Over the past few years, Public Domain Day has become increasingly popular. On January 1st of each year, a new tranche of books, movies, and music falls out of copyright. This became big news when Micky Mouse (the
Steamboat Willy version) became Public Domain. Admittedly, c
opyright is tricky and varies by country, but in general, this year sees anything from 1930 joining the Public Domain.
So are any Houdini books entering the public domain this year? Yes! Houdini's Escapes by Water B. Gibson was first published in 1930 and, presumably, is now out of copyright. The combo edition, Houdini's Escapes and Magic, also shows a 1930 copyright. However, later editions list a 1932 copyright for Houdini's Magic (released as a separate edition), which may complicate matters. But the solo Escapes has escaped!
I have a fond memory of this book. When I first became interested in Houdini, I would peruse bibliographies in the backs of my books to see what other Houdini books had been released in past years. I fixated on the title, Houdini's Escapes. There was a book just about Houdini's escapes!? That sounded like a dream book. But at the time, I had no idea how to find an out-of-print book.
Then, like magic, one day I walked into my local Waldenbooks, and there on the shelf was a gleaming new mass-market paperback called
Houdini's Escapes. It took me a while to process that this was the same book from 1930. It was like it had been reprinted just for me! (By the way, the mass-market format is also essentially
going away this year.)
Now, truth be told, I was a bit disappointed in the book back then. I had expected a highlight book about Houdini's most famous escapes and the stories behind them. Instead, this is largely a collection of escape concepts from Houdini's notebooks. And no pictures! That all came in the book Houdini's Fabulous Magic (1961), which had its own magical reprint around this same time.
But I still have my Houdini Escapes Bantam paperback (right), and when I eventually found a first edition hardcover from 1930, I flipped for that cover! And today I value the book as a glimpse inside Houdini's mind and a record of unusual escapes that could have been.
