Below is an illustration that appeared in Reginald Marsh's "The Spotlight" column in the New York Daily News on February 8, 1925. Marsh's column consisted of various vaudevillians sketched from the stage and reviewed with a percentage. His sketch of Houdini shows him inside the famed Margery Box.
.jpg)
Houdini was midway through a six-week run at the New York Hippodrome where he offered a different act each week. For this third week, he exposed the tricks of fraudulent mediums, specifically Margery. Marsh's illustration confirms Houdini used the Margery Box this week. It's also the first confirmed appearance of the box outside of Boston.
 |
| New York Evening Journal, Jan. 23, 1925 |
One wonders how effective this would have been on the gigantic Hippodrome stage. What more could Houdini do than demonstrate how Margery could potentially slip a ruler through the neck hole to ring the bell box? Not quite as dramatic as a vanishing elephant! Maybe that's why Marsh only gave him an 85%.
While this is the first appearance of the Margery Box in New York, it's also the last confirmed appearance of the box anywhere. Where did the Margery Box go after this? That's the question.
Below is a look at the complete Hippodrome bill for this week.
%20copy.png) |
| New York American, Jan. 25, 1925. |
Want more? You can view Reginald Marsh's full "Spotlight" column as a member of my Patreon below and see which Hippodrome performer received the coveted 100%. Thanks to my patrons for supporting content like this.
