Last known photograph of Tatler Cuff (May 18, 1933 Pittsburg Sun Telegraph) It shows the other side of cuff not shown in the famous photo from 1904.

Famous photo of Tatler Cuff (March 23, 1904)

In 2021, I did the following post:

• Search for Tatler Handcuff given to W.W. Durbin [by Bess Houdini] leads to Abbotts?

It included the following:

• Email correspondence with Jim Robenalt, the great grandson of W. W. Durbin
• Links to three ground-breaking 2020 blog posts
  • Is Houdini being locked into the Tatler Cuff or the David Copperfield Mirror Cuff?
  • Mirror Cuff “exposed Jan 1920” and “locked in safe until mid 1930s”
  • William McCaffrey and Famed Birmingham “Tatler” Handcuffs
• Photograph (seen above) from a May 18, 1933 Pittsburg Sun Telegraph newspaper of the Tatler handcuff.
• Snippet from the August 1994 Linking Ring article, “Egyptian Hall, the Reprise” by Bob Dowd:

In the 2021 post, we learned from the grandson of W.W. Durbin and the August 1994 Linking Ring article that there were additional owners (Tom and Bob Dowd) of the Egyptian Hall Museum prior to David Price. We also learned that “most likely[?]” the handcuffs and other paraphernalia along with Durbin’s apparatus and books were sold (possibly to Abbott’s) by his great grandmother after Durbin’s death (Feb 4,1937) and before Tom and Bob Dowd acquired the remnants of the magic theater.

So were the Tatler handcuffs sold to Abbott’s? Or is it possible the Dowd’s with IBM ties acquired them?

Mike Caveney wrote this on his website:

Two years after Durbin’s death in 1937 America’s Egyptian Hall was sold to Tom Dowd who remembered attending (with his younger brother Bob) the early magic conventions at Durbin’s home. The building was raised off its foundation and rolled two miles down the road to a spot next to the Dowd home.

Tom would eventually spend seventeen years as secretary/treasurer of the IBM, helping it grow into the largest magic organization in the world while his wife Mary worked as advertising manager of the Linking Ring.

Since the 2021 post, Leo Hevia and I have been in contact with Abbott’s and a relative of the Dowd’s, respectively.

Per a May 30, 2022 email from Leo Hevia to Me:

I did get a response from Abbott’s Magic. They don’t have anything that fits the description of any old handcuffs. I’m afraid we hit a dead end on the Tatler cuffs. Durbin’s widow sold his collection to the Dowd brothers, Tom, and Bob. After a few years they sold it to David Price and from there to Caveney and his pal George Daily. The collection exchanged hands three times. God knows where those cuffs are now.

In March, 2023, I had the following email exchange with Michael Lee, Grandson of Mary Dowd:

Mon, Mar 13, 6:53 PM to Me

Came across your posting of Egyptian Hall while researching my grandmother, Mary Dowd. I heard lots about the building growing up first hand from her as she helped her husband Tom perform. Sadly it was moved decades ago. It now sits on another farm outside, last I saw as a garage.

 

Tue, Mar 21, 10:10 PM to Michael

Wow, Mary Dowd is your grandmother, that is so cool the connection to Egyptian Hall. You don’t happen to have any additional info or leads on the Tatler Cuffs?

 

Wed, Mar 22, 2023 4:22 AM to Me

Thank you for the reply back! Unfortunately that story is probably lost to time. I remember my grandmother speaking of some Houdini books, however I believe those were sold or donated before she passed, and my great uncle, Bob Dowd, I believed he had a good collection upon his death, but the items went to a magic collection / auction, never got to see what all he had as I was out of state at the time.

When my mother passed, I inherited a trunk full of my grandfathers show materials and props, I saved a few pieces as they seemed original, early 1900’s. I’ll attach some photos, you may have seen these items before. Also going through boxes of old letters, I came across the sale paper for Egyptian Hall. It really put Kenton on the map back in the day, times were definitely different back then. I’m happy to have found this, it keeps their memory going, thank you.

In October, I shared with Leo Hevia my correspondence with Michael Lee, Grandson of Mary Dowd. Leo had this to say:

If Bob Dowd had the Tatler Cuffs and sold it off in his auction, then we’re screwed. The cuffs could be in the attic of somebody’s house in Ohio.

Addendum:

I find it interesting that after 1934, there is no mention [that I can find] of the Tatler Cuff owned by W.W. Durbin.

Houdini’s safe with Mirror Cuff that was opened by Charles Courtney for Bess Houdini in 1935

And that in 1935, the Mirror Cuff, now owned by David Copperfield is found in a safe [by Bess Houdini]. Coud it be, that once this Mirror Cuff appears for the fist time after Houdini’s death, that the Tatler Cuff needs to vanish.

If you have any additional info on where the Tatler Cuff may have gone, please provide in the comments or send me a private email.