Houdini began his final tour 100 years ago today

It was 100 years ago today, on September 2, 1926, that Houdini began his 1926-27 "Coast to Coast" tour of 3 Shows in One at the Lyceum Theater in Paterson, New Jersey. The show featured some new illusions during the Magic section. In fact, advertisements emphasized the magic, stating: "As a MAGICIAN Houdini Starts where others leave off." 

Papers also noted that this was Houdini's first appearance in Paterson in 30 years. They were right. Houdini had last played Paterson with the "American Gaiety Girls" in December 1895. 

Here's a review of opening night from The Morning Call.

Houdini played the Lyceum for three days before moving on to Majestic Theater in Boston for a three-week run. The lasting legacy of this short run is the famous poster (above), which survives today in the Library of Congress.

The Lyceum was located at 123 Van Houten Street. A fire destroyed the theater on March 22, 1931. Below is the only image of the Lyceum I could find online.

Want more? I've uploaded a dozen advertisements and reviews of the Houdini Lyceum show to my Patreon.

Related:

• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In One
• Houdini's "3 Shows in One" turns 100
• American Museum of Magic shares collection online

Houdini playing cards deal out $35,000 at auction

A deck of playing cards purported to have belonged to Houdini in his early years sold for $35,000 (43K including premium) at a Goldin auction on Sunday. Wild to think this might have been "one of the first decks used by Houdini," as the accompanying note reads.

Offered is a legendary piece of illusionist history, a deck of playing cards personally owned by the great Harry Houdini, famed escapist and stunt performer. This relic has a long history in the magic community after originally leaving the possession of Houdini in 1926. Houdini passed away in 1926, leaving this deck of playing cards to his wife, Bess Houdini. Bess gifted the deck to a fellow magician Audley S. Dunham, who after Bess' death gifted the deck to legendary "Society Magician," J. Elder Blackledge. Blackledge was well regarded amongst magicians of the time, and worked from the 1920s through the 1950s as a "society magician," performing in the White House for Franklin D. Roosevelt on several occasions. Blackledge popularized in America the famous magic act, "The Chinese Linking Rings," and performed them on occasion in Leland, Michigan. After Blackledge's passing in 1961, the deck was gifted by his widow to fellow magician and Leland resident William B.F. Hall. Hall passed in 1968, and his widow Sally Hall would pass the deck to their final owner Lawrence L. Michaels.

The deck of cards consists of 46 individual pieces. There are 45 playing cards in the offered deck, including a single Joker card. The deck appears to be missing a single Ace, Queen, 10, 9, 6, 5, 4, and 3. The reverse of the cards features a detailed blue/white back design, and traditional Jugendstil design on the obverse. The deck is also accompanied by a blank card, with "THIS DECK was one of the first used by Houdini (about 1890). Mrs. Houdini gave it to Audley S. Dunham who gave it to me December 14, 1943," along with a blue ink signature seemingly of J. Elder Blackledge. The playing cards exhibit heavy general wear, small tears, and associated creases, with soiling throughout the obverse and reverse of each card. Some cards display some minor peeling from the corners, separating the front and back of the card. Some of the cards detailing on the obverse have faded, partially removing the corner symbols on some cards. Several cards display corners that have been clipped or torn.

The auction does not specify the make of this deck, but if you've read that fine book Escaping Obscurity, you'll know that early in his career, Houdini endorsed U.S. and National Playing Cards as "the very best and finest." Those may be what Houdini is handling in the famous image from 1898 that was later used to illustrate his "King of Cards" poster. You can see that the Ace of Spades and card backs do not match the auction cards.

Thanks to Jim Klodzen for the Ace of Spades image and Roger Dreyer for the King of Cards photo.

Related:

• Paging Professor Murat
• The King of Cards in 1926
• Harry Houdini, card cheat

Houdini Legacy Card Deck Kickstarter

John B. Midgley, current President of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.), has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a custom set of Houdini playing cards designed by Shawn Farquhar, past President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Proceeds from the Kickstarter will go to the Houdini grave restoration fund. It's a great-looking deck and a very worthy cause.

Click to view the Houdini Legacy Deck Kickstarter

Related:

• Houdini's grave is in trouble
• The Houdini-Weiss exedra turns 100
• Gladys and Leopold headstones return to Machpelah

Paging Professor Murat

In the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin (them again!), not all the Houdini treasures are in the Houdini Collections. The Ransom Center also holds a large collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's correspondence. There one can find several letters he exchanged with Bess in the months after Houdini's death. These letters contain some fascinating information.

Today I wanted to highlight a paragraph from one letter dated July 8, 1927 in which Bess writes:

Was awfully pleased to hear from you. Houdini never traveled under the name of Ellington but took the name of Houdini when he was fourteen years of age. Thirty-two years ago he used the name of Professor Murat for one week as a hypnotist and then a few years later as a card magician, for a short time was known as "Cardo", but those are the only names, other than Houdini, that he ever used.

These aliases are mentioned in Silverman (sourced from this letter in the HRC), so this isn't new info. However, Bessie appears to have misspelled the name Murat. Details of his act at Daly's Star Theater in Hoboken during the week of February 10, 1896 can be found in local papers under the spelling "Morat":

Then came Prof. Morat, with his "European Sensation–Man in a Trance." He produced his "subject" and made the audience shiver as he jabbed pins and needles into the soft parts of the man's anatomy. The subject didn't seem to mind it. He was supposed to be in the state of hypnotic catalepsy.

Unfortunately, I've never been able to find any account of Houdini's time as "Cardo." Every once in a while I do a hard target search of newspaper.com for any mention of a Cardo from 1895-99 who could logically be Houdini, but so far I've come up empty. I did find a magician in 1889 named Signor LaCardo, but clearly not HH. Maybe someone else will have more luck?

By the way, Houdini also appeared at least once as "Harry Raynohr, Sleight of Hand" during his early days. Strange Bess forgot that one as she appeared on the same bill as "Beatrice Raynohr, The Melodious Little Songstress."

Want more? You can read the entire Bess letter and see the Prof. Morat clippings as a Scholar member of my Patreon. Just click the image below.

Related:

• The Ransom Center file
• Houdini the hypnotist?
• The family language

The Professor fooled Houdini 100 years ago today

It was 100 years ago today that Dai Vernon fooled Houdini with his Ambitious Card at an S.A.M. banquet at the Great Northern Hotel in Chicago. To mark the occasion, here's video of The Professor himself doing that very trick. This is from a 1976 Canadian show, Celebrity Revue, hosted by Carol Taylor and Peter Pit.

Vernon did the trick for Houdini seven times and, it's my understand, varied his method each time. He would forever pride himself on being "The Man Who Fooled Houdini." Vernon's own mementos from that night sold last year at a Potter & Potter auction, including the group photo below.

What I'd love to know is what happened to the signed four of diamonds?

Related: 

• Houdini at 100
• Houdini by Vernon
• The card trick that fooled Houdini

Dai Vernon does the trick that fooled Houdini

There are no shortage of videos on YouTube of magicians demonstrating Dai Vernon's famous "trick that fooled Houdini." One of the best is by Steve Cohen. But here's a video of The Professor doing it himself! I don't know what show this is from and it's too bad we don't have the lead up to the trick, but it's still pretty great as Vernon references Houdini throughout.

Vernon performed this for Houdini during an S.A.M. banquet at the Great Northern Hotel in Chicago on February 6, 1922. Vernon did the trick for Houdini three times and, it's my understand, varied his method. While I don't doubt this happened, I've never heard an account from anyone who witnessed it. Vernon's own mementos from that night recently sold at a Potter & Potter auction. 

What I'd love to know is what happened to the signed four of diamonds?

UPDATE: Our good friend Joe Fox has identified this as the Canadian show Celebrity Revue hosted by Carol Taylor and Peter Pit. Also, the guest in the tuxedo who we briefly see applauding near the end is none other than Steve Baker aka Mr. Escape! The below appeared in the December 1976 Genii.

Related: 

• Houdini by Vernon
• Dai Vernon to fool Houdini nightly
• Vernon now bashing Houdini from beyond

More Houdini glass negatives materialize on eBay

Three original glass negatives featuring rare images of Houdini sold yesterday on eBay. A photo showing him being bound by two young boys (identified on the slide as Stephen Ligorotis and John Tallitsch) sold for $1,059. A shot of Houdini with trumpet medium Annie Benninghofen holding a giant spirit trumpet brought in $670. A third slide showing Houdini doing cards tricks for Chicago detectives ("Chief Shoemaker & dicks") sold for $847. This last image is the only one that has appeared in print.

The Benninghofen photo is of particular interest as it recalls Houdini's own giant spirit trumpet now in the Fred Pittella collection (seen in this post). This does not appear to be the same trumpet (dang it), but it establishes that giant spirit trumpets were a thing!

These all came from the Chicago Herald Examiner collection and from the same seller who offered several other Houdini negatives last year. I'm holding my breath to see if more might appear!

Related:

• Five original Houdini glass negatives sell on eBay
• Breedlove vs. Houdini trial photo fetches $400

Everyone's first Houdini poster

Recently I was going through boxes of posters in my garage and was delighted to discover my old "Harry Houdini - King of Cards" poster reproduction. This hung on my bedroom wall from around 1976. I suspect this was the first Houdini poster for many. It sure was mine!

This reproduction is now iconic in its own right. So what's the story behind it? To tell the story right, we should probably start with the original.

King of Cards is often said to be Houdini's first poster and leads some to conclude that he started his career as a card magician. Neither is correct. While it could be said this is his first known solo poster, there are posters for "The Houdinis" that pre-date this. Houdini actually had this printed around 1898, probably at the same time as his full color Metamorphosis poster. Both posters were printed by the National Printing and Engraving Company of Chicago and both were used during the Houdinis 1898 tour with the Welsh Bros Circus. But the following year Houdini received his big break via Martin Beck and forever became the King of Handcuffs, making his King of Cards poster obsolete. Ironically, this poster, which is today is seen so often, it probably the poster Houdini used the least of any during his career. But that could be why so many copies survive.

In 1941 an original King of Cards poster featured on the cover of Genii magazine. Editor William Larsen noted: "The poster which is reproduced on the cover was found in the Houdini files by Edward Saint, Houdini Archivist, and especially rephotographed, on his instructions, for our use." The poster became known in magic circles. A mockup King of Cards poster with the image of Tony Curtis can even be spotted in Houdini (1953).

An original King of Cards and the 1941 rediscovery.

In November 1961, magician Tommy Windsor created the first reproduction of the King of Cards poster. This was well before magic poster reproductions were common, and it may have even been the first? Windsor's reproduction was printed on heavy 80 pound book paper and sold for $2.00 (postage paid). In his adverting Windsor dated the poster as 1895 and began touting it as Houdini's first. He also promoted it as a great deal, seeing as originals were known to sell for $25 and up! It appears Windsor only sold his poster for a limited time as his advertising dries up after 1961.

In 1968 Lee Jacobs again offered "Tommy Windsor's Harry Houdini King of Cards Poster" along with his own magic poster reproductions. Jacobs was a magician and publisher who operated a mail order magic business out of Pomeroy, Ohio. Presumably Jacobs had acquired Windsor's unsold stock, or he was selling them on Windsor's behalf. But in 1973 Jacobs announced that he had acquired the rights to the poster from The Tommy Windsor Studio. In the August 1973 Linking Ring Jacobs stated: "This is our finest hour. We have just completed the most beautiful poster reproduction ever and at a price you won't believe."

It's probably no exaggeration to say the Lee Jacobs King of Cards poster sold in every magic shop in the country. (I believe I got mine at Hollywood Magic.) And it was just in time for the great Houdini renaissance of the 1970s. It may have even been a contributing factor. It frequently shows up as background art in film and television. In The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini, Las Vegas magician Jen Kramer is quoted as saying, "I'll bet ninety percent of the kids who dream of becoming a magician have that poster on the wall, and we stare at it endlessly."

Unlike some of Jacobs other reproductions, King of Cards is approximately the same dimensions as the original. The quality of the reproduction is also excellent and the book paper gives it a lithograph look and feel. Ironically, it's now old enough that it could be confused as being an original! But there are obvious tells. Original King of Cards posters have wider borders and a large empty space at the top where performance details would be placed. Also, "NATIONAL PR. & ENG. CO. CHICAGO" is omitted from the lower right border of the reproductions. Jacobs also stamped his name and address on the backs.

As for telling the difference between the Lee Jacobs and Tommy Windsor reproductions, I'm afraid I've not seen a confirmed Windsor poster, so I don't know the differences for sure. But it's possible Jacobs trimmed the borders tighter on his posters. I did spot a "vintage" repro on eBay that had larger borders and no Lee Jacobs stamp on the back. So maybe this was a Tommy Windsor? If anyone has a confirmed Windsor, I'd love to see it.

In 1980 Jacobs issued a "NEW" King of Cards reproduction. This new poster was done on 100 pound glossy enameled stock with the color being closer to the original. While the borders are still trimmed, the Chicago Printing Company credit is restored. On the back are reproductions of two Houdini photos and a letter along with an essay by Jacobs dated February 22, 1980. The essay furthers the myth that the poster "dates from before the days when Houdini began doing the escape feats."

Even though the paper quality on the 1980 poster is heavier and less susceptible to aging, to my eye the image is slightly inferior to the earlier poster. And it's a shame to loose the lithographic look and feel. In 1980 I was excited by the extras on the back and the restoration of the printing company's name. But today I prefer my pre 1980 poster. Below you can see the two reproductions side by side front and back (original on left and 1980 on the right).

Lee Jacobs would go on to release a reproduction Buried Alive poster in 1986 which featured material on the back related to "Harry Houdini, Motion Picture Star". Jacobs died in 2003. Of his magic poster reproductions, his widow Ramona Compton said, "This may have been Lee's greatest contribution to the field of magic. And he had always wanted to be remembered for this contribution."

In 2014 the original King of Cards poster that Tommy Windsor used for that first reproduction in 1961 sold at a Potter & Potter auction for $17,000.

Today you can get beautiful King of Cards poster reproductions with the full borders and accurate colors from Nielsen Magic and others. But for me there is something magical and, yes, collectible about these earliest King of Cards reproductions from Tommy Windsor and Lee Jacobs that started it all.

Did you have a King of Cards poster? Do you remember where you got it? Please feel free to share your own King of Cards memories in the comments below.

Thanks to Magic Castle librarian extraordinaire Joe Fox for all the information and great images that turned this post from a one paragraph quickie to a King of Cards deep dive!

UPDATE: Mark Horowitz has sent this image of his original Tommy Windsor King of Cards poster. As you can see, the borders are indeed a bit wider than the Jacobs repro. These were sent to buyers folded and with an "Insurance Poster Trick." Thank you Mark for providing this final piece of the puzzle!

Related:

• Original King of Cards poster sells on eBay
• Genii & Houdini: October 1941
• Dissecting Quincy's 'The Death Challenge'

Fantasma Magic presents The Eyes Of Houdini

Here's some Sunday fun from the Fantasma Magic YouTube channel. Prepare to be amazed (if only temporarily).

Fantasma is home to the Houdini Museum of New York. They are currently closed due to Covid-19, but you can have a look inside their Houdini museum via the links below.

Related:

• First look inside the new Houdini Museum at Fantasma Magic
• Guest blog: The Houdini Museum of New York, Part I
• Guest blog: The Houdini Museum of New York, Part II

Mystifier, First Quarter 1993

Continuing my look back at Mystifier, the quarterly newsletter of the Houdini Historical Center that ran from 1991-2003.

The First Quarter 1993 Mystifier kicks off with the reproduction of an article called "Card Tricks Exposed" from The New Penny Magazine (No. 120, Vol. X). It doesn't provide a date, but it appears to be from very early in Houdini's first european tour (similar to his "Wizard Exposed" articles of 1901).

I recently asked the "Mystical Man" if he would mind enlightening the readers of The New Penny Magazine as to how certain tricks are performed–those shown in public, and others indulged in by "sharps" at card tables. He readily responded to this invitation, and also consented to go before the camera in order to illustrate pictorially his various explanations. These photographs, I think it will be admitted, are quite unique, and form a remarkably interesting feature of the expose.

This is actually a pretty major exposé, revealing card moves practiced by card sharps and also magicians. The newsletter notes that this article comes from Houdini's "jail breaker" scrapbook, given to museum by Tad Ware of Excelsior, Minnesota.

The newsletter continues with a reproduction of an unintentionally amusing article from a 1913 Variety headlined, "Magic on Decline". The article rings the death knell of the magic art and puts the blame on exposure acts and "the lack of a master performer of the calibre of Herrmann or Kellar." (Ah, hem.)

Many magicians have given up the fight and entered other occupations. At this very time New York has two former magicians of high ability performing in its first class theaters. One is a dancing comedian and the other a comic ventriloquist. I know another magician upon whom great hopes were placed, but he has given it up and is studying law.

Also reprinted from 1913 are two oddities: "Some Passing Thoughts" by George Schulte, and "What to Wear While Performing Magic Stunts" by Harry Palmer, both from The Sphinx.

In his "Backstage with Sidney Radner" column, Sid praises Frank Koval's newly published Illustrated Houdini Research Diary. He also states that "Ken Silverman is writing what I predict will be the most complete biography of Houdini to date." And he says Pat Culliton's Houdini's Strange Tales and accompanying cassette tape are "first class all the way."

Sid goes on to say that his interview with Dorothy Young has to be postponed to the next issue due to the death of Dorothy's husband in December. He also promises to reveal a photo of Dorothy coming out of the Radio of 1950 illusion from the collection of Manny Weltman. At the time, that was an unpublished image. He finishes by announcing his upcoming visit to the Library of Congress and librarian John Higbee. Organizing the McManus-Young collection, which he complains "is not what the magic fraternity would like", appears to have been one of Sid's major efforts at this time.

Mystifier
Volume 3, Number 1
First Quarter, 1993
6 pages

Contents:
Looking Through Scrapbooks
New Houdini Books at Museum Shop
Magic on Decline
Some Passing Thoughts
Fashion Tips for Magicians
Backstage with Sid Radner

Thanks to Gary Hunt of Handcuff Queens for supplying me with this issue. 

PREVIOUS ISSUE | INDEX | NEXT ISSUE

Related:

• LINK: An expose on the King of Card act of Harry Houdini
• Exposing The Wizard Exposed
• What is the best Houdini biography?

LINK: An expose on the King of Card act of Harry Houdini

The great Dean Carnegie has a must read post about Houdini's card work on his blog The Magic Detective. Anything the sheds light on Houdini's magic is always welcome, and Dean has uncovered some terrific info from a wealth of sources.

"It's very clear by viewing existing video of Houdini presenting card flourishes that the man had skills! There are some moves he was known to do that seem impossible today, this to me is thrilling!"

Click the headline to have a read at Dean's site. While there, you also might take a look at his report on the recent Obscura Day Houdini event in Washington DC: HOUDINI Takes DC 2017.

Related:

• Harry Houdini, card cheat
• The King of Cards in 1926
• Original King of Cards poster sells on eBay

Houdini in 1901

When England's Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, the 26-year-old Houdini was performing his second record breaking engagement at the Alhambra Theater in London. The Queen's death brought an end to the 64 year "Victorian Era" that had transformed England into a great empire. If Houdini had any reaction to this historic moment, it has gone unrecorded by biographers. But he did buy a dress said to have been designed for the Queen before her death. He thought it would look good on his mother.

This post is now retired. But you will be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1901 in my upcoming book. 

Houdini pic produces $1,377 with a flourish

A vintage press photo of Houdini brandishing playing cards sold on eBay today for $1,377. That's an impressive price for an unsigned file photo, but images of Houdini as a "classic" magician are not common. The auction started at .99¢ and received 25 bids from 13 bidders.

The photo comes from the collection of the New York Journal American and shows Houdini in his "3 Shows in One" tuxedo with bare arms. Houdini would "tear" off the arms at the start of the magic portion of the show to prove he had nothing up his sleeves. (What ever happened to this jacket, I wonder?) The card flourishes Houdini performed went back to his earliest "King of Cards" days.

Thanks to Kevin Connolly for the alert.

Related:

• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In One
• The King of Cards in 1926
• Harry Houdini, card cheat

Scarne on Houdini

The website The Amazing World of John Scarne has a fantastic excerpt from John Scarne's autobiography about meeting Houdini in 1918. This is one of the best first-hand descriptions of a Houdini meeting I've ever read. One can really feel his presence on the page. Bess, Daisy White, and Jim Collins are also part of the story. And forget Dai Vernon. It appears Johnny Scarne was the man who truly fooled Houdini. But Scarne didn't reveal that he had done so. Well, until his autobiography.

Have a read at The Amazing World of John Scarne.

Thanks to Leonard Hevia for this discovery.

Another World by Rob Zabrecky

It's not often I share news of a commercial magic trick, but when that trick comes from the great Rob Zabrecky and involves Houdini, it deserves attention!

Another World is a trick using 20 pocket sized photographs of Harry and Bess Houdini. I've seen Rob do this at The Magic Castle and it's terrific. Here's a description:

20 picture cards of Harry and Bessie are dealt in four face-down piles. In the end, all of the cards in the two Houdini piles, are in fact pictures of Houdini! And all of the cards in the two Bessie piles, are of Bessie!

"Another World" is being released today at the Magic Live convention in Las Vegas. This is Rob's first commercial release. You can purchase it online at The Magic Apple.

An Honest Liar opens March 6

An Honest Liar, the acclaimed new documentary about the life and work of James "The Amazing" Randi, opens this Friday, March 6, in New York and Los Angeles. Co-director Tyler Measom will be on hand for a Q&A at the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles during the Friday (March 6) and Saturday (March 7) screenings. Randi himself will appear at select screenings at New York's Sunshine Theater. The movie will then roll out across the country.

Click here for a full list of theaters and showtimes.

With a life and occupation not unlike Harry Houdini's, "The Amazing" Randi set out to shame fakers and sub-par psychics with his performances. But going beyond his bewitching story, the investigative documentary, An Honest Liar, takes a closer look at the deceptive escapade that became his life-long career

At the An Honest Liar official website you can now buy "The Amazing Deck," a Limited Edition custom designed deck of professional playing cards with face cards that honor Randi’s heroes. It includes a nice Houdini King of Spades.

Related:

• James Randi documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival
• Houdini and Randi
• The Amazing Randi spellbinds at The Magic Castle

The Houdini card manipulation movie mystery deepens

Following up on my 4th of July post about the famous footage of Houdini doing card manipulations -- which we discovered was shown in 1926 as a short called, Velvet Fingers -- Tom Interval of Houdini Museum has turned up an intriguing new discovery.

Tom has found this advertisement with suggests this footage might have first appeared as part of a short called Marvel of Motion by Red Seal Pictures. [EDIT: It was actually a series of shorts called Marvels of Motion.] The short featured "startling photographic inventions" including "very remarkable slow-motion pictures of Houdini and his card tricks." It played at New York's Rivoli Theatre in June 1925, a year before Velvet Fingers.

It's very likely this is the same footage, especially as the description of Velvet Fingers also mentions slow motion. It's possible this footage was first created for this Red Seal short and then later extracted on its own as Velvet Fingers. Or maybe Houdini himself shot this footage and licensed it to various film companies for use in their shorts, which means it might have appeared in several different films.

Another tantalizing possibility is that what's contained in Marvel of Motion is footage of Houdini that we have not yet seen.

Another day, another Houdini mystery!

Thank you Tom.

UPDATE: Recently NEW footage of Houdini doing coin and card manipulations has come to light, which throws a wrinkle into the Marvel of Motion/Velvet Fingers saga. This new footage shows Houdini in a suit and tie, so it was not made at the same time. So is the suit and tie footage from Marvel of Motion and the tux footage from Velvet Fingers? Or visa versa? Or was it all one film? The mystery deepens!

Related:

• Houdini in "VELVET FINGERS"
• The King of Cards in 1926

Houdini in "VELVET FINGERS"

We are all familiar with the famous film footage of Houdini doing card manipulations late in his career. Little is known about this footage, except that it was made by Pathe in 1926. But while doing some unrelated research, I stumbled on two newspaper advertisements that appear to show exactly when and where this short film played and, most excitingly, the title: "Velvet Fingers."

These ads appeared in The Hutchinson News on April 1st and 2nd, 1926, and advertised the line-up of movies at the Royal Theater in Kansas City. The main feature was the Ralph Lewis newspaper drama, The Last Edition. But look below and you'll see among the short subjects on the bill is HOUDINI in "VELVET FINGERS." The second ad has the more descriptive "HOUDINI in an array of tricks." It seems almost certain that "Velvet Fingers" and the famous Houdini card flourishes footage are one in the same.

Unfortunately, I can't find any other record of a short called "Velvet Fingers" (there was a serial with this title in 1920). Might the theater have invented the title? Hard to know. But the Our Gang short that is billed above the Houdini movie was indeed called "Better Movies."

Royal in Kanas City where "Velvet Fingers" played in 1926.

It's intriguing to wonder just how many tricks in the "array of tricks" existed in the full short. In the surviving film, we see Houdini demonstrate a 32 card forward and back palm, an armspread turnover, a waterfall, and an amazing armspread toss and catch. Houdini was featuring these flourishes in his 3 Shows In 1 at this time, so this is really the only footage that exists of Houdini doing his stage act. Pretty cool.

As far as I know, this short no longer survives complete. Some footage appeared in 1950 feature documentary, The Golden Twenties. The most complete selection of footage can be found on the 3-DVD set "Vintage Magic Films" produced by The Miracle Factory. I once had the fantasy that this could have been a sound short, but certainly that would have been advertised, so I have to put that wish to bed.

And now here's a short clip from "Velvet Fingers."

Related:

• The King of Cards in 1926
• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In 1

UPDATE: Readers Bill Mullins and Joe Notaro have uncovered some clippings that confirm the title and give us even more details about the full footage:

Motion Picture News, March 20, 1926:
Pathe Review No. 12 brings Houdini to the screen as a master manipulator of playing cards in a novelty called "Velvet Fingers."

Greensboro NC Record, March 21 1926:
HOUDINI'S VELVET FINGERS
Houdini, master magician, brings to the screen his grace and form in handling playing cards in a current issue of the Pathe Review. He also presents an expose of some of the card tricks by means of which card sharps have mulcted the public of millions of dollars. Slow motion analyses "the gambler's cut," in which the middle and bottom of the deck are transposed, leaving the top as it was; the "forearm rifle" in which Houdini makes a whole deck of cards obey his orders and the "forearm toss," in which every card stays in its place as if under hypnotic control, and other stunts that make the cards almost sit up and talk. [typos as in original]

UPDATE 2: Was this footage originally part of a 1925 short produced by Red Seal Pictures? Click to read: The Houdini card manipulation movie mystery deepens.

Kickstart the Houdini Magic Séance Poker Playing Card Deck

The talented crew at Ars Felix have partnered with the Expert Playing Card Co. and the Conjuring Arts Research Center and have relaunched their Kickstarter campaign for the Houdini Magic Séance Poker Playing Card Deck. This hand illustrated deck of Houdini themed playing cards feature important figures from Houdini's life, full color painted court cards, and special "Ouija board" pips.

The card back design features chains and padlocks, a pair of linked magic rings, the "H" crest as found on Bess Houdini's letterhead, and Houdini's favorite epigram: "My brain is the key that sets me free."

This is Ars Felix's second stab at funding their deck, so click on over to Kickstarter and help make the Houdini Magic Séance Poker Playing Card Deck a reality. The campaign ends on March 31, 2014.

Kickstart the HOUDINI Magic Séance Card Deck

The talented crew at design studio Ars Felix in San Francisco have launched a Kickstarter campaign for their HOUDINI Magic Séance Card Deck. This is a hand illustrated, poker-sized deck of Houdini themed playing cards with faces featuring important figures from Houdini's life, including: Bess, Hardeen, Margery, Robert-Houdin and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Click on over to Kickstarter and fund a HOUDINI Magic Séance Card Deck and choose from an assortment of add-ons. The campaign ends on December 7, 2013.