Set of Houdini printing blocks sell (quickly!) on eBay

On Monday there was some excitement on eBay when six original Houdini wood printing blocks appeared from a seller in Florida with relatively low Buy It Now prices (which quickly shot up as they started selling fast!). When the dust settled, I was thrilled to come away with the below.

Wood blocks like these were used in the printing of newspapers and other print media and can be one of a kind. The seller says she found the entire set at an estate sale of a 90+ year-old man. Three of the blocks are etched plates like the above and three are photos on copper. The largest of these is the well-known "Houdini at Different Ages of His Career" page from his pitchbook. Below are the auction images.

While I recognize all these blocks from their newspaper appearances, my own block is a bit of a mystery. While I suspect it was also used in newspapers, the only image I've found so far is the below print in the McCord Museum. Is this the original drawing from which this block was made? You'll notice it has the artist signature. Unfortunately, I can't make it out. [See UPDATES.]

McCord Museum

I would love to more more about printing blocks in general. Were they all one of a kind? How did newspapers acquire them? Would Houdini have provided them himself? If you have any answers, please let me know in the Comments.

Thanks to Todd Karr of The Miracle Factory for giving me the heads up on these!

UPDATE: Chuck Romano of My Magic Uncle tells me the artist here appears to be Howard K. Elcock, an English pen and ink illustrator who did a lot of artwork for Will Goldston's publications. The following is from The Magazine of Magic, February 1915:

UPDATE: Another development. I've just discovered this illustration appears in the "Revised 1920" edition of Houdini's The Adventurous Life of a Versatile Artist pitchbook (below). Curiously, the illustration is not in the later "Revised 1922" edition. Instead, the original photograph appears in its place. Maybe he lost the block!

UPDATE: I've now learned these plates came out of the famous 1980 278 estate sale. Also, what the seller told me about these coming from the estate of a 90+ year old man may not be accurate.

Related:

• Houdini's return to burlesque in 1912 (block image)
• Houdini Seances go virtual for 2020
• Houdini by Custode

Lost Houdini posters FOUND!

This is why I love having a Houdini blog. Yesterday I did a story about The lost posters of Harry Houdini, talking about posters long gone, and others that have never been reproduced in color. Among the latter examples were these two posters that only ever appeared in black and white in the book, Houdini His Art and Magic.

Now, 24 hours later, thanks to the detective skills and generosity of my readers, fellow bloggers, and conservationists, I can show you BOTH these posters in full color!

First, Magician and historian Chuck Romano (chuckromanomagic.com) alerted me to the blog Refried Bean run by Renée Wolcott, a third-year master's student in book and paper conservation from the Winterthur-University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation.

Renée is currently working under the direction of Grace Owen, the conservator for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, conserving 84 magic posters and three window cards that were glued into a scrapbook from the American Society of Magicians. Among these posters is our "lost" American's Sensation poster, and Renée has graciously allowed me to share this terrific photo taken by Denise Stockman.

Renée Wolcott with the Houdini poster. Photo by Denise Stockman

Says Renée, "I had no idea that the Houdini poster -- which I worked on all day today and yesterday, as it happens -- was so unusual. It has now been washed and lined, the losses and tears have been filled, and the fills have been inpainted. The lost corners are no longer obvious."

Renée says she may do a follow-up blog on the finished poster -- which belongs to the Billy Rose Theater Division of the NYPL -- showing before and after shots (yes, please!), so make sure you watch Refried Bean for the update. Renée has also posted more information about the poster scrapbook conservation project at the University of Delaware website. Thank you Renée.

Next, Chuck Romano also tells us the "Overboard Box" poster is now in the amazing magic collection of Norm Nielsen. Says Chuck, "It is a huge poster and the colors are beautiful. It was done by Howard K. Elcock, the artist who did many illustrations for Will Goldston."

Dean Carnegie (Carnegie: Magic Detective) alerted me to the Facebook profile of talented French photographer Zakary Belamy (zakarybelamy.com), who photographed Mr. Nielsen in front of the Houdini poster in Las Vegas. Zakary has generously allowed us to share that photo here. I've waited 33 years to see this poster in color, and it was worth the wait. This is truly one of the most beautiful Houdini posters in existence. Thank you Zakary and Norm!

Norm Nielsen with his Houdini poster. Photo by Zakary Belamy

UPDATE: Latest on the "lost" posters of Houdini