I just finished Ep. 111 of my podcast, and this time I covered Josef Freud, better known as Joseffy. What an amazing character. I mentioned on the podcast the delay of this episode and how it predated the Bamberg and Velma episodes. Here is why.
When I discovered the Letter to the Editor by Montraville Wood in the Conjurer's Monthly Magazine, regarding a possible 'theft' of one of Wood's creations, and that thief being Joseffy, I had to dig deeper. I was sure I would uncover something else, somewhere. I went through every book I had and went through AskAlexander.org and came up with nothing else.
I really do not think Joseffy stole Wood's trick. I think he might have upgraded it, and or improved it. And sure, he might have asked Wood. But As I point out on the podcast, there is a clear difference between the two hands, Woods and Joseffys. And I do not believe in anyway, that Wood can claim the Talking Skull as being his. That device was extremely complex and Wood never made a Talking Skull. So his claim is invalid.
I can't help but wonder if there is a letter or two between Houdini and Montraville Wood describing the situation. The original letter to the editor was in The Conjurers Monthly Magazine after all. BUT alas, I do not have access to such things. IF there is one, it's in someone's collection.
One thing I did do, was a very brief bio on Montraville Wood, the inventor of Houdini's Milk Can escape, among other smaller props. And I found his grave, so you can check that out on http://deadconjurers.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-grave-of-montraville-wood.html
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| Montraville Wood |
