Joe Fox has really gone the extra mile and provided me with some
great photos of MORE Houdini Busts. Just when you thought you'd seen
them all, a few more pop up!
First
is the Collectors Workshop Bust called 'The Houdini Bronze'. The bust
stands 14 inches tall, weighs approximately 15 pounds and rests on a
polished wooden base. Many years ago, I visited Nick Ruggerio at the
Collectors Workshop-Workshop. And he had one of these busts in the
office. I remember holding it and hearing Nick tell the story of how
they went about recreating the bust. It was a limited edition of only
18. As I recall it had a pretty hefty price tag at the time.
Next, we have an unusual bust that Joe Fox can't recall where he got it. But it's clearly Houdini
though
not of the same quality and craftsmanship as some of the other busts.
I'm wondering if this was maybe a plaster cast that was sold and people
could paint them on their own. It has a similar look to the copper
colored bust in the article
Houdini Busted!
It
appears maybe to be a copy of a copy because some of the details are
less visible on this particular bust. Though it could just be the white
color, which makes it look like a white chocolate bust of
Houdini......(that sounds rather cool).
Gary
Frank, the magician and historian offered this Houdini bust a few years
ago. It's 9 1/4 inches tall and weighs approx 5 lbs. It was limited to
200 pieces and the ad for the bust mentions it was the first in a series
of magic busts. But I don't know if any others were created.
The final two don't actually fit into the category of BUST. But they are statues of Houdini. The first
one
is a ceramic covered Beer Stein. I want to say the Fox Brewery from
Appleton commissioned this but I'm not 100% on that. The one in the
photo is Joe Fox's (no relation to the Brewery). Mine is in storage so I
can't look at the bottom to read what it says. But it's a very cool.
The stein is 9 1/2 inches tall and will hold 26oz of liquid.
A companion item with the beer stein was a Bottle Opener with the same sort of design as the beer stein.
The final 'statue' was done by sculptor Mo Flint. His statue of Houdini in a Straightjacket is incredibly
striking
and looks 100% like Houdini. I had contacted Mo when these were first
announced and he was hoping to do other Houdini statues if these sold
well. But I think the sale of these statues was a little disappointing.
From what I've heard, the run was supposed to be 500 but only 250 were
ever made. No other magic or Houdini statue followed.
A
friend of mine who is an amateur sculptor created a Houdini statue for
me many years ago. It was a statue made from the image on the left. It
was an amazing statue. It stood a little over 12 inches tall and my
friend put real chain on where needed. The reason I cannot show it to
you know is ole Houdini in Chains committed suicide! One day he fell off
the shelf he had been displayed on and came crashing into too many
pieces to repair. Sadly, I never took a photo of the amazing piece of
art, my loss.
*Special Thanks to Houdini Historian and all around great guy, Joe Fox, for sharing the above images from his collection!
