|
|
LIVEAUCTIONTALK.COM BOWS TO HOUDINI LEGEND |
Harry Houdini; Photo Postcard Portrait; inscribed and signed; 1920; sold for $2,280. Photo courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.
On a bitter cold November afternoon in 1906 someone cut a hole in the frozen Detroit River. The story goes that magician Harry Houdini stood on the Belle Isle Bridge above the river for what seemed like forever staring down at the hole. His hands and feet were heavily shackled.
Out of nowhere the magic man jumped off the bridge, down through the hole and disappeared into the black icy water. The crowd watching from the shore began to whisper. Some people turned away. Others couldn’t stop staring.
Houdini wasn’t coming up. The whispers turned to talk. What was happening underneath the ice?
No one could possibly survive more than five minutes in water so cold. Was this Houdini’s grand finale? Did the swift river current carry him downstream? Was he too far away from the hole? Did he drown?
Newspapermen at the site rushed off to file their hand-cuff king, “downfall” stories.
After what seemed like forever a rope was thrown into the hole in the ice.
Eight minutes passed and still no Houdini.
Somewhere from underneath the ice, Houdini finally spotted the rope. He swam toward it, grabbed it and pulled himself unto the ice.
Houdini cheated death one more time.
For the next two weeks there was a “Standing Room Only” sign outside the Detroit Temple Theater where he performed. Just what Houdini hoped for.
The magician retold this story again and again. Was it true?
The myths surrounding Houdini’s showmanship are as big as the footprints he left behind in magic history.
Death-Defying escapes. Impossible hocus-pocus phenomena. Audiences were so thrilled by Houdini’s act they were sure he had supernatural powers.
His legend was great box office fodder.
“The easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place some one is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death,” Houdini said.
His was a classic story. Flirting with death, Houdini was the little guy who beat the odds and came up smelling like roses.
Excuse the pun, but there’s something magical about holding a prop that belonged to a show business legend like Houdini. Collecting Houdiniana is a recent phenomenon.
In the 1930s, Thayer’s Magic Studio in Los Angeles auctioned Houdini letters for 50 cents a piece. Times have changed.
Nowadays, holding a letter, wand, canvas straightjacket, hand-cuffs or leg-irons Houdini used in his stage act is almost as exciting as seeing the man himself in action.
Complete with scratches, tears, nicks and dents, relics like these are souvenirs of a time in history when people stood in line for hours just to see the work of the world’s greatest escape king and professional magician.
The Houdini name recognition, solid provenance, variety and rarity, brings out magic collectors time after time.
On Oct. 28, Swann Auction Galleries, New York, featured the Magic Collection of a Gentleman on the block. A selection of Houdini artifacts were offered in the sale. Here are current values for Houdini items.
Houdini
Photograph; manacled Houdini in bathing attire; standing on end of boat; 5 inches by 7 inches; signed by photographer Harry Gibson; $1,920.
Photo Postcard Portrait; Houdini in suit; inscribed and signed;1920; $2,280.
Press Booklet; for The Master Mystery; inscribed and signed; 16 pages; New York; 1918; $4,320.
Bust Portrait Pocket Mirrors; Houdini and wife Bess; oval; Philadelphia, circa 1928-29; 2 ½ inches by 2 inches; $5,520.
Handcuffs; Houdini owned; standard pair; with key; stamped Houdini; $8,400.
Magician’s Wand; wood with silver tips; plaque in center says “Harry Houdini President Magicians Club London,” hallmarked; 15 ½ inches long; $10,200.
|
|
View Free Articles |
|
|
|
