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.

Dr Edward Saint The Houdini Archivist & More

 

Let me ask you a question? What happens when someone dies? Beyond the funeral and that sort of thing, I'm thinking more of their legacy? The majority of people are forgotten over time. If they made substantial contributions to society sometimes their story lives on. Sometimes, they’re forgotten and it takes a historian or two to bring their story back to the masses. 

Let’s look at Houdini for a moment. He was a vaudeville performer, early motion picture star, grand escape artist, a pioneer aviator and more. But he wasn’t Charles Lindbergh? Nor was he Charlie Chaplin. Nor was he P.T. Barnum. And more to the point, he wasn’t exactly a magician. He built his career on being mostly an escape artist. He could have and probably should have been forgotten over time. Yes, remembered by the magic community, to some degree, but even then nothing is guaranteed. I do not mean to put Houdini down, in anyway. I just want to emphasis the fact that most people are forgotten a few years after they die. The reasons are many. A new generation of people are born, unfamiliar with that persons exploits. The deceased is no longer in the news.

But we come to Houdini. Thet man remained in the press nearly every day since he died. In fact, Houdini who died on Oct 31st 1926, had an article of his own published in November 1926!

Here is what William Larsen Senior had to say in the pages of Genii Magazine Oct 1936 “Somehow, seeing Mrs. Houdini as often as we do, hearing laymen speak the name HOUDINI so often, and being questioned so frequently about him, we can’t quite realize that Houdini is gone. Surely, ten years should reconcile us to his departure. But, it hasn’t. When he went, magic lost something, an intangible something which it has never regained. Perhaps it was prestige that we lost, or a leader, or…..and idol.”

His wife Bess certainly did some things to keep his memory alive. But there was a point at which even she got tired of it. 

So in walks Dr. Edward Saint. He becomes the Houdini archivist. He begins to amass volumes and volumes of newspaper clippings about Houdini. And strangely, Houdini’s name did remain in the press after he died. A great bit of it due to Saint’s own contributions and submissions. Houdini was no mere magician, no mere showman, no mere entertainer. But Edward Saint must be credited with helping to keep Houdini’s name alive until it became legend. Today, let’s look at the life of this unusual character, Dr Edward Saint.

He was born Charles David Meyers in 1891. 

His show business career began rather early. According to a piece submitted by his father in the very first issue of Genii Magazine Sept 1936, at age 9, Edward Saint produced and managed a company of twenty performers for one spectacular afternoon performance. It began with a parade in the neighborhood and then followed with a show in a barn. The price for admission was a whopping 5 cents per person. The show grossed 70 cents. In other words, there were more people IN the show than there were watching the show. That is unless all the family members were comped, then there would have been more there. The show consisted of clowns, tight rope walking, trapeze performers, juggling, a trained dog and more. Young Edward Saint wore a Chinese costume and performed three of the acts himself. He would continue this sort of back yard magic show concept throughout his youth.

Eventually Saint found his way into the carnival world, specifically the sideshow. Moving into this world also he created a new persona and look. One of his first incarnations was as Sir Edward St. Ra-Diem. You can see how easy it is to go from Sir Edward St.Ra-Diem to simple, Edward Saint. The prefix would change occasionally, Doctor, Professor, etc. whatever worked best at the time. He also changed the entire name. For a time he was Professor Sesrad. A fascinating point was the Prof. Sesrad usually wore a jeweled turban and had an appearance of a mystic. Even more fascinating, Sesrad is Sir Edward Saint Ra-Diem,,,the first letter of each name spells Sesrad.

One of his early acts was playing the part of a dead pan man. He offered money to anyone who could make him laugh, or smile. 

He worked 6 years for the Johnny J Jones show as psychic entertainer/mentalist. He performed this act under the title of Sesrad. He shaved his Van Dyke beard for the act, and wore a turban as I just mentioned. He discovered that he appeared 30 years younger after shaving and it made it slightly more difficult to sell his act. Clearly, he preferred the Van Dyke as he grew it back and wore it the rest of his life. 

In the 1930s Saint could be found in Florida and now he was presenting himself as a ghost hunter. Some sources would claim this is where he met Bess Houdini. That is not exactly correct. It’s likely that in Florida, is where Bess and Saint reconnected and he became her manager and in charge of the Houdini archives.

There is an article by Edward Saint in the September 1979 issue of MUM Magazine, and I’m assuming it appeared in another issue likely around 1938 as well. But the article is about the origins of National magic Day. And it begins with stating “I have the honor of recording the first publicized HOUDINI DAY which was celebrated in the Summer of 1927 in NYC.” Bess Houdini was present there because she gave away a Houdini Trophy to the winner of an underwater contest held at the Miramar Pool in NY. So the two met far earlier than I expected. Also in the article, Saint shows how he pushed the idea of Houdini Day and National magic Day to magic groups all over the country, until now we all recognize the date of Houdini’s Death as National Magic Day. 

There’s an interesting story about Saint working on the Houdini archives. He would gather every bit and mention of Houdini from newspapers, magazines, whatever. And he’d put them in a scrap book. Saint would do that while Mrs. Houdini usually played solitaire. On one particular evening Bess turns to Saint and said, “Edward, why do you keep saving those articles on Harry? He is dead and buried….why not leave him that way and quit digging him up all the time?” (from the Jan 1949 Conjurers Magazine)

Arnold Furst put forth the theory that Bess Houdini and Dr. Saint were secretly married. According to Furst, they acted as any married couple while at home. He certainly was her companion, and she didn't go anywhere without him. No evidence has been found that they were married, no marriage license. There is a mention of Hardeen being upset with Bess, "out in California living in sin".   But, Bess laughed it off saying that Hardeen should know better. 

It's certainly interesting if they were married, but it doesn't really change much of the narrative either way.

Did you know that Edward Saint had his own column in Genii Magazine that started way back in October of 1936? It was called Thru the Monocle. Much of the column featured magic news happening in California and the L.A. area, but it also contained a lot of Houdini stuff. for example listen to this, “colonel harry day, Member of Parliament, just in from England, is visiting Mrs. Houdini at her Hollywood home. Colonel Day was Houdini’s first manager in Europe; arranged for the Scotland Yard “break away” and booked Houdini in England, Germany, and Russia, with engagements running months at a time. Colonel Day, riding the crest of Houdini’s popularity, became himself a tremendous power in European Theatricals. To Quote Colonel Day, “”Houdini and I were so closely connected both in business and friendship, that I feel sure had it not been for the fatal accident which unfortunately resulted in his death, I would still have retained my interest in the Variety Agency for the purpose of carefully managing his interest instead of embarking on a political career when I did.””

Also, in 1936 is maybe the most iconic moment of Saint’s life, certainly his life with Bess Houdini. That would be the 10th and final Houdini Seance. Wow, 10th, if they only knew how many seances have been held since!  The event took place on the roof of the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel. Saint conducted the seance. Many notables were present for the event and within the inner circle including, Carl Fleming the President of the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians,, Judge Charles Fricke a hard nosed, no nonsense judge of the California High Court and then President of the Southern California Assembly #22 of the Society of American Magicians (SAM) , Len Oliver Gunn was an amateur magician and columnist for Genii Magazine, Hereward Carrington psychic investigator and amateur magician who worked with Houdini during the investigation of Margery the Medium for The Scientific American Magazine and you can learn more about him on Ep 51 of this podcast, William Larsen Sr. editor and publisher of Genii Magazine, Jacob Hyman original performing partner of Harry Houdini and friend since boyhood, Floyd Thayer prominent magic dealer, Gerald Kosky National Vice President for the SAM, Earl Rybolt  who was a magician and collector and President of Los Magicos, Harry Mendoza who was a stage magician and columnist for Genii, on a side note Mendoza’s father was a manager for Frederick Eugene Powell. and two none magicians included Reverend Dr. Acorn of the local association of Spiritualist Churches, and Dr Vernon Herbst, phychiatrist and student of the occult sciences. and finally of course Bess Houdini and Dr. Saint. There was a total of 300 invited guests at the event.

Two ornate high backed chairs faced the crowd. The Hollywoodland sign could be seen clearly in the background. A shrine to Houdini with his photo sat between Bess and Saint. On a table were a number of items including the Mirror Cuffs, a Spirit trumpet and various other items. Dr. Saint conducted the Seance. (If you listen to episode 100 of the Magic Detective Podcast you can hear both a portion of the seance, and later the full recording) As you may know, Houdini did not return. But the memory of the 1936 Seance lives on. 

Thayer Magic Studio put out the original recording of the Houdini Seance. it was produced in 3 twelve inch records. According to the ad copy: the Final Houdini Seance just as it was actually presented, from the very beginning to the end. You will hear, in the finest of modern recordings, the clear depiction of the locale o f the seance, the playing of "Pomp and Circumstance" just as it was used by Houdini in his last performances, the introductory remarks of Edward Saint, con- ductor of the Last seance proper and the words o f Houdini's widow.

Next, William Larsen Sr, who was present at the event, put out a publication called The Final Houdini Seance. I believe this is more a magical recreation of the Houdini Seance, rather than anything to do with the actual 1936 event. And finally, in 1975 the Houdini Seance was put out on LP which had commentary from George Boston, a recording of the Seance, and Houdini's voice recordings.

In another Genii column Saint mentions coming across a bunch of letters in the Houdini archives on Payson Ave. NY, these letters were from William Hilliar’s father to Houdini. Saint had gathered them all up to give to Hilliar, when the next morning they heard the news of Bill’s death at his own hand. Saint said, “A Showman knows when an act is finished, it takes nerve to ring down one’s own curtain, but I know Bill Hilliar  was a showman.”

In yet another column he has some very prophetic words, and I do mean VERY prophetic words to the magic community. Quote”Mr and Mrs. Magus should start NOW to prepare for television. Magi in general will get the real break in Fame and Money. It will be magic’s first real come-back since vaudeville passed out. Take Warning. Prepare! Be Ready!”

In the next issue Saint mentions he just completed a 10,000 mile motor trip around the United States. Hollywood, NY, Philadelphia, Baltimore. Savannah, Miami, Florida Keys, Tampa, Mobile, New Orleans, Galveston, Houston, El Paso, Hollywood. The he mentions later that Mrs. Houdini has made California her home, she resided at 1851 Winona Blvd. Hollywood. 

Here’s a piece for my fellow Houdini historians, in the April 1937 issue of Genii page 11, in Dr Edward Saints column, it reads and I quote, “Dr. Jack Hyman, old-time magician, recalling Houdini doing the bullet catch trick in 1893 and 94!!!!! WHOA!

And speaking of surprising, in his next column we have a trick. It’s titled Sesrad’s latest trick. Effect: A borrowed can or walking stick is held horizontally, and a bright colored ball is tossed in the air and caught by the magician. He next places the ball a few inches above the cane and lets go and it appears to hover in mid-air, even a hoop is passed over the floating ball. Finally the ball is given a slap, sending it into the audience for inspection. Interesting.

Augusts 1937 Genii, Dr Saint’s column, records that “at one time Mr. W.H. Donaldson of Billboard Magazine and Harry Houdini contemplated the financing of an American Egyptian Hall on Broadway. 

In the same column, is this gem, “A number of years ago, Sesrad froze a man alive in a 1400 lbs block of ice at Walter Reed hospital in Washington DC, before an estimated crowd of several thousand…………..Sesrad had the time clocked from the time the subject was frozen at the ice plant, miles away, to the time the subject was chopped out under hospital supervision. Time in Ice, two hours and seven seconds.

Every column featured little bits of news, much like many columns from that time period. Example, “Hardeen feature with harry Gourfain’s Jamboree Road Show, 35 people. Not a lot of detail there, but lets you know Hardeen is still working. He also mentions this, “Judge Charles W. Fricke, magician and criminologist lectures interestingly about ‘Magic in Crime vs. Crime in Magic.” now there is a lecture I’d like to hear.

By the way, the 1937 November issue of Genii Magazine features non other than Dr. Edward Saint on the cover!

January 1938, we learn that Houdini had secret marks in two places in each of his more valuable magic books. The marks are still there, according to Saint. But not sure the purpose, other than for Houdini to identify them as HIS of they were borrowed or stolen, I guess.

We also learn that, quote, ‘ a local spiritualistic medium tried to TAKE Mrs. Houdini for 40 grand recently. Part of that story went coast to coast, New York Journal ran a photo. This is Jan 1938 if you want to dig further.

There is a mention of Robert Nelson, who owned the company that sold a ton of mentalism effects and props. He apparently wrote an expose on the Fox Sisters home and how it has been turned into a sideshow at Lily Dale. The article appears in the Nov Linking Ring 1937. Saint says, “the story should be in the files of ever psychic entertainer.;’

February 1938 there is no regular column by Saint. Instead there is an article titled, ‘I CHALLENGE” and it has to do with what he refers to as the humbug of telepathy.  He mentions tests made at college campuses and such and the results showing no proof that the phenomenon is real. He is a bit harsh at time referencing Dr. Rhine at Duke University and others on the proper way to conduct their tests. It’s a fascinating article. Say what you want about Dr Saint, he sure knows his stuff when it comes to this area of magic.

Then in March 1938, he goes back to his regular column, Thru the Monocle by Dr. Edward Saint, however the entire piece seems a continuation of his article the month prior. It is not the standard Monocle column at all.  Then April 1938 we see this,”Answer to Dr. Saint” by Wallace Lee. In his ‘answer’ he goes on to point out mistakes Saint made in his assertions and point out that he believes there is esp/telepathy and it’s been proven. And then in May he writes his final article for the magazine, Magicians on Guard, which further continues his message about no proof of real telepathy and esp. and further debunking of Spirit mediums. 

John Booth shares an interesting story of a visit to Bess Houdini’s home in California. He said, “I was absent-mindedly gazing up at a heroic sized portrait photograph of Houdini, on the wall opposite, when I became aware of other voices in the room. They were coming from an indeterminate source. My friends (that would be Bess and Saint) stopped talking. We listened. It was as thought radio voices had suddenly began to penetrate the air around us. I was frankly puzzled and said so. But I noticed the trace of smiles in the expression of Mrs. Houdini and Mr. Saint. Then, I recognized my own voice. I was chatting with a woman. What? When did this happen? What was the subject? Where was the chatter originating? Then I heard myself making a date with the woman. And she accepted!!! Of course! it was the recording of my telephone conversation with Madame Houdini the previous day. They had discreetly recorded that conversation and many others. Apparently, they were making a collection of records of bess’s conversations with various leading magicians.  They had recorded seven such records by this time. After Bess passed away a short time later, John Booth attempted to get these records but they couldn’t be found. They had been lost forever.

It’s interesting to note that many assumed Bess and Dr. Saint were of the same age. His van dyke beard, his immaculate way of dressing, and the fact he walked with a can, exaggerated his age. He was only 51 when he died. Bess was 67.

The last days of Edward Saint’s life were captured in a memorial piece by William Larsen Sr. He mentions that the day Ed got sick, he was sitting in a chair directing Anna, who was Bess Houdini’s housekeeper, directing her how to iron his turban. An upcoming meeting of the local SAM Assembly was having ‘Oriental Night’ and Ed had something special in store. Apparently, he never turned down an opportunity to perform. He was known to present very original material whenever he shared some magic. Sadly, the day Ed was supposed to attend the meeting, he instead was in the hospital. And ever the trooper, he still brought magic to show the nurses and doctors. Edward Saint, carnival man, Houdini Archivist, showman, companion to Bess Houdini passed away Oct 22, 1942. I just learned there is a bit of conjecture as to how he died. The newspapers of the time say he died from pneumonia, John Cox from WildAboutHoudini, heard from Marie Blood, Houdini's niece, that his death was from tuberculosis. Both are respiratory diseases. Saint also had asthma. Im trying to find the death certificate to verify which one is correct.

In the same piece by William Larsen Sr. he mentions that all of the Saint scrapbooks where he had gathered countless stories about Houdini, were to go to the Library of Congress. On my very first visit to the Library of Congress to see the Houdini scrapbooks, the first scrapbooks brought out to me turned out to be Edward Saint's. I pointed this out to the Librarians, and they inquired how I knew and I showed them where Saint's name was written on nearly every page, plus the dates of the articles were all after 1926. I was just a teenager at the time, I think they were surprised at my knowledge. 

That concludes the story of Dr. Edward Saint.

(this is mostly a transcript of Episode 100 of the Magic Detective podcast. A few additional items were included here that did not make the podcast)

Day 2 DC Magic History Symposium

I can't report too much on Day 2 because I missed 2/3rds of the days events. I understand that the attendees enjoyed the Library of Congress though there were issues with the buses. I missed the afternoon lectures, so I'll have to catch up on some of that tomorrow.

I arrived at 8pm, just in time to see the first speaker, John MacLaughlin. He spoke about Magic, Espionage and the CIA. It was an incredible talk and I was frankly enthralled the entire time. So well put together and interesting throughout. He was a tough act to follow.

In the second spot was Bill Kalush, who frankly did an excellent job as well. When you come upon NEW Houdini material it's big news and he had some new Houdini stuff to share. A lost/forgotten manuscript that Houdini had written has been found. He also shared his thoughts and insights on the story of Houdini having to cut a whole in the ice to escape from a river. It was great and I hope I have some time tomorrow to meet and chat with Bill.

The final speaker was Dale Salwak who spoke about Magic and Magicians in North Korea. Also, fascinating and delivered with sincerity and passion. He is correct when he says that magic is a language that overcomes barriers and politics and can bring people together. I applaud his work and I also hope to get to meet him tomorrow.

I forgot to mention seeing my friend Joe Pecore at the event yesterday. Joe is a great guy, magic history lover and is Mr. Magicpedia, and a good friend as well. He's invited me to work on a project in the fall that is very exciting, so I'll share more about that in the future.

I had to say goodbye to my friend Scott Humston who was in the area visiting and came to the conference yesterday and today, but he is going to miss everything tomorrow because he and his family have to get back to Florida for shows on Monday. I can understand this because I missed most of today from shows. Safe travels.

I chatted a little with Wayne Alan both yesterday and today and Wayne is the fellow putting on the Houdini Festival in Danville at the end of June. We'll be talking about that more tomorrow so I'll have more information about that festival in the near future.

OH, I got to see my old friend Richard Kaufman who I haven't seen in years. Richard lives not all that far from me, but it seems like forever since I've seen him. It was good to see him again. Oh and speaking of folks I haven't seen in years, Charles Green is another local who I've not seen in a long time. It was nice to see Charles, though we didn't get to chat but for a moment.

I saw Al Cohen from a distance, I hope to see him again tomorrow.
I sold three paintings and had to bring two back as it looks like they are now reserved for another buyer. So not bad.  I hope to sell more tomorrow, but I'm not sure how it's going to go. This was a test run to see how they'd sell.


Looking forward to tomorrow!



OH WAIT! I almost forgot, yesterday I met Diego Domingo. I missed his talk today, but yesterday he showed me a grave photo of someone that really surprised me. And tonight he told me about another grave that he had found. Turns out Diego has also uncovered the life history of George White, the assistant to Howard Thurston, who later worked for a time for Dante. Diego had given this talk a couple years ago for another Magic History Conference and he was kind enough to share some of the details with me. WOW, it was incredible! 

Houdini & Queen Victoria's Dress

I sure named this blog correctly when I called it, TheMagicDetective. I never know what rabbit hole I'm going to have to go down and how much searching and detective work I'll need to do. As my fellow Houdini bloggers know, the slightest thought can take you places you never expected. Today, we look at Queen Victoria, specifically, her dress.

Queen Victoria reigned over the British Empire for 64 years. She died, coincidentally enough on Bess Houdini's Birthday Jan 22, 1901. According to the Kellock biography, Houdini His Life Story, Houdini, who was in London at the time, saw a dress, designed for Queen Victoria, in a shop window. The Queen died before taking possession of the dress however.  Houdini wanted the dress for his mother, who he thought was the same size as the Queen. (really? I don't think so, she had a size 43 waist!) He went into the shop and at first the shop keeper did not want to sell the dress. According to the Kellock biography, "one did not sell her Majesty's relics." But Houdini was persistent and explained the dress would be for his mother. The shop keeper eventually agreed to sell the dress on the condition that it would never be worn by anyone in Great Britain. Kellock says the dress sold for 50 pounds, though the Christopher book, Houdini-The Untold Story has it at 30 pounds, and the newest book by Derek Tait, The Great Houdini His British Tours, also has the dress listed at 30 pounds. Christopher adds this was approx. $150 (at least in 1969).

For a long time I thought this story was simply a fable. It sounds like something Houdini might make up. But the story is true.

I believe Cecilia Weiss is wearing the dress in the photo to the left. This picture appeared on the
November 1902 issue of Mahatma Magazine on the cover. Within the text it reads "this photograph was taken in Essen Ruhr, Germany, in May 1901, during the visit of Houdini's mother, who came all the way from America to share the triumphs of her son." That makes this the precise time when Houdini would have given the dress to his mother.

(Library of Congress photo)

Pat Culliton, in his fine book, Houdini The Key, has a photo that he believes could be the dress. And it's similar to this one, at least in black and white it looks similar but it's not the same dress. The one similarity is that Cecilia is wearing the circular brooch around her neck with Houdini's picture in it, in both photos.

The only reason I don't think it's the dress is because it appears to be a little too stylish for the Queen. She was known to wear rather drab styles at this point in her life.

One of the curiosities I had about the dress was the color. I imagined a midnight blue or even deep purple perhaps. Then I found out this bit of information. When Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria went into mourning and wore black clothing. She continued to wear only black until the day she died. There were dresses that contained accents of white, so again, it makes Pat's suggestion still plausible. The photo at the top of the page was a dress for her Diamond Jubilee and it contains a great deal of white, more than is usually seen in her dresses, but this was also for a special occasion.

From the book, Houdini A Mind In Chains

Queen Victoria was a big woman, Cecilia Weiss was not. There is another photo of the dress that I think is the one, and you'll notice the amount of extra fabric. Now, I did read that Bess helped to alter the dress to fit Houdini's mother. IF you look at the photo to the left, it's the same dress that is in the photo from the cover of Mahatma. You can tell the dress has lots of extra fabric, but also fits Cecilia around the waist. I think that is Queen Victoria's dress! (ed.note: This photo comes from Houdini: A Mind In Chains, and the caption reads "Queen Victoria's Dress, Essen, Germany 1901" so that confirms it!*)

This now brings me to the whole reason I started this quest. I wanted to know, a. if the story was true, then b.  where was the dress today. If it truly was Queen Victoria's dress then it must have survived. I wondered if Bess got it. In the movie, The Great Houdini's with Paul Michael Glaser and Sally Struthers, Harry asks Bess what she wants, and she replies quite emphatically, "Queen Victoria's Dress!" But I don't think this moment actually occurred in real life due to the next bit of information.

This information came from Harry Hardeen to Jon Oliver to John Hinson, then to me. So I'd say it's pretty accurate. The location of the dress today....Cecilia Weiss was buried in Queen Victoria's dress.
And to add just one more bit of trivia, Cecilia was also buried with a pair of slippers that Houdini purchased in Bremen. When Houdini was leaving on July 8th for Europe, his mother asked him 'to bring back a pair of the warm woolen house slippers'. This according to HOUDINI His Life Story by Harold Kellock.  Houdini stopped on his return voyage to specifically pick up the slippers and be sure she was buried with them.


*Special thanks to John Cox for helping me find the final photo of the dress. Also, thanks to Joe Notoro who first posted this image on his blog, The caption, confirmed what I was thinking!!! Also thank you to John Hinson and Jon Oliver for getting me the info on the final destination of the dress!

Civil War Era Magician Part 6

photo from the Mark Cannon Collection

This next magician is the real deal in regards to a Civil War magician. He served in the Union Army. He had a connection to Lincoln unlike anyone else. He was, a teacher, an inventor, a carnival showman, magician, escape artist, soldier and one remarkable individual, but I'm mainly going to focus on his relation to the Civil War.

He was born Horatio Green Cooke on February 1, 1844 in the town of Norwich, Connecticut. As a youth his family moved around a bit finally settling in Iowa. In 1862 the second year of the Civil War, Horatio, who would go by the name Harry, enlisted in the Union Army.

He went from being a private in the Union Army to being selected to be one of Lincoln's Federal Scouts.  In 1863, he fell under the command of Major General Ulysses S. Grant during the Siege of Vicksburg. The surrender of Vicksburg by the Confederate Army gave control of the Mississippi River to the Union Army, and basically split the Confederacy in half. This event, along with the Battle of Gettysburg, were the turning points in the war for the Union.

R. Ingersoll, Gen Hancock, E. Stanton, Gen Sherman, A. Lincoln

On May 1st, 1864, Harry Cooke was ordered to appear before Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War in Washington D.C.. When he arrived  he found that along with Stanton, was General William Tecumseh Sherman, General Hancock, Robert Ingersoll and President Abraham Lincoln. They had heard of the young scouts unusual ability to free himself from restraints and were curious. So he was tied up with fifty feet of rope. After he was securely tied, Cooke asked Lincoln to walk ten feet away. Then he asked him to return and before Lincoln got back, Cooke had freed himself from the confinement! According to the Los Angeles Evening Express Newspaper, Lincoln was amazed and jubilated. Lincoln said to Cooke "Here my boy, keep this to remember Uncle Abe by" and Lincoln then handed Cooke a two dollar bill. Harry Cooke kept that two dollar bill his entire life.

John Singleton Mosby - The Grey Ghost

In the Fall of 1864, Harry was assigned to join General Sheridan in Winchester VA. On October 19th, Harry Cooke and six other scouts were captured by Mosby's Raiders under the command of  'The Grey Ghost', John Singleton Mosby*. Mosby was notorious for his stealth-like raids against Union forces. When his band of raiders captured Harry Cooke and his fellow scouts they took from them all their possessions. In Cooke's pocket was a personal letter from Lincoln appointing him to the position of Federal Scout, a cherished memento. In Mosby's eyes Cooke was a spy and was sentenced to be hanged along with his other scouts. They were to get an early morning hanging, but their final evening on earth would be spent tied to a tree. Being the escape artist that he was, Cooke quietly freed himself from the ropes, and then proceeded to free his fellow prisoners and return back to the Union side under the cover of darkness. The prisoners split up on their return and three swam across the Potomac and the others made their way through the woods. Only two of the scouts made it back safely, and Cooke was one of the two.

Fords Theatre /Library of Congress photo

Harry had always been bothered by the theft of his Lincoln Letter by Mosby's Raiders and decided to try and get a copy from the President himself. In April 1865, Cooke went to the White House in Washington to see Mr. Lincoln. Upon arriving at the White House he was told that Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln had left for an evening at Fords Theatre. Harry Cooke went to Fords Theatre, where the President and First Lady were watching the play "Our American Cousin". A short time after Harry Cooke arrived a loud shot rang out, and well, the rest is history. Cooke was there, in the audience, as John Wilkes Booth shot the President and then jumped to the stage and out the back doors of Fords Theatre.

It's hard to say when Harry Cooke got his interest in magic or where he learned to escape from ropes. One thing is certain, he had an ability to escape like no one before him, and few since. Unlike the other Civil War Magicians I profiled Harry Cooke did not perform during the war, except for the rope escape demonstration before President Lincoln and his friends.  After the Civil War ended Horatio Green Cooke became "Professor Harry Cooke" and worked as a professional magician and 'Celebrated King of the Spirit Exposers". Years later he would become President of the Los Angeles Society of Magicians and would obtain the new moniker 'the oldest living magician'. His favorite trick throughout his life was the Linking Rings and apparently his routine was one to wonder over.

On May 1st 1924, at the young age of 80, Harry Cooke duplicated his feat of escaping from 50 feet of rope for the Los Angeles area magicians. During this exhibition, Harry Cooke wore his blue Union Army uniform, the same one he wore during the Civil War. The result was exactly as it had been 60 years earlier when he presented the stunt before President Lincoln and his cabinet, HE ESCAPED! A short time later Horatio Green Cooke passed away on June 17, 1924.

Harry Cooke later in life. He is on the left, the one with the hat.

I must admit I never had heard of Horatio Green Cooke until Mark Cannon told me about him. Sadly, Cooke, like many magicians, had fallen through the cracks of time and had been forgotten. Mark knew about him because he received Cooke's personal scrapbook from Cooke's very own daughter! He has since written several articles on Harry Cooke and given lectures on Cooke's life. About the only information I had on Cooke was a short single page article that Mark had written on Cooke in MUM Magazine. Then I began digging deeper and I found Cooke's name popping up in much older magic periodicals. The internet provided a few surprises like the a Civil War record showing that Cooke was part of the 28th Regiment, Iowa Infantry. Census records showed the various places he lived. Gradually other pieces to the puzzle began to come together through newspaper archives.

Then I got an even bigger surprise, a relative of Harry Cooke contacted ME! That really spurred me on to finish this and help her learn more about her Great Great Uncle. The above family photo is from Harry Cooke's Great Great Niece. I also discovered a second much longer and extensive article about Harry Cooke that Mark Cannon had written after I did a lot of the research. It would have been nice to have this info early on as I might have finished sooner, but it was fantastic information and far more than I found.

For the record, Mark Cannon is in the process of writing a biography of Harry Cooke. I don't think he has a date set on when it will be finished.  Mark was also gracious enough to let me use the photo of Harry Cooke with the linking rings that is at the top of the blog. Mark certainly deserves the credit for reintroducing the world to Horatio Green Cooke and I look forward to the day his book is completed!

UPDATE: I just found out that there was a film made of Harry Kellar and Harry Cooke. It was taken by Mr. Ford of the Ford Film Company and was shot in California. According to the Kellar Book by Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel, the footage still exists and portions can be seen on the A&E TV Special "The Story of Magic" and also the PBS special "The Art of Magic". I must admit that I don't recall seeing Harry Cooke on video before, but I have seen very brief film footage of Harry Kellar.

UPDATE 2: I believe a copy of the film was given to the SAM. However, a search of the SAM DVD Library does not show this footage.

*My art teacher in High School was related to John Singleton Mosby.

NEXT: A Few More Civil War Magicians