Inside 'Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic'

Our friend Narinder Chadda recently visited Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic at the Wellcome Collection in London. Below are some of his photos of the spectacular Houdini and Margery rarities on display.

The Bell Box used during the Margery seances from the collection of Ken Klosterman/Salon de Magie.

Loving cup given to Margery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from the Libbet Crandon de Malamud Collection.

Reproduction of the infamous "Margie Box" made by Houdini and Jim Collins.

Original Water Torture Cell poster from the Museums Sheffield.

Letters written by Houdini to Margery from the Libbet Crandon de Malamud Collection.

Margery's seance kimono and chair from the Libbet Crandon de Malamud Collection.

Wax thumbprint allegedly made by the spirit of Walter from the Cambridge University Library and the Society for Psychical Research.

Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic runs through September 15, 2019. Galleries are open Tuesday–Sunday. Admission is free. Visit the Wellcome Collection website for more details.

Thank you Narinder!

Related:

• Houdini and Margery rarities at the Wellcome Collection
• What happened to the Margery box?
• The Margery Files

Houdini and Margery rarities at the Wellcome Collection

Today sees the opening of Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic at the Wellcome Collection in London. The exhibition includes some spectacular Houdini and Margery rarities, such as the famous bell box, Margery's seance chairs, and a loving cup given to Margery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (seen right).

What can magic and conjuring tell us about the human mind? Our new exhibition brings together the worlds of psychology and entertainment in search of the truth about deception. 

Explore how our biases affect our perception and whether our senses can be hacked. Discover spirit photography, magic props and psychology experiments to see how magic works on – and in – the mind of the spectator.

Artefacts on display from the world of magic include the head of the gorilla costume worn by Derren Brown, Harry Houdini’s ‘Bell Box’, Tommy Cooper’s fez, and Paul Daniels’s sawing-in-half box. 

An accompanying live performance programme explores what magic reveals about the nature of perception and how psychologists have used conjuring to understand the appeal of the ‘supernatural’.

The Margery items come from the private Libbet Crandon de Malamud Collection and Margery's great granddaughter Anna Thurlow, who's in London for the opening. She tells us:

"The Wellcome Trust show was fantastic. Really beautifully curated - it celebrated the artistry of magic, the joy of allowing oneself to be willingly deceived but also encouraged critical thinking. Somehow they avoided all the pastiche and common conventions in achieving that goal, so very fresh and engaging."

Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic runs through September 15, 2019. Galleries are open Tuesday–Sunday. Admission is free. Visit the Wellcome Collection website for more details.

Related:

• The Spectacle of Illusion by Matthew Tompkins
• Interview with Anna Thurlow
• Have a seat

Here's Houdini's rarely seen aviation trophy today

Last Sunday I had the great pleasure of spending the morning with Eric Colleary who curates the Houdini Collections (and more) at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Eric and his team recently spent two years cataloging their massive Houdini holdings, making many discoveries in the process.

While returning from brunch at The Magic Castle, Eric mentioned that the Center has an aviation award that Houdini received. I instantly thought of the photo in Houdini's pitchbook of the trophy he received from The Aerial League of Australia for being the first man to fly on that continent (right). I've never seen this trophy outside of that one photo, and I've always believed it to be a lost piece of Houdini memorabilia, so this was exciting! But Eric said theirs was not a standup trophy, it was a wall hanging plaque, and that it mentions the Wright Bros. (?) So it didn't sound like we were talking about the same thing. But I was still intrigued to know what this could be, and so was Eric.

So before we said goodbye, we both pulled out our phones and started searching. I brought up the familiar pic from the pitchbook while Eric pulled up a photo from their database.

And my jaw hit the floor!

This is indeed Houdini's Australian Aviation Award, which is not so lost and quite different from what I've always thought it to be. As you can see, it's not a standup trophy as the pitchbook photo makes it appear. What's even more interesting is Houdini appears to have mounted it inside a frame with a label noting that "In the Competition to win this Trophy HOUDINI had to defeat a Wright Bros. Flier & Bleriot Monoplane."

I believe this was used as part of a theater display as the typography on the label matches others I have seen (notably in a photo of a Houdini window display in Silverman, credited to the Ransom Center). It's also interesting that Houdini felt the need to enhance his accomplishment by making it clear that he had beat others for the prize.

Making this discovery was a great way to end our morning. I told Eric if we could accomplish this sitting in my car in Los Angeles, just imagine the damage we could do at the Ransom Center itself! We're both hoping that day will come sooner than later.

An unforgettable morning with my friend John Cox @HoudiniWild, seeing LA up close, visiting Houdini’s star on the Walk of Fame, and getting to tour the storied @MagicCastle_AMA. So much fun! pic.twitter.com/sFgjjIFpv6

— Eric Colleary (@ecolleary) January 20, 2019

Thank you to Eric and the Harry Ransom Center for letting me share this photo of Houdini's rarely seen Australian Aviation Award. The Houdini Collections are open to the public and available via finding aids at the Ransom Center website.

Related:

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

Mirror and Master

Master Locksmith and Mirror Handcuff expert Mick Hazlink recently discovered this photo on Google images. This is the sold silver replica of the Mirror Handcuffs given to Houdini by the paper after the famous 1904 challenge. It appears the mystery man holding the cuffs is owner David Copperfield. Mick thinks this was taken for a photo shoot that ended up in Forbes Magazine.

Mick also thinks the cuffs here look unusually small. So were the replicas smaller than the actual Mirror handcuffs, or does David Copperfield just have unusually large hands?

As we've seen photos of the replica side by side with the original cuffs, it would appear that Copperfield's hands are just big. Of course, you'll recall that we've established David has a big one.

Thanks Mick!

100 years ago today - a gift for the boss

I'm pushing our regular Monday installment of "Unpublished Houdini" to tomorrow so I can bring you another treasure from the Hinson family collection which marks its 100th anniversary today. This silver punch bowl was given to Houdini by his assistants on October 28, 1913 in Stuttgart to commemorate his 30 years as a performer (1883-1913). The punch bowl is inscribed with the names: J. Collins - J. Vickery - F. Kukol - J. Zwettler. While the first three names are familiar ones, this is the first I've heard of an assistant named Zwettler.

This magnificent punch bowl can be spotted among Houdini's trophies in several photos (like this one). In the 1930s Bess passed it on to her sister, Marie Hinson. According to John C. Hinson, the family used it to store nuts and bolts until his father received it in 1950. The bowl passed to John in 1992 and was actually used at the New England Magic Collectors Association convention that year. It is now on display at Ray Goulet's Mini Museum of Magic in Watertown, Massachusetts, where it can be seen and enjoyed by all.

So I guess that means today is the 130th anniversary of Houdini as a performer. Let's fill up the punch bowl and celebrate!