tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post1400023443622630862..comments2024-03-28T08:03:31.442-07:00Comments on WILD ABOUT HARRY: The secrets of The Secrets of HoudiniJohn Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-43532942064642450282013-11-28T08:56:35.254-08:002013-11-28T08:56:35.254-08:00The pool escape shot? It does look a bit like Hard...The pool escape shot? It does look a bit like Hardeen, but it's Houdini. It was taken <a href="http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2012/03/location-of-houdinis-pool-escape.html" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-34737138708700945882013-03-14T21:16:33.259-07:002013-03-14T21:16:33.259-07:00This book has a lot of excellent line drawings ill...This book has a lot of excellent line drawings illustrating Houdini's tricks, but I remember as a kid wishing it had many more, like one on each page. It was difficult following the explanations for many of the feats by text alone--so much more so, I imagine, for readers in this video age. <br /><br />Surprising it took so long to come out in the US. By the way, I believe the photo in the Timothy Arendshttp://www.timarends.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-68390448289260181522013-01-18T13:35:45.902-08:002013-01-18T13:35:45.902-08:00btw: the first time i saw the can at the magic cas...btw: the first time i saw the can at the magic castle i thought "That's not a Houdini milk can. But it does look a lot like the one in the JC Cannell book." Thanks John for clearing up where that can came from!Bullet Valmonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10602986456504407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-51228892505271917972013-01-18T13:29:21.974-08:002013-01-18T13:29:21.974-08:00This was the first Houdini book i ever owned. i re...This was the first Houdini book i ever owned. i remember my eleven year old mind thinking "that milk can doesn't look anything like Houdini's milk can" (same for the sub-trunk) There was a photo caption that said: 'A hitherto unpublished picture of Houdini and his wife'. The picture was so bad that i presumed the word 'hitherto' meant 'ugly.' The rope Bullet Valmonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10602986456504407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-4864494308730777882013-01-15T18:12:21.746-08:002013-01-15T18:12:21.746-08:00I'm pleased to see how popular this post is. T...I'm pleased to see how popular this post is. The other posts in this mini series didn't really generate much response. But maybe that's because this book is a bit more complicated. I admit I wasn't aware of the scarcity Authors Note until I started working on this. I also never realized it wasn't published in the U.S. until 1971.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-59425737382348692392013-01-13T07:43:07.014-08:002013-01-13T07:43:07.014-08:00Remember, Goldston was the guy who published the w...Remember, Goldston was the guy who published the whole "Bess cried the key off the Mirror rep" story, so he was prone to embellishments. Or maybe these were stories that circulated in magic circles at the time. The sawing through the floor of the carette seems to be one of these.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-85844067333606070522013-01-12T23:23:37.040-08:002013-01-12T23:23:37.040-08:00Some of Cannell's explanations are wrong. We n...Some of Cannell's explanations are wrong. We now know from Guy Jarrett, Jim Steinmeyer, and Patrick Culliton, that the explanation for the Vanishing Elephant is incorrect. <br /><br />The description of the escape from the Russian carette is nonsense. The Russians would have seen the damage caused by a saw and can opener to escape through the floor of the carette. Did Houdini make up this Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-87466257989278267792013-01-12T18:04:10.453-08:002013-01-12T18:04:10.453-08:00No proof Goldston wrote Secrets. Just a notion. Bu...No proof Goldston wrote Secrets. Just a notion. But I've no doubt that Goldston has a major hand in providing content for the book. After-all, he published Houdini's Rope Ties book and we find stuff from that book in Secrets. But maybe supplying Cannell with the raw material was all he did. As you show, Cannell was prolific enough to have written it himself.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-21592186340280527972013-01-12T17:34:47.882-08:002013-01-12T17:34:47.882-08:00Dear John,
There is a chance you may be underesti...Dear John,<br /><br />There is a chance you may be underestimating the writing ability of magician, writer and journalist Cannell.<br /><br />Surely by he time Cannell wrote "Secrets" much of this was known in the trade, etc.<br /><br />A quick check of Amazon comes up with these other books written by Cannell.<br /><br />The Secrets of Houdini by J C Cannell (Many editions)<br /><br /Dick Brookz Dorothy Dietrich Houdini Museumhttp://houdini.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-66393960209801152982013-01-12T12:28:08.343-08:002013-01-12T12:28:08.343-08:00Thanks Dick & Dorothy. Good point that the Aut...Thanks Dick & Dorothy. Good point that the Author's Note not sounding like Goldston the believer. But certainly the material in the book came from Goldston. Maybe the Author's Note was the one thing Cannell wrote himself? Maybe that's why it was removed?John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-48063027762214712242013-01-12T11:55:52.822-08:002013-01-12T11:55:52.822-08:00Dear John,
This book has been of great interest t...Dear John,<br /><br />This book has been of great interest to us over the years. Though I do not have time to look at the moment we have bought as many various editions as we could find. Because of Mr Cannell's AUTHOR'S NOTE you quote. Our main interest was the closing two short paragraphs of that short 3/4 page piece. We were always interested if he elaborated it in any way.<br /><brDick Brookz Dorothy Dietrich Houdini Museumhttp://houdini.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-24521256741521396672013-01-12T11:03:53.922-08:002013-01-12T11:03:53.922-08:00I think you're dead on. But that's just my...I think you're dead on. But that's just my opinion :)Carnegiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-86436882797913180422013-01-12T10:42:06.816-08:002013-01-12T10:42:06.816-08:00Oops. Goldston, not Goldstone. Thanks. I've on...Oops. Goldston, not Goldstone. Thanks. I've only been making that mistake for...36 years. :s<br /><br />What do you guys think about the idea that Goldston might have ghostwritten this book?John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-11388425060801762302013-01-12T10:31:05.382-08:002013-01-12T10:31:05.382-08:00This makes me want to pull the old book out and en...This makes me want to pull the old book out and enjoy it again!<br /><br />As Eric said, Goldstone was known as Will Goldston, he was the founder of the Magicians Club in London as well as a magic dealer.<br />Houdini merged Martinkas and Hornmanns together in 1919. Frank Ducrot then took it over and after he died Al Flosso bought it and that's when it became Flosso-Hornmanns. Carnegiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-61382620905656299462013-01-12T10:17:51.060-08:002013-01-12T10:17:51.060-08:00I think Will Goldston was born Wolf Goldstone, but...I think Will Goldston was born Wolf Goldstone, but he usually isn't referred to as Will Goldstone.<br /><br />Christopher and Gresham's biographies criticized Cannell's book for inaccuracies. But I always wondered if they were trying to throw people off track. A lot of it seems accurate. Ericnoreply@blogger.com