LINK: Harry Houdini Was an Ingenious Inventor, He Just Didn't Want Anybody to Know

Check out this excellent article by Jackson Landers about Houdini the inventor. The piece includes some good observations by Teller and a few scatterbrained quotes from yours truly (I need to get better with phone interviews). It also includes some very nice photos from National Air and Space Museum Archives, including the infamous "photo Houdini didn't want you to see."

Click the headline to read at Smithsonian.com.

Houdini's underwater battle surfaces

Houdini collector Arthur Moses recently made a terrific discovery via Elif Rongen, Curator of The EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. The screen caps below come from a 9 minute compilation of footage from a Dutch print of The Master Mystery. Among the clips is Houdini underwater in a diving suit fighting with another diver. This footage is missing from the current Kino DVD release of the film, so this is unseen Houdini here!

According to Joe Notaro, who recently made a thorough study of the missing Master Mystery footage, this scene was originally part of Episode Four: "The Test." (Not Episode Five, as claimed in the Kino explanatory cards.)

In the episode, Locke is testing a "self-liberating diving suit" with Eva's assistance. But beneath the waters Locke is ambushed by another diver. "There, under the sea, commenced a battle royal!" The villainous diver draws a knife and severs Locke’s oxygen tube (which is what we see in the Dutch clip). But Locke manages to escape the suit...Houdini style!

Unfortunately, the Dutch clip does not include the escape itself. However, Joe points out that an archival print in the collection of the UCLA Film Archives does include the full sequence. But UCLA does not allow copying or screen captures, so this is best look we'll get until someone embarks on a proper restoration.

There is another layer of interest here. Houdini invented a diving suit with a quick release mechanism for emergencies. It's said he did so "after word came to him that one of his best friends, a diver in Australia, was lost when his air lines were destroyed." Houdini shared his patent with the U.S. Navy, believing it could save lives. Newspapers at the time noted that the scene in The Master Mystery shows "a practical working demonstration" of Houdini's great invention.

Below are some of the unique title cards that appeared in this Dutch print, along with a newspaper advert from the time. Cinema Context records 23 screenings of "Houdini, de boeienkoning" in The Netherlands from August through October 1920.

Recently I learned that The Master Mystery may contain another Houdini icon that could exist in the cut scenes. I'll dig a little deeper and see what I can discover about that one. Stay tuned.

Thanks to Arthur Moses, Elif Rongen and Joe Notaro.

Related:

• Houdini and the diving suit challenge
• Puzzling together The Master Mystery
• Houdini's underwater epic that wasn't

Houdini books a return to Pawn Stars

An inscribed copy of Houdini's 1908 book The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin made an appearance on Pawn Stars tonight. The book was brought into the store by owner "Kevin" who wanted $5000. After Steve Grad, Principle Authenticator for PSA/DNA, authenticated the signature and estimated the value at $2400, Rick offered the owner $1500. The two men could not make a deal.

The episode was a nice showcase for Houdini. It even featured a Houdini quiz at one of the commercial breaks.

This marks Houdini's third appearance on Pawn Stars. Previous items that found their way into the Las Vegas based store were a pair of Houdini handcuffs and a straitjacket.

Related:

• Experts appraise Pawn Stars
• SOLD! Houdini straitjacket captures $46,980 at Christie's

Houdini and the diving suit challenge

In the 1971 BBC documentary The Truth About Houdini, there is a quick shot of Houdini in handcuffs and leg-irons wearing a deep-sea diving suit. It's driven me crazy that I've never seen this photo elsewhere and complete.

But now the great Kevin Connolly has uncovered the full photo in a clipping detailing this challenge escape. So click on over to Houdini Himself and learn the story of Houdini's daring dive (on land)!

UPDATE: Kevin's site is now offline, but he has graciously allowed me to share his clipping here. This is the only account of this challenge that I know of. Enjoy.

It's worth noting that Houdini patented a deep-sea diving suit with an emergency quick release mechanism. No escape from the bends, however.

Thanks Kevin.

UPDATE 2: I can now identify this as being the week of March 4-10, 1912, while Houdini was at the Colonial Theater in Norfolk, VA. However, the exact day of the challenge currently eludes me.

UPDATE 3: The date eludes me no longer! This happened on Friday, March 8, 1912. Newspapers reported that Houdini was "nearly exhausted and his shirt was splotched with blood in several places."

Virginian Pilot and Norfolk Landmark, March 7, 1912

The Undina affair

In 1912 a female escape artist calling herself "Miss Undina" started performing an imitation of Houdini's Water Torture Cell in Germany. The USD was only a few months old at the time, and Houdini took legal action to stop her. He announced his injunction with a full page ad in the German showbiz journal, Das Programm (No. 557).

Now mega collector Arthur Moses provides us with a look at that very ad. As you can see, Houdini published the statement in English, French, German and Russian. It's interesting that Houdini seems more roiled about Miss Undina's advertising (which appeared in Das Programm No. 551) than the act itself. It's also interesting that Houdini characterizes the USD as an "escape from a foot pillory under water".

Click to enlarge

Ironically, Miss Undina's advertising, which Houdini took such pains to surpress, survives to this day. As you can see, it does indeed borrow from Houdini's own USD posters of the time.

Thank you Arthur. Undina poster image from Houdini's Fabulous Magic by Walter B. Gibson and Morris N. Young.

UPDATE: Miss Undina in color.

Houdini's lost levitation

There's a moment in Paramount's 1953 Houdini biopic when we see Harry (Tony Curtis) doing a classic levitation with Bess (Janet Leigh). The levitation is one of the most iconic tricks in all of magic, so of course the filmmakers wanted to include a shot of Houdini performing the effect. The image even made the poster. Trouble is, there is no record (that I can find) of Houdini ever doing a levitation, so I've always chocked this up to just another fictional embellishment of the film.

But now it looks like the Curtis movie had it right (without knowing it). Turns out Houdini did indeed perform a traditional levitation with Bess early in his career. This fresh revelation comes from the new book, The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini by Bruce MacNab (see, I told you this book rewrites Houdini history).

Here's the story...

When Harry and Bess set out as part of the Marco Magic Company's tour of the Canadian Maritimes in 1896 (the subject of Bruce's book), one of the headline effects of the show was a levitation. At the time, it was fashionable to tie-in the levitation with the popular novel Trilby by George du Maurier (as Alexander Herrmann had done). Onstage "Marco", aka Edward James Dooley, played the part of Svengali with Bess as his hypnotic subject, Trilby. Bess/Trilby would be laid on a plank across two chairs. On Marco/Svengali's command, the chairs would be removed and Bess with remain suspended in mid air. It's possible Houdini, who doubled as an assistant in the troop, might have operated the complex levitation apparatus behind the scenes.

But when the Marco show failed and folded and Dooley went home to the U.S., Harry and Bess continued the tour with their own act. Many of Marco's props had been confiscated for non-payment of bills, but somehow Houdini was able to salvage a few pieces of equipment, including his own Metamorphosis trunk and the Trilby levitation.

So when The Houdinis performed their act in several Maritime cities, along with handcuff escapes and Metamorphosis, audiences saw "Mysterious Harry" and "Le Petite Bessie" doing a classic Trilby levitation as part of their show. In fact, a review of The Houdinis act at the Moncton Opera House singled out the effect for praise:

"Trilby, or the mystery of Mahomet, in which a human being actually floats in space without any visible means of support, was one of the startling features of last night's evening's performance."

But it looks like the levitation would be unique to Harry and Bessie's Canadian adventure. When they booked passage home abroad the steamship S.S. Yarmouth, they couldn't even afford the price of a ticket for themselves, let alone heavy cargo. The Metamorphosis trunk made the trip, but it appears the Trilby levitation remained behind in Nova Scotia.

(Interestingly, Howard Thurston patented a "Trilby" levitation in 1927, although I expect Thurston was using a completely new and much more complex method.)

So there we have it. Harry Houdini did indeed perform a traditional levitation with Bess, if only for a short time. So now the question remains -- what ever happened to Houdini's levitation apparatus? Also, how awesome would it be if we could find a photo of the young Harry and Bess performing the effect...just like Tony and Janet 57 years later.

Bruce MacNab's The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini can be purchased on Amazon.com or direct from Goose Lane Editions. For more about the history of the levitation illusion, enjoy this episode of the BBC documentary, History of Magic.

UPDATE: Houdini's Trilby levitation is mentioned on page 1 of Houdini The Key by Patrick Culliton. So it's Patrick -- who also wrote the forward to Bruce's book -- who deserves the credit for first bringing this information to light.

UPDATE 2: Eric Fry reminds me that Houdini put the secret of the Trilby levitation up for sale in his 1898 magic catalog, Magic Made Easy. Price: $1.00

The Original Houdini Scrapbook

UPDATE 3: Want to see a photo of Houdini doing a levitation? Here you go.

The Magic Castle installs a Water Torture Cell aquarium

The Magic Castle in Hollywood continues to make post-fire improvements and Houdini-themed additions. This week they've installed a custom fish tank in the Inner Circle made to resemble Houdini's Water Torture Cell.

Unfortunately, one isn't allowed to take pictures inside the Castle, so I don't have any photos of it to show. But I have heard chatter that a reality show about custom aquariums (Tanked?) did a segment on the Castle tank, so keep a watch out for that.

It's worth noting that the earliest version of Houdini's Water Torture Cell presented the apparatus as, yes, an aquarium! On April 29, 1911 Houdini performed the escape as part of a one-act play in London called Challenged or Houdini Upside Down. The purpose of the playlet, which was performed only once, was to copyright the new effect. In it a "multimillionaire sportsman" named Tim Connor eyeballs his clubhouse aquarium and concocts the idea of locking Houdini inside it.

Connor: Well, my idea is to put this Houdini fellow into that aquarium head first, understand me, head first, with his feet in the air, then put a lid or cover on, fasten his feet to this cover and lock him in. This is my challenge, in the rough of course.

It's kind of fun that after 100 years the Water Torture Cell has returned to its original purpose as a private clubhouse aquarium.

UPDATE: Houdini aquarium revealed on Tanked.

Harry Houdini - Toymaker

Houdini did it all. He even patented inventions. Well-known is the patent Houdini filed in 1921 for a quick release diving suit. But less well-known is this "Figure Toy" Houdini patented in 1926. The design allowed for "Houdini" to struggle free of a straitjacket when turned upside down onto his head. Pretty clever!

Unfortunately, the great Houdini figure toy never went beyond the patents office (as far as I know). In fact, a Houdini action figure of any kind was conspicuously absent until Accoutrements released their Houdini Action Figure in 2005.

UPDATE: The great Pat Culliton informs me that a prototype for this toy was made and owned by the Hinson family. Indeed, you can see the prototype in this photo from the collection of John Hinson.

Today the whereabouts of this Houdini Toy is unknown.

Scranton Houdini Museum artifacts on show in Florida

The Houdini Museum in Scranton

Items from the popular Houdini Museum in Scranton, PA, are going on tour, with the first stop being the Coconut Creek Casino in Coconut Creek, Florida, as a part of the casino's month long "Stars of Magic" celebration.

The free museum exhibit is under the direction of Houdini experts and magic consultants, Dorothy Dietrich and John Bravo (aka Dick Brookz), and displays over 150 original Houdini artifacts dating from 1883 to the present. Items include newspaper stories, autographed books, original photographs, handcuffs, magazines, advertisements, patent papers, a printing block, keys and locks, film clips, a Houdini vest, and more.

The press release (which includes a full list of the items displayed) calls the exhibit "the largest traveling display ever put together about the life of the legendary escape artist and magician Harry Houdini."

The Houdini exhibit will be on display at the Coconut Creek Casino until February 27. No word yet on the next stop of the tour.