Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin Elephant", that every magician of the 20th century was "haunted" by Robert-Houdin, "…who cast an enormous shadow over their generation." American magician and escape artist Harry Houdini (born Ehrich Weiss) was so impressed by Robert-Houdin that, after reading his autobiography in 1890, Ehrich adopted the stage name of "Houdini" in honour of Robert-Houdin. He incorrectly believed that an "i" on the end of a name meant "like" in French; but Houdini, his own career and reputation established by that time, later lost his youthful respect for Robert-Houdin, believing that he took undue credit for other magicians' innovations, and wrote "The
Louis R. Ehrich of business to found the Ehrich Galleries in New York City. Located on Fifth Avenue, the galleries originally specialized in Old Masters exclusively. Ehrich's judgement was purportedly esteemed by well-known art expert Bernard Berenson. He provided art to individuals such as Samuel Untermyer, Stanford White, and Archer M. Huntington. Paintings from the Ehrich Galleries were sometimes donated to or purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or became part of private collections. Ehrich Galleries remained open after Ehrich's death in 1911. Ownership passed to his sons, Harold and Walter Ehrich, who donated some of its holdings to the Yale University