Published on
May 2, 2013 in
Blog.
Kevin Connolly Collection
Kevin Connolly Collection
Many, if not most, Houdini collectors and magic historians have never seen “The Grim Game” . To them, it is the Holy Grail of Houdini movies. The best anyone can come up with are movie stills or posters from the movie. The above card was a handout used at movie theaters to promote the movies that would be playing the next week at the movie house. The approximate size is 1 3/4″ X 2 1/2″, printed on card stock. The image used is most likely a studio portrait of Houdini to promote a movie. It is a striking image. Please click on Harry for a larger view.
Now here is the mystery. The image is not from “The Grim Game”, though the back of the card mentions the movie. The image is not even from Paramount Studios, producer of the movie. With all the photographers at Paramount, why use an image from another movie company? Was it out of their hands and really the distributor of movies idea? Who knows?
More details to follow later.
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Published on
April 30, 2013 in
Blog.
Kevin Connolly Collection
Some of you may recall that Houdini had a special way to deal with the competition. This handbill was how he did it. Houdini would have his assistants Kukol and Vickery set up in an empty store as near as possible to the theater the handcuff imitator was appearing for the day. They would then handout a handbill like the one above to draw attention to their show. The “show” would expose the handcuff act and a version of “The Metamorphosis Trunk”. All of this and more for a penny admission. One can only imagine what the Houdini imitator thought of this, not to mention the manager of the theater.
What I like about this piece is that Vickery and Kukol are mentioned by name. Another interesting item is that Houdini has mentioned his name and where he was appearing. Houdini was a tough act to follow and probably even tougher to compete against.
Published on
April 30, 2013 in
Blog.
Price: $450.00 Plus Postage
Here is a classic Houdini that might fit into your collection. As most of us know, Houdini had this photo retouched so that everyone except Houdini and President Roosevelt were eliminated. This would be a very nice addition to any Houdini magic collection.
Price: $450.00 plus postage
Published on
April 29, 2013 in
Blog.
For Sale: $225.00 Plus Postage
Back Of Houdini Photo
Up for sale is this 8×10 of a classic image of Houdini in “The Grim Game”. On the back of the photo is attached a description from the Palladium about the image. Please click on images for more detail.
Condition: Creasing and borders partially clipped. Some spots of glue that attaches the paper description to the back of photo.
Price: $225.00 plus postage. I will accept money order or check. If you have any questions or would like to buy this photo, please email me at hhoudini@optonline.com.
I will be listing more items here on the blog first and then onto my store in the upcoming weeks. I hope you find something to add to your collection. Thanks!
Published on
April 29, 2013 in
Blog.
While I was away, I finally managed to acquire this rare Houdini pamphlet. The title of it is “Mysterious Mr Yu or Haldane of The Secret Service”. The book was written by Harry Houdini and copyrighted in 1921. The copyright is the key part to this six page treasure. Houdini published just a handful of these to safeguard himself from anyone who wanted to use his storyline.
Enjoy viewing this little gem; it may be a very long time until another one becomes available.
Published on
April 28, 2013 in
Blog.
"Vintage" Houdini Business Card???
This just appeared on Ebay. Here is the the description, complete with obligatory “We don’t know much about this item”. I think I’ll pass on this “rare vintage” Houdini collectible.
You are bidding on a Harry Houdini Business Card Vintage Rare! You don’t want to miss out on adding this incredible Houdini Card to your collection! It is in great condition! It is 2 1/4″ long and 3 3/4″ across with the lamation. The card itself is 1 7/8″ long and 3 3/8″ across. It is marked Houdini 278 West 113 Street Manhattan, New York. It is lamanated which does have scratching/scuff marks from being in storage. We do not know much about this item.
Published on
April 8, 2013 in
Blog.
With all of the imitators and so-called “Handcuff Kings” springing up everywhere, it seems that I really have to keep on my toes. Being the best is tough work.
Published on
April 7, 2013 in
Blog.
As you might guess, images from inside of Houdini’s home are few and far between. Here is a photo that was taken in Houdini’s kitchen. I would say the photo was taken during the 1940′s. On the right is Mr. Banano , his daughter Rose is on the left and Dunninger is in the middle. I know you can’t see much of the kitchen in the photo, but I wanted to post it on a Sunday. I would think Sunday’s and the kitchen have special meanings to us all.
Published on
April 6, 2013 in
Blog.
I luckily ran across this image this morning while organizing the collection. Here we have Houdini on his birthday in 1911 in Huddersfield, England. Houdini was on top of his game here at age 37. Enjoy.
Published on
April 5, 2013 in
Blog.
Auction On April 6th
If you need a Cardini, Houdini or magic fix, today’s the day! This will be another fine magic auction by Potter auctions. The link to the auction is below.
http://tinyurl.com/cml9yly -
Good luck to all!
