Houdini, Barbara Fritchie, and a return to Frederick

On November 25, 1924, Houdini gave his spiritualism lecture at The Armory in Frederick, Maryland. The morning of his arrival, Harry and Bess sat down with a reporter in the main dining of The Francis Scot Key Hotel (above), for which Houdini expressed admiration.

The interview ran the next day in the Frederick News. In it the reporter is full of praise, stating: "Quiet and unassuming, he was the essence of friendship. He immediately places one at ease and when Houdini starts to talk, all one has to do is listen." Houdini even performed his thumb racket at the table. But what really stood out for me is when Houdini reveals he had been in Frederick once before.

In case you don't know (because I didn't), Barbara Fritchie was an elderly woman who defiantly flew the American flag from her house during the Civil War. She became famous in folklore as the heroine of a 1863 poem by John Greenleaf Whittier in which she tells a Confederate general, "Shoot if you must this old gray head, but spare your country's flag."

A 1927 reconstruction of the Barbara Fritchie house still stands in Frederick today.

At first I was skeptical of Houdini's story. It was my understanding that the Welsh Bros. Circus toured exclusively in Pennsylvania. So I thought Houdini might have whipped up this memory just for the local reporter.

However, I did some digging and discovered that the Welsh Bros. Circus did play Frederick for one day on September 14, 1898. This is indeed when The Houdinis were with the troupe! The circus set up on Burger's lot on East Patrick street. The local paper even mentions the parade:

Frederick News, Sept. 14, 1898.

So it looks like Houdini's memory is legit, and it's a treat to have a new story from his circus days. (I later discovered the Welsh Bros. also played a single day in Cumberland, Maryland. But Houdini in Cumberland is another story.)

The reporter then turns his attention to Bess. The result is this gem:

I have a feeling Bess was probably serious about this. Just as she worried about her husband when he suspended himself in a straitjacket, I'm sure she worried about him now and for good reason. Houdini was courting real danger with his exposures and there were no shortage of frauds and fanatics who could have done him harm. But just like Barbara Fritchie, he flew his flag anyway!

UPDATE: You can now read a day by day account of the Houdinis 1898 Welsh Bros. tour in Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899, available exclusively from Mike Caveney's Magic Words.

Related:

• Houdini's Spiritualism Lectures
• When the Welsh Bros. came to town
• Houdini joins the circus

Fourth of July "one of one" Houdini trading card

This unique Houdini trading card sold on eBay yesterday for $27.58. From what I can tell, this is a one of kind card made for a special 3-day auction of similar "one of one" trading cards with patriot subjects. While the card appears vintage, it's actually a new card that's been "distressed."

Below are links to some other Houdini trading cards.

Related:

• Houdini + Bo Derek = huh?
• Sporting Life 'distressed' Houdini card
• Houdini is a 2011 Goodwin Champion

Houdini mystery painting

Today sees the opening in Los Angeles of the new documentary Tim's Vermeer produced by Penn & Teller and directed by Teller. Reviews are stellar with a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. So I thought this was a good day to share my own painting mystery -- what we might call, "Stan's Houdini."

I bought this on eBay back in 2006. The auction gave no details, but I thought it was good enough that it could be unused cover art for a Houdini book, maybe early art for the "Childhood of American Heroes" series (hence the emphasis on the American flag). When I received it, I discovered writing on the back that showed it was painted by "Stan Willard" and that it had won "2nd Place, B.V. Art Fair, May 17, 1972."

So not book cover art. But in it's own way, just a special. I now think of this as a piece of Houdini-themed American folk art that wonderfully celebrates the Master Mystifier. It now lives atop my Houdini bookcases.

But the mystery remains. Who exactly was Stan Willard and is there more to the story of his Houdini painting? If anyone out there knows, I'd love to hear from you.

Houdini letter to cemetery fails to sell in auction.

Click to enlarge

A letter in which Houdini spells out precisely who should be buried in the Weiss family plot at Machpelah Cemetery failed to sell yesterday at a Swann auction of Autographs and Revolutionary Americana (Sale 2276, Lot 260). The letter, which was written in May 1925, carried an estimate of $4000 - $6000. I suspect it didn't reach the reserve.

I've seen this letter sourced in biographies, but I've never seen the actual document itself. It's pretty fascinating. It's also easy enough to read between the lines and see that Houdini making certain that his brother Leopold, for whom he held a deep grudge, doesn't make it into the family plot. This letter also explains why none of his brothers spouses are buried in Machpelah. Apart from Bess, this was clearly "Weiss Only."

But one thing that really jumps out at me here is that Houdini says that his sister, Carrie Gladys Weiss, went by the name of Gladys Houdini. How interesting that she would adopt the "Houdini" name. I hadn't heard this before, but this helped solve a mystery in preparation for my Top Secret presentation at the Magic Collectors Weekend next month.

Of course, Houdini's instructions were not entirely followed. The dreaded Leo did make it into the family plot, although his headstone, as well as the headstone of Carrie Gladys, are currently in storage. Also, Bessie was not buried with her husband, as we know.

Thanks to Kevin Connolly at Houdini Himself for the tip.

American Experience Houdini DVD available for pre-order

The DVD of the PBS American Experience Houdini documentary is now available for pre-order at on Amazon.com. Price is $24.99, but it is currently discounted 30% to $17.49.

Release date is October 4, 2011. Cover art (right) has been revealed on the Shop PBS website. Not bad!

Hosted by David McCullough, the hour long documentary made by WGBH includes interviews with David Copperfield, James Randi, Ken Silverman, and others. It was first broadcast on January 24, 2000, and until now has only been available on VHS.