I am the current owner of this page from the March 23, 1904 Tatler magazine that caused so much discussion on the Forum at Handcuffs.Org in 2014.
Prior to this page surfacing, there was the Mirror Cuff (aka DC Cuff) with its long key and the Solid Silver Replica, both in David Copperfield’s collection.
And now added to the mix, is the Tatler Cuff with a short key, which could very well be the original cuff he escaped from.
Handcuffs.Org forum pointed out that the Solid Silver Replica looks like (it was modeled after) the Tatler Cuff in the photo not the DC Cuff. That was shown by the direction of the middle hinge and the “foot” on the catch.
The original key used in the famous photo taken at the London Hippodrome in the presence of London Newspapers is short, but is that the Tatler Cuff or DC cuff being locked on his wrists?
To help possibly answer that question, let’s looks at another subtle difference (not previously pointed out) between the DC Cuff and the Tatler/Solid Silver Cuffs.
The outermost point of the convex curved bow in the closed/locked position of the DC cuffs appears to be inside of a 90 degrees angle from the keyhole end cap, where the Tatler/Solid Silver Cuffs appears to line up more closely to a 90 degrees angle. And the outermost concave part of the curved bow on the Tatler/Solid Silver Cuffs appears to be more curved (or curve in more) than the DC Cuff. (Assumption: Tatler when locked lines ups with Solid Silver Cuff).
To my eye, the keyhole knob is facing up in the famous photo and the outermost convex point of the curved bow appears to be at a 90 degrees angle or more. And the outermost concave part of the curved bow appears to curve in quite a bit. Also notice the small key, which resembles the Tatler key.
So he escaped from the Tatler Cuff, a matching Solid Silver Manacle was presented, and the DC Cuff was shown to locksmiths and used for the reward after.
Thoughts on my circumstantial evidence.
Related:
Man, I am really coming around to your idea that it was the Tatler cuff Houdini escaped from on challenge day. The short key in the hand of the Mirror rep really does it for me. And if we believe Houdini engineered the entire challenge (which I do believe), then we might also believe that the Tatler cuff was gaffed. Hence, it vanishes after the challenge and is replaced with the truly unbeatable Mirror cuff that Houdini could safely offer out as a challenge to any other Handcuff King. Meanwhile the silver replica was modeled on the Tatler cuff as you point out. Really interesting and groundbreaking stuff here.
Fun stuff, eh! More to come on this, next week.
Great catch Joe on the subtle differences between the Tatler and DC cuffs! The recent news about Roger Dreyer’s Muller Bogus Key on WAH must have inspired more research on your part. I think you’re right about the Tatler cuffs. That March 23, 1904 page from the Tatler magazine is our Rosetta Stone. The solid silver replica perfectly resembles the Tatler cuff. Which begs the question: What happened to the Tatler Cuff? Perhaps an APB can be put out on social media? It might be in the trunk of of an attic in the U.K.
Thanks Leo! And yes, recent news has inspired me to further my research into the many mysteries surrounding the Mirror Handcuff Challenge. More to come on what possibly happened to the original Mirror Cuff next week.
You’re welcome my friend! I really enjoyed this post. The red diagram lines and the short key are the clinchers. Oh wow! The current whereabouts of the Tatler Cuff? I’d like to see a computer created image of the Tatler Cuff closed and locked. Then it can be compared against the DC Cuff and the solid silver replica. I’m already convinced so this is just for fun.
I actually made this general observation years ago on the Handcuff.org website when the Tatler cuff info first surfaced. The key in the photo was small like the Tatler cuff key. Also the silver replica looked like the Tatler cuff not the “Mirror” cuff owned by Copperfield. My thought then was the owner of the Tatler cuff kept it after the challenge so Houdini built his own leaving the silver replica as the only remnant of the true challenge cuff.
Yes, on Handcuffs.org the short key was pointed out as well the fact that the silver replica looked like the Tatler Cuff not the DC Cuff.
The purpose of this post, was to try and answer the question that wasn’t answered on Handcuffs.org; Can we tell from the well-known photo, what cuff is Houdini being locked into?
As far as what happened with all of the Cuffs after the challenge, you have an interesting theory. Tomorrow, I share some additional info related to the cuffs.
You know, is it possible what we are seeing in the Tatler photo is the Silver Replica before it received its inscription and markings? I mean, they have the same characteristics, namely the reversed hinge. This still could be the cuff Houdini escaped from on the day, but this is how to explain the existence of two Mirror Cuffs. He had the Tatler inscribed as a presentation piece leading all to believe it was made after the challenge. But it was actually the cuffs we call the Mirror Cuffs today that were made after. This makes sense to me.
Yes. This was also something I thought of back when the Tatler cuff first became known. Has anyone examined the “silver replica” to be sure it is in actuality a “non working replica”?
David Copperfield could answer that question.
Even if it is a non-working replica, doesn’t mean it always was. Right?
Correct, the non-working Solid Silver Replica could have been the Tatler Cuff prior to fusing the bow to the lock case, if the theory is correct.
Okay, I can confirm for us the Silver Replica is NOT a working replica. In fact, it doesn’t even have a key hole. Each end of the barrel is sealed. It does have that hinge as the Tatler has, but the center piece is solid so it can never open like we see in the pic.
Because of the hinge, I still think it could still be the Talter. But that would mean work has been done to conceal that it ever functioned.
Thanks John! Great info!!!
Everything points to a different handcuff, the Tatler cuff, being the one Houdini actually escaped from. The silver replica looking like the Tatler cuff being the major evidence. Several questions however need answers:
1). If Houdini had the Tatler cuff built why the need to not replicate it better with the Copperfield cuff? Why should it look different?
2). Why the need for a gaffed cuff? If he had it built all he needed was a duplicate key manipulated mainly with his mouth via an extension.
Item#1 was discussed on Handcuffs.org. WRT item#2, Joseph P. Wilson theory on how he escaped the cuff mentions a gaffed cuff and a duplicate key.