This is a must-listen interview with Dr. Eric Colleary on Dean Carnegie's The Magic Detective Podcast, talking about his new book,
Houdini's Library, which is released TODAY. If you've ever wondered how Houdini's collection was dispersed after his death, Eric lays it all out here, and it's fascinating.
You can buy
Houdini's Library on
Amazon.com and
Amazon.co.uk, where the book is currently the #1 New Release in Magic & Illusion. Eric's acclaimed exhibition,
Houdini's Library, is on show now at the
Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin through January 24, 2027.
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Great podcast! Dean asked about any existing Vanishing Elpephant and Walking Through a Brick Wall posters, but they don't exist. Back then you had to order at least 500 posters from the lithograph companies in order for them to produce it. You couldn't place an order for just a few. It was too much work for the lithograph companies to sell a meager amount of posters. Since Houdini never toured with these two Illusions, there was no point in ordering then in bulk to paste up in towns.
ReplyDeleteGood points. And as Houdini only did "Walking Through A Brick Wall" in one theater for one week, I think the chances of there being a poster are near zero.
DeleteAnd yet, Houdini had a poster made for his overboard under water packing crate escape. He had posters made for his dealings with the German court. I might concede the Walking Thru a Brick Wall is a long shot, however, The Vanishing Elephant, the biggest illusion in history, I don't think he's passing up a chance to say he did that!
DeleteThe only thing out there on the Vanishing Elephant poster is that prototype design mentioned in the podcast. A fellow on FB sold prints of that prototype a few years ago. That is a good observation on the Overboard Escape and German court posters. Lithograph companies only printed their posters in large bulk, so those two posters are a mystery.
DeleteGood point about doing these as a legacy poster. Hadn't considered that.
DeleteSee/hear also Colleary’s appearance on The Magic Book Podcast
ReplyDeletehttps://themagicbookpodcast.com/episode/dr-eric-colleary-houdinis-library
Yes, another great interview!
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