Sunday, July 10, 2016

LINK: Who was Miksa Dick?

UPDATE: Looks like this story is gone, so the link is no longer active.

David Merlini's newly opened House of Houdini museum in Budapest, Hungary has launched a research blog on their official website. Their research is primarily focused on Houdini and his home town, including a recent post by Krisztina Olah about Miksa Dick who appears as "godfather" to Erik Weisz on his birth certificate. Krisztina tracked down Miksa and also uncovered information about Houdini's father, including a hitherto unknown signature.

CLICK HERE or on the headline to read the full post at The House of Houdini's "Research News." You can also read posts on Houdini's birth certificate and passport applications. I've added the blog feed to mu sidebar.

The House of Houdini is located at at 11 Dísz Square, within the walls of the Buda Castle. The museum is open Monday to Sunday from 9:30am to 7pm.

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2 comments:

  1. Wow, great material! This indicates that Samuel was in Budapest for the birth of Dash, and had not already gone to NY. So how to explain the letter to him announcing Dash's birth?

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  2. Just left this comment on the House of Houdini website:

    Where do you find the listing “kvater” on Harry’s birth records? The Christian concept of “godfather” does not really obtain in Jewish practice, and the Yiddish word “kvater” refers to someone who assists at a Jewish boy’s circumcision ceremony, eight days after birth. The Hungarian word on the birth record, "keresztapa," means “godfather,” but, as you point out, in this era Jews were expected to fill out standardized forms for birth. I note that the English translation for this word also includes “witness.” This would indicate a different level of closeness between M. Dick and the Weiss family. A witness could be just anyone; a “godfather” is much more intimate.

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