Today, I continue my series where I share 4 page supplements that appeared in Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly and promoted Houdini’s movie serial, The Master Mystery, in the UK.
It appeared on supllement pages xiii-xvi of the January 23, 1919 Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly
Houdini Schooldays: Plus history of the story is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
Product Description:
Joe M. Notaro brought Houdini’s full novella, ‘The Zanetti Mystery” into print and now he tackles ‘Houdini’s Schooldays’.
‘Houdini’s Schooldays’ was serialized over 30 weeks (9/18/1920 to 4/2/1921) in the ‘Merry and Bright’ comics and has never been published in book form until now. Herbert Allingham was the author and Harry Houdini owned the dramatic and screen rights.
This is a BIG story. An extremely fine production in all respects.
Don’t miss this amazing yarn.
A MAN LIKE HOUDINI could not fail to have had a wonderful early life, and this story tells of his adventures while still at school.
In addition to sharing ‘Houdini’s Schooldays’ with original illustrations, Joe. M. Notaro shares his research on the history of the story, along with photos of rare items (from various collections). Research includes other Allingham stories with Houdini’s name attached, Copperfield’s ‘Merry and Bright’ books, Houdini and Allingham correspondence, Houdini’s education (Appleton, Milwaukee), and a look at possible illustrators for the story.
Joe M. Notaro is a Houdini historian, author, collector, blogger, and expert on his movies and writings. For more info, please visit his website: HarryHoudiniCircumstantialEvidence.com
BONUS:
While supplies last, the first 52 customers (U.S. only) to purchase directly from me via PayPal will receive an autographed copy of the book with a signed and numbered limited edition bonus card (1 per customer):
Please inquire about price and availability via email: Joe.M.Notaro@gmail.com
Today,starts a series, where I share 4 page supplements that appeared in Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly and promoted Houdini’s movie serial, The Master Mystery, in the UK.
Image courtesy of WildAboutHoudini; Credit Mark Mawston Collection
I first learned about the above 4-page “Houdini Herald” supplement via the following WildAboutHarry post:
It appeared on pages 33-36 of the February 6, 1919 Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly
BONUS
The following appeared on page 76 of the February 6, 1919 Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly:
The Houdini Serial – The New Bio is giving two big Trade shows at the Lonon Pavilion on Feb. 11 and 12 of “The Master Mystery.” featuring the great Houdini. Apart from the merits of the picture, we understand that the firm is negotiating for the serial rights which will be reproduced in one of the leading papers, and also that is contemplating putting out a most novel competition in connection with this serial, which should be of great interest both to the public and to exhibitors. We hear most enthusiastic reports in connection with the drawing powers of this film, and we feel sure exhibitors will be the fits to realise the great attractive powers of Houdini name. We are asked to state by the New Bio that those exhibitors who have not yet written in for reserved tickets for the London Pavilion music hall for February 11 and 12 should do so immediately, owing to the very heavy demand.
The following appeared on page 68 of February 13, 1919 Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly:
The ‘Houdini Herald”
It has been said that half the art of advertising lies in attracting attention. If this is so, then the Houdini Herald, which we published as a supplement last week, is cetainly an outstanding advertiement, for it could not be missed by anyone seeing the paper. The advertisement has been the subject of much comment and discussion, and we congratulate the firms handling the Houdini serial on that fact. It needs the commercial courage to test new methods, but, we think, the people concerned will find ample reward in this case. This Herald serves the double purpose of interesting the exhibitor in both a business and more personal sense, as the articles are interesting reading for anyone, and also form pulling publicity for the exhibitor to use later.
Grim Game lobby cards came in 11×14 and 8×10 sizes.
Lobby cards were traditionaly made in sets of 8, plus a title card. The images were selected to give a sense of the story line of the movie and to supply the credits. The rotogravure process used in printing Lobby Cards made them more durable than the fragile photographic stock on which the movie stills were printed.
But what about these phographic stock Grim Game production (298-xx) and newspaper reproduction only (L302-xx) stills?
Grim Game stills (photos) are typically 8×10, but recently I acquired an original 11×14 still:
14×11 still (HHCE Collection)
The 14×11 still was created from a photo image with a 5:4 ratio, so you lose an inch on the width and height.
Thus you only see L302-8 vs L302-84.
You can also see this rare still in the Henning book on pages 78 and 79.
Bonus:
10×8 Still 298-84 (MHL Collection)
Postcard of still 302-84