Eric Colleary talks Houdini's Library, Oct 28

Our good friend Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, will discuss his new book, Houdini's Library, during a FREE online presentation at Untapped Cities this Wednesday, October 28, at 6 PM ET. Click the image below for details and to register.

For my money, Houdini's Library is THE must-buy Houdini book in a year filled with great Houdini books. It's meticulously researched, expertly written, and beautifully designed. It's also a serious work that truly provides new insight into Houdini. It's certainly the book Houdini would be most pleased with, as his collections meant so much to him. And the number of unseen images is breathtaking.

You can pre-order Houdini's Library on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. The HRC exhibition, Houdini's Library, is on show now through January 24, 2027.

Thanks to Leo Hevia for the alert.

Related:

• Houdini's Library hits #1 on Amazon
• Experience "Houdini's Library" starting this weekend
• Eric Colleary on The Magic Detective Podcast

Celebrating Houdini and National Magic Week

Yesterday, Tom Gentile and the SAM hosted a six-hour Zoom event celebrating Houdini and marking the start of National Magic Week. Yesterday also happened to be the 100th anniversary of Houdini last performance at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit on October 24, 1926. The countdown to Halloween has begun!

It was a terrific event with presentations by many prominent Houdiniites, including Joe Notaro, Eric Colleary, Tom Ewing, Jeff & Debbie Blood, Charles Greene III, Bill Radner, Bruce Averbook, Dean Gunnerson, Trudy Monti, Joe Devlin, Houdini II, Robert Kirkpatrick, John Hinson, Scott Wells, Wayne Alan, and more. I was also invited to give a brief presentation. I had planned something history-based and a little unique, but then I received a package in the mail and decided to change things up.

What's in the mystery box behind me? If you were on the Zoom, you know. If not, I'll soon be sharing it here on the blog.

Congratulations to Tom Gentile, Robert Dadras, and Joel "Batman" Zaritsky for an outstanding event and wonderful six hours celebrating Houdini!

Photo courtesy Charles Greene III.

Related:

• Six-hour Houdini online celebration, Oct 24
• Houdini takes the stage for the last time
• The Garrick after Houdini

Houdini's Library hits #1 on Amazon

Here's the kind of news we love to see. Over the weekend, our friend Eric Colleary's new book, Houdini's Library, ranked as Amazon's #1 new release in Performing Arts History & Criticism. It's also currently the #1 New Release in Magic & Illusion.

This is well deserved. As many of you are discovering, Houdini's Library is a meticulously researched, extremely well-written book that takes a fresh approach to Houdini. I've learned a lot from this book! Oh, and it's also filled with fantastic photos from the holdings of the Harry Ransom Center and other collections. It's a must-buy 2026 book!

Houdini's Library is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (UK release date November 18). 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. You can also buy signed copies of the book there.

Congratulations Eric and the HRC!

Related:

• Eric Colleary on The Magic Detective Podcast
• Experience "Houdini's Library" starting this weekend
• The 2026 Houdini Centennial Bookshelf 

Eric Colleary on The Magic Detective Podcast

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.

Related:

• Reading and discussion of 'Houdini's Library' Sep 17
• Experience "Houdini's Library" starting this weekend
• Eric Colleary brings 'Houdini's Library' to Boston

Reading and discussion of 'Houdini's Library' Sep 17

Our good friend Dr. Eric Colleary will have a reading and discussion of his new book, Houdini's Library, at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin, next Thursday, Sept 17 at 6 PM. Below are details.

Join Dr. Eric Colleary, the Harry Ransom Center’s Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts, for a special reading and discussion of his book Houdini's Library (2026) on Thursday, September 17 at 6 p.m. A landmark volume in the history of magic, this is the first book on Houdini’s legendary personal collection, published on the centennial of his death. This program is held in conjunction with the Ransom Center's newest exhibition, Houdini’s Library, on view through January 24, 2027. 

Admission is free with an RSVP.

Dr. Eric Colleary, the Harry Ransom Center’s Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts, is a historian, and writer who has spent more than two decades bringing the stories of theatre, performance, and popular culture to life. As Curator of Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin, he has organized award-winning exhibitions that uncover how performance shapes and is shaped by history, and his work has been featured in major national outlets.

You can pre-order Houdini's Library on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. The acclaimed HRC exhibition, Houdini's Library, is on show now through January 24, 2027.

Related:

• Experience "Houdini's Library" starting this weekend
• Houdini’s Library will also be a book!
• Eric Colleary brings 'Houdini's Library' to Boston

Experience "Houdini's Library" starting this weekend

Okay, this is a big one. Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, has been working tirelessly on an exhibit and book devoted to Houdini and his collections. Tomorrow, "Houdini's Library" opens to the public. The exhibit is a major contribution to Houdini's legacy, featuring a jaw-dropping amount of previously unexplored Houdini material. Below are details.

Houdini’s Library

August 29, 2026 – January 24, 2027 

Discover the hidden treasures of Houdini’s Library, an exhibition that delves into the life and extraordinary collection of Harry Houdini, one of history’s most famous illusionists. On stage, Houdini crafted his performances with a deep sense of history and the magicians who came before him. Off stage, he spent years building a collection of books, manuscripts, and ephemera documenting the long global history of magic and theatre. From a first edition of Reginald Scot’s 1584 classic The Discoverie of Witchcraft to the handwritten travel diary of legendary actor David Garrick, delve into how Houdini’s collection reflected his quest to preserve history—a tradition continued by the Ransom Center since it acquired his collection in 1958. Commemorating the centenary of Houdini’s death in 1926, Houdini’s Library invites visitors to explore the intersections of magic, history, and collecting.

This exhibition is organized by Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts.

A large, beautifully illustrated coffee-table book, researched and written by Eric, will be released on September 15. I received an early copy, and it's a stunner! You can pre-order it on Amazon. Signed copies are also available at the exhibition. Eric will also be giving a talk at the exhibition on September 17 (click for details).

Houdini was enormously proud of his collections, and I've no doubt this exhibition would have given him more happiness and pride than anything that has appeared in the last 100 years. It is also FREE. So get on over to the Harry Ranson Center and experience Houdini's Library.

Want more? Eric, a fellow patron, has shared a dozen behind-the-scenes images of the exhibit installation. Click below to get an early look at the treasures inside.

Related:

• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Cover art for 'Houdini's Library' by Eric Colleary
• Treasures of the Harry Ransom Center

Cover art for 'Houdini's Library' by Eric Colleary

Our good friend Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, has revealed the final cover art for his upcoming book, Houdini's Library: Inside the Spellbinding Collections of the Great Illusionist. I'm very excited about this!

A landmark volume in the history of magic―the first-ever book on Houdini’s legendary personal collection, published on the centennial of his death

Harry Houdini (1874–1926) was not only a great magician but a great collector. Every corner of his townhouse at 278 West 113th Street in New York was filled with books, pamphlets, prints, clippings, playbills, and photographs documenting the history of magic and theatrical performance. “It would cost fully a million dollars to forge the collection of evidence now in my hands,” Houdini wrote in 1908. “These programs, advertisements, newspaper notices, and crude cuts trace the history of magic as no romancer, no historian of a single generation possibly could. They are the ghosts of dead and gone magicians, rising in this century of research and progress to claim the credit due them.”

This handsome oversize volume is published to coincide with a major exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, where much of Houdini’s library is preserved. It traces the growth of the legendary illusionist’s collections throughout his career and illustrates hundreds of his treasures―many for the first time. They range from a priceless copy of Reginald Scot’s 1584 volume Discovery of Witchcraft, the first book to reveal the secrets of sleight-of-hand; the irreplaceable collection of playbills and programs that Houdini obtained from the British conjuror Henry Evans Evanion; the travel diary of David Garrick, the eighteenth-century actor who defined modern theatre; and much more. Houdini’s Library will be a source of fascination for anyone interested in the history of magic and performance.

Houdini's Library (the book) will be released on September 15, 2026, and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Houdini's Library (the exhibition) opens at the Harry Ransom Center on August 29, 2026, and runs through January 24, 2027. 

Related:

• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Houdini’s Library will also be a book!
• Eric Colleary brings 'Houdini's Library' to Boston

Eric Colleary brings 'Houdini's Library' to Boston

Our good friend Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, recently spoke at the prestigious Club of Odd Volumes in Boston on the topic of "Houdini's Library." Eric is organizing a major 2026 exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center on the subject and writing a companion book.

Before Eric's address, members enjoyed a special Houdini-themed dinner, with Chicken Paprikash as the main course, of course! Bread pudding with Houdini's favorite cherries was for dessert.

What made this talk extra special is that Houdini himself addressed The Club of Odd Volumes on the topic of his library in 1922. Eric recently uncovered some interesting material related to that talk at David Copperfield's International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts in Las Vegas and shared it with club members for the first time.

For more details on Houdini's Library, visit the Harry Ransom Center website. You can also pre-order Eric's book Houdini's Library: Inside the Spellbinding Collections of the Great Illusionist at Amazon.com and Amazom.co.uk.

Related:

• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Houdini’s Library will also be a book!
• Mission Colleary (Patreon exclusive)

Houdini's secret marks?

Here's a curiosity from the January 1938 issue of Genii magazine. This is a new one to me.

Another Houdini mystery? Or a bit of Ed Saint malarkly? Let us know if you've spotted any mysterious markings in any Houdini-owned books you might be fortunate enough to have.

Below is Houdini's copy of Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain (1635) in the Library of Congress. Certainly one of his rarest books. If you click the image you can see every page. I've paged through it and found no obvious marks.

Thanks to Eric Colleary for providing the LOC link. Eric is currently organizing an exhibition and writing a book on Houdini's Library for the Harry Ransom Center.

Related:

• Houdini the bibliophile
• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Dean Carnegie looks at the enigmatic Edward Saint

Houdini and Edwin Booth's hair

Our friend Eric Colleary, who is currently organizing an exhibit and penning a book devoted to Houdini's Library, alerted me to this post by The Player's Foundation on Facebook. I never knew about this! Eric pointed out that the Harry Ransom Center has the receipt for this donation, an image of which is shared in the comments. The only mistake here is the year is 1917, not 1911.

Collecting someone's hair? What a weirdo. Oh, wait...

Thank you, Eric!

UPDATE: Chuck Romano of My Magic Uncle sent over a clipping from the March 1920 issue of Photoplay with the following quote from Houdini:

 

   "I would not think of carrying a lock of hair," he said. "To me that is the true sign of the hardest of hard luck. Once I bought a collection. In it was a letter written by the Duke of Wellington to an artist who had painted his portrait. In the letter was a lock of the Duke's here. All the time I had it hard luck pursued me.

   Finally I tossed the thing into the fire. The very next day bad luck and Houdini parted company.

   I once had a lock of Edwin Booth's hair that I bought in another collection. Hard luck seems to creep upon me again. I gave that away–and once more, hard luck left me."

Thank you, Chuck!

UPDATE: This story keeps developing. Joe Notaro reminds me of a post he did last year on his blog about Houdini's Duke of Wellington hair lock. He even has a pic. Check that out HERE.

Thank you, Joe!

Related:

• Find of the century?
• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Houdini’s Library will also be a book!

Houdini’s Library will also be a book!

Last week, I shared the exciting news of a 2026 exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center showcasing Houdini's Library. Here's more good news: Houdini's Library will also be a book!

Dr. Eric Colleary, who is organizing the exhibition, is also penning the companion book. Eric is currently back east doing research at major institutions, such as the Library of Congress, New York Public Library, and Harvard. As the Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, Eric knows how to navigate large archives and has already unearthed treasures. We will all get to enjoy his discoveries in 2026!

You can read the details about Houdini's Library at the Harry Ransom Center.

Related:

• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Eric Colleary mines Houdini gold in D.C. (Patreon exclusive)
• Houdini the bibliophile

Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026

Exciting news! Our good friend Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, is organizing a major Houdini exhibition for Fall 2026. You can read the details below or at the Harry Ransom Center website.

Discover the hidden treasures of Houdini’s Library, an exhibition that delves into the life and extraordinary collection of Harry Houdini, one of history’s most famous illusionists. On stage, Houdini crafted his performances with a deep sense of history and the magicians who came before him. Off stage, he spent years building a collection of books, manuscripts, and ephemera documenting the long global history of magic and theatre. From a first edition of Reginald Scot’s 1584 classic The Discoverie of Witchcraft to the handwritten travel diary of legendary actor David Garrick, delve into how Houdini’s collection reflected his quest to preserve history—a tradition continued by the Ransom Center since it acquired his collection in 1958. Commem-orating the centenary of Houdini’s death in 1926, Houdini’s Library invites visitors to explore the intersections of magic, history, and collecting. 

This exhibition is organized by Dr. Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts.

Looks like we're all going to Austin in 2026!

Related:

• Houdini the bibliophile
• Treasures from the Harry Ransom Center revealed
• Harry Ransom Center reopens Houdini and magic collections