Houdini’s NJ Connection 216 19th Street Union City

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I recently procured a copy of Oct 2005 Weird N.J. Magazine, that had an interesting article written by Robert H. Popper Jr about a building once owned by Houdini.

Below are some of the nuggets we learn about the building from the article:

  • Julius S. Popper purchased the building from Houdini’s Estate in December 1926.
  • The interior of the building was configured for processing of movie film.
  • It was divided into many small light-tight laboratories, each containing a different chemical bath through which the film passed in sequence.
    • Julius removed all this and installed metal working equipment.
  • There was a dead-end corridor in the rear of the first floor, about eight feet wide and fifteen feet long. It had no windows and the only entry was at one end where one had to pass through two doors in succession. The width and height of each door was the same as the width and height of the corridor. Either door alone would have been sufficient to seal off the corridor, but Houdini used both, one after the other. One was hinged on the left wall of the corridor, and the other on the right. In the chamber created by these double barriers he practiced his escapes.
    • Both doors were removed when the building was reconfigured for manufacturing.
  • The building came with stacks of Houdini’s publicity materials, posters, billboards, fliers, etc.
    • Julius used to wrap shipments until his company, J.S. Popper, Inc, started to become known as “The Houdini Company”.
  • The building had a hidden vault in the basement.

HHC Museum Shop Catalog 1998 – Page 7 (More Books)

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I became a member of the Houdini Historical Center in 1995 and was fortunate enough to visit the Houdini Historical Center Museum in Appleton Wisconsin in 1998, where I picked up some of the many items found in their catalog.

Thought it would be fun to share pages from the catalog over a series of posts, along with the catalog items in my collection.  We previously looked at Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Today we look at page 7.

 

Catalog items in HHCE Collection:

HHC Museum Shop Catalog 1998 – Page 6 (Books)

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I became a member of the Houdini Historical Center in 1995 and was fortunate enough to visit the Houdini Historical Center Museum in Appleton Wisconsin in 1998, where I picked up some of the many items found in their catalog.

Thought it would be fun to share pages from the catalog over a series of posts, along with the catalog items in my collection.  We previously looked at Pages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Today we look at page 6.

Catalog items in HHCE Collection:

Collectible Houdini Phone Cards

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Today, I share some Houdini Collectible Phone Cards and some corresponding ads.

Joe Fox Collection

In 1995, these 6 Color Canadian Phone cards were offered by CardCaller(TM). They also offered two (portrait and chains) in black & white.

December 1995 MAGIC magazine

In 1997, the Houdini Historical Center offered four sets of prepaid phone calls.

Set 2 was due out in June, Set 3 in September, and Set 4 in December.

But as far as I know, they only ever shipped the first set.

Special thanks to Joe Fox for sharing the Canadian Phone Cards and corresponding ad.

HHC Museum Shop Catalog 1998 – Page 5 (Magic Tricks and Apparel)

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I became a member of the Houdini Historical Center in 1995 and was fortunate enough to visit the Houdini Historical Center Museum in Appleton Wisconsin in 1998, where I picked up some of the many items found in their catalog.

Thought it would be fun to share pages from the catalog over a series of posts, along with the catalog items in my collection.  We previously looked at Pages 1, 2, 3, and 4. Today we look at page 5.

Catalog Items in HHCE Collection:

  • Not applicable

BONUS

HHCE attends Westcoast Lock Collector’s Show

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Last month, while attending a Houdini Nuts Preview of the New Houdini Seance at the Magic Castle, Joe Fox (Escape Artist, Collector, Magic Castle Assistant Librarian, and friend) mentioned that there was a lock show near me in February:

So, I met Joe Fox (middle), Mark Lyons (left), and Jay Leslie (right) at their table.

They had some nice handcuffs, locks, and keys on display:

And also had some handcuffs for sale:

Joe, Mark and Jay are extremely knowledgeable about handcuffs and graciously shared some of their wisdom with me, which I truly appreciate.

In addition,

Jay provided me with an Illustrated Catalogue of Police Supplies 1887:

Joe shared a one of kind cuff and provided me with a copy of his article, The Tompkins Handcuff…..America’s Top Security Handcuff…..that you never saw, that appeared in the Antique Lock Collector (Vol. 43, No. 1 Jan-Mar 2021):

And Mark gave me a great deal on a pair of Tower Double Lock (D.L.) Cuffs for my Grim Game room:

HHCE Collection

Later that day, I invited the guys over to my place to check out my Houdini room (aka The Grim Game Room); Unfortunately, Jay couldn’t join us:

I shared some one of kind items that included, The Master Mystery Broadside, Houdini’s Schooldays book, and Grim Game “Message From The Clouds” advertising card, but they seemed most impressed by the fact that I was called “The Great Escapini” and made my own cuffs when I was a kid, lol:

Joe and Mark helped me identify the cuffs (Tower D.L. Handcuffs on wrists, Marlin-Daley cuff connects to ball & chain, plus Darby Leg Iron on arms) used in Houdini’s movie, the Grim Game:

HHCE Collection

It was an honor to learn from Joe, Jay & Mark, and share some of my collection.

What a great day!

Related:

HHC Museum Shop Catalog 1998 – Page 4 (Souvenirs)

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I became a member of the Houdini Historical Center in 1995 and was fortunate enough to visit the Houdini Historical Center Museum in Appleton Wisconsin in 1998, where I picked up some of the many items found in their catalog.

Thought it would be fun to share pages from the catalog over a series of posts, along with the catalog items in my collection.  We previously looked at Pages 1, 2 and 3. Today we look at page 4.

Catalog items in HHCE Collection:

 

Famous 1899 San Francisco image appears on Cabinet Card by Newark Photographer

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Credit: Henning Book

Harry Houdini commissioned Frederick Bushnell’s studio photography company to take semi-nude photos of him as he reenacted a San Francisco escape.

A pitchbook (above) and an Ebay auction (above) dates these images as July,1899.

A museum quality photo reproduction of the Ebay auction image with the Bushnell San Francisco logo in the lower right has been meticulously hand mounted on a collectible cabinet card reproduction (above) available from Fantasma Magic.

HHCE Collection

And last but not least, there is an undated cabinet card (above) from the Newark Photographer, J Rennie Smith, with the infamous photo of Houdini holding up handcuffs affixed to it. I acquired it from someone that deals in old postcards. Note: The photo does not have any logo on it, only the cabinet card.

J Rennie Smith was an active Newark photographer from 1868 thru the 1890s. He died October 4, 1905.

Ashbury Park Press 05 Oct 1905

Houdini ‘s first performance in Newark was April 23, 1906, where he escaped a jail at the Newark police headquarters, so…

Thoughts on a date for the cabinet card from Newark?

Update:
A cropped B&W image (with a snippet of Bushnell logo) first appeared in Mahatma Vol 3 No. 7 New York, Brooklyn Borough , January 1900 magazine. Patrick Culliton’s ‘Tao of Houdini’ book has a B&W image that closely matches the albumen print on my cabinet card; and while you can’t see it in the book, the original in Kevin Conolly’s collection appears to have a faint Bushnell logo. My albumen print may have lost this Bushnell logo highlight detail over time.

HHC Museum Shop Catalog 1998 – Page 3 (Posters, Postcards, Collectibles)

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I became a member of the Houdini Historical Center in 1995 and was fortunate enough to visit the Houdini Historical Center Museum in Appleton Wisconsin in 1998, where I picked up some of the many items found in their catalog.

Thought it would be fun to share pages from the catalog over a series of posts, along with the catalog items in my collection.  We previously looked at Pages 1 and 2. Today we look at Page 3.

Catalog items in HHCE Collection: