Houdini Challenge & Endorsment

I've only ever seen one company that Houdini did a product endorsement for, Zam-buk. I often wondered if there were others and recently I came upon an advertisement using Houdini's image and name. It must have been part of the terms of a Challenge, to allow the company to use Houdini's name in an advertisement.

This is the James Henley Brewery of Providence RI. They were in business from 1861 till the late 1950s. On March 1, 1915, on stage at the Keith's Theatre in Providence Rhode Island, Houdini accepted a challenge from the Henley Brewers to lock him up in a barrel full of beer. The following evening on March 2, 1915, Houdini presented his usual act of The Needles, Water Torture Cell and The Challenge. I'm not sure what order, he may have done the challenge first. In any event, on March 3rd, The Pawtucket Times recorded the following:

Houdini had been submerged for three minutes in a barrel of ale which then had four padlocks placed on it... He appeared smiling in three minutes, remarking that the ale "did not even stagger him".

The ad below appeared in the March 8th, 1915 edition of the Pawtucket Times.

Last Minute Gifts for the Serious Magician

Here are a few more last minute gifts that you can get someone who is magically inclined.

Tobias Beckwith Get Your Career in Gear Course. Tobias is the manager for both Jeff McBride and Marco Tempest. He is an extremely successful business person who gives many incredible insights into getting your own career in gear. You can purchase the whole course, or buy the lessons individually. The first two lessons are currently free.

Aaron Fisher Personal Coaching in Card Magic. Aaron is a friend of mine and he is also someone very passionate about the art of card magic. He is using technology to allow him to personally coach people all over the world without actually being there in person. You can't go wrong with Aaron's teaching if you wan to learn the right way to present card magic.

Rick Marcelli Book. If you're not interested in becoming famous with magic, skip over this. I'll tell you up front, I have a copy of this book. Mine looks like it's been through a war. I've read it 4 times at least, some chapters even more. There is a great deal of valuable information here. If you aren't truly serious about a career in magic, move on.

Our Magic by Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant. This book was published back in 1911. The first few chapters should be required reading for everyone interested in magic. If you can survive chapter two, there might be hope for you as a magician. Truthfully, most magicians wouldn't make it past chapter two. The link above is for the Lybrary.com version but do yourself a favor and try and hunt down an actual copy of the book.

Magic Castle Membership. Why not become a member of the Magic Castle? There are different levels of membership to choose from. It certainly would be helping out the Castle right now due to their recent tragedy (fire) that they are still trying to recover from.

FREEBIE: The Manifesto by Helmer Guimarães and Derek DelGaudio. Its' free at JournalofSecrets.com. Read It!

Boston Globe Article on Ray Goulet

There is a great little article on Ray Goulet the magic collector, historian, performer and magic shop owner that appeared in the Boston Globe recently. You can read the article called Den of Illusion by clicking the link: Den of illusion

Ray's shop called Magic Art Studio can be found online at MagicArtStudio.com. Within the walls of the shop is Ray's Mini Museum of Magic.. There are a couple Houdini items, including this unusual looking wall bust of Houdini.