Houdini and The US Presidents

Houdini at the White House*

I find it interesting at times to put famous people into a broader historical perspective. Given this is an election year, I can't help but think about the Presidency and that got me wondering what Presidents were alive during Houdini's life. Houdini had a connection to all the Presidents of his time right down to George Washington, which I'll share with you at the end of this story.

Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes

But for now, let's look at the timeline. Houdini was born in 1874. At the time of his birth Ulysses S. Grant was the current President. He would serve until 1877. However, Houdini, then Erich Weiss, would not arrive in the U.S. until July of 1878, so the first President he would have encountered from when he was in this country would have been Rutherford B. Hayes. President Hayes is the person credited with starting the tradition of the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn, an event that has featured many magicians since it began, though Houdini doesn't appear to have ever participated. President Hayes served until 1881 when James Garfield took over to become the 20th President of the U.S.. Houdini had a unique connection to Garfield.

President Garfield only served for five months. On July 2, 1881, Charles Guiteau shot the President at the 6th Street Railroad Station in Washington. Guiteau the deranged assassin was disgruntled because he wasn't given a job within the government. The President lived until September 19th, 1881.  In November, Guiteau finally went on trial, for murder.

Houdini, in January 1906, was challenged to escape from the cell that once held the assassin of President Garfield at the D.C. Jail. Houdini, not only freed himself, but also unlocked several other cells and had prisoners change cells with one another. The Houdini movie with Jonathan Schaech opens with a scene that I think is a recreation of this escape.

Chester A. Arthur would take over for Garfield, and would serve as President during the time that young Erich Weiss became known as 'Erich, Prince of the Air'. Grover Cleveland was the next President, followed by Benjamin Harrison. When Houdini and Theo and Jacob Hyman went to work the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Grover Cleveland became President, again.

When Houdini got his big break from Martin Beck in March of 1899, William McKinley was serving his third year as President. McKinley would be assassinated in office by an avowed anarchist. His Vice President Theodore Roosevelt would follow him and serve two terms as President till 1909. A few years later, Houdini while sailing aboard the Imperator from England to America, had the good fortune to meet the former President Roosevelt and perform for him as well. Houdini totally baffled the former President and before landing in the U.S., he made sure to have his photo taken with Roosevelt. The photo today is interesting as two versions exist. One with Houdini, President Roosevelt and a number of other gentlemen, and the other version is of Houdini and the President with all the other people airbrushed out!

William Howard Taft was President from 1909-1913. During that time Houdini became the first person to fly an airplane in Australia thus making him a pioneer aviator. He also introduced the USD or the Upside Down Water Torture Cell during Taft's tenure as President. On March 4th, 1913, Woodrow Wilson would be sworn in as the 28th President of the United States and a few months later, Cecelia Weiss, Houdini's mother would pass away, changing his life forever. President Wilson would often sneak over to the Keith's Vaudeville Theatre in Washington D.C. to see Houdini perform. The theatre was easy walking distance from the White House. Houdini also received an invitation from President Wilson to come to the White House.

When World War I broke out, Houdini enlisted but was too old to be considered. Instead, he got behind President Wilson and the war effort by selling Liberty Bonds and performed at military bases across the country to support the troops. He also made an Elephant Vanish and began his movie career during the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson.

Warren G. Harding was the next President serving from 1921-1923. He died during his third year in office. Houdini met Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during this time and had the famous seance in Atlantic City with Doyle's wife. Calvin Coolidge was the Vice President for Harding, so when Harding died in 1923, Coolidge became President. He served until 1929, so that made Coolidge the final President during Houdini's life.

Though he was friendly with Roosevelt and Wilson, I can't help but think that the Coolidge and Harding Administrations didn't take too kindly to Harry. He had testified before Congress about the Anti-Fortune Telling Legislation and it was revealed during this time that seances had taken place at the Coolidge White House, which later was changed to the Harding White House. But it was bad press for the executive branch either way.

Other events not of a Presidential nature that took place during Houdini's life: 

• 1903 The Wright Brother Fly for the first time
• 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
• 1908 The first Model T Ford rolls out of the factory
• 1912 The sinking of the RMS Titanic. Houdini's friend Charles Carter (Carter the Great) tried unsuccessfully to board passage on the Titanic.
• 1913 Grand Central Station Opens in NYC
• 1917 US enters WW1
• 1919 Prohibition becomes the law of the land
• 1923 TIME Magazine published for the first time
• 1924 J. Edgar Hoover appointed to lead the FBI
• 1926 Robert Goddard sends up the first liquid fueled rocket
• 1926 -Oct 31 Houdini dies.

Houdini missed Charles Lindbergh's historic first transatlantic flight by only a few months. And he missed the Stock Market Crash of 1929 by three years.

If you are wondering what Houdini's connection was to all the President's from Washington to Coolidge was, well he was an avid collector of many things and one of his collections consisted of signatures of all the Presidents. I wonder where that collection is today? According to the Silverman Biography on Houdini he even had signatures of John Wilkes Booth and his brothers. Houdini's boyhood idol happened to be Abraham Lincoln, who had only died 9 years before Houdini was born. Another way of looking at that, Houdini was born 9 years after the end of the Civil War. He's such a modern figure, I never really considered that he was born so close to the War Between the States.

Houdini loved America and American history. One thing I really admire about Houdini in this regard is how though he knew politicians, Congressmen, and Presidents, he stayed out of the political arena. He visited both the White House and Congress and he was welcomed by people from all parties, but he never publicly took sides. He surely had political opinions but he kept those private and used his celebrity status to promote one thing, HOUDINI.

*Thanks to WildAboutHoudini.com for the use of the top picture.

The Magic Detective is Evolving

Coming Soon: The Carnegie Magic Detective Show. This will be a web-based show featuring Magic, Magic History and more that will air on my Youtube.com channel. Eventually, I hope to have regular weekly episodes, but it will take a while to transition into that.  Shooting video and then editing video is a slightly longer process than just writing this blog.

Taking this site from a blog to a video show has been in the planning stages for about a year, but implementing it is another thing entirely. All of the episodes will be fairly short, keeping with the Youtube content strategy. As time goes on and I'm able to build an audience I'll offer longer episodes. I've got a number of interviews lined up for the coming months and I'll probably post edited versions of those on the channel and then maybe offer longer ones at another time.

This BLOG will not be going away.  As much as I wish I could interview folks like Daisy White (she is a recent favorite, can you tell?), or HOUDINI himself, they just aren't available. So the blog works well to get their stories out there.

The first episode will contain a video of a near death accident with a famous escape artist. I'm not sure this footage has been seen in the U.S. and if it has, it's not been wide spread. I'll post Air Dates in the 'Coming Soon' box at the upper right hand side of the blog, and of course you'll be able to watch it right from this very blog or via the Youtube Channel. Stay Tuned!

A Bit of David Copperfield History

I found this on Youtube and really enjoyed watching it. Though David Copperfield does own perhaps the largest collection of historical magic, he is also living history.  He accomplished an astonishing amount in his life and I hope this continues for many many years to come. I don't really know what this is from, but it looks like it came from the Copperfield Team. I hope they allow it to remain on Youtube so that more people can appreciate his contributions to the art.

The Oldest Magic Shop in America

The Oldest Magic Shop in the United States* opened it's doors in 1873. Located at 493 Sixth Avenue NYC, NY, it was started by two brothers, Francis and Antonio Martinka. Their original shop had 5000 square feet of room with a showroom in the front and a small theatre and workshop in the back. Martinka & Co. was different from many modern magic shops though. They not only sold magic, they built magic. Everything from small props of wood, glass and metal to large stage illusions were crafted in their shop. They possessed a skill that is rarely seen today.

Their shop was frequented by amateurs and professionals alike. The top names of the day, Robert Heller, Alexander Herrmann, William Robinson, Carter the Great, Harry Houdini and Harry Kellar purchased items from Martinkas. By 1902 it became the hang out for regular NY magicians and that's when Dr. W. Golden Mortimer and Dr. Saram Ellison proposed establishing an official organization for magicians. May 10, 1902 The Society of American Magicians was born in the back room of Martinkas Magic Shop.

By 1917, the Martinka brothers decided retirement was in order. They had been running this shop and a previous one in Germany for more than 50 years. They chose to sell the shop and it was purchased by a young up and coming magician by the name of Charles Carter. Known professionally as Carter the Great, he had become a great customer to the Martinkas. Practically his entire touring illusion show was built in the back rooms of the Martinka shop. Charles Carter had been touring for ten years and was feeling the need to settle down. Purchasing the magic shop would be the ideal thing for him.

Charles Carter had grand plans for Martinkas. According to the Carter the Great book by Mike Caveney, Carter planned to open Martinka Magic Shops all across the country. He even had plans to open a large theatre next to Martinkas to feature acts on the weekends and showcase illusions during the week. But none of it was to be and within a year Carter was looking for a buyer. He was loosing money in the magic shop business. Carter also had pulled in a partner after his initial purchase of the company, Alf Wilton. Mr. Wilton would eventually buy Carter out and get involved with a new group of people, John Collins, Frances Martinka, Theo Hardeen and Harry Houdini. The year was 1919.

What did Houdini do with Martinka's you might wonder. He purchased Hornmanns Magic Company from Otto Hornmann, and merged the two businesses together. Beyond that he did precious little. He was busy with his Film Company and history shows what a debacle that was. He sold his 51 percent controlling stock to Alf Wilton after only nine months as President of Martinka & Co..

Frank Ducrot

In 1920, the business moved to 304 West 34th St. in NYC, where it would remain for many years. The next owner, was Frank Ducrot, a popular New York magician. He hired Daisy White to work the front counter and to act as secretary and sometimes as his magic assistant.

Frank Ducrot died of a heart attack in 1938 and the shop was purchased by Al Flosso, and the name changed to The Flosso-Hornmann Magic Shop. Al Flosso was an old time vaudeville and popular Coney Island performer. He knew everyone in magic and he kept the shop bustling right up until his death in 1976 at the age of 80. His son Jack Flosso eventually took over the shop and just as his father had done, kept the spirit of magic alive and kicking in NYC.

The Flosso-Hornmann Magic Shop was a landmark that was visited by professional and amatuer magicians as well as famous Hollywood celebrities and other famous personalities. In 2000, Jackie Flosso sold the shop to Ted Bogusta in the hopes of retiring. In late Sept 2003, Jackie Flosso went to be with Francis & Antonio Martinka, Frank Ducrot, Charles Carter, Daisy White, Harry Houdini and Al Flosso. He was 77 when he died.

Today, Martinka's Magic Shop is an online magic shop and auction house. And I just found out that they have an actual shop in Midland Park NJ, the address is listed on the website. I think they are most famous today for their online auctions of antique magic, which I must admit have had some incredible items offered! You can see them at www.martinka.com

*I understand there is some debate as to Martinkas Magic Shop being the 'oldest'. It certainly has to be the longest running magic shop in America.

Unusual Houdini Graphic

The image above appeared in 1929 in a syndicated column written by Houdini's Girl Detective, Rose Mackenberg.. It's a very cool image of Houdini and I wish the scan had been better. I can't help but wonder if the original might have been in color.

I'm a little behind on the blog articles at the moment. Between my many projects and doing shows I've come down with a cold which is slowing me down. But I expect to have some interesting things in the next few days.

By the way, the blog article I wrote on The Pendragons which at first didn't quite get the response I felt it deserved has shot up, into the top ten most read articles. Then it quickly jumped into the #2 spot knocking the Hugo/George Melies article from #2 to #3. I have a feeling with the Hugo movie getting nominated for 11 Academy Awards, it's going to move up again. But the Pendragon article is inches away from being in the top spot as the most read article on my blog. Anyway you look at it, it's very nice to have folks reading my blog. Thank you!

Houdini's Mysterious Girl Detective

 

HOUDINI's Mysterious Girl Detective

"Exposing the Weird Secrets of Mediums and Spirits"; so read the headline for a series of newspaper articles by Rose Mackenberg. Back when Houdini was busy making spiritualists all over the globe very unhappy people, he discovered he couldn't do all the work alone. So he had his own agents and one of them was Rose Mackenberg. If the accompanying photos are any indication she was a master of disguise!

Rose would dress up as some character to attend seances, attend spiritualist meetings, and generally investigate and typically detect and reveal fraud. Though he job was to find the fakers, she still kept an open mind about communication with the dead. She said she never experienced it herself but if it was possible she hoped she would get to see it first hand.

She often used the alias Florence B. Rush and was also known as the infamous Rev. Frances Raud (fraud).

When Houdini was before Congress testifying about a proposed anti fortune telling bill "to ban people from pretending to tell fortunes for reward or compensation or pretending to unite the separated" as the The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush puts it. Rose was there also with Houdini to testify about a number of mediums she had visited in Washington D.C.. And Rose had a bombshell to deliver. I doubt anyone was expecting it. She revealed that Congressman and Senators regularly attended seances and one congressman's wife was a medium. Not only that, she revealed that seances had been held at the White House! Her testimony rocked Washington to it's core. The White House was not the least bit happy and issued an immediate denial of the accusation. In the end, it didn't matter, as the bill never got off the floor.

She continued working as Houdini's chief Detective right up until the time of Houdini's death. In fact, Rose Mackenberg was in Montreal participating in the lectures that Houdini gave at McGill University. So she was with him right till the end. Rose was not the only person on the team, Julia Sawyer who was an assistant in the show, also worked as one of the debunking agents. Jane Chapman was another, who Sidney Radner had interviewed about her debunking exploits. The filmed footage of the interview appeared on the Houdini Documentary put out by Unapix Productions. There were possibly a dozen people that Houdini employed in his team to defeat the spiritualist fakers.

After Houdini passed away, Rose retired from her Spirit detective work, but she continued exposing mediums through lectures she gave on the subject. "Exposing the Weird Secrets of Mediums and Spirits" was the title of a ten part syndicated newspaper article she wrote in 1929 that appeared in newspapers across the U.S.. In it she gives her thoughts on the Arthur Ford Seance and spends a great deal of time exposing the fraudulent methods of fake mediums. The photos here are from that article.

Searching for Miss Daisy

Adrienne Barbeau as Daisy White

The first time I heard the name Daisy White was while watching the Houdini movie staring Paul Michael Glaser. Adrienne Barbaeu played the part of Daisy White and in the movie she worked for Hardeen in his show and then later shacked up with Houdini while he was struggling over the death of his mother. This of course is the fictionalized movie version of things. As easy as it is to become enamored with Adrienne Barbeau's portrayal of Daisy, I didn't give Daisy much thought beyond that.

Then I came across this statement "Houdini only ever loved two women, his mother and Daisy White." That's quite an eye opening statement especially given the way the legend of Houdini has been portrayed. By the way, that statement came from Maurice Zolotow, who was a show business biographer. His statement was from a review he wrote in the NY Times for the book HOUDINI: The Untold Story. By Milbourne Christopher.  Needless to say, that was all it took to cement my curiosity and send me on the search for the actual story.

Daisy White

Truth be told there was a real Daisy White. Her name was Gertrude Nickerson* and my research so far shows she was from Middlesex Massachusetts. She apparently got involved in musical theatre or musical comedy, probably in Vaudeville. How she got into magic initially is a bit of a mystery. She apparently worked for Servais LeRoy at some point, most likely in the 1920s. Whaley's Who's Who says that she learned magic as an assistant to Frank DuCrot and then later became a demonstrator at Martinka's Magic Shop (actually Hornmann's at the time). It's unclear though her actual path into magic as several sources give different accounts.

There are a couple interesting stories about her work at Hornmann's Magic Shop. At this time the shop was located over on West 34st St in NYC. One day Max Malini walked into the shop. There were a number of other magicians around and Daisy was working behind the counter. Max walked up to Daisy and grabbed some of her red hair and with a pair of scissors cut off the handful of her hair. The clump of hair was then vanished and her hair was found to be perfectly restored!

Another story involved a young John Scarne coming into to the shop to meet Frank DuCrot of magic lessons. Daisy was there and introduced herself and kept Scarne company until Frank arrived. No one know Scarne at the time. Frank Ducrot and John Scarne went in the back room to start their lesson and John was a little unimpressed with the technique that Frank was teaching with cards. He asked if he could learn something other than cards and Ducrot, somewhat puzzled asked if he didn't like card tricks? Scarne said he already learned a lot from professional card mechanics and proceeded to show Frank Ducrot a number of mind numbing effects. Frank was so blown away he called Daisy to the back room and they both sat there for hours watching John Scarne do effect after effect. Ducrot told Scarne that he needed to meet Houdini, and he set up a meeting for them to meet. The night of the meeting, which was also at the shop, a number of magicians were there and they all went to the back room. Frank wouldn't let Daisy come in the back though, he made her stay at the front in case any customers showed up. Typical boys club attitude.

By all accounts Daisy White exuded sex appeal, though I'm sure they didn't call it that back then. She had a habit of wearing low necked dresses and was known to lean over the counters at the magic shop while doing demonstrations revealing her ample cleavage to the customers and no doubt selling all the inventory they had! The latest book on Houdini, Masters of Mystery by Christopher Sandford, has this description of Daisy, "...Houdini's voluptuous former assistant Daisy White, whose duties had sometimes called for her to parade up and down the stage in an overfull dress while the illusionist prepared his next trick in the background." So she apparently worked for Houdini as well.

Beyond her sexy figure, Daisy was a talented individual. She was an accomplished pianist and often played piano for shows put on by the SAM Parent Assembly. She was quite active in the Parent Assembly having helped put together ladies nights and worked on decorating the banquets. In the 1930s, she was involved in a court case in which a member of the Parent Assembly acted as her lawyer.

Back in the 1920s, Guy Jarrett the eccentric illusion designer, hired Frank DuCrot to present a collection of Jarrett's illusions at the Idle Hour Playhouse in NY. Daisy White was the assistant. It appears the show played a single date. But the unique illusions of Jarrett's were photographed with Daisy White in them. These photos later appeared in the pages of his incredible and controversial book on illusion magic simply titled, JARRETT.  He referred to Daisy as '118 lbs but with quite some gazangas'.

Houdini died unexpectedly in 1926.  After his death, his ever faithful wife discovered a safe in the basement containing love letters from women who had fallen for her husband over the years. Among these were some rather hot and heavy letters that came from Daisy White. Bess had a clever way of confronting the women. She invited them over her house for lunch and as they were leaving, she handed each one of them their letters back tied up nicely with a ribbon. It's unclear if Daisy was one of the invited ones. The confrontation with Daisy however seems to have been more personal. Daisy convinced Bess that nothing happened between her and Harry. This must have been the case because Daisy and Mrs. Houdini remained friends.

I had read in a number of biographies that Bess opened a tea room called 'Mrs. Houdini's Rendevous' in NYC for a period of time. The location of which was where Rockefeller Center is today. The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush, mentions a 'speakeasy' which was run by both Bess and Daisy White. From 1920-1933 serving alcohol was illegal in the U.S.. A 'speakeasy' was an illegal barroom. The Secret Life of Houdini goes one step further referring to the speakeasy as a brothel. This information apparently from Arthur LeRoy, but Patrick Culliton thinks and I agree, that this was a 'mischaracterization' referring to the speakeasy as a brothel. I don't honestly know if the tea room and the speakeasy were one in the same. The tea room apparently made no money because Bess wouldn't allow down on their luck performers to pay. But a speakeasy, well I can't imagine that going out of business during prohibition unless they were shut down by the authorities. No record exists of Bess or Daisy going to jail, as far as i could find, so that's not likely. It will remain an open question until I can dig further.

Next, Arthur Ford enters the picture. He was the Reverend of the First Spiritualist Church in NY. He befriended Daisy White. His charismatic charm won over Daisy and she became a spiritualist and even joined his church. On page 149 of The Houdini Code Mystery by William Rauscher there is a photo of an invitation card for a lecture being presented at Carnegie Hall by Daisy White which reads "You are cordially invited to attend a private demonstration given by courtesy of Miss Daisy White to expose the comparative virtues of Modern Magic, Mind Reading and Spiritualism". The date on the card was April 1929.

Arthur Ford apparently also won over Bess Houdini. Both The Secret Life of Houdini and The Houdini Code Mystery say that Bess & Ford were dating, though very discretely. They met after a lecture/debate on Spiritualism between Howard Thurston and Arthur Ford in which Ford easily won the debate. On February 8th of 1928, Ford gives Bess a message from Houdini's mother. Eleven months later, Ford, through his spirit contact Fletcher, produces a message from Houdini himself. Bess announced to the media it was the authentic and genuine message that she and her late husband had agreed upon.

Then all hell broke loose. The media began debunking the whole affair. Dunninger, the mentalist, got involved and pointed a finger at Daisy White saying she gave the information to Ford. One source said Daisy claimed she knew the code, as did a lot of magicians, but she did not know what the 'message was'. The United Press story that appeared in newspapers of the time said that Daisy knew Arthur Ford but "never discussed Houdini 'in that quarter or never had said she had got Houdini's code before his death." Ford also denied that Daisy had anything to do with it. However, The Secret Life of Houdini says "when some of Houdini's friends threatened to expose Daisy White's involvement, she threatened to go public with her sexual relationship with Houdini and she had 'one or more witnesses' ready to vouch for her story." Which was it really? Did she know the code? Did she give it to Ford? Did she have the affair with Houdini after-all?

To those questions, I don't have concrete answers. It's clear that history has revealed Houdini to be NOT the ultra-conservative straight laced individual that his biographers had painted him to be. Did he actually cheat on Bess or did he just have close relationships with other women? Hard to say. It's so easy to want to paint him into a modern day box and apply the loose standards of today to Houdini. Then again, there is the old saying 'boys will be boys'. We know he had some sort of relationship with other women, and pretty good chance with Daisy White as well. But beyond that we can only speculate.

Sometime in 1933 she was getting work as a numerologist. She had a business card that read 'Science of Sex and Numbers'. As I mentioned above, she gets involved in a court case over her mother's estate in Massachusetts. She eventually was awarded one half of the estate. Then after that Daisy vanishes from the magic literature.

I've been trying to track Daisy through ancestry.com and if I have the correct person, I think she died on August 6, 1993 in Athens TN, but I'm not 100% on that**. There are a number of Gertrude Nickersons and this one is the one who matches Daisy the closest, but I need further confirmation. (see note below)

That my friends is all I could find on the infamous Daisy White, so far at least. I'm going to ask a special request to my fellow magic historians. If anyone knows anything about Daisy White that I didn't cover, OR if you have photographs you'd be willing to share, please contact me at carnegiemagic@me.com
I'm going to continue the research on Ms. White and eventually hope to be able to write a much longer piece on Daisy.

*This blog has been an exciting one and new information just came in regarding Daisy White's actual name. It's from a newspaper, so I still need to verify it, but you can read it in the comments below by Bill Mullins. Very thankful for the input by others!

** As I feared the information on Daisy's death is incorrect. Houdini The Man Who Walked Through Walls by William Gresham, published in 1959 says that Daisy had already passed on though they do not give a date. So she died prior to 1959. The hunt continues.


Special Thanks to Joseph Pecore, The Conjuring Arts Research Library, Ask Alexander, Patrick Culliton, John Cox and others who shared their knowledge of Daisy White. Also extra special Thank You to Patrick Culliton for allowing me to use his photo of the real Daisy standing (upper left).

Dennis Haney, The Wizard of Rosedale - News and Features - Baltimore City Paper

Here is a great news article on my friend Denny Haney of Denny's Magic Studio in Baltimore. Always enjoy reading about Denny!
Dennis Haney, The Wizard of Rosedale - News and Features - Baltimore City Paper

Tracking the Body of Houdini

Grace Hospital Detroit (Library of Congress photo)

With the recent controversy and chatter over the History Channels DECODED Episode regarding HOW Houdini Died, I thought I'd go in a slightly different direction and follow his body after his passing. We know Houdini died on October 31, 1926 in Detroit Michigan. What follows is a description of the events following his death right up until his burial. There are photos of the various places his body stopped along the way and the article concludes with the short 20 second recording of the Houdini Funeral.

DETROIT Oct 31, 1926

Wm. R. Hamilton Funeral Home

He died at 1:26 p.m. in Room 401 at Grace Hospital in Detroit. From there his body would have gone to the hospital morgue and then to Wm. R. Hamilton's Funeral Home on 3957 Cass St. The photo here shows the white house which was the original building for the funeral home and is where Houdini's body would have been. There is a larger brick building connected to it on the left but this was not completed until the 1930s. This is where Houdini was embalmed by John Fraser, one of the employees at the funeral home.

While this was happening the Houdini Show and all it's props and equipment were being crated and shipped back to NY. However, oddly, one piece did not make the trip. It was a bronze coffin with a glass lid which Houdini had intended to use for a buried alive stunt during the 1926-27 Tour. After the embalming at Wm.R. Hamilton's Funeral Home his body was put into this coffin and then into the crate for the coffin. Houdini's body now fully crated was taken by truck to the Michigan Central Station. An extra Pullman Car had to be added to the train for Houdini's casket and for his family to travel back home.

ARRIVAL IN NY
Newspaper accounts of the time report the body leaving Detroit on the 1st to arrive on the 2nd in the morning at Grand Central Station in NYC. In the photo (left), you can see the crate containing the casket with Houdini's body. One thing I never noticed before was the fellow standing on the far left hand side with his hat in his hand. That is Servais LeRoy, the illusionist and friend of Houdini. In fact, hundreds of people were at the station to see the casket arrive. Houdini had been the President of the Society of American Magicians as well as one of the most famous and beloved entertainers in the world, his death came as a shock to everyone.

Location of West End Funeral Home W 91st

Upon arrival at Grand Central Station, the casket was taken by Samuel Rothschild to his West End Funeral Chapel, 200 West 91st Street. The casket was to remain in state at the funeral parlor until November 4th. There had been talk of having the casket lie in state at the Hippodrome Theatre but this did not happen.
A letter Houdini had written several years before was discovered outlining the details of his funeral and they followed his instructions. Per Houdini's wishes the funeral would take place at the Elks Clubhouse Lodge No.1 in NYC. According to news reports, thousands of people came by to pay their respects at the funeral parlor.  By the way, the photo to the above/right shows the location of the West End Funeral Chapel, but today it is the Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

NOVEMBER 4TH

On the morning of November 4th, 1926, the casket made it's second to last stop, this time the Elks Clubhouse on West 43rd near Broadway. It took three cars to move all the flowers from the funeral parlor to the Elks Clubhouse. Houdini would have been proud as the room was packed  for  his funeral. Close to two thousand people showed up for the service.

The service began at 10:30 a.m. and was officiated by Rabbi Bernard Drachman and Rabbi B.A. Tintner. Eulogies and remembrances were given by numerous fraternal groups, magicians and others in the theatrical community. The very first Broken Wand Ceremony was conducted by a member of the Society of American Magicians. This is where a magician breaks a wand to signify that the magic of the deceased individual has ended. It's a great ceremony, but I'm actually not sure how fitting it was for Houdini as his magic kinda continued on, even till today.

Kenneth Silverman's book HOUDINI!!! says that Bess held up well until the casket was sealed at which point she broke down in tears. Incidentally, the casket that Houdini's body traveled in from Detroit to NYC was actually a bronze casket liner. It was placed inside a larger casket and the entire thing hermetically sealed before it was carried out to the hearse. Houdini's male assistants acted as the pallbearers, with some very notable individuals being listed as honorary pallbearers; Martin Beck, his former manager and theatrical impresario, Bernard Gimbel, one of the originators of the Gimbels Dept. Store, William Morris, of the famed entertainment agency,  and Adolph Zucker, a film mogul who started Famous Players Film Company which eventually became Paramount Pictures. These were just a few of the high profile names listed as honorary pallbearers.

As the casket was carried to the hearse, the mourners could see for the first time that the streets were jammed with 2,000 spectators who had all come out to say their last goodbye to the master of mystery.

Houdini Funeral Procession

According to The Secret Life of Houdini, the funeral procession to Macapelah Cemetery contained twenty five vehicles.  How long it took to travel from the Elks Clubhouse to the cemetery, I do not know. Silverman's book HOUDINI!!! says that the funeral procession was scheduled to drive through the theatrical district before heading to the cemetery.

Finally at the cemetery, the two rabbis were present at the grave site as well as Houdini's family and widow Bess and one hundred+ mourners. Houdini made it clear in his final burial instructions that he was to be placed next to his mother. After the final words and prayers were given by the rabbis, the casket was lowered into the ground. According to the Silverman biography, Theo Weiss, Harry's brother tossed a flower onto the lowering casket and as if my magic a shower of flowers were tossed by the grieving graveside friends. This can be seen on the longer 1 minute plus footage of the Houdini Funeral, but I've only seen the shorter video (below).

Below is a short 20 second video of footage from the Houdini Funeral. It's obviously second or third generation because of the poor quality.

RIP Houdini

HOUDINI ARRESTED!!!!

I'm amazed at the number of newspaper articles which have used Houdini's name in the headline referring to some criminal. Usually, it refers to someone who got away from the police. In February of 1907, in the Pawtucket Times Newspaper, an article appeared that at first glance I assumed was this same sort of thing. But I went back and read it and to my surprise, it was about Houdini being arrested.

HOTEL CLERK CAUSES ARREST OF HOUDINI

Claims Handcuff King Assaulted Him After Challenge

Providence. Feb 11-Houdini, the handcuff king was arrested Saturday afternoon on a charge of assault brought by a local hotel clerk. The clerk alleges that he challenged Houdini to a test of skill and that he was assaulted by the great attraction at Keith's. Bonds were placed at $3000, which were furnished by Manager Lovenberg of the theatre.

This is a frustrating piece of news. Not because Houdini was arrested, but because I could find no newspaper report which gave a follow-up. It also looks like it happened at the end of his run in Rhode Island and on the day when Houdini was about to travel to Boston for a weeks worth of shows. There is no mention of it anywhere that I can locate. Perhaps, the charges were dropped, who knows? The arrest didn't stop Houdini from performing in Providence as he was back in 1911 at Keith's.

Anyone with details of what happened following the arrest, please let me know so I can add it to the story.

A Mysterious Houdini Girlfriend

Minnie and Hattie Mooser

Over the years, there has been speculation that Houdini might not have been so faithful to Bess as the legend tried to portray him. First revelation was Daisy White back in the 1970s. Then Kenneth Silverman revealed Charmian London, the widow of writer Jack London. John Cox wrote the definitive blog on Houdini and his 'girlfriends'. He revealed quite a few that I had not heard of. I knew of one that had not been mentioned and held onto it thinking I had a big revelation. But I have since discovered that this one was revealed in The Secret Life of Houdini by Bill Kalush. The reason I'm writing about it though is because both Mr. Kalush and I got the information from the same sources, a newspaper article and a first hand account from escape artist Steve Baker, and I have something to share at the end that wasn't covered in the Secret Life of Houdini.

Hattie Mooser was the 'mysterious girlfriend' I wish to share with you. She was born in 1878 in Nevada but grew up in Sacramento CA. For a number of years, Hattie and her sister Minnie ran a restaurant called the Aladdin Studio Tiffin Room in the Chinatown section of San Fransisco.  This was a popular hang out for folks in the theatrical business. According to Hattie, when the Houdini's were in town they made the place their headquarters.

Hattie was kind of vague about her relationship to Houdini when she spoke to the press, referring to Houdini as an adopted brother. But she revealed to Steve Baker that he was far more than a brother! More like, kissing cousins! There is an article that appeared in the Feb 17th, 1967 edition of the Oakland Tribune Newspaper. It's an interesting interview with Hattie and her sister Minnie. In the article Hattie claims to have met Houdini through her brother Leon. But I'm skeptical of the story she relates. She said that it was her brother that booked Houdini to work at the Palace Theatre in NYC. She also went on to say that Houdini didn't even own a tuxedo and her brother loaned him one of his. Further, she goes on to state that Houdini almost didn't go on stage to perform and her brother had to shove him onto the stage.

There exist photos of a very young Houdini wearing a tuxedo, so that part of the story doesn't ring true to me. And the notion that Houdini was too frightened to go out on the stage of the Palace Theatre really strikes me as untrue. No date is given when this took place, but if it happened earlier in Houdini's career, then who knows, maybe it did. One thing is for certain, Houdini knew the Moosers.

Tower of Jewels

In the article, Hattie mentions that Houdini took her to see his movie, 'The Man From Beyond'. She actually told him afterwards that she thought it was awful and was shocked someone could convince him to invest in such a thing! She also mentions in the article going with Houdini to the 1915 San Fransisco Worlds Fair. She was able to get them into the Tower of Jewels, which was a large Italianate main tower adorned with 102,000 glass gems that sparkled when swayed by the wind. Hattie said "We went to dinner afterwards and he asked when my sister and I would observe our birthdays. I asked him why and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of jewels. You know, nobody took their eyes off of him when he was in the tower and I have no idea how he got them." But don't take that to assume Houdini was a thief, as I have discovered that the Fair sold jeweled souvineers and I'll bet thats what he gave to Hattie and her sister.

Hattie also claims to have substituted for Bess in the show. She very well may have acted as one of the female assistants.  Then there is the revelation that Houdini shared with her one of the secrets to his jail escapes. This did not appear in the newspaper. She shared this information with Steve Baker during a private visit he had with the sisters. She swore Steve to secrecy and to my knowledge he has only shared that information with one individual.

Hattie and Minnie both lived a long life. Hattie lived to be 92 and her sister Minnie lived to be 98. While doing additional research on the Moosers I discovered that The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the Bancroft Library University of California Berkley has a collection of scrapbooks and other documents belonging to the Moosers. There is memorabilia from the 1915 Worlds Fair, which are probably the jewels given to them by Houdini. This is the information on that collection: Collection #: WJHC 1968.012 AR1

There just might be a whole new chapter in the Houdini saga sitting in the pages of those scrapbooks. The photo of Houdini that can be seen in the background of the picture at the top of the blog is not among the collection. That 20x36 photo was auctioned off in 2004 and went for over $10,000. Houdini had signed it to Hattie, "To my good friend Hattie Mooser, 'My brain is the key that sets me free' Houdini, 3/23/23."

Houdini Hired To Entertain in Backyard

Belmont House, Newport R.I.

Imagine just for a moment, if you could hire the biggest name in show business to entertain at your private event for a handful of guests. That would be like hiring Elvis, Sinatra, Madonna, or Beyonce today. Now it would be a long shot, but if they said yes, you wouldn't expect them to do their full show. Maybe a couple songs and that would be it. IF they would even agree. Get this...

The date was August 21, 1912 and Houdini had been hired to entertain the guests of a garden party in Newport Rhode Island. He was hired by Mrs. August Belmont, any idea who that was? August Belmont was the man who built the Belmont Racepark in NY where they still hold the Belmont Stakes. He was the first president of The Jockey Club and chairman of the New York State Racing Commission. He was also a wealthy banker and the chairman of the board for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Suffice to say, he was probably one of the richest men in America at the time.

Houdini was hired to perform at a garden party for Mrs. August Belmont and her guests! Mrs. Belmont wanted to be sure that Houdini used no confederates in his act, so she asked Hermann Oelrichs and Preston Gibson to serve as a 'committee' to see that his performance was above board. Houdini proceeded to do a few tricks in the backyard of the mansion to the delight of the guests. Then, Mr. Gibson and Mr. Oelrichs were instructed to tie up Houdini with ropes and then lock him into a large wooden box. Yes, you are reading this correctly. They tied him up, locked him in a box....

Then the box was carried over to a yacht which was just offshore. All of the guests lined up along the cliff to watch what was about to come. Houdini, still inside the box, was pushed off into the water! He was hired to entertain at a private event and do the Overboard Packing Crate Escape!!!! The crowd of extremely wealthy people acted like any other group of people, they stood spellbound, transfixed as bubbles came up to the surface of the water while the box sunk below the sea. The tension was beyond belief when suddenly Houdini burst out of the water, free from his watery confinement. I wonder if they cheered or if he received polite golf-like claps. Actually, to quote the paper "there were ejaculations of astonishment when Houdini rose to the surface."

That has got to be one of the coolest Houdini stories I've ever heard. And one of the strangest newspaper quotes regarding Houdini.

Houdini doing the Overboard Crate Escape in 1912 (this photo not from Belmont party)

The Game Changing Illusion

The one magician who changed the face of illusion magic more than anyone in the 20th Century was P.T. Selbit. Born Percy Thomas Tibbles on November 17th, 1881 in London. He found the name Tibbles had a less than magical sound to it, so he reversed the spelling of his name and became Selbit. He was a performer and a creator of incredible mysteries.

Illusion magic during Selbit's time contained vanishes, appearances, floatings in the air and similar effects. But no one had ever presented the illusion of mutilating a human being in the way Selbit came up with*. His creation would start a whole new brand of illusion magic.

The illusion that changed everything was Selbit's Sawing Thru A Woman. It was first presented to the public on January 17th 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire Theatre. It had been presented several times previous to that date to magicians and agents. Notice, it was not Sawing in Half. His version was Sawing Thru a Woman, a penetration illusion. But it gave birth to all later sawing effects. The Selbit Sawing was unlike anything that had been presented in the world of stage magic. A long rectangular box made of rough cut wood sat upon two small wooden platforms. Ropes were tied on the woman's wrists and ankles. The ropes would be fed through holes in the box and then these would be tied with knots preventing her movement within the box. Next, three sheets of glass were shoved down into the box from the top, and then two sheets of metal were shoved into the box from the sides. The woman was unmistakably divided into numerous sections. But the best was yet to come. A large cross cut saw was used to saw the box in two. This was not the super clean way we think about it today. No, the long saw was real and truly cut the wooden crate in half. It took a while to cut through the thick wood of the box. Unlike, the more popular versions, the now divided boxes were not separated. Instead, the blade was left below the two cut boxes, the lid was opened, the ropes cut and the girl emerged perfectly safe and healthy!

P.T. Selbit presenting his masterpiece

The illusion of Sawing Through a Woman was an instant sensation. Word spread across the globe and magicians in America got wind of the new effect. The Great Leon and Horace Goldin set about creating their very own versions of the effect, but with a subtle change. They would be sawing a woman in halves and separating the halved boxes. Their effect would not be a penetration like Selbit's but instead a destruction and restoration effect. Goldin began work first on his method when Leon inquired about it. He told Leon he owned the rights to the trick, but that was a lie and Leon later discovered the truth and created his own.

The Goldin Sawing had an advantage over the Selbit version in that you could see the girls head, hands and feet the entire time. But Goldin's first version which he debuted in May 1921 used a boy not a woman. Thurston saw this and recognized the potential in the effect but also knew it was not a finished piece. He worked out a deal to have his chief mechanic and builder Harry Jansen rework the prop. Harry Jansen, who would later be known as Dante, at one time had his own magic manufacturing shop in Chicago. His company had the building rights to Servais LeRoy's illusions. Jansen took the Goldin Sawing and added the LeRoy Asrah table base. In Mike Caveney's book The Great Leon, he says that Leon also used the LeRoy Asrah table but the method was slightly different. Goldin took his new and improved illusion and had it patented under his name alone!

Goldin knew an opportunity when he saw it and by Summer of 1921 sent out other authorized performers to present his Sawing a Lady in Halves. Among the early group were; Thurston, Dante, and Servais LeRoy. He had a total of nine performers traveling the country with his sensation. Selbit came to America in September of 1921 hoping to reap the rewards of his creation and was shocked to find he had been ripped off. Selbit sued Goldin and lost. It didn't stop Selbit from sending out magicians with his version of the effect as well though. David Price's book, A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theatre mentions that Houdini stepped into the fray to show a playbill from a London theatre dated back to the 1880s which had the headline "Sawing a Lady in Two".

Eventually, Horace Goldin came up with a method for the illusion that removed the box completely and the need for the long wood saw. Instead, a girl would be placed upon a table in full view and a large circular saw would rip through her body. This became known as The Buzz Saw Illusion. Three of the most famous practitioners of this illusion were Harry Blackstone Sr and Jr, and Richiardi. This illusion was created in 1931.

The improved Goldin version using the box stayed around however. Milbourne Christopher in his Illustrated History of Magic credits a Turkish magician, Zati Sungar with shrinking down the size of the box and thus creating what we call today the 'thin model' sawing. Numerous variations have been developed since that time. Robert Harbin's contributions were probably the most unique. He created a simple to travel with Bow Saw version and then elaborated greatly on the theme and created The Zig Zag Lady!

Who can be credited with originally coming up with the sawing concept can be debated forever. One thing we know for sure, no illusion in the history of magic has ever created the sensation that the Sawing in Half Craze of 1921 did.

*There were other mutilation effects prior to Selbit's Sawing. The Sword Basket is one example as is the much older John the Baptist effect, where a head is severed from the body and set next to body on a table. But even those did not have the impact  that the Sawing Illusions first created.

Houdini vs The Mighty Mississippi

Houdini in New Orleans (Library of Congress)

I remember a few years ago, driving through Minneapolis and wondering if Houdini ever did a bridge jump into the Mississippi River. I don't know if he did one in Mpls. but I found a very interesting Challenge that took place in Mississippi River in New Orleans.

It began in the pages of The New Orleans Item Newspaper on November 13th, 1907. A daily column called SPORTING CHAT written by a fellow named simply as Ham, publicly challenged Houdini.

"Sporting Chat, dares Houdini to permit himself to be bound-say, by a member, in good standing, of the police department-with some reliable expert of chains and handcuffs as the judge; AND THEN JUMP INTO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. The challenge is in keeping with Houdini's boasts. Wonder if he'll accept?"

The November 15th, 1907 edition of the same newspaper has a small article with a photo of Houdini. The headline reads "WILL HANG BY TOES, THEN DROP IN RIVER". Houdini accepted the challenge and threw in a counter proposal. He agreed to the challenge and then added, "I have arranged a dive from the steamer J.S. and if Chat wants me to, I will hang by my toes, and plunge perpendicularly into the water". The time and date of the escape are mentioned in the article and the exact location is given, The Foot of Canal Street.

There is another interesting and revealing item. The article says "Houdini said today, he would offer $10 for the best picture taken, $5 for the next best and $2.50 for the third best". But I'm unaware of any photos taken of the escape. They may yet be out there!

On November 17th, 1907, the rain was pouring down in New Orleans. Still, almost 10,000 showed up to watch Houdini attempt his escape.  Houdini was wrapped in chains, shackles and padlocks by First Recorder’s Court Judge Jon Fogarty, using manacles provided by the Orleans Parish Prison. Houdini jumped into the muddy waters of the mighty Mississippi River and vanished below the surface of the water. Thirty seconds later a hand slowly emerged from the water holding the shackles and chains, Houdini had freed himself to the delight of the New Orleans crowd.

Special Note: The photo at the top is Canal St. looking out into the Mississippi River, the photo below is IN the Mississippi River looking towards Canal St.

The spot where Houdini escaped in the Mississippi River in New Orleans

A Female Houdini In the Movies

"Girl Defies Death, Houdini Marvels"
(newspaper article)

Houdini wants to know how it was done. And by the way, Mr. Houdini, the handcuff king, was at the Hippodrome in Cleveland a week ago and mystified all the folks who saw his performance. 

Helen Holmes, a movie picture actress with the Kalem Company, who is appearing in the film, "Hazards of Helen", has duplicated Houdini's stunts.
Recently, she was thrown into the rough and choppy waters of San Pedro harbor, California, with her hands and feed tied. She escaped and met her sweetheart on the bank of the big stream just as the scenario said she must.
Miss Holmes has worked for more than a year on the trickery of escaping bonds. She has shown most of these in her moving pictures, which are the most daring of the kind ever exhibited.

So who was Helen Holmes? Well she was a silent movie actress from the Illinois born in 1893. She began making movies around 1912. As the Perils of Pauline serial began to take off, the Kalem film company decided to do a similar serial of their own starring Helen Holmes. Her films were somewhat different than the cliffhangers of the Perils of Pauline. Many of her films had Helen herself escaping her bonds or freeing herself rather than being rescued by someone else.

Given the time period in history, I kind of wonder if she did in fact do the escapes. She was known to perform her own stunts, so it's possible.

Helen did not perform the escapes outside of the movies, and any work she may have had in legitimate live theatre was as an actress and not as an escape artist. Her movie career ended in the mid 1920s but she remained in show business both working in theater and training animals for movies. She died in 1950

Below is a video of a typical Damsel in Distress shot from a movie. This is Helen Holmes in action. It appears she was doing these harrowing escapes in the movies before Houdini made his first film.

Houdini's Advice on Success

This is fascinating to me, it's an article that was written by Houdini, yet didn't appear in the papers until November 7th, 1926, a week after he died. The article is titled "Houdini Gave Advice to Modern Youth Battling for Success". The words he wrote are as applicable today as they were then.

"It's true, most unfortunately, that experience is a hard school, but we must learn it, and no other. The light of another's experience will not illuminate the path of youth very much. It is only after he has had his own hard knocks that he can profit by them."

"Starting out thirty years ago as a magician, I have passed hundreds who did not know that success was just another name for hard work. Those in the arrogance of their youth rarely listen to their elders; nevertheless I say that inspiration plays little part in success, and chance plays less. What little success I may have had has come from making up my mind in early youth to be the best in my line no matter what it cost in hard work, and never deviate from that course."

He then goes on to explain how success isn't achieved overnight. He shares the story of how he fearlessly jumps from high bridges and that he had to work up to that by overcoming the height challenges in stages. First learning to jump from one level and then going higher and gradually higher. It's a good analogy of how success is achieved through smaller steps but often to the outside observer who isn't aware of all that work, they think you just made those triumphs appear from thin air.

The final paragraph is interesting because on one hand it appears that he is pushing his anti-spiritualist agenda, but I think he is really expressing a thought with a double meaning. Sure, Houdini is pushing his fight against the Spiritualists, but by ending with this piece he is also expressing his view that success doesn't come about through 'magic or supernatural means' but by good ole hard work.

"No one possesses supernatural power... Do not therefore, be superstitious. Don't be afraid of spirits or spooks. There are none... Don't fear the dark. I have slept in haunted houses and cemeteries and the only thing I ever caught, was a cold."

I wish Houdini had lived longer so he could continue his columns of advice, but instead these were truly his final words.

Houdini Girl

The headline reads "Baby Houdini, Holder of the South American Underwater Swimming Title" on the cover of the June 22, 1921 edition of the Riverside Enterprise Newspaper. This young girl is Alma Mann and she is 11 years old in the photo above. She made a name for herself as a championship swimmer and diver. But she also included underwater escape stunts ala Houdini.

Alma Mann was from the Canal Zone in Panama. She was apparently quite the sensation down there and eventually came to NYC with her Canal Zone Swim Team to compete in swimming events and do exhibitions at the new Madison Square Garden Pool. At home, Alma was the first person to swim the Culebra Cut near the Panama Canal and she broke the ladies speed record of walking across the Isthmus (from Ocean to Ocean) a distance of 50 miles,  in only 16 hours. She did this at the age of 12.

Where she discovered her skills as an escape artist is unclear. She was obviously a tremendous swimmer and athlete at a very young age. The addition of underwater escapes did help her to get media coverage that other girls her age were not getting, so perhaps that was the sole reason she did them.

One of her stunts was to dive from a height of forty feet while bound in 70 feet of rope. She would remain underwater until she was completely free.

She continued to get press from her swimming and escapes stunts for a couple years and then my guess is she went back to an ordinary life as I could not find any other newspaper articles on her. She was never really a Houdini competitor, as far as I can tell she never worked vaudeville. She only added the escape stunts to help promote her swimming and diving exhibitions. I can't imagine an eleven year old even being allowed to attempt such a thing today, but this was back in the 1920s, definitely a different time.

Blog comments are welcome and encouraged. Also, if I happen to get some fact wrong historically I do appreciate having someone set me straight on that. I try to get the best information possible, but even I can miss something. If you want to discuss a blog in detail, please email me carnegiemagic@aol.com

History of Magic Special

I think this is a BBC special on the History of Magic. They actually covered a number of different topics including: Mentalism, Levitation, Close-Up, and Escapology. Below are the videos for the escape part of the special and below that are 3 parts to the Stage Magic portion. The person who put these up on Youtube seems to have missed part 4-6. Regardless, these are great!

Special Highlights: In the Third Part of the Stage Magic Series there is a video of Harry Blackstone Sr, presenting the Buzz Saw. What makes it unique is how young Blackstone was in the clip.
In the Appearance/Vanish section Part 1 near the end you'll see the Fantastic Blooming Orange Bush.













STAGE MAGIC







APPEARANCES AND VANISHES

Houdini Grim Game Ad

Here we have a newspaper ad for Houdini appearing in The Grim Game. The Moore's Rialto at 713 9th St. NW Washington D.C. was showing the movie. This was a 2000 seat movie house built in 1918 and this ad is from 1919, so Houdini's movie was among the first shown at the Rialto. Below is a photo of what the theatre looked like in Houdini's day.

Apparently the theatre didn't do too well and was converted over to a live theatre venue. Imagine that, when most live venues were going to movies, this one house was switching back to live shows. The Rialto was torn down in 1940 sadly.

Many people claim that The Grim Game was Houdini's best movie, though not many folks today have seen it.  Perhaps through the efforts of Houdini Historians like Patrick Culliton and John Cox, we can one day see the movie for ourselves.

Blog comments are welcome and encouraged. Also, if I happen to get some fact wrong historically I do appreciate having someone set me straight on that. I try to get the best information possible, but even I can miss something. If you want to discuss a blog in detail, please email me at  carnegiemagic@aol.com

Rare Raymond Poster For SALE

I received an email the other day from a fellow poster collector. He has several vintage magic posters for sale. But the crown jewel among the list is this beautiful RAYMOND Poster (above). According to the owner,

"Raymond, the 8 sheet "Spookville" (backed on canvas). This is EXTREMELY RARE and one could really have an astonishing piece no one else has, especially if one can actually display it. Purchased directly from Mario Carrandi within days from when he got it directly from Wendel & Lizita. I believe Dave Baldwin and I possess the only two known ones........$4,000.00.

This is available through Gale Molovinsky. He has this and several other posters for sale.  You can reach him at      Gamolo@aol.com