Houdini in Milwaukee, has come up a couple times in the past month.

1. John Cox at WildAboutHoudini shared that Wisconsin Researcher and writer Larry Widen contributed a very well researched article called “Houdini in Milwaukee: The Forgotten Years.” to the Mystifier (First Quarter 1995 newsletter of Houdini Historical Center).
2. And Glen Gerard at Kevin Connolly’s Facebook group CONJURING HISTORY – BUY, SELL AND TALK shared Newspaper ads for various Houdini appearances in Milwaukee.

So, I thought I would share what I found in The Magazine of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Spring 1995 that I recently acquired.

You will notice that Larry Widen wrote a 12-page article, titled Houdini: Manacled in Milwaukee. The shorter article in the Mystifier appears to be a modified/condensed version of this longer article.

Both articles have the Weiss family in Milwaukee from 1883 [1882] to 1887.

The Milwaukee History article mentions that:

On October 28, 1883, he asked to perform in Jack Hoefler’s Five-Cent Circus. Seeing the value of the local boy on the bill, the circus advertised the nine-year-old as “Erich, The Prince of Air”.

The Milwaukee History article includes an interesting paragraph that lists various addresses for Houdini in Milwaukee:

With future employment options in Appleton looking dim, Weiss and his wife Cecilia moved their family to Milwaukee in 1883 [1882]. Upon their arrival in the city, the family resided at 712 Winnebago Street (now 708 West Winnebago).  Weiss began a Hebrew school in their home, but the effort was short-lived.  Ehrich and his younger brother Theo worked as bootblacks and sold newspapers to help support the household. Subsequent addresses for the Weiss family included 719 Prairie (725 West Highland), 593 5th Street (1743 North 5th Street), 517 Cherry Street (523 West Cherry Street), and 613 Cherry Street (619 West Cherry Street)

Note: The above infamous 1886 postcard that Ehrich sent his mother, “I am going to Galveston, Texas” was sent to 517 Sixth Street [Is this the same as 517 Cherry Street?].

I am assuming the house at North 7th Street and West Highland Avenue depicted above was the 719 Prairie address.

The Milwaukee History article also confirms the name of dime museum suspected in the Mystifier article:

One evening in 1885, an elegantly garbed gentleman billed as “The Bloodless Vivisectionist” was performing at Jacob Litt’s dime museum.

Both articles (i.e., Mystifier and Milwaukee History) refer to Ehrich as being eleven years old, when he witnessed the magic act, “The Bloodless Vivisectionist” that changed his life; however based on the source for the performance dated February 22, 1885, Ehrich would have technically been only 10 and wouldn’t turn 11 until March 24, 1885.

The Milwaukee History article then goes on to trace the rest of Houdini’s career from 1888 (when he rejoined family in NY) to 1926 (when he died on Halloween), with emphasis on when Houdini returned to Milwaukee (November 1892, December 1896, October 1897, April 1912, and September 1923).

BONUS:

Also included in the Milwaukee History, The Magazine of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Spring 1995 was the Ordination Certificate for Mayer Samuel Weiss:

When the family moved to Milwaukee, Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss filed a copy of his rabbinical credentials with the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds. Originally written in old German script, the translation above was prepared by Kurt P. Frenzel of Mequon, Wisconsin, from the ordination file housed in the Society’s Library.

In 2016, our friend and expert on Houdini in Milwaukee, David Saltman, actually discovered the rare artifact in an uncatalogued stack of old papers in the vaults of the Milwaukee County Historical Society. For more information on Houdini in Milwaukee and to see this original certificate in German, check out David Saltman’s excellent blog, The Houdini File:

• HOUDINI FILE DISCOVERS RARE ARTIFACT!