmore guest Henry Clay audience President Lincoln imitators as many as 13 other "Blitz" acts

He died at home in Philadelphia on January 28, 1877, age sixty-six. Funeral services ran at the Church of St. Matthias, 19th and Wallace Streets, and the papers in two cities carried the notice within days.[9][10] His remains went north by the Pennsylvania Railroad for burial at Cypress Hills, Brooklyn.[10] A syndicated obituary that made the rounds twelve years later, in 1889, still remembered him as the man other conjurors were measured against, and it named his family: two daughters, Jennie and Ada, and a son, Arthur, of whom the paper says only that he made no headway in the world.[8] The stone at Cypress Hills carries his name and his English birthplace, cut into the granite exactly as he gave them on every playbill of his life.[1]

Philadelphia Inquirer death notice for Signor Blitz, January 31, 1877
Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 31, 1877. Photo contributed to Find a Grave by Dan Oh.
Brooklyn Union notice on the burial of Signor Blitz, January 30, 1877
Brooklyn Union, Jan. 30, 1877. Photo contributed to Find a Grave by Gary Nodes.

A later biographer looking at that same grave record called Blitz "the predecessor of Heller, Herrmann and Kellar," and ventured further: he was "apparently one of the first performers to use a vent dummy during his ventriloquism, thus setting the trend for future generations."[1] I'll leave the hedge word "apparently" right where that writer put it. Nobody in this family can hand you a birth certificate for an entire art form. But I'll tell you this much without any hedge at all: a man who could make a corpse talk in a Dublin dissecting room, sell ventriloquism lessons out of a Washington playbill in 1843, and hand a heartbroken little girl a live canary instead of a magic trick, earned his seat in this room. The magic got him the marquee. The rest of it is why we're still telling you about him.

Close-up of the granite headstone inscription for Signor Antonio Blitz at Cypress Hills Cemetery
Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn. Photo contributed to Find a Grave by Big Ern.
Freddy Fiddlesticks, the Ventriloquism.org spokesdummy

Thirteen impostors and not one of them wooden, funny how the birds got billed and the figures got buried in the small print. I know a demotion when I see one.— Freddy Fiddlesticks, spokesdummy

Sightings in the newspapers

1,270 dated notices between 1840 and 1920, sampled evenly across the career to show 60 here. Each links to the scanned page at the Library of Congress. Browse all Career Snippets

  1. 1840May 27 Signor Blitz, billed as a magician and ventriloquist, was engaged (re-engaged for a short time) at Peale's Museum and Portrait Gallery, Broadway opposite City Hall, New York, appearing with Mrs. Henry Wallace; his act included magical deceptions, chemical experiments, and 'Ventriloquial Colloquies.' page
  2. 1841Sep 22 Signor Blitz, billed as 'the Great Magician,' was to perform feats of legerdemain and ventriloquism at Armory Hall on 1841-09-22 and the following evening. page
  3. 1843Feb 25 Admission to Signor Blitz's show at Lyceum Hall was 50 cents; one gentleman and two ladies for $1; children half price. Lyceum page
  4. 1846Jan 13 Signor Blitz, 'the celebrated magician and ventriloquist,' gave an entertainment at the Apollo Hall this evening (per Jan. 13, 1846 newspaper). page
  5. 1846Jan 23 The newspaper writer said that private experiments by Signor Blitz witnessed in their office, if taken as evidence of his powers of conjuration, would make him 'unparalleled in his line.' page
  6. 1847Jul 22 An 1847 newspaper item describes 'Signor Blitz' as 'a celebrated ventriloquist and magician,' recounting an anecdote of him throwing his voice to make a horse appear to speak to an Irishman outside a hotel. page
  7. 1847Sep 27 Afternoon performances of Signor Blitz's magic and ventriloquism show were given on Wednesday and Saturday at 3 o'clock, with evening doors opening at 7 and the show commencing at 7:30. page
  8. 1847Oct 19 Signor Blitz's performances at the Society Library (New York) were concluding, as he was to leave the city after that week (October 1847). page
  9. 1849Dec 5 Admission to Signor Blitz's show was 12 1/2 cents, without distinction of age; doors opened at 7 and performance began at 7:30. page
  10. 1851May 15 Signor Blitz was performing at the museum to crowded houses, as noted in a story in the Dollar Newspaper (reprinted 1851-05-15). page
  11. 1851Oct 4 Signor Blitz rented the saloon at Odd Fellows' Hall for one week and, beginning Monday evening, presented performances in necromancy and ventriloquism. Odd Fellows' Hall page
  12. 1851Oct 8 Signor Blitz opened his exhibition on Monday evening at Odd Fellows' Hall with almost unparalleled success; the program included magical illusions, ventriloquism, and 'learned canary birds.' Odd Fellows' Hall page
  13. 1851Nov 18 Signor Blitz is described in an 1851 newspaper account as 'the prince of magicians and ventriloquists' who could throw his voice to any spot within hearing distance and imitate animal sounds. page
  14. 1853Jan 31 Admission to Signor Blitz's ventriloquism and magic show at Brinley Hall, Worcester (Jan 1853) was 25 cents, with a reduced price for children. page
  15. 1853Oct 15 Signor Blitz's 'Evenings of Magic and Ventriloquism' were well patronised by the public, according to this October 15, 1853 newspaper notice. page
  16. 1853Dec 16 Signor Blitz's performances of Ventriloquism, Magic and the 'Learned Canary Birds' were given at the Stuyvesant Institute, No. 656 Broadway, New York, every evening and Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, per an 1853 advertisement. page
  17. 1854Mar 5 Signor Blitz performed at the Brooklyn Institute for a week beginning Monday, March 6, 1854, every evening at 7:30 and Wednesday/Saturday afternoons at 3:00, with an entertainment including 'wonderful scenes in Ventriloquism, Natural Magic, and the celebrated Canary Birds'; admission was 25 cents, children 12.5 cents. Ventriloquism, Natural page
  18. 1854Mar 17 Admission to Signor Blitz's Brooklyn Institute show in March 1854 was 25 cents, with children admitted for 12 1/2 cents. page
  19. 1855Nov 24 Signor Blitz gave a performance of Magic, Ventriloquism, and the Learned Canary Birds at City Hall, Worcester, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 27th and 28th [1855], in the afternoons at 3 o'clock and in the evenings at 7:30 o'clock. page
  20. 1857Oct 6 Signor Blitz performed nightly at Odd Fellows' Hall, with Wednesday and Saturday afternoon matinees, featuring learned canary birds, ventriloquism, spirit rapping, and natural magic; admission 25 cents, children 13 cents (Washington, D.C. area newspaper, dated 1857-10-06). Odd Fellows' Hall page
  21. 1857Oct 21 Signor Blitz is described as a 'famous ventriloquist and magician' in an 1857 newspaper notice. page
  22. 1857Nov 6 Mechanic's Hall in Norfolk was crowded for what was supposed to be Signor Blitz's farewell entertainment, but he agreed to give four more exhibitions. page
  23. 1858Feb 24 A newspaper item (Edgefield, 1858) announced Signor Blitz's upcoming magic exhibition at Odd Fellows Masonic Hall, praising that 'his ventriloquism is unrivalled' along with his feats of magic and trained birds. page
  24. 1859Apr 4 Signor Blitz, an old friend of the Dinmore family, attended the wedding of photographer Walter Dinmore and Miss Fisher of Camden, arriving about 10 o'clock, and used ventriloquism to throw his voice and cause cries such as 'Murder!' 'Fire!' and 'Poison' that caused several minutes of consternation among the guests, until Dinmore recognized the trick and stopped him. page
  25. 1859Nov 18 A humorous anecdote in a newspaper (Nov. 18, 1859 issue) describes 'Signor Blitz' as 'the celebrated wizard and ventriloquist,' depicted performing ventriloquial tricks (a barking dog, a squealing pig, a buzzing wasp) aboard a Mississippi steamboat. page
  26. 1860Nov 3 Admission to Signor Blitz's show at Nixon's Hall was 25 cents, with a lower price for children; doors opened at 7:30 with performance commencing at 8 o'clock. page
  27. 1864Jan 15 The piece states Barnum had not forgiven Blitz for the mischief caused by his ventriloquism, though Blitz hoped to get Barnum into one of his Armory Hall entertainments to restore their friendship. page
  28. 1865Feb 4 His act included 'marvelous and beautiful necromantic illusions, humorous dialogues in Ventriloquism, and the ever-pleasing learned Canary Birds.' page
  29. 1865Feb 6 Admission to Blitz's show was 30 cents, children 15 cents; reserved seats 50 cents, children to reserved seats presumably a lesser amount (partially illegible). page
  30. 1865Feb 8 Admission to Signor Blitz's day exhibitions was 30 cents, children 15 cents; reserved seats 50 cents, children to reserved seats 25 cents. page
  31. 1865Feb 11 His act included necromantic illusions, humorous dialogues in ventriloquism, and performing canary birds. page
  32. 1865Feb 15 Odd Fellows Hall in Washington advertised 'Magic ventriloquism and the trained canary birds' for the last week of Signor Blitz's engagement (Washington paper, Feb 15, 1865). page
  33. 1865Feb 25 Signor Blitz, described as an amusing ventriloquist and magician, appeared for the last time on the evening of the article's date (1865) at Liberty Hall, with canary birds in the act. page
  34. 1865Mar 4 Signor Blitz, billed as 'the Great Magician and Ventriloquist,' returned to perform with his 'learned Canary Birds' at the Temple of Wonders, Odd Fellows' Hall, corner of Ninth and D streets, Washington, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons and evenings, March 2, 3, and 4 (1865). Odd Fellows' Hall page
  35. 1866Jun 6 On the afternoon reported (June 6, 1866, Philadelphia), Signor Blitz gave one of his popular entertainments at the Insane Department of the Almshouse for patients and inmates of the Children's Asylum, featuring sleight of hand, trained canary birds, and displays of ventriloquism, before an audience of nearly a thousand. page
  36. 1867May 1 Signor Blitz, billed as 'The World's Greatest Magician, Ventriloquist, and Illusionist,' performed with his 'Marvelous Troupe of 100 Learned Canary Birds' at Metropolitan Hall for three nights only, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (May 2nd, 3rd, 4th per ad text). The World page
  37. 1867Jun 5 Signor Blitz's 1867 National Theater show included 'exceedingly funny' burlesque minstrels and the 'Marvellous Black Head Sphinx' as part of the performance. National Theater page
  38. 1868Sep 8 Signor Blitz, billed as 'the renowned Blitz, the original magician and ventriloquist,' appeared at Dodworth Hall in New York after a fifteen-year absence, giving a performance of magic and ventriloquism including burlesque minstrel marionettes (reviewed 1868-09-08). page
  39. 1868Sep 11 Signor Blitz, billed as 'The Great Original,' performed at Dodworth Hall, 806 Broadway, including 'Extraordinary scenes in Ventriloquism,' along with acts like the Learned Canary Birds, the Dancing Dinner Plates, and the Burlesque Automaton Minstrels (advertised in a paper dated 1868-09-11). page
  40. 1868Oct 3 Signor Blitz performed at Dodworth Hall, 800 Broadway, with a matinee at 2 o'clock (advertised in a New York paper dated 1868-10-03), billed with 'Double-headed Sphinx,' 'The Learned Canaries,' and 'Magic Ventriloquism' in his 'Temple of Wonders.' page
  41. 1868Oct 11 Billed as 'The Great Magician and Ventriloquist' for his positively last week at Dodworth Hall, 806 Broadway, with evening shows at 8 and matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 1 (New York, per Oct. 11, 1868 newspaper). page
  42. 1868Dec 10 Signor Blitz, described as 'the genial ventriloquist,' recounted an anecdote about visiting Daniel Webster in Washington while Webster was Secretary of State, seeking advice on collecting a debt from a Treasury Department employee. page
  43. 1869May 14 The Weekly Republican announced that Signor Blitz would perform for the benefit of the Court House (as reported in a May 14, 1869 newspaper), with the piece mentioning ventriloquism, trained canary birds, and sleight-of-hand as part of his repertoire, though the surrounding text is satirical and garbled. The Weekly Republican page
  44. 1870Oct 14 Signor Blitz performed at Grosscup's Hall on Monday and Tuesday evenings, Oct. 17th and 18th, 1870, and also a Tuesday afternoon show at 3 o'clock. page
  45. 1871May 23 An 1871 advertisement for the book 'Fifty Years in the Magic Circle' by Signor Blitz describes his tricks and feats as a Magician and Ventriloquist, including incidents and adventures in principal cities of the world. page
  46. 1871Jun 7 Advertisement in 1871 calls Signor Blitz 'The world renowned Magician, Necromancer and Ventriloquist' who wrote a memoir titled '50 Years in the Magic Circle' covering his half-century professional life. page
  47. 1871Jul 22 An 1871 Smyrna, Delaware advertisement promotes Signor Blitz's book 'Fifty Years in Magic Circle,' describing his tricks and feats as a magician and ventriloquist, sold by subscription through agent Dunfield Ashmead of Philadelphia. page
  48. 1872Jan 30 An 1872 book advertisement described Signor Blitz as a Magician, Necromancer, and Ventriloquist, promoting his autobiography with 18 full-page engravings and a steel portrait. page
  49. 1877Feb 1 Signor Blitz, described as 'the great ventriloquist,' was said to have staged a hoax in a dissecting room where he made voices appear to come from cadavers, startling the doctor and students. page
  50. 1877Feb 13 The article also describes Blitz confounding a clergyman in Hartford, Connecticut, by producing playing cards and dice from the clergyman's coat and hat after being denounced for his ventriloquism performances. Hartford, Connecticut page
  51. 1877Mar 2 An anecdote recounts Signor Blitz performing a sleight-of-hand trick in Nova Scotia, buying oranges from an old orange woman and producing gold sovereigns from inside them. page
  52. 1877Mar 8 While in Nova Scotia, Signor Blitz allegedly bought oranges from an old woman and produced gold sovereigns from inside them as a trick, described in an anecdote about the noted magician and ventriloquist. Nova Scotia, Signor page
  53. 1877Mar 15 The article recounts that at a Philadelphia museum exhibiting an Egyptian mummy from Cairo, Blitz threw a voice from within the mummy's wrappings claiming to be 'a descendant of the Pharoahs,' startling onlookers before revealing himself. page
  54. 1877Mar 28 Signor Blitz reportedly played a ventriloquism prank on violinist Paganini in Glasgow, making an infant's cry seem to come from inside Paganini's violin. page
  55. 1877Jun 30 While in Nova Scotia, Signor Blitz performed a trick on an orange-seller, appearing to draw a gold sovereign from inside oranges he purchased from her. Nova Scotia, Signor page
  56. 1880Nov 27 Signor Blitz, described as 'the ventriloquist and wizard,' was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun while on a gunning expedition, pulling a loaded fowling piece muzzle-first from a boat, per an 1880-11-27 newspaper report. page
  57. 1889Jan 17 As reported in a January 17, 1889 newspaper item, Signor Blitz, formerly known for his conjuring and ventriloquism entertaining audiences 'a quarter of a century ago,' was at a Brooklyn hospital awaiting transfer to an asylum, suffering from paralytic dementia with fifteen paralytic strokes according to his wife. page
  58. 1889Feb 22 Antonio Blitz, prestidigitator and ventriloquist, died in Philadelphia on Jan. 28, 1877. page
  59. 1891Mar 27 According to an anecdote reprinted from Youth's Companion, ventriloquist Signor Blitz attended a White House reception held by President Fillmore, where the two recalled an old prank involving a talking hen. page
  60. 1898Mar 4 An 1898 newspaper article described Signor Blitz as 'a master of ventriloquism' whose 'self possession did not desert him,' recounting anecdotes such as throwing his voice to mimic dogs barking and a distant conversation to scare off rowdies who assailed him on suburban streets. page

Sources

  1. Find A Grave, memorial 33153031, Signor Antonio Blitz
  2. Trav S.D., "Sr. Antonio Blitz: Magical Moravian," Travalanche, June 21, 2013
  3. Magicpedia (Genii Magazine), "Signor Blitz"
  4. Wikipedia, "Signor Blitz"
  5. Signor Blitz, Fifty Years in the Magic Circle (Hartford, Conn.: Belknap & Bliss, 1871), full text via Internet Archive
  6. Daily National Intelligencer (Washington City, D.C.), Feb. 16, 1843, Library of Congress Chronicling America
  7. The Library Company of Philadelphia (blog), "The Mysterious and Humorous Signor Blitz," Feb. 7, 2013
  8. Burlington Weekly Free Press (Vt.), Feb. 22, 1889, Library of Congress Chronicling America
  9. Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 31, 1877 — scanned clipping, via Find A Grave, contributed by Dan Oh
  10. Brooklyn Union, Jan. 30, 1877 — scanned clipping, via Find A Grave, contributed by Gary Nodes
  11. Invaluable auction record, "The Vagaries of a Ventriloquist" (Philadelphia, 1851), sold Potter & Potter, Feb. 25, 2023
  12. Darby (Pa.) Free Library, "Sig. Blitz and his learned canary birds"