Monday May 11, 2026

6a-4p

Left LAX and arrived DoubleTree by Hilton Newark Airport

4p-9p

At 4p met Fred Pittella, Arthur Moses and Mark Horowitz in lobby and Freddie drove us to the lake front home of Roger & Ava Dryer and Grizzly (dog the size of a bear), where we got there early enough to park in the drive-way. The three of them were such gracious hosts. I got to enjoy the incredible collection and Houdini items on display. This included: Eight Large Punch and Judy Figure Heads that Houdini used in the early days and flipping thru a notebook of unpublished stills (many from his Houdini’s movie days).

Got to meet some old friends (e.g., Dorothy Dietrich & Dick Brookz) who I hadn’t seen in person for many years and a new friend (i.e.,Barry Spector), who I previously exchanged emails with but never met in person until now. Barry gifted me a piece of wood from Houdini’s house at 278 W 113^th Street, which was very kind of him. Thank you Barry!

10a-11p Cocktails at the Double Tree Hotel Bar with Fred Pittella, Arthur Moses, Charles Greene and Mark Horowitz.

Tuesday May 12, 2026

7:30a-1p

Met Arthur Moses and Fred Pittella for breakfast buffet.

Fred Pittella suggested rearranging my plans to include checking out on Thursday instead of Saturday, so I could stay near his place, see his incredible collection, and then see the screening of The Grim Game at the NYPL before flying home out of Laguardia the next day. My original plan was to uber to and from NYPL on Friday after Magic Collectors Conference was over and then fly out of Newark at 6a. Not sure what I was thinking, but the new change of plans suggested by Fred would make my east coast trip extra special.

Attempted to change flight on my phone at the breakfast table and book a hotel near Fred’s place, but was having a heck of a time. Decided just to enjoy breakfast and deal with after which I did. Expedia customer service was very helpful.

Now that my travel plans and accommodations was set, I met Arthur Moses in the Dealer’s room and we set up our booth that we were sharing, which included our latest Kinema Comic books on Houdini Exploits. From Arthur, I picked up a Houdini Unbound paperback book and French magazine ad that included the Master Mystery.

Other dealers with Houdini items included:

• Charles Greene (where I picked up a copy of his “Exposing Houdini” book, view master, and swag)

• Roger Dryer of Fantasma Magic (where I picked up a Q repro poster and Houdini Coasters)

• Haversat & Ewing (where I picked up Houdini Scrapbook Challenges book by Bruce Averbook and David Haversat)

• Ken Trombly (where I picked up a 1995 Official Houdini Séance program that was missing from my collection that spans from 1986-2025)

1p-4p Dealer room was open

Michael Tallon was my first customer. Michael picked up a numbered copy of Houdini Schooldays, which included the bonus card of Houdini as a schoolboy (unpublished). Thank You Michael!

Jim Hagy stopped by our table and gave me my copy of the latest Perennial Mystics, Squared publication and also let me know the latest status on my article, My Official Séance Program Collection, I had recently submitted for a future publication.

4p-5p Session 1

• Bill Smith welcomed everyone.

• Jery Ryder gave a presentation on Magical Automations.

• David Sandy emceed a fun Magic Collectors Game based off of The Price Is Right Game. Contestants had to buzz in, when they identified what was wrong with a vintage magic poster.

5p-7p Dinner Break

Hopped in Jim Zoldac’s car with Charles Greene, Peter Dusche and we went to Elm Street BBQ, which is highly recommended.

7p-8:30p Session 2

• David Charvet gave a presentation on Charles Reynolds, who did 100 Years of Magic Posters book and HOUDINI His Legend and His Magic book with Doug Henning.

• Lance Rich gave a presentation on Tales of Magic on the Broadway Stage which included Houdini.

8:30p-11:30p Dealer room was open

Hung out at my dealers table. That’s Fred Pittella and I with the Bean Giant Handcuffs in one and Michelle Ainsworth and I in the other.

11:30p Picked up an IPA at the bar and called it a night.

Wednesday May 13, 2026

8:30a-9a Picked up coffee, banana, and cinnamon roll from coffee bar.

9a-1:30p Mystery & Wonder Tour

Fred Pittella and I took first bus to NYPL/Lincoln Center as we waved to Arthur Moses who was running to catch the second bus which thankfully he did.

Walked thru exhibit on A Legacy of Golden Age Magicians In New York City.

Houdini items on display included 6 posters (Europe’s Eclipsing Sensation, America’s Sensation, Prison Cell and Barrel Mystery, Death Defying Mystery, Upside Down in Water Torture Cell and Double Fold Death Defying Water Mystery), a display case with handcuffs, (courtesy of Fred Pittella), Police Affidavits, letters, programs, books, photos (autographed portrait, Houdini with: Ching Ling Foo; Howard Thurston; Frank Ducrot, Frederick Eugene Powell, and T. Nelson Downs; elephant, straitjacket suspended); movie items (The Grim Game still, Terror Island Ad, White Studio promotional stills for Master Mystery, The Grim Game, Terror Island, The Man From Beyond, and Haldane); Dr. Daneil E. Cohen medical notes for treatment of Harry Houdini, Letter from Theo Hardeen to Dr. Daniel Cohn.

Met in auditorium for a presentations by Annemarie van Roessel and Margaret Steele. Annemarie (Assistant Curator at NYPL) talked about the collection on display which covered the Golden Age of Magic (1880s to 1940s). Margaret talked about Adelaide Hermann’s New York.

Rode back with Arthur Moses on bus.

1:30p-2:30p Walked over to Holiday Inn and had lunch with Arthur Moses and Fred Pittella.

2:30p-5p Hung out in Dealer’s Room. Besides selling the books by Arthur Moses and I, we had a Fred Pittella special for $60, which included a collectors pin of Houdini from his image on the Europe’s Eclipsing Sensation Poster; a beautiful Houdini & Key Book mark that included a card with a stunning image on the front of Houdini, a bean giant handcuff & key, and on the back of the card, an early $100 challenge (from Fred’s collection) to any human being living that can escape from all the cuffs like he does, which includes the bean giants locked behind his back. Or you could just get the pin for $25 or just the Houdini & Key Bookmark and collector’s card for $40.

5p-7p was a break.

Session 3

7p-8:30p

Mike Caveney presented Dante In Hollywood

Mark Holstein led a panel discussion on Kreskin The Magician with his wife Sue Holstein, Bill Schmeelk & Meir Yedid. We got an inside look at the magical side of him through the eyes of some of his friends.

8:30-11:30 Dealer’s Room and late night pizza with Arthur Moses

Rick Strange, Mega Magic Book Collector, with 1922 Kinema Comic books on Houdini Exploits compiled by Arthur Moses and I. Thank you Rick!

Thursday May 14, 2026

9a-11a Dealer Room Open

Session 4

Jim Hagy presented Animal Wizards: A Critical History of Magician’s Most Trusting Assistants

Richard Cohn & Adam Blumenthal presented Old New York Magic Shops with Adam focusing on Tannen’s and Richard focusing on the others.

12:30-2p Dealer’s Room Open (last chance)

Adam of Tannen’s bought all of my remaining books at a very fair price to sell at Tannen’s, which made my day. Thank you Adam!

Session 5

2p-3:30p

Don Greenberg gave a presentation that featured finding a Houdini poster in the basement of his father’s house. And he unrolled it for all in attendance to see. What a find. Prior to this find, there was only 3 known, now there is 4.

Lance Rich interviewed Stan Allan about the stories behind the stories of Magic Magazine.

Bill Smith revealed next years expo will be held in Chicago April 29 thru May 1, 2027.

Gabe Fajuri conducted a Potter & Potter auction with no buyer’s premium. There was one Houdini item, Lot 10 which went to Sal Perotta.

6p-7p Cocktails & Close Up

Folks got a drink and found a table for dinner and then were treated to some amazing closeup magic by Alexander Boyce, Rachel Was & Adam Levine. Each performed in their own personal styles in a different corner of the room. We rotated from one magician to another after a set amount of time.

7p-9p Dinner & Show

At my table were Fred Pittella, Arthur Moses, Michelle Ainsworth, Rob Kirkpatrick and Mike Strong and his wife. Great conversation and food was had by all.

And the magic stage show with Alexander Boyce, Rachel Wax & Adam Levine was incredible.

Thank you to Bill Smith and all his helpers for putting on an amazing Expo.

And thanks to all the people highlighted in bold above that truly made this a wonderful experience.

10p-11p

Fred Pittella and I drove back to Queens Village New York and I checked into my Hotel near his place.

Friday May 15, 2026 (Encore)

Fred picked me up for an amazing breakfast at the Floral Food Tavern, where we were treated like family.

After breakfast, Fred took me to his storage locker, where he had a couple Houdini treasures buried deep amongst a lot of odds and ends. After some doing, we were able to get to these treasures. The first being a bookcase owned by Houdini depicted in this photo on the right.

I thought I took pics of the bookcase at the storage unit, but apparently not.

I did get pics of his other treasure which was a sidewalk sign depicting buried alive.

We also found an empty film canister labeled Larry Weeks Houdini – Nitrate Neg 4-22-76.

Next stop was Fred’s place which is wall to wall Houdini, Hardeen, and imitators on the walls. And chests and display cases filled with handcuffs, leg irons, escape devices, books, and ephemera. After getting the tour, I sat at a table and Fred would bring me album after album of Houdini material (e.g., photos, programs, adverts, etc) where I went through each page trying not to drool on them. The only photos I took were of original items that had the Mirror Handcuffs.

You can see images of Fred’s other amazing stuff on his web-page: https://www.houdiniandescapemuseum.com/

After spending the afternoon in Fred’s Houdini & Escapes Museum, it was time to head out and get a bite to eat before going to the NYPL for a screening of The Grim Game on the Big Screen.

I had been craving Italian the whole trip, so we went to Luigi’s Restaurant & Bar in Queens, where parking is hard to find, but we got lucky and got a spot right next to the place. The food and service was incredible! Highly recommend it!

After dinner, we drove to the NYPL, where parking is even harder to find, but after a few laps around the blocks near by, we got about as close as one could hope for, right across the street from the NYPL.

Since we were a little early, we got to go thru the Mystery & Wonder exhibit again before they closed and had folks with Grim Game reservations go down to a holding area. Since, I was with Fred Pittella and Charles Greene, we got let in to the theater early, so we had perfect seats.

Annemarie van Roessel (Assistant Curator at NYPL) introduced the film and New York City-based silent film accompanist, Makia Matsumura.

Although, I have watched The Grim Game many times on my computer and combo TV/VHS player, seeing The Grim Game on a big screen again was a thrill for me. I first saw it on the big screen when TCM debuted it in Hollywood (2015), followed by Houdini Museum in Scranton (2015), Jewish Museum of Maryland that had a large Houdini exhibition on display, called Inescapable: The Life and Legacy of Harry Houdini, Sierra Madre Playhouse (2018), and lastly on Catalina Island (2019).

Makia Matsumura improvised score was breath-taking.

After the movie, Annemarie moderated a short discussion of the film with Dorothy Dietrich, magician and co-founder of the Houdini Museum, and magician and historian Richard Cohn.

Before they kicked us out of the NYPL, Fred handed me a rolled up poster with a rubber-band around it, that I would later find out was a reproduction of the Double-Fold Poster on display. Note: There is only one known original of the Double-Fold Poster and the NYPL owns it.

After taking photos, some folks went out for cocktails, while Fred and I drove back to his place hoping to listen to tape cassette recordings he made as a student in The New School course on The Incredible Houdini in the Fall of 1977.

Fred has cassettes that include each of the special guests, like Milbourne Christopher, The Amazing Randi, Walter B. Gibson, Dr. Bernard C. Meyer, M.D., Sidney Radner, and Louis A. Rachow. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the tape cassette player to work; But the good news is that he has these and at a later date will have someone copy to another media and filter out some of the background noise. His CD/DVD player was working so we listened to Society of American Magicians Houdini Night Oct 02, 1981 that had Larry Weeks, Milbourne Christopher and Walter B. Gibson talking about Houdini before showing The Grim Game.

What a nice end to an incredible day. Thanks to my pal, Fred Pittella.

Saturday May 16, 2026

Fred picked me up at the hotel, handed me a beautifully designed Houdini & Key Bookmark and Pin, and we went to breakfast at the Floral Food Tavern where we had another incredible breakfast. He then took me to airport for the long flight home, where we said our good-byes until the next Houdini Adventure. Thank you Fred for everything! You are the man!!

Related:

• HHCE highlights from Magic Collector Expo 2025
• HHCE highlights from Magic Collectors Expo 2024
• HHCE highlights from Magic Collectors Expo 2023
• HHCE highlights from Magic Collectors Expo 2022 and Harry Ransom Center
• HHCE Attends his first Magic Collectors Expo

Arthur Moses and I will sharing a dealers table at the May 12-14 Magic Collector’s Expo (MCE) 2026 which is being held in Newark NJ and will feature a tour of The Billy Rose Theatre Division’s Magic Collection at The New York Public Library.

This is rare chance to pick up “signed” copies of latest books by Arthur Moses and I at special Magic Collector’s Expo prices.

• Last 6 months of the third year (Kinema Comic 1922) of The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI is now available (first NEW Houdini book of 2026)
• First 6 months of the third year (Kinema Comic 1922) of The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI is now available (companion to book above).

As well as other books by Joe Notaro

• Houdini’s The Zanetti Mystery Plus candidates for ghostwriting the story, 2022
• Houdini’s Schooldays Plus History of the Story, 2023
• Houdini Adaptations, plus Playwriting and Film Treatments (The Grim Game and Terror Island Stories), 2024
• Houdini’s Jorkins & Co, 2024

And books by Arthur Moses

• Houdini Speaks Out: “I am Houdini! And you are a fraud!”, 2014
• Houdini Periodical Bibliography References From 1898 – 2015, 2015
• Harry Houdini & Sherlock Holmes Together Again in 1908: “Auf Den Spuren Houdinis” On the Trail of Houdini, 2020
• Harry Houdini & Sherlock Holmes (Extraordinary Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – The Missing Athlete): Aventuras Extraordinarias De Sherlock Holmes – O Atleta Desaparecido, 2020
• Harry Houdini & Sherlock Holmes “Extraordinary Adventures of a Secret Police – The Missing Athlete”: Aventuras extraordinarias dum policia secreta – O athleta desapperecido, 2020
• The Houdini Pitchbooks, 2022
• Houdini Periodical Bibliography References From 1898 – 2023, Revised Third edition 2024

It’s also your chance to pick up the following NEW Houdini books, making their debut at the MCE.

• Exposing Houdini by Charles Greene III (May)
• A Strenuous Career by Bruce Averbook M.D. and David Haversat (May 12)

With Houdini’s 152nd Birthday coming up on March 24^th, thought I would share my issue of Magie, no. 12, December 1932 that provides early published evidence that Houdini was not born in American on April 6^th, 1874, but in Hungary on March 24^th, 1874.

Page 165:

Page 165 Translation (courtesy of Patrick Culliton):

• https://houdinisghost.com/magie.html

Page 166:

Also of interest is page 167, where Ottokar Fisher writes:

Page 167 Translation (courtesy of google translate):

On the question: “Houdini’s Birthplace”

When I began reading Harold Kellock’s book Life-Story, published in 1928, I was extremely surprised to find that the city of Appleton, Wisconsin, was listed as Houdini’s birthplace. On the occasion of his guest performance at the Ronacher Theater in Vienna in March 1902, Houdini himself told me that he was born in Hungary and came to the United States with his father at  the age of two. I also know that he traveled to Budapest during Easter week, on Good Friday, a day which there were no performances, to visit his relatives. For me therefore, there has always been no doubt that Houdini was a native, Hungarian, which I also expressed in my obituary, which appeared after his death in the artist magazine “Das Programm.” I personally find it incomprehensible what purpose Houdini’s successors are pursuing by claiming he was born in Appleton! Such a claim is, in my opinion, absolutely incorrect and hardly verifiable. This is all the more so since the president of the Association of Hungarian Amateur Magicians (M.A.M.E.), Dr. Vilmos Lenard, through his thorough research in the birth registers of the Budapest Jewish Community and through contact with Houdini’s relatives who still live in Budapest today has clearly and irrefutably established Budapest as Houdini’s true birthplace and is able to substantiate the accuracy of his research officially certified documents.

While looking for movie-related correspondence in a Houdini scrapbook compiled by Houdini’s personal friend, Quincy Kilby, I came across a couple January 1919 letters signed “Semper Idem” which I thought I would share.

“Semper Idem” was thought to be the secret code message between Houdini and Hilliar; could it also be the secret code message between Houdini and Kilby or was it just a phrase he used in some of his letters to Q.K. and others like Edwaun Fay Rice, curator of the Boston Public Library. What say you!

January 18:

January 28:

Related:

• William Hilliar and the lost Houdini message code
• The Houdini Hilliar Code is Revealed
• Halloween postscript

Thanks to John Cox, I received an early copy of Houdini’s Library, that is to be released on February 17, 2026.

A fresh and fascinating picture book biography about the iconic magician Harry Houdini, an avid book collector who lived and breathed the idea that books are magic, from the author of Caldecott Honor book The Noisy Paint Box.

Houdini is the world’s most beloved magician, and he became famous for all of the amazing tricks he accomplished. Houdini knew just how to captivate his audience, whether it was leaping from a bridge or freeing himself from a straitjacket. But in true magician’s fashion, he kept a secret so great that not many people knew about, and that was his love for books!

As a young boy in Budapest, Harry learned to read at his father’s knee. After the family emigrated to America, Harry grew up to be the amazing Houdini–but never lost his love of reading. He spent the rest of his life collecting all kinds of rare and unusual books, almost entirely about magic. With warm, inviting text and astounding art with miniature models constructed from paper, this extraordinary book opens a new page on the story of Harry Houdini.

The first things that caught my attention, was the cover, where Houdini was hanging upside down in a straitjacket, holding a book and the back cover with Houdini sitting in a chair next to a milk can, reading a book. You got to love the theme.

Opening up the book, I see end sheets that each depict keys with a quote from Houdini that caught my attention:

• “I actually live in a library”
• “The public knows me as a magician….It does not realize that I am a student.”

This is followed by a dedication to John Cox and public libraries, along with acknowledgements to Harry Ransom Center, Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division, History Museum at the Castle, Bruce Averbook, Dr. Eric Colleary, Gabe Fajuri, Vincent Toms and others.

Opposite the Dedication/Acknowledgment page is the Title page with Houdini upside down in the Water Torture Cell, reading a book.

The well-researched children’s biography starts and ends with the above image.

The author, Barb Rosenstock, uses words to eloquently reveal the legendary magician’s untold story as a devoted book lover, from his father’s books, to visiting used bookstores, to reading a book by Jean Robert-Houdin, to buying more used books to study magic, to collecting books and collections of books, to traveling with a library of books, to having a home filled with books, to hiring a librarian to sort and catalog the books.

The Illustrator, Mar Delmar, uses paper and scissors, to beautifully translate the words into images on each page. And the book ends with an Illustrator’s note with photographs showing the key stages (Final drawing, cutting, painting, building final diorama art) of the process used to create the end product (e.g.,final image seen above).

I highly recommend this captivating picture book biography that reveals the iconic magician’s hidden life as a devoted bibliophile.

The last 6 months of the third year (Kinema Comic 1922) of  the serial, The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI, is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Product Description:

The British Boys weekly “The Kinema Comic” ran a serial “The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI” (“Written by Houdini Himself” – or so it says) from April 24, 1920 to November 27,1926.
In these yarns, which no one should miss, the Master of Mystery chronicles his most amazing exploits.
Surviving copies are almost impossible to come by these days.
Joe M. Notaro and Arthur Moses have been tracking down these rare issues and are making them available to you in a book series by year (and months).
In this offering, they have compiled the 1922 (Jul – Dec) weekly serials (27 issues) of “The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI” into a single book (with original illustrations).

Related:

• First 6 months of the third year (Kinema Comic 1922) of The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI is now available
• First year (Kinema Comic 1920) of The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI is now available

Harry Houdini (1874-1926), the most celebrated magician of the 20^th Century, made an elephant disappear in New York City’s Hippodrome on January 7^th, 1918 in front of an audience numbering 5,200 spectators that were there for the Cheer Up! Review, Jennie the elephant was walked into a very large cabinet on stage. The curtains were closed and reopened, and there was no sign of the 10,000 pound elephant! The audience was shocked. Several theories have been posed on how Houdini achieved this trick, …

Houdini’s contribution to the war effort included canceling his touring season so that he could entertain soldier’s and rain money for the war. He also held a series of classes to advise American soldiers how to escape sinking ships and escape from ropes, handcuffs, and similar restraints, in case of capture by the Germans.

The above text is what appears on the back of my rare 3/3 Silver holographic Aurora parallel card put out by Historic Autograph & Card Co in 2023.

Related:

• HHCE Search for New York World Vanishing Elephant Photos
• 100 Years Ago Today – Houdini Made Elephants Disappear
• The Vanishing Elephant Photo
• Houdini Volare Vanishing Elephant Brochure

I published two Houdini Books with the mighty Arthur Moses:

The first 6 months of the third year (Kinema Comic 1922) of  the serial, The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI, is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Kinema Comic 1920 (Apr-Dec) The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI available now on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Besides publishing two books, I did posts on books by others:

• The COMPLETE Cancer of Superstition by Harry Houdini &  C.M. Eddy, Jr
• Two Houdini Chapters in The Art of Magic by Ken Trombly

Including being the first to publish a review on what I would call The Houdini Book of the Year:

• REVIEW: Escaping Obscurity The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899

Besides posts on new books, there were many more highlights for HHCE in 2025.

Shared my Houdini adventures:

• HHCE highlights from Magic Collectors Expo

Shared a number of items from my personal collection:

I shared Master Mystery Exhibitors’ Ads from my 4-page “Houdini Herald”:

• Houdini Talks About Himself and the Master Mystery
• Ruth Stonehouse Writes Plays When Only Six
• Houdini’s Tame Eagle in “The Master Mystery”
• The Triumph of Science. A Mechanical Man with a Superhuman Brain
• By Request of Hoover Houdini Chaffs Miss Marsh
• Kidnapped into Pictures
• Handcuffs I Have Met
• Houdini Breaks Own Record in “The Master Mystery”
• Why “The Master Mystery” is a Sure Record=Breaking Serial
• $25 for Houdini’s Secret
• Houdini Made the Kaiser Apologise. The Great Mystic a Victim of Hun Arrogance
• About Publicity

Shared reviews from Feb. 14, 1925 The Billoard Magazine in my collection:.

• 100 years ago, Houdini Played Zanetti at the Hippodrome Theater
• Hippodrome Review of Margery Expose and Submarine Mystery
• Kellar Stunt Not Exposed

Shared my Swedish Film (SF) Houdini movie ads that appeared in the Filmjournalen magazine.

• Filmjournalen 1921 No. 1
• Filmjournalen 1921 No. 10

And also shared my SF programs for his movies:

• Swedish Film (SF) Industry The Grim Game
• Swedish Film (SF) Industry Terror Island Program

Shared my Houdini Master of Mystery Pinball items:

• Houdini Master of Mystery Pinball Translite – HHCE Collection
• Houdini Master of Mystery Pinball Machine – HHCE Collection

Shared my Houdini 98 Press Materials:

• Houdini 98 Press Materials
• Houdini 98 Press Materials – Eight Color Slides
• HOUDINI 98 Press Materials – Two 10 Photos
• HOUDINI 98 Press Materials – Production Information
• HOUDINI 98 Press Materials – Cast Information
• HOUDINI 98 Press Materials – Q&A with Pen Densham (Director)
• HOUDINI 98 Press Materials – Q&A with Cast Members Part 1 of 2
• HOUDINI 98 Press Materials – Q&A with Cast Members Part 2 of 2

Shared my Patti Smith rare booklet:

• Patti Smith rare booklet Ha! Ha! Houdini!

Shared an article by Houdini:

• ME By Houdini

Shared my November 1919 Photoplay Magazine that included some pages related to Houdini and The Grim Game:

• Paramount Artcraft Feature Ad that includes The Grim Game [page 4]
• Photo of Houdini and Fatty Arbuckle [page 96]
• Signs a new contract [page 99]
• The Month In Brief “The Grim Game” [page 112 and page 115]

Shared my latest Tatler Cuff image found in the April 2nd, 1904 Black and White magazine:

• Birmingham “Tatler Cuff” images

Shared, The Daily Illustrated Mirror reports leading up to the Mirror Handcuff Challenge event of March 17^th 1904, the event itself, and post-event reporting:

• March 11 1904 – Birmingham Man Invents a Handcuff With a Lock Which Cannot  Be Picked
• March 14 1904 –The Handcuff King Accepts Our Challenge
• March 15 1904 – Houdini’s Torture Tests
• March 16 1904 – Spoken as a Sportsman
• March 17 1904 – £200 Pounds Offered Houdini for Forecast of this Afternoon’s Test
• March 18 1904 – How He Picked the “Mirror” Handcuffs in One Hour and Ten Minutes
• March 19 1904 –£100 Handcuffs, Exciting Scene at Hippodrome, and Bullet in Hand Story

Shared in chronological order, movie related items found in Houdini scrapbook compiled by Houdini’s personal friend, Quincy Kilby:

• Movie Related Correspondence with Quincy Kilby – June 14 1918
• Movie Related Correspondence with Quincy Kilby – July 14 1918
• Movie Related Correspondence with Quincy Kilby – October 7th 1918

I will be taking the rest of 2025 off to spend time with family and friends.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

In 2026, I will post book reviews for some of the many books planned for the centennial year of Houdini’s Death. Plus, Arthur Moses and I plan to continue our series of Houdini books, where the Master of Mystery chronicles his most amazing exploits. And, I will also share more research, items from my personal collection, and any Houdini adventures which will include the Magic Collectors Expo in NJ/NY and the SAM convention in Appleton, Wisconsin.

2026 is going to be an amazing year celebrating Houdini!

Harry Houdini headlines the list of 1/1 cut signature cards in 2025 Topps Tier One and sells on eBay for $6,323.00 not including Tax and shipping charges.

Front

Back

It came from a Harry Houdini Typed Letter Signed to a Fellow Magician that sold at RR auction on 01/10/2024 for $3,478.

Description
Houdini pays the way for a fellow magician: “Enclosed you will find my check for $15. which will pay your round trip fares”
TLS signed “Houdini,” one page, 8.5 x 11, May 17, 1917. Letter to Boston-area magician Edwin Fay Rice, in part: “As you may want to make your own arrangements I think it best for you to do as you like and enclosed you will find my check for $15. which will pay your round trip fares, parlour cars both ways…Mrs. Houdini and I sorely disappointed that Mrs. Rice will not be down here but such is life.” In fine condition, with some minor chipping to the top edge. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.

Accompanied by the original mailing envelope and a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA. A journalist for the Boston Daily Times, Edwin Fay Rice had a short but impactful career in the world of magic, and was a key figure in helping found the Mystics Circle of Boston as a member of the Society of American Magicians.

As a Houdini historian, I find these “cut” signatures a destruction of history. But these days, there’s more likely to be someone prepared to pay money for a cut signature card than a letter. In essence, while the letter is a piece of history, the card is a modern, manufactured rarity with high market demand among a large base of sports card collectors who value those specific attributes over the historical content of a simple letter. So sad!

99 years ago, we loss Harry Houdini. Today, I share a snippet of a letter F. L. Black of the Dearbourn Publishing Co. sent Quincy Kilby on Nov 9 1926:

Note: Dearbourn is located in Michigan.

Quincy Kilby was a personal friend of Houdini, who compiled a Houdini scrapbook which is in the Boston Public Library.

The letter is from an eye-witness who saw Houdini’s last performance in Detroit, talked to him afterwards, confirmed he was suffering intensely; and kept in touch with Hardeen until the end.

Also confirms Bess Houdini’s state as prostrated or one of extreme physical weakness and mental exhaustion, to the point of collapse.

Houdini was definitely more to her than the average husband and he is definitely more to the world as and we continue to celebrate and learn more about the life of this amazing man every year.

Next year is the big one, number 100!