Ok, I will admit it, I'm late to the party. In fact, I'm so late I owe John Cox an apology. I always intended to pick up his book, I just have been a bit overwhelmed with projects. But now I have it. The book that is a work by Mike Caveney, Dr. Bruce Averbook, and John Cox called Escaping Obscurity.
This is the travel diary of a young Harry Houdini. It dates from 1897-1899. And you wouldn't think there'd be that much to cover during that time, but young Harry was a busy guy. I'm personally irritated at myself, because parts of the Travel Diary have appeared in print before. The first time I believe was in the Doug Henning book, HOUDINI His Legend and his Magic, page 19. Yes, it's only a few pages, yes, it's hard to read. But unlike many people today who are not learning how to read cursive writing, I'm of the generation who can. This would have made an excellent blog article or podcast. But they beat me to the punch!
Let me state for the record, Escaping Obscurity is impressive! It's a large volume, far thicker than I expected. 374 printed pages, and many of these are full color. Actually, they are all probably full color, it's just that some images are black and white to begin with. Every recorded day in the Diary is addressed with what was going on and images of either Houdini or the location, or newspaper articles or something that helps support that part of the story.
There will be a few images that are new to the reader, at least they were new to me. Page 96 has a wonderful and very clear photo of Houdini and Samri Baldwin. I've seen several images of the two performers together, but this one is new to me. Samri Baldwin made the claim to be the first magician to publicly escape from a pair of handcuffs. He also is credited for introducing the Q&A Act into the world of magic, having taken it from the world of the mediums. I have a podcast episode on Baldwin if you are interested.
On page 89 there is an image, I have seen before, at least I think I have. I can't recall if it was in print, or if Ken Trembly showed it to me. At any rate, it's the first image of Houdini doing any sort of escape routine, captured in a photograph. The image also contains a ghostly figure apparently assisting him. Seeing the larger version is remarkable.
I had only one complaint about the book, which is no longer a valid complaint. The font size is very small. But when compared to the Henning book, it's the same size. So complaint withdrawn! The book is very artistically laid out. Whenever possible, it contains images of additional performers that might have something to do with that part of the story. For example, there is a photo of Dr. Walford Bodie on page 48. It's included in the book because Houdini gave Bodie his Electric Chair that he acquired from Huber's Dime Museum. This happened in 1920, so it's a bit out to date for the diary, but it helps to fill in the Huber story nicely.
This is not a novel, it's an annotated version of Houdini's Travel Diary. It's beautiful and full of history and adds to many stories you might have read in other biographies on Houdini. But it's not the type of book you sit down and read like a traditional biography. I say that just to let you know what exactly it is.
Also, it's something that you wouldn't have if it weren't for the kindness of both Dr. Bruce Averbook, the current owner of the diary, and Mike Caveney, the publisher. This is a truly rare glimpse into the early career of Houdini. John Cox does an excellent job of filling in the blanks and explaining what each of these 'stops' along the tour was all about. And finally Michael Albright was charged with putting all of it together graphically into the amazing book it is. It's a joy to view and examine. For the Houdini researcher, it's another very valuable tool to help tell the every expanding story of The Master Mystifier himself!
How to buy the book: go here: MikeCaveney's site or here for a signed copy: JohnCox's site.
