Handiwork

Returning to our Weird Week theme, here's one for all you aspiring palm readers. This article ran in the Moline Daily Dispatch on April 13, 1932, and offers a look at Houdini's right palm (allegedly). Note the "cross of keen observation"!

This is not the first time Houdini's palm appeared in newsprint. In 1900 a Kansas City paper reported that Houdini had his "hand examined" by a local palm-reader, Professor Paul Alexander Johnston, and ran the illustration below. This shows his left hand, so that gives us both of Houdini's palms to examine.

Does this mean Houdini believed in palmistry? Before we jump to that conclusion, let's hear from the man himself. The topic came up during Houdini's 1926 testimony before Congress, and here's what he had to say:

Mr. McLeod: Is it a fact that palmistry is a science?

Mr. Houdini: No; it is not.

Mr. McLeod: What do you call it?

Mr. Houdini: It is a fraud. How can you tell anything the lines of the hand? You can tell whether a man is a bricklayer or a bank clerk.

Mr. McLeod: And that is as far as you can go?

Mr. Houdini: That is a far as anybody can go unless they deduce from reading you.

Sounds like he's using his cross of keen observation.

Images: Newspapers.com and 'Houdini His Legend and His Magic' by Doug Henning.

Related:

• Houdini's hands
• The hands of Houdini?
• A Week of Weird

Houdini's hands

Here's a rare close-up look at Houdini's hands. This incredible unpublished image comes from the collection of Mario Carrandi, Jr. Mario shared this on his Facebook group, THE MAGIQUARIAN, and generously allowed me to share here as well. The photo is from the 1920s.

Click to enlarge.

I don't believe I've ever seen a better shot of Houdini's hands, certainly not with a palm up. You can also see what appear to be long scars running down and across his inner arm. Souvenirs of years of damaging handcuff escapes maybe?

Speaking of Houdini's hands, in 1900 a Kansas City newspaper reported that Houdini had his "hand examined" by a local palm-reader named Professor Paul Alexander Johnston (reproduced in Houdini His Legend and His Magic). The article featured an image of "Houdini's palm", and the professor was reported to have prophesied:

"Unless you are exceedingly careful during your thirty-seventh year a violent death is written in this Line of Life," said the palmist. "Your money making period began, I should judge, last year. Provided you save, you will attain great wealth."

For the record, Houdini turned 37 in 1911, a year notable for no close calls. I guess Houdini must have been "exceedingly careful"!

Thank you Mario. 

Related:

• The hands of Houdini?
• Houdini's Hand clutches Horror Hotel
• Doctor's report reveals the physical Houdini