Houdini's Needles in 1899

When I was doing the research for the piece on Houdini's Needle Trick, I came across a reference in HOUDINI-The Key by Patrick Culliton where Houdini was doing the Needle Trick as early as 1899. I just found an article from The San Francisco Call Newspaper dated June 25th 1899 and the title of the article is, Houdini in His Weirdest Trick of Chewing Needles. This is probably Patrick's source as well. The paper goes into great detail describing his routine. It's clear that Houdini was doing the Needles in 1899, and very likely earlier than that because he already has this piece turned into an amazing routine. If you've ever tried the Needles, it does take a bit of time to get used to placing the needles in your mouth as it is a bit unnerving for the performer let alone the audience.

Below is the complete article and notice the photo at the end of the young Houdini doing the Needle Trick!