Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser
(19th June 1806 - 11th March 1875)
Born in Vienna, Austria. Learned magic by 1828. Government bureaucrat. Amateur magician, then semi-pro from 1854, then full-time pro since 1865 (when he retired from government job).
Invented Envelope Card (1847), Shell Coin (by 1847), Book Test (early 1850s), Everywhere and Nowhere (c1860), Black Art Table (1872), Slit Glass (by 1875), Spring Balls (by 1875), probably Flags of All Nations (by 1875), probably Flag Pole (by 1875), Card Frame, Card Star, probably Floating Wand, Dancing Cane, Mirror Glass, and probably the Small Packet Trick.
Coauthors: Ottokar Fischer, Richard Hatch, Sam Sharpe