# Count Alessandro di Cagliostro — The Humbugs of the World character guide

> Count Alessandro di Cagliostro in The Humbugs of the World by P. T. Barnum.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Cagliostro, Count Cagliostro

**First appearance:** 0052-xli

## Snapshot

The notorious occultist and impostor whose name became a byword for charlatanry, entangled in the Diamond Necklace affair that scandalized pre-revolutionary France.

## Who they are

Cagliostro stands among the grandest specimens of humbug Barnum catalogs — a man whose alchemical posturings and magnetic cures won him aristocratic patrons and, eventually, the attention of authorities. His career demonstrates how occult mystification and social climbing intertwine, each feeding the other's credibility. For Barnum's argument that humbug pervades every rank, Cagliostro is the aristocratic case in point: the swindler who nearly passed for a sage.

## Relationships

### [Count of St. Germain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/characters/count_of_st_germain)

_rivalry_

Cagliostro and the Count of St. Germain are rival occultists and charlatans, each claiming supernatural powers.

### [Matthias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/characters/matthias)

_psychological_

Cagliostro and Matthias share a manipulative dynamic, possibly as fellow impostors or one exploiting the other.

## In the story

### [Part I: Personal Reminiscences](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/chapters/part-i-personal-reminiscences)

Cited as a historical figure known for deception and mystical claims.

### [Part VIII: Adventurers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/chapters/part-viii-adventurers)

An infamous occultist and imposter, involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, who deceived many with his mystical claims.

### [Count Cagliostro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/chapters/xl)

The central figure of the chapter, a notorious humbug and impostor, born Joseph Balsamo, who claimed vast wealth, alchemical powers, and immortality.

### [Chapter XLI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/chapters/xli)

Arrives in Strasburg, impresses Cardinal de Rohan with Egyptian masonry, elixir of life, and other humbugs; becomes de Rohan's intimate friend and advisor, performing an Egyptian invocation to encourage the necklace scheme.

### [XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/chapters/xlii)

Visited St. Germain in Schleswig, acknowledged him as master, and learned secrets such as handwriting analysis and animal fascination.

### [Apollonius of Tyana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/chapters/l)

Mentioned at the end as claiming to have been a fellow-traveler with Apollonius, suggesting Apollonius lived to an extreme age.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/characters/count_alessandro_di_cagliostro
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/characters