Last year John Cox at Wild About Houdini did an excellent deep dive post on the King of Cards Poster and its reproductions:
That led me to search for and eventually find for my collection, the extremely rare 1961 (first reproduction) King of Cards poster by Tommy Windsor.
The poster came folded up into an insurance policy,
along with Tommy Windsor’s Patter for an effect,
And 12 ways to use the Houdini Posters.
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 Page 1. Today we look at Page 2.
Catalog items in HHCE Collection:
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.
Page 1
Catalog items in HHCE Collection:
The following is the description of the above book that sold at Raptis Rare Books:
New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1922.
First edition, second printing of Houdini’s guide to the whole art of performing with paper. Octavo, original cloth, full color frontispiece, illustrated with engravings and figures within the text. Warmly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “With best wishes for a merry xmas & Happy New Year xmas 1924 Houdini.” In very good condition with a strong signature from Houdini. Rare and desirable.
Houdini’s Paper Magic was first published in April 1922. Below are a couple ads from the Sphinx.
While Houdini published numerous books throughout his career, there were some books on Magic, Escape, Superstition, and Witchcraft that never got published as planned due to his untimely death. More info on these works can be found in The Zanetti Mystery Plus candidates for ghostwriting the story that was released on Christmas Day.
H A P P Y N E W Y E A R !
H A P P Y H O L I D A Y S !
The Zanetti Mystery: Plus candidates for ghostwriting the story is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
Product Description:
Harry Houdini wrote a short novel in 1925, a romantic detective thriller, called ‘The Zanetti Mystery’ (ghostwritten of course). The short novel (8 Chapters) was serialized over eight weeks in various Newspapers, but was never published in book form until now.
The story nicely combines Houdini’s love of mystery and detective fiction with his crusade against fraudulent mediums. The character of Atrois Zanetti might also be seen as the dark side of Houdini; what the magician feared he could have become had he remained in the business of spiritualist trickery. In fact, Houdini would sometimes play the character of Zanetti on stage during his exposure act.
In addition to sharing the story with original illustrations, Joe M. Notaro shares his research on candidates (Walter B. Gibson, H.P. Lovecraft, C.M. Eddy Jr., Rose Mackenberg, Fulton Oursler, and Arthur B. Reeve) for helping Houdini write the story, along with a bibliography of works by Houdini.
Bonus:
2021 marks the 10 year anniversary for HHCE
Ten years ago on Xmas Day (2011), I started Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence (HHCE) with the following post:
And I have posted weekly ever since. Below are links looking back at the highlights of each year:
Thanks for your support!
Harry Houdini wrote a short novel in 1925, a romantic detective thriller, called ‘The Zanetti Mystery’ (ghostwritten of course). The short novel (8 Chapters) was serialized over eight weeks in various Newspapers, but was never published in book form until now.
In addition to sharing the story with original illustrations, I will share my research on candidates for helping Houdini write the story.
Related:
As promised in a previous post, I am sharing escape scenes from my script for a Houdini movie that was never made:
This week, I share the Buried Alive scene:
HOUDINI hands BESS the silver kerchief as he strides to the grave. Wild cheering.
A TIME CUT: HOUDINI lays back in the grave. The earth mover’s engine rumbles above.
Click on images to enlarge for reading.
BESS and COLLINS hold him up, half carry him.
HOUDINI (croaks) I saw it, Bess… I saw it…
BESS Saw what, Harry?
HOUDINI I saw the curtain…
COLLINS Steady on, Mr. H.
HOUDINI It’s a curtain, Bess just like she said… It’s white…
OTIS steps in front of HOUDINI with a photographer, holds out then crisp thousand-dollar bills. HOUDINI takes them, looks at them a long moment, hand trembling. Then: he drops the money into the grave.
As promised in a previous post, I am sharing escape scenes from my script for a Houdini movie that was never made:
This week, I share the Berlin Bridge Jump scene:
HOUDINI in chains, Handcuffs, Leg shackles, Ball-and-chain. A Bridge. Stark superstructure. Six stories below, ripples blown black by the wind.
Click on images to enlarge for reading.
Below is a draft snippet from the book, ‘The Zanetti Mystery by HOUDINI Plus candidates for ghostwriting the story by Joe Notaro’ that will be released in 2022.
In 1924, Houdini, Lovecraft and Eddy had peripheral connections to ‘Weird Tales’ magazine.
Henneberger, the publisher of ‘Weird Tales’, tried to increase readership of the magazine by bringing Harry Houdini on board. This resulted in three issues featuring Houdini:
‘The Spirit Fakers of Hermannstadt’ (March to April 1924), ‘The Hoax of the Spirit Lover’ (April 1924) and ‘Imprisoned with the Pharaohs’ (May/June/July 1924). The last was by Lovecraft where he rewrote a strange narrative which Houdini related orally to Henneberger.
The author or authors of the others have not been identified. Possible candidates, include Henneberger himself, C.M. Eddy Jr., and Walter Gibson; With Lovecraft’s own prime suspect being ‘Weird Tales’ editor Farnsworth Wright; And John Locke’s ‘The Secret Origins of Weird Tales’ makes an argument for Weird Tales writer Harold Ward who had an aspect of his life that closely matched a plot device in the second Houdini story (Note: In a January 27, 1945 unpublished letter, Henneberger claimed that Wright ghosted ‘Spirit Fakers’).
Mike Ashley’s ‘The Houdini Chain’ found in ‘Postscripts’ says Walter B. Gibson denies being the author and Mike Ashley speculates that they may have been the work of Clifford Eddy who worked as Houdini’s booking agent at that time[?]. He had sold several stories to ‘Weird Tales’, some revised by Lovecraft.
Ironically, Mike Ashley also mentions that virtually everything attributed to Houdini was ghostwritten; He says, that even ‘A Magician Among the Spirits’ was written primarily by Oscar Teale and based upon Houdini’s notebooks, though Houdini cast and editorial eye over it.
Lovecraft wrote the ‘Imprisoned with the Pharaohs’ story (aka ‘Under the Pyramids’) for Houdini in February 1924. Per John Locke, Houdini first met Lovecraft in April 1924 at the Ritz Theatre, in Times Square for a play, where before the show, Henneberger, Houdini, and Lovecraft discussed the splendid job Lovecraft had done in revising and expanding ‘Imprisoned with the Pharaohs’.
So based on this circumstantial evidence, Wright wrote ‘The Spirit Fakers of Hermannstadt’, Ward wrote ‘The Hoax of the Spirit Lover’ and Lovecraft wrote ‘Imprisoned with the Pharaohs’.
And if your interested in my research on who helped Houdini write ‘The Zanetti Mystery’, it will be in the book soon to be released.
As promised in a previous post, I am sharing escape scenes from my script for a Houdini movie that was never made:
This week, I share the Water Torture Cell scene:
The curtain opens, revealing BESS standing next to a tall glass-fronted cabinet filled with water. Iron bars enclose the inside. An over-sized clock with a second hand hangs stage left.
HOUDINI fills his lungs as he is lowered, water splashing around the cabinet. Atop a ladder, an assistant padlocks an iron grille over the yoke.
We hold on HOUDINI, naked, submerged and manacled. The audience is literally holding its breath. A uniformed New York FIREMAN takes up his position in front of the cabinet, gripping a fire axe.
The light beneath the cell goes off. Spotlights sweep over the stage. All we can see inside the cabinet are momentary glints of bubbles. Then, timed to avoid the swirling spotlights:
HOUDINI, submerged, smacks the cuffs against the iron bars; they fall open. He violently contorts his body…
Deftly avoiding the spotlights, HOUDINI climbs down behind the cabinet, … He drops to his knees; a hand lifts the curtain behind him. He quickly slips underneath.
ONSTAGE: COLLINS stands near the FIREMAN, watching the clock.
COLLINS (calls: Cockney accent) One minute…
QUICK CUTS: Audience members holding their breath.
INT. ORPHEUM THEATRE — BACKSTAGE — NIGHT
HOUDINI wears a robe, a towel over his head as he reads the newspaper. BESS is nearby with a schedule of engagements.
BESS (quietly) We have Detroit tomorrow and Thursday. Then Chicago for the weekend…
HOUDINI (over his glasses) How many shows?
BESS Seven… one’s a benefit for the Elks.
Click on images to enlarge for reading.
HOUDINI (through his teeth) Thank You.
A TIME CUT:
BESS (dashes onstage) For God’s sake, break the glass! It’s been seven minutes!
The crowd is screaming. The FIREMAN rears back with his axe — smashes the glass. The lights flash on as a thousand gallons of water pour onto the stage: the torture cell is empty. Gasps.
The doors at the back of theater are thrown open. HOUDINI jogs down the center aisle, dripping wet. He leaps onto the stage, raises his arms. Then he throws back his head and laughs. And the crowd goes crazy.