Since my Harry Ransom Center whirlwind visit to review material on Houdini’s film career, I noticed in the inventory of papers on Harry Houdini, the following manuscript listed in the Subseries E Manuscripts section:

• Reeve, Arthur B. The Submarine Mystery. Handwritten draft inscribed to Houdini from Reeve, 19 December 1918. Container 60.7

With my fascination with Reeves connection to Houdini

• Houdini Adaptations – Arthur B Reeve

And the fact that Houdini was associated with a number of submarine stories,

• Film Treatments by Houdini – The Great Tontine
• Terror Island Story found in Boys Cinema
• Terror Island vs Deep Sea Loot vs Houdini’s Sub-Sea Miracle
• Lost Houdini Film(s) Based on The Master Mystery – The Law Pirates
• Film Treatments by Houdini – The Marvelous Adventures of Houdini
• How Houdini almost went 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

I just had to see the inscribed manuscript and read, “The Submarine Mystery”.

Credit: Harry Ransom Center

Thanks to our friend, Eric Colleary, at the HRC, I am able to share the manuscript inscription:

My dear Houdini –

This is the original manuscript of “The Submarine Mystery”

Accept it with my compliments and those of “Craig Kennedy”

Arthur B. Reeve December 19 1918

There are about 28 pages, some of which have material on both sides of the page.

Arthur B Reeve first published “The Submarine Mystery” in Cosmopolitan, October 1913. You can read the story here:

• https://freeread.com.au/@RGLibrary/ArthurBReeve/CraigKennedy/037-TheSubmarineMystery-EPUB.html