Category Archives: Uncategorized

Houdini and Godfrey, The Man of Mystery

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Harry Houdini and Theo Hardeen with first sub-trunk (they may have got from Godfrey) Photo Credit: Pat Culliton The Key p46

Mike Meyer shared with me the following video about Houdini’s Metamorphosis trunk and a magician named Joe Godfrey that I think you will find interesting:

Additional Notes:

The history of the handcuff act can be traced back as far as Joe Godfrey, who was supposed to be the first to introduce it with much success.  [HH Scrapbook 38]

According to Houdini’s Fabulous Magic, it was in the 1890s that magicians began to specialize in handcuff escapes and one of the earliest references to “The Handcuff Act” is found in a book entitled New Ideas in Magic, by W. H. J. Shaw, which was published in 1902. It states:

This act was first introduced by Joe Godfrey, followed by Louis Paul, and in the last ten years, several performers have introduced the act to good success…

Related:

Houdini’s Schooldays reviewed in Ye Olde Magic Mag Vol 10 Issue 2

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Ye Old Magic Mag (YOMM) is the first fully-digital magic history magazine, covering magic of the past and collection of magic memorabilia.

Marco Pusteria reviews ‘Houdini’s Schooldays‘ in Vol 10 Issue 2.

Here are a couple snippets from Pusteria about my contribution to Houdini’s Schooldays by Herbert Allngham that I published in 2023.

The book contains the transcription of the complete story, as published, together with all the images that accompanied it, and it is prefaced by Joe’s scholarly study of the text and of the acquisition of this rare collection.

For the reader of this magazine the research carried out by Joe Notaro is the most interesting part of the book, providing a context to the story and some information that is little known.

Pusteria is acknowledged by me in Houdini’s Schooldays for his thoughts on Houdini and R. B. Ogle. Houdini and Ogle is also featured in YOMM Vol 8 Issue 3; The cover image is a rare illustration by Ogle who provided artwork for some of Houdini’s adventure fiction in the 1920s. Ogle was a candidate for illustrating Houdini’s Schooldays.

Related:

Houdini Manacle comes to light

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No not the Tatler Mirror Cuff (from missing IBM Museum) that Bessie Houdini gave to W.W. Durbin (President of IBM), but the Russian Manacle that Bessie gave to the Society of American Magicians and is part of the S.A.M Hall of Fame and Magic Museum currently on display at the Whittier Musuem.

Over Ten Years ago (June 2013), I made the trek to the Whittier Museum to see famous handcuff. In fact, I attempted to see the famous handcuff (i.e., the Russian Manacle) twice and both times the Houdini Display was dark. The first time, no one showed up with the key to open the museum, and the second time, the lights in the Houdini Display wouldn’t come on.  Well the third time was the charm.

I attended the opening ceremony on January 27th, 2024 and got a nice close-up look at the Russian Manacle.

I highly recommend the experience!

A Look Back at 2023

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Last year, I published my second Houdini book, Houdini Schooldays Plus History of the Story, which is still available.

Besides publishing my second book, there were many more highlights for HHCE in 2023.

Shared some special posts that included not widely known information.

Shared a series of posts on Houdini’s copyrighted plays.

Shared some additional posts on Houdini and Reeves.

Shared The Grim Game Story Adapatation.

Shared “Houdini Nuts” adventure.

Shared a series of posts where I share an interview that Pictures and Picturegoer magazine did with Harry Houdini.

Shared s series of posts where I share 4 page Master Mystery supplements and trade notices that appeared in Kinmatograph and Lantern Weekly.

Shared a number of other items from my personal collection.

Shared my latest research on the Tatler Cuff.

In 2024, I plan to continue to share research, items from my collection, and publish my next Houdini book.

Master Mystery Lithophane by Bruce Kalvar Magic

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The word “lithophane” derives from Greek “litho”, which is from “lithos” which means stone or rock, and “phainein” meaning “to cause to appear.” Originally, lithopanes were made from carved porcelin but with modern 3d printing, the world of lithopanes are more affordable.  Our unique pieces are 3D printed in plastic and take 5-7 hours to create.

With a simple tealight and stand, (supplied) the photo comes to life in an almost “holographic” appearance.

We have also created a night light version which adds a little spookiness to your hallways.

The tealight stand comes with an LED tealight.  The night light version comes with an LED nightlight plug and adapter to hold the litophane in place.

The Master Mystery Lithophane shows Houdini with the first robot in cinema, Q the Automaton Robot.

Approximate size is 3.5 x 4.5 inches.

A truly special reproduction of the poster, this unique piece will be a welcome addition to any magician’s magic room.

I purchased the night light version (which is not curved) and have it plugged into an outlet in my Houdini room devoted to his movies.

I think I like the curved version in the stand, even better that the night light version.

What other recipients have said:

  • “This is soooo beautiful.”
  • “A truly magical piece for my office.”

You can order here:

Writers Block: Harry Houdini

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Writer’s Blocks are handmade odes to history’s greatest writers. Each solid wood block features the portrait, signature, and famous works of a particular author.

The portrait is a famous image of Houdini in The Grim Game.

And, the following Houdini works are featured:

  • The Right Way To Do Wrong (1906)
  • The Unmasking of Robert Houdini (1908)
  • A Magician Among the Spirits (1924)
  • Houdini exposed the tricks used by the Boston Medium “Margery”

They make perfect decorations for any literary bookshelf, desk, dresser, or table.

And come in two sizes: REGULAR – 8 cubic inches (2in x 2in x 2in) and JUMBO – 27 cubic inches (3in x 3in x 3in).

I highly recommend the JUMBO, the REGULAR is a bit small.

You can order while supplies last on Etsy:

Writer’s Block: Harry Houdini – Etsy

Letter H is Favorite Of “The Great Houdini”

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Today, I share the complete text from an August 30, 1921 newspaper clipping that appeared in The Oklahoma City Times:

That Houdini is partial to the letter of the alphabet, “H,” is evident, for in writing “The Man from Beyond,” his first special feature for his own producing organization, the author-star gave the leading character the name of Howard Hillary. It is also noticed in the second picture, Houdini in writing the story of “Haldane of the Secret Service,” again used a name beginning with the eighth letter. Those who have watched the screen career of Houdini will recall that in his two pictures , “The Grim Game” and “Terror Island,” Houdini used the letter “H.” The name of the central figure in the first was Harvey Hanford, and in the second, the name of the hero was Harry Harper. Houdini furnished the plots for these two pictures , giving the characters their names. Houdini says that the selection of names for his characters is a psychic process and that when he writes his material it is as if his hand is guided in writing the letter “H” for his principal character.

I love that all 4 special features with HH characters are highlighted, as well as the fact that Houdini wrote and furnished plots for them. The Grim Game and Terror Island were written in collaboration with Arthur B. Reeve and John W. Grey. That said, not sure I buy his psychic process for writing the letter “H” for his principal character, lol.

French Cinema Cards continued

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Back in 2021, I shared a couple French Cinema cards. Today, I share another one from my collection:

Below is the French to English Translation:

HARRY HOUDINI

Biographical Notice

Real name Erich Weiss, nicknamed The Perpetual Escapee or “The King of Escape, Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was one of the greatest American magicians and one of the leaders who knew how to raise, during his lifetime, his character at the level of myth. He had adopted hid pseudonym in homage, he said, to Robert Houdin, for whom he felt great admiration, and because he would was told that if one added an “i” to the name of his idol, that would mean in French like Houdin.

His fame was worldwide during the first quarter of the 20th century. He escaped from everything: handcuffs, straitjackets, and cells of prison. He gained fame by throwing challenges to police around the world: he was determined to free himself, in record time, from the cell where he would be locked up. To announce his arrival in a city, he freed himself from a straitjacket by force, hoisted, head down, in front of the facade of a building, or was locked in a nailed box which was then thrown into a river. On stage, he was immersed in a milk jug filled with water and padlocked. He was also an expert in traditional magic: a great manipulator of cards, he invented famous illusions such as the disappearance of an elephant or the walking thru a brick wall.

In 1915, on the death of his mother, whom he adored, he tried to make contact with her by attending countless spiritualist sessions but, discovering that he was still deceived, he undertook to lead a crusade against the charlatans of occultism by revealing in broad daylight the tricks they used to dupe their clients.

He approached cinema in 1919 with a fifteen-episode serial, THE MASTER OF MYSTERY, in which, the advertising boasted, each episode included an escape carried out without tricks or stopping the camera. The success of the film allowed him to sign a contract with Paramount which produced his next two films, THE GRIM GAME (1919), where we could see the first collision between two planes filmed in a sequence which was not planned and which was included in the montage because, fortunately, the accident did not cause any casualties. Then it was THE TERROR ISLAND (1920) which received only a small audience, which prompted Paramount to terminate its contract. Two years later, Houdini had set up his own production company and made his most famous film, THE MAN FROM BEYOND (1922), based on a story he authored, and the production of which he entrusted to Burton King, the filmmaker who had directed him in his first steps in cinema. The film enchanted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the father of Sherlock Holmes, with whom he was a friend. Although the work did not achieve the expected success, Houdini himself wrote, produced and directed one last film, HALDANE OF THE SECRET SERVICE (1923) which, this time, was a resounding financial failure, ruining his hopes to continue doing cinema. Houdini died prematurely, at age 52, in a stupid accident in Montreal. While he was suffering from chronic appendicitis and was willing to withstand the most violent punches to the stomach, a student, who was visiting him in his theater dressing room, delivered an uppercut which caused peritonitis, and septicemia took his life ten days later, on October 31, 1926.

He has been played numerous times on the small and big screen. In the cinema, by Tony Curtis in HOUDINI, THE GREAT MAGICIAN (Houdini, George Marshall, 1953), by Jeffrey DeMunn in RAGTIME (id., Milos Forman, 1981), by Harvey Keitel in THE MYSTERY OF THE FAIRIES (Fairy Tale: A True Story, Charles Sturridge, 1997) and by Guy Pearce in BEYOND ILLUSION (Death Defying Acts, Gillian Armstrong, 2007). On television, by Paul Michael Glaser in “The Great Houdini”, Melville Shavelson, 1976, by Jeffrey DeMunn again in “The Magician of the Strange” (“Young Houdini”, James Orr, 1987 ) and by Johnathon Schaech in “Houdini” (id., Pen Densham, 1998). (*) Titles preceded by an asterisk were distributed in France on video only.

FILMOGRAPHY

1919 (The Master Mystery, Burton King) – (The Grim Game, Irving Willat)

1920 (Terror Island, James Cruz)

1922 (The Man from Beyond, Burton King)

1923 HALDANE OF THE SECRET SERVICE (Harry Houdini)