The scrapbook covers the years 1894 to mid-1900. Houdini has written on the spine, "HOUDINI PRESS BOOK 1894-1899." This was not a book of memories when he was making it. It was a tool. Houdini would carry this with him and show it to prospective managers and bookers. Scrapbooks were the resumes of variety performers, proving when and where they appeared and providing reviews. Scrapbooks were essential in career building, and Houdini took his scrapbooks very seriously. In fact, there are mentions of Houdini in England "with a large book of press clippings under his arm." This is that book.
After his breakout success in Europe, when he didn't need to prove himself to managers, scrapbooks were less of a marketing tool for him, but she still kept them. However, I think it's fair to say this scrapbook is the one he used the most. Along with his diary, this scrapbook is also how biographers have pieced together his early career.
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| The scrapbook on temporary display. |
It's all here, starting with the "Risey in the Box" article from the Coney Island Clipper dated June 22, 1894 (the day of his marriage). This not only places the "Hunyadi Brothers" in Coney Island in June 1894, but it also gives us the first mention of Bess ("one of the Floal sisters, 'neat song and dance artists'"). This is on one of the very first pages, and while I've seen copies, seeing it in the flesh was a thrill.
Houdini also annotates this scrapbook. Some of the annotations are made in the same blue pencil he used in his diary to record the signing of his first Orpheum contract (see Escaping Obscurity page 316). This is another nice link between the scrapbook and diary. One note in particular really stood out. On a clipping about a police station test in Lancaster, PA, in 1898 ("Clever Sleight-of-Hand Trick"), Houdini writes in his blue pencil:
The only notice Newton did not write
I earned it.
This is very revealing. Clinton M. Newton was the Welsh Bros. Circus ringmaster and press agent. This tells us the majority of the circus's reviews and notices were press releases written by Newton. Not really a surprise, but good to get confirmation. But here Houdini proudly reports that this wasn't a press release. He "earned" this story himself with his handcuff escape. I love this, and so I wish I had had this when I did the diary book, as I would have mentioned it for sure.
There are other Houdini notes in black ink that appear to have been made later, some noting when fellow performers died. This is something Houdini would do in all his scrapbooks and even his diaries. I love the idea of Houdini revisiting these books many years later and making these notes.
This scrapbook also contains some rare photos, including a group shot of the 1895 Welsh Bros. Circus troupe that differs from the one we are familiar with. This one shows the performers in their street clothes, including Harry and Bess. Harry is wearing a bowler hat. The famed "Mysterious Harry" image is in here, but it is uncropped and shows much more of the image than I've ever seen, including an American flag and what may be Houdini's egg bag on a side table.
There are also some inclusions in the back from earlier in his life, including an 1890 letter regarding Ehrich Weiss's participation in a foot race, and another letter that dissolved his partnership with Jacob Hyman. Very little is missing, which is not always the case with scrapbooks. However, one image, noted as being Coney Island in 1898, appears to have fallen out of its souvenir frame. What could this image have been? A tantalizing mystery.
Despite the 1894-1899 title, the scrapbook includes a fair amount of material from the first half of 1900, when Houdini made his first tour on the Keith's vaudeville circuit and return tour on the Orpheum circuit. Most biographies omit this and jump right to Europe. But I cover this in detail in my upcoming book, Handcuff King: The Conquests of Harry Houdini, 1900-1909, and I'm in the process of licensing some of these scrapbook images for the book. One is a two-page spread that will melt your eyeballs!
In 1988, Sid put the scrapbook on loan to the Appleton museum's new "Houdini Historical Center." In 1991, he donated it with the understanding that the museum would conserve it. The donation was reported in the First Quarter 1992 issue of the HHC's newsletter (image right). This is why the scrapbook did not leave the museum when Sid pulled his collection and ultimately sold it in 2004.
True to their word, the museum has done a beautiful job with the conservation. The pages have been de-acidified and repaired, and each page is housed in a plastic sleeve. This makes looking through it possible. I've paged through some scrapbooks that haven't been conserved, and you don't want to know what happens!
The History Museum at the Castle has two more very important Houdini scrapbooks donated by Tad Ware, spanning 1900-1913. These are currently unviewable as they are awaiting a similar conservation effort. This is an expensive process, and these are tough times for all museums. But the History Museum at the Castle is committed to its Houdini collection, and this is something they plan to do. When these scrapbooks are available, you can bet I will return to Appleton!
Thank you to Dustin Mack and all the terrific staff at the History Museum at the Castle for this amazing experience.
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| History Museum Director Dustin Mack with the scrapbook. |
Want more? I've uploaded a PDF of the First Quarter 1992 Center Stage newsletter for Scholar members of my Patreon.
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