Happy American Birthday Houdini

Harry Houdini was born March 24th, 1926, but for whatever reason he always claimed April 6th as his birthday. There are numerous theories on why, but I'm not really certain. But John Cox over at WildAboutHoudini has a great piece on why, so check that out!  I think it's just another thing that makes him an unusual and fascinating character. He had two birthdates and two birth locations (Budapest Hungary and Appleton Wisconsin). Happy Birthday Harry!

Robert Houdin Mystery Clock for Sale

I just saw on eBay a Robert Houdini Mystery Clock. I've actually seen several of them in real life, but I can't recall ever seeing one up for sale. It has a price tag of $30,000 which is pocket change to my most of my readers (ok, maybe not most).

The link to the item is http://www.ebay.com/itm/JEAN-EUGENE-ROBERT-HOUDIN-GLASS-COLUMN-MYSTERY-CLOCK-CA-1870S-RARE-/230958035789

It's being sold by MAGICINVESTMENTS which is Mario Carrandi's ebay store. By the way, he also has a beautiful three sheet Thurston poster for sale http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-POSTER-THURSTON-3-SHEET-PORTRAIT-/261139862934?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccd261596

D.C. Magic History Conference Coming

Big News! Yours truly, The Magic Detective, will be at the Washington Symposium on Magic History April 25-27! I will have a booth in the dealers room with a bunch of my artwork for sale and information on this blog. I'm also hoping to arrange some interviews with people for upcoming editions of The Magic Detective Show on Youtube.

I will NOT be speaking at the event however. Which is fine for me as I already have a very busy schedule as it is. I really want to encourage folks interested in the history of magic to come on out. AND if you live in the Washington D.C. metro area, you really NEED to be here. These kinds of events don't often take place in our neck of the woods so this is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the history of magic, see some incredible artifacts and meet some awesome people!

For more information on the Symposium, click this link! http://www.magicposters.com/conference_2013/main/