Upgrades for 2012

The look of the old blog

If you've been visiting my blog over the last few days you might have noticed subtle and sometimes not so subtle changes to the way the site looks. I've been messing around with it, trying to get a cleaner look and one that still looks great. I moved all the links to a separate page. I have set up a spot for advertisers to the right. Of course the coolest change is the new banner across the top. Also, the top box on the right is a 'Coming Soon' box to show what is in the works or will be appearing soon on the blog.

Coming Up on Jan 1, 2012, the first new blog out of the gate "The Devil Made Me Do It" which is about the use of devilish imagery in the marketing of magicians. There will be more Houdini stuff straight from the newspapers as well. I've got a new ad to show you for The Grim Game, that I don't recall seeing before, and another look at Houdini's challenges.

Then watch for two big announcements related to magic history in the next week or so. 2012 is going to be big! Until then Happy New Year!

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part4

The final part of the article Houdini wrote for the LA Herald in 1907. Enjoy!

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part3

 Part 3 of the article written by Houdini himself which appeared in the Sept 29, 1907 edition of the Los Angeles Herald. Tomorrow the final part of the article.

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part2

More from the article that Houdini wrote in the Sept 29th, 1907 edition of the Los Angeles Herald. Part 3, tomorrow.

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part1

Here is something very interesting. The first thing to catch my eye of course was the half page graphic with photos. But then I looked over and noticed that the article about Houdini was written by him! Not sure if this has appeared in print anywhere before. Rather than transcribe it, I'm going to give you the actual newspaper to read, but in parts, as it's a lengthy article. The date is Sept 29th, 1907 and this was from the Los Angeles Herald, which is no longer in business.

Christmas Wishes

"I heard him exclaim as he drove out of site, 

Happy Christmas to All, 

and to All a Good Night!"

I hope you all have had an enjoyable time reading my blog in 2011. It's been a lot of fun writing and researching the various articles. I have had the good fortune of meeting lots of fellow magic history fans along the way. I'm always glad to hear from folks, so anytime you want to drop me an email please do.

The Carnegie: Magic Detective Blog will be taking a short break from now until the first of the year. However, there is a 4 Part Article that was written by HOUDINI in 1907, which will appear here next week starting on Monday. Not sure if it appeared in print anywhere else, though it's possible.

Thanks for reading my blog and special thank you for making December 2011 the BEST month for my blog since it started! I'll see you all Next Year! (with some very special surprises)

Houdinis Challenging Time in Trenton

On February 11, 1912, the Trenton Evening Times Newspaper  announced the coming arrival of Harry Houdini to the NJ Capital. Houdini had toured the world and become the most famous Vaudeville act in history, but he had never performed in Trenton so the excitement was pretty high. In fact, there were a number of articles in the paper before his arrival that went on and on about his fame and popularity. Trenton was excited to have Houdini and the theatre owner was expecting box office gold. Notice what is written on the advertisement above, "Better Buy Seats Well In Advance For Houdini Is A Wonderful Drawing Card."

He would be presenting an interesting version of his Milk Can Escape, along with accepting daily challenges. At the Trent Theatre, Houdini's Double Fold Death Defying Mystery was the feature routine. Houdini would be handcuffed, placed into a large galvanized metal can filled with water, which then would be sealed with a lid and six padlocks. Next, the Milk Can with Houdini inside was placed into a wooden crate and locked up as well. This is the earliest newspaper account I've seen that mentions the Double Fold Death Defying Mystery. He opened at the Trent Theatre on February 19th, 1912 and the headline in the next days paper read "HOUDINI STARTLES TRENT AUDIENCES".

On February 20th, Houdini accepted his first challenge from the Castanea Dairy Company 234 North Broad Street Trenton NJ. The challenge was to escape from his Milk Can while it was filled with 80 gallons of real milk! Oh, and they stipulated that they wanted to use their own locks on the Milk Can. Houdini accepted the challenge and was successful in his escape.

February 22nd, Houdini accepted his next challenge which was to have Sergeant George T. Smith, the commander of the U.S. Army recruiting station, handcuff him spread eagle to the floor of the Trent Theatre Stage and then the cuffs would be nailed into the wooden stage floor. Winner of the challenge, Houdini.

The next challenge was announced on February 20th, but was to be carried out on the 23rd. This challenge is one to pay attention to. It was made by the employees of the Goldberg's Department Store.

Their challenge: to construct a large packing box which will encase Houdini. Then they will nail the lid shut and tie it securely with ropes. There is an interesting stipulation to the challenge which reads "We will send the box on for examination, but demand the right to re-nail each and every board before you enter, to prevent any preparation on your part."

This escape was to be presented on Houdini's final night in Trenton. There is no mention of Houdini in the February 24th newspaper. So did he escape?  Read on, as this is where things get interesting. The February 25th edition of the Trenton Evening Times carried this headline "HOUDINI COMING BACK TO ACCEPT CHALLENGES-Has Been Re-engaged to Appear at Trent During Week of March 11th". Reading the article further reveals that Houdini had been accused of being a fake and that the trunk built by the Goldberg's Department Store was made to Houdini's specifications so that he could escape and the entire thing was nothing more than an advertising scheme. The article says Houdini was livid over the accusation and made arrangements with theatre management to return.

Trent Theatre

To follow the timeline of the events this is how it played out. The morning of Feb. 23rd, a local paper informed Houdini that they had been notified by 'someone' that the Goldberg stunt was a fake. Even though the Goldberg challenge had not even taken place yet, it was planned for that evening. Houdini makes arrangements with the theatre management right then for a return engagement.  That night, Houdini in front of the audience read this letter to the audience before attempting the Goldberg Challenge. The complaint letter went on to challenge Houdini to escape from a crate built in front of the audience. Houdini agreed to submit to the test on Sunday morning on certain conditions. It turns out this new challenge was from the Armstrong Packing Case Factory, and they declined the additional conditions put on by Houdini. However, Houdini said their challenge would be the first he would accept upon his return on March 11th. I must assume the complaint letter then was also from the Armstrong Packing Case Company, though the newspaper does not name them specifically.

Following that drama Houdini did go through with the challenge from the Goldberg Department Store crate, but not before they re-nailed every single board. Houdini, again escaped. The final line in the Feb 25th article is interesting, "Mr. Houdini's engagement at the Trent during the past week stirred up more local interest than any theatrical attraction the Trent has had in years and there is no doubt that when he returns to the Trent two weeks hence, he will play to record-breaking business." Ya-think?!

Several days later on March 3rd, the employees at Goldbergs who were involved in the packing case challenge sent a letter to the Trenton Evening News asserting that they were not in on some grand advertising scheme and that Houdini only provided the dimensions of the box and nothing more. So his escape was legitimate.

This ad appeared in the paper on March 10th, the day before his return to Trenton.

On March 11th, Houdini did return to Trenton and he did accept the challenge from the Armstrong Packing Case Company. Their wooden crate was built on-stage in front of the audience. Houdini escaped. The newspaper reported "When he finally emerged from the box, there were thunderous cheers, and a more mystified audience has never departed a theatre."

First Precinct Jail

The morning of March 12th, Houdini opted to try his hand at escaping from the First Precinct Jail.

Houdini was stripped of his clothing and was secured with two pair of handcuffs behind his back provided by the Chief of Police John J. Cleary. He was then placed into cell #4. It took Houdini seven minutes to free himself from the cuffs and the cell but he added a special twist. He exited discreetly through the rear jail door and came back through the front door to surprise the crowd of 500 officers and by standers that were waiting to see if Houdini could escape!

That evening, Houdini accepted a challenge from three sailors to allow them to tie him to a post. The sailors did in fact tie him securely to the post and a committee of audience members that was on hand agreed that the escape artist was bound tightly and faced an impossible task. Eighteen minutes later he was free!


Houdini was scheduled to do a bridge jump while handcuffed from the bridge over the canal lock on East State Street on the morning of March 13th. However, the stunt was cancelled due to 'unfavorable conditions' and was to be rescheduled if they could find a better location. It doesn't appear on this trip that he found such a place. But that small setback did not stop Houdini. That evening he accepted a challenge from the A.V. Mannings Sons employees to escape from a sack that they provided. The sack was tied at both ends and yet the master mystifier freed himself.

Library of Congress photo

He added his Needle Swallowing routine to his regular act during the week. The Needle routine involved swallowing twenty four sewing needles, followed by several yards of thread. After verifying that he had swallowed both the thread and needles, he would cough them back up but this time the needles would be threaded! A small effect, but Houdini would create a huge sensation with it.

The challenge on the evening of the 14th involved being secured in a full body padded cell suit. The Trenton Times newspaper says "This restraint encloses the prisoner from the neck down to including the feet, and is held in position with broad belting straps and fitted with steel buckles". He was placed into the restraint by three of asylum attendants. Results, Houdini 1, asylum attendants 0, though not without a great deal of struggle. He earned his freedom on this evening.

The final night was March 15th, and the last challenge of the week. This time it involved being strapped to an iron hospital bed provided by the W.C. Emmans Company. He made the escape attempt  in full view of the audience. There is no record of what transpired on this night, though we can assume he defeated this challenge like he had all the others. On March 17th, there was an interesting notice in the ad for the Trent Theatre. They make mention that there is 'No Houdini This Week'. The ad goes on to say that Houdini came close to breaking the box office records and they were thrilled to have hosted his second appearance in the New Jersey capital.

In May 1912, Houdini's brother Hardeen was scheduled to play the State Theatre in Trenton but had to cancel due to an injury he received in Reading PA. Later in June 1912, Hardeen did go to Trenton to play a week at the Taylor Opera House. He received great reviews.

Houdini only performed live in Trenton NJ in 1912. His next appearance in Trenton wasn't until 1918 in the form of one of his movies, The Mastery Mystery.

All of this information was gathered through articles and ads that appeared in the Trenton Evening Times Newspaper. There were other papers in the town during this time period, but I was unable to access them to add additional information. No photos of Houdini appeared in the newspaper, except for the one in the advertisement on March 10th. Still it's wonderful to have the historical record of what played out day by day. One hundred years later, we know that Houdini orchestrated many of these challenges during his career. It's fascinating to see how he used them to cause controversy and pick up another week with almost guaranteed crowds. Where other Vaudeville performers were doing the same act show after show, Houdini gave them a new thrill each time they came to the theatre. It's no wonder he was a hit wherever he went.

Houdini Movie Terror Island

Houdini's movie Terror Island was his second feature for Paramount-Artcraft and was released in 1920. Below is an advertisement for the movie which appeared in May of 1920. I've seen a number of images promoting the film, I'm not 100% sure I've seen this one however.

Tomorrow: Houdini's Visit To Trenton NJ

Houdini: A Sharks Tale

Turns out the story of Houdini catching the coins in his mouth with sharks around was not the only shark story for Harry. During his trip to Australia in 1910, Houdini was an invited guest of the Navy on-board one of their ships. While there, he accepted a challenge from the sailors to be shackled and tossed overboard. Certainly, not the kind of thing you and I would want to do, but this is Houdini and it's just average afternoon for him.

The sailors shackled up the escape artist securely and Houdini jumped into the awaiting ocean. I could just imagine countless sailors leaning over the side of their ship watching as Houdini hit the water and sank below. They all probably were trying to get a view of what he was doing. As soon as he hit the ocean floor, some thirty feet down, he began to free himself from his confinement. This is where the story takes a turn. The moment Houdini raised his head away from his shackles and got a glimpse of the area around him, he discovered that he dropped right into the midst of a large school of sharks.  I'd venture to say there is a good chance a Great White Shark could have been among the creatures as they are known to swim & breed in the waters off the Australian coast.

He was underwater for three minutes working feverishly to extricate himself from the shackles. According to Houdini, "I never worked so fast in all my life!" Then he did something that is very out of character, he left the shackles behind on the ocean floor. His only thought was being able to push himself up off the ocean floor with enough force as to bypass all the sharks and not get attacked. That is just what he did, with all his strength he pushed off from the sandy bottom and shot past the sharks. As be burst forth out of the water, sailors standing by in a lifeboat grabbed him, apparently just as a shark was coming up out of the water after Houdini. The newspaper article says "he was pulled aboard just in time to miss the snapping jaws of the predatory sea bandits."


This story came from the January 7th,1912 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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.

More Rare Houdini Ads

These two Houdini advertisements date to 1915. Most of the ads run by Keiths or the Orpheum chains are pretty much the same. But every now and then they'll really push Houdini's appearance with additional graphics.

The above image is from the Providence Rhode Island Keith's Theatre.

This next image is from October 1915 and is for the Portland Oregon Orpheum Theater. Again, Houdini's billing takes up most of the ad, with the supporting acts relegated to the lower corner. This particular theater was torn down in 1976 to make way for a Nordstrom's Dept Store.

Harry Houdini Swims with the Fishs and Sharks

(not an actual photo of Houdini and a shark)

This piece originally appeared in the news in 1915. It's a story about Houdini and a trick he invented on the spot near the Fiji Islands. I'm going to give you condensed version of the story.

Houdini and Bess were returning by Steamer from Australia and on the way passed near the Fiji Islands. The steamer docked near Suva Island temporarily. The waters near the Fiji Islands were known to be shark infested waters however, for whatever reason the sharks did not seem to harm the islanders. Anyone else however could wind up a sharks dinner.

The steamer passengers were watching the local islanders diving into water after coins that were tossed in by other ships in the area. Every time someone would come out from the water they would have the coins in their mouth!

Houdini was watching this and he expressed an opinion that the coins were not caught in the mouth but instead the islanders picked up the coins on the sandy bottom of the ocean with their hands and then put them in their mouths. He set out to prove his point and made the suggestion that if the islanders hands were tied behind their backs, they would not come up with any coins. Then he added, that he too would go in the water, with his hands shackled behind his back and he would easily come up with the coins.

They found an islander who would agree to the test and his hands were tied behind his back while Houdini’s hands were being handcuffed behind his. Before Houdini was even ready the islander had jumped into the water and was far below the surface. Houdini followed a few moments later.

Two shiny coins were tossed into the water, and the gathering crowd watched to see who would come up with their coin first. A short time later the islander rose above the water but to his dismay and that of the audience he had no coin in his mouth. Houdini was still not up and the audience was growing worried because several sharks had been spotted.

Suddenly, the crowd saw two feet emerge from the water and then flip around, it was Houdini, who proudly held two shiny coins between his teeth, even though he was still handcuffed. The worried audience scooped the champion out of the water to avoid his triumph turning into a sudden tragedy.

Houdini, the victor in the challenge, then gave the two coins to the young fellow and the steamer was soon on it’s way.

Will Rogers & Houdini

Will Rogers was a cowboy, entertainer and humorist. He rose from a cowboy who did roping tricks, to one of America's most beloved comedians. He and Houdini knew each other and worked together on many occasions. Houdini died suddenly in 1926 at the age of 52, Will Rogers too had a sudden tragic death at the age of 55 in 1935. Shortly after Houdini died, Will Rogers wrote about him in his newspaper column on November 21, 1926. Here are a few excerpts from his column.

Every one is any line of the theatrical business is always spoken of as a "Showman". Well what constitutes one is a man who can sell himself to the public in the very best way possible. Houdini was the greatest showman of our time by far. 

A great many are good and can sell themselves fairly well, but they will generally lack something, and if you figure it out it's ability. Well, Houdini never lacked ability. No person appearing on an American stage ever had more license to be there than Harry Houdini.

I played with Harry, at Keith's Philadelphia over 18 years ago for the first time. I was roping my pony on stage and was billed to close the show (that is, go on last). Harry was just ahead with his handcuff tricks. It was late when he went on. He held that audience for one hour and a quarter. Not a soul moved. He would come out of his cabinet every fifteen or twenty minutes perspiring and kinder size up that crowd to see just about how they were standing it. Now, mind you when he is in that cabinet there is not a thing going on. A whole theater full are just waiting. The city police had put these cuffs on him. Now he had that something that no one can define that is generally just passed off as showmanship. But it was in reality, Sense, Shrewdness, Judgement, unmatched ability, intuition, personality and an uncanny knowledge of people. Say, when he had finished I just as well got on my little old pony and rode back to the livery stable as to have rode out on that stage.

Houdini Handcuffed Jumps Into Lake

October 14, 1907, 11:00 a.m. Houdini was at CityPark in Denver Colorado to help promote his upcoming appearances at the Denver Orpheum. The stunt was planned for the newspapermen, but 100 people turned out for his escape.

Houdini was shackled by the Chief of Detectives William Loomis using 'Jack Shepard Irons'. His arms were secured behind his back as well as his hands and padlocks were placed in the irons. Houdini was helped to the roof of the band pavilion (see first photo above).

He leaped off the building feet first (second photo) into the lake and vanished below the surface of the water. The newspaper accounts said 'you could hear a shudder go over the crowd when he jumped as it did not seem possible for him to free himself.' Approximately one minute later, Houdini bobbed to the surface free from the restraints and  holding them in his hands. He swam over to a small boat (third photo) and was brought back to dry land.

The crowd went wild when Houdini freed himself. Houdini was in town for a two week run at the Orpheum in Denver. A fairly typical stunt for Houdini, but probably one of the last jumps for that year as it was already October! Bridge and water escapes were for warmer climates.

Below is a photo of the location today. The Gazebo, or Pavilion has obviously been rebuilt, but this is the very location where Houdini did his escape in 1907.

Houdini, Keaton, Thurston and more

(click on picture to see larger version)

Above is a theatrical page from 1907 edition of the Boston Journal. There are a number of interesting things to point out on this page full of ads. First, you'll notice that the Houdini ad is at the top of the page on the left. It's the first spot you'd see if you are reading left to right. His name is the largest in the ad and in fact, half the ad is devoted to his act, "HOUDINI - NOBODY CAN HOLD HIM" slightly below that it reads "ANYBODY CAN CHALLENGE HIM".

Look at the ad to the immediate right, for the National Theatre, and then go to the bottom of the ad and you'll see 'BOUDINI-NOBODY CAN HOLD HIM', followed by 'ALL CHALLENGES ACCEPTED'.  Houdini's imitators were right on his heels, even in the paper, but they never got the notoriety that he did! Over at the WildAboutHarry blog, you can find an article describing a challenge that took place between Houdini and Boudini in 1905. The outcome didn't seem to stop Boudini from performing because here he is two years later performing in the same town at the same time as Houdini.

The Three Keatons

If you go back to the first add for B.F. Keith's and look below the Houdini stuff, you'll see one of the acts on the bill THREE KEATONS Myra, Joe and Buster. This is young Buster Keaton's family. His real name was Joseph Frank Keaton. The story is that one day the young boy fell down some stairs and though he was ok, Houdini proclaimed 'he's a real buster' or 'that was a real buster'. The name 'buster' stuck, and his family referred to the boy as Buster the rest of his life. Even Buster Keaton himself told this very story on how he got his name. By the way, Houdini and Bess were also Busters Godparents.

One other interesting fact about Houdini and the Keatons. According to a number of sources, Houdini and Joe Keaton (father) owned The Mohwak Indian Medicine Company, a traveling medicine show in 1895. This seems to be well documented in the Buster Keaton biographies, but I've never seen it mentioned in the Houdini biographies, though they do mention the story of Houdini giving the boy the nickname. Their traveling medicine show must not have lasted very long.  In the Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini by Ruth Brandon, she mentions that in 1897, the Keatons and Houdinis worked together in Dr. Hill's California Concert Company, which was also a traveling medicine show. In HOUDINI!!! by Kenneth Silverman, he mentions that it was the California Concert Company where Houdini began to present a Spiritualistic Seance Act. The act ended in 1898 when the company disbanded, and not a second too soon for Houdini who did not like deceiving people with seances.

Howard Thurston

Finally, near the center of the page there is an ad for the GLOBE. In the ad is THURSTON-The World's Greatest Magician. Theo Bamberg is also listed as being in the show and doing his Shadowgraphy act (hand shadows).

This ad appears in the same year that Thurston met with Harry Kellar about becoming his successor and buying his show. No mention of Kellar in the ad, so this might have been just prior to that agreement. Kellar and Thurston toured together in the 1907-1908 season.

A lot of magic history on one newspaper theatre page!

Another Rare Houdini Picture

This top one is new to me. Again, found it in a newspaper in the theatre section. The paper was from 1907, so I'm assuming the photo was also taken around that time.

Now the image below I thought was very cool. This appeared in the Jan 12, 1907 edition of the Pawtucket Times. But of all the advertisements I've come across so far, this was the first one that took a slightly more customized look by adding the lock and Houdini's name over it.

Just got a very nice shout-out from iTricks.com. Thanks very much!

The Pendragon Legend

Once upon time...There were two wizards who captivated the world. Their magic spell astounded young and old alike. With magic that was ancient and new all at the same time they grew in fame and fortune. Then tragedy struck and it was all gone. They were the Pendragons.

Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon ruled over Grand Illusion for thirty some odd years. Jonathan is even credited with reviving the term 'Grand Illusion'. When I was just learning my craft they were already established. They were the first couple of magic. There was no one out there like them. Everyone, and I mean everyone, from amateur to professionals wanted their magic.  Teenagers would fight and argue over how to do the Pendragon Sub Trunk as fast as they did. David Copperfield, asked and eventually got permission to use Jonathan's handling of the cloth during the sub trunk exchange.

I only met them once. It was at a convention in Washington D.C.. I had tried to hire them to do a lecture after the convention, but the price their manager was asking was far more than our little club could handle. But I did still meet them, and helped them unload their props. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I was pushed aside by the crowd of fans and fellow magi and that was the end of my meeting with them.

I learned a lot about illusion magic from Jonathan. His writings that appeared in Genii Magazine were some of the most brilliant things I had ever read. Every time a Pendragon issue would come out, I would devour it, and read it over and over. Jonathan was an illusion magic genius. His thoughts and philosophies on magic were so profound to me. Sadly, his act was fodder for lesser performers who would steal his creations, techniques and even complete routines without any acknowledgement of their creator.

The Pendragons idea for an act began with three tired old illusions: The Sub-Trunk, The Sword Basket, and the Broom Suspension. The sub-trunk dates back to Houdini and the trunk trick itself dates back to Maskelyne, though not with substitution effect that Houdini added. The suspension was the creation of Robert-Houdin and the sword basket, I'm not sure of it's origins. But by the time that Jonathan and Charlotte got hold of them, they were worn out old tricks. The idea of building an act on those three things was crazy.

360 Levitation

So what did they do? They built an act on those three things! They added touches to each routine, changes and alterations to take them from standard tricks to something different. Because of the athletic abilities they both shared, they were able to add elements into the routines that no act before had ever considered let alone tried. The end result was a spectacular act and what really amounts to an education in stage magic on how to approach your art.

They had plenty of historical moments. Probably the one that is brought up the most is the In Search of Houdini Special. This was hosted by William Shatner and featured a lot of guest performers. The Pendragons were on to do a recreation of Houdini's Subtrunk, using the original trunk I think, or at least one like Houdini's (steamer trunk). They went through the routine as Harry and Bess would have in around 4 seconds. Then, they repeated the trick, this time with their own trunk and their modern presentation. With lightning speed, Charlotte seemed to turn into Jonathan! Then Jonathan opened the trunk and as Charlotte began to stand up, she stopped and inched back down. On LIVE TV she had a costume malfunction, and was unable to get out of the box. It was funny for all watching and probably a little embarrassing for the Pendragons. It was certainly not something that stopped them or slowed them down. They handled the situation gracefully and professionally. I'm not sure anyone would have known had it not been for William Shatner pointing it out.

Clearly Impossible by the Pendragons

Over the years, they introduced illusion after illusion with interesting twists or presentations. On TV in England they debuted a Jim Steinmeyer illusion called 'Permeability', which they called INTERLUDE. Everyone and their brother soon got one and copied their presentation. They performed a Cage Production Illusion with fire and soon everyone was doing it. They introduced on a Disney Magic TV Special a clever 360 Degree Levitation and later they came out with a Sawing in Half Illusion that had clear plexiglass boxes to contain Charlotte. They called it 'Clearly Impossible'. And that was getting ripped off. Clever illusionists and illusion creators are no strangers to theft. It's been happening for 100 years but it's still wrong.

All that is gone now. The Pendragons faced some personal issues, some of which were covered in the press and much of which was not. I've got no comment, it's their business and no one else's. They have gone their separate ways. The Pendragons are no more. Charlotte has created an act of her own, which I think is a mix of illusion magic and stage magic. I've not seen it so I don't know exactly what is in her act. But I wish the very best for her and hope she meets with huge success.

Jonathan is still doing magic, though not the physical kind anymore. His act is more cerebral and shows a different side of his character. But from what I hear, Jonathan is slowly getting pulled back into illusions. So perhaps, we'll yet see a new type of Pendragon Grand Illusion grace the stages of the world that we can be inspired by. And hopefully, the magic world will look at him and learn that even with the greatest obstacles in front of you, it's possible to overcome and come out better and brighter.

Finally, watch this video of the Pendragons at the height of their career. They were incredible!

Rare Houdini Newspaper Pictures

I can't recall seeing these two images before, though perhaps someone else has. If they have been seen, they are at least rare. If not, then yet another new photo discovery for the year. The lower photo looks like it comes from a fairly famous photo shoot. One of the photos from this group was used for his famous Europe's Eclipsing Sensation Poster. This particular photo, Houdini is crouching down, knees bent. The sequence of handcuffs is identical to some of the other photos in this grouping.

Mystery Houdini Handcuff

I came across this article dated May 7, 1908 in which the photo above appears. I can't exactly recall seeing this particular cuff before. I've scoured the Houdini books and searched through a number of handcuff related sites and I've come up empty.

The handcuffs were a special creation specifically designed to challenge Houdini. They were designed by Captain Edward Bean, the original creator of the Bean Giant Handcuffs. This is the name given in the article, but at least two of the Houdini biographies say the creator of the Bean Giants was Captain Charles Bean. I'm settling with Captain Edward Bean because Handcuffs.org has the name as Captain E. Bean and those guys know their stuff.

According to the newspaper account, "the new cuffs look like an oxen yoke, are a foot long and weight ten pounds, and were designed to succeed the 'giants' as the best made handcuff...There is a separate key for each side, with the locks particularly inaccessible to the persons reach who has them on."  The newspaper refers to them as 'Trick Handcuffs' in the title, but there is no indication that they were actually 'tricked or gaffed' rather they were made to 'trick' Houdini.

Unfortunately for history, this seems to be Houdini's final night of a run in Boston. I can't locate a newspaper account for the following day which describes the nights challenge. Though, we can assume that Houdini freed himself or that surely would have been written up in a lot of newspapers. The next newspaper which carries news on Houdini is three days later and he is in Pennsylvania at that time.

The Bean Giants Handcuffs were once thought to be the toughest handcuff out there. Captain Bean offered an award to anyone who could get out of the handcuffs. Houdini took on the challenge and won, to the amazement of Captain Bean.

Captain Edward Bean invented the Bean Giants (1887), Bean Patrolman Cuffs(1882), Bean Prison Cuffs (1882) and a variant of the Bean design known as the Bean-Cobb was invented by Lyman Cobb in 1899.

The photo to the left shows Houdini with a number of different handcuffs on. The pair closest to his body are Bean-Cobbs, a popular handcuff with Houdini. I can't quite make it out but I think there might be a pair of Bean Patrolman cuffs in that mix as well, or it could just be another pair of Bean-Cobbs.

The famous Houdini handcuff poster below has Houdini wearing all sorts of interesting cuffs. He has on one pair of Bean Giant cuffs and  a pair of the Bean-Cobbs. The Bean Giants are on the right hand column at the top, the Bean-Cobbs are in the center image in the same location as the photo, closest to his body.

If anyone has information on the Mystery Bean Cuff shown at the top of the page, please let me know either in the remarks below or by email carnegiemagic@me.com

UPDATE: The cuffs were being discussed over at handcuffs.org. Bruce Thomson said "Is it just me, or do they seem to look like the cuffs in the poster for the Russian carette, which look like two huge cans of soup under the bow arms. Closest image I can find." They sure resemble the cuffs in that picture except that challenge was 1904, and these unusual Bean cuffs were introduced in 1908. 

Next Steve Santini offered this "Contain a "Scandinavian" padlock type mechanism comprised of rotating discs. In fact, they are actually scaled up padlocks with solid cast lock bodies and connector. Currently, they reside in David Copperfield's collection." And then he added "I think it highly unlikely Bean made these. They were more likely made by one of makers of the Scandinavian padlocks like Star or Climax or even perhaps Romer." 

I'm only going by what the newspaper article says "They were designed and made by Capt Edward Bean, formerly of the Chelsea Police force and a captain in the Civil War. He is 70 years old and has the distinction of inventing the original 'giant handcuffs' of which Houdini says 'The 'giant handcuffs are acknowledged the best made and hardest cuffs to get out of in the world.'"

That being said, it's still very possible that they were made by someone else as Steve suggests and the whole challenge orchestrated by Houdini. It would not be the first time he orchestrated a challenge! 
I greatly appreciate the help and knowledge offered by Steve Santini in locating and giving more information on this very strange looking handcuff.