I just read about this tragic event about a man dying trying to perform a Houdini escape. If one could write a book on the people who have died performing the “Bullet Catch”, and an excellent book it is; what about a book on people who have died trying to perform a Houdini-type escape?  If I was to take a conservative guess, I would say at least 50 people have died trying to do a Houdini escape. It’s a shame that this still happens to this day. Here is the link to the story:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3114441/Houdini-style-death-for-diver.html -

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Kevin Connolly Collection

If you read the post “Houdini Haunt” below, we showed you what Houdini’s warehouse/workshop looks-like today.  The above picture is of the area, and maybe even the warehouse, circa the 1920′s, when Houdini was located here.

I was going through some books and I ran across this image. The book was celebrating West New York’s, in New Jersey, Golden Jubilee in 1948. I grew up about 37 blocks away from Houdini’s workshop when I was a living in the next town of West New York. The water at the top right of the photo is a reservoir. Behind the water are homes and factories. This may be the area where Houdini’s warehouse was.  If you go back to the map in the other post, you’ll see 19th street and the reservoir are almost right next to each other. I can’t guarantee it that it is his workshop, but the image above is from the era when Houdini was there.

It’s something to see the reservoir and the open space back then. Today, Union City is the most densely populated city in America and probably on the face of the Earth.

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Bess Houdini's Escort

Peter Baldwin is his name. He was Bess’s (Janet Leigh) escort in the1953 movie, “Houdini”. He had a memorable scene in the movie when he finally gets dumped by Bess for Houdini.

Here is a link to a story about Peter Baldwin and his very interesting career and life.

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_15865642-

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Order Now And Don't Miss Out On This Must Have Book

If you delayed in buying “Houdini: The Key”, you better do it now. There is less than three weeks to go before it is published; with over half of the 278 copies spoken for. Please don’t kick yourself for not taking the 5 minutes to order it. Here is the latest information on the book from Patrick with all the contact information.

“I did not set out to create a collectible. I created a textbook of 165,000 words, 941 illustrations, with an index and 1200 notes.
I also tried to make it beautiful. A rough idea of the cover may be seen at:
http://www.houdinisghost.com/howhedidit.html

The binding is heavy and beautiful and the book comes in a matching slipcase. The printing on acid free vibrantly white paper is way way beyond standard printing. The digital printer has reproduced the illustrations with far greater accuracy than has ever been possible before.
Houdini–the Key by Patrick Culliton will be available at the pre-publication price of $160 + 12 (US shipping) for less than three weeks. At that point, the price will jump to 195 +12.
My PayPal account and my email are the same.
pkcull@aol.com
If you want this book, contact me quickly as the entire run is only 278 copies.

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Kevin Connolly Collection

The upcoming exhibit, “Houdini: Art and Magic”, is coming along nicely. The Jewish Museum is sending over their experts to my house today to start packing the Houdini items for their cross-country tour. I’m a little anxious about it, as many rare Houdini items will be out of my sight for the first time. I know people will enjoy seeing the items, but I still could use a Xanax!

The book that will be published in conjunction with the exhibit has been printed and should be bound soon. As soon as I get the advance copy, I’ll post more information about it here. From what I’ve heard so far, it will be a definite must have for the Houdini collector and magic historian. The book can be found on Amazon with a very nice discount of 34% off the retail price of $39.95. The price of the book, with shipping, is $26.37.  Just type in “Houdini: Art and Magic” in the search to find it.

In case you don’t have the link to the upcoming exhibit in NYC, here it is:

http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/exhibitions/houdini -

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Street Sign To Houdini's House Courtesy of David Stahl

No, not 278 West 113th street in New York City. This is Houdini’s  home in Budapest. Noted magic historian and collector, David Stahl, has tracked down Houdini’s home in Budapest. David was kind enough to send some images of the building and surrounding area. Please click on the pictures for more details.

David Stahl In Front Of Houdini's Home In Budapest

This is a photo of David standing in front of Houdini’s home. It’s a great image of the building and the activity near it.  One can almost imagine the Weiss family being there. I asked David to look for anything Houdini related material, like a new book on Houdini. He said there wasn’t anything being sold in the area with Houdini’s relationship with Budapest. He did say the locals knew of Houdini, but not of Ehrich Weiss.

Houdini's Birth Record Building Courtesy Of David Stahl

Here is the building that holds Houdini’s birth record. Unfortunately, it was closed when David arrived. He does have the contact information and will inquire more about acquiring copies of the record.

David tells me that he will post more images on his Facebook  page when he can. He even has a video of the area. You have to leave it up to David Stahl to find all this wonderful material on Houdini. He’s been turning up material on the Great Lafayette for years. Not an easy task, to say the least. Thanks David.

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Fellow magic collector and historian, David Stahl will be Budapest for a few days starting tomorrow. David emailed me looking for some information about Houdini. He’s looking for where Houdini may have lived, his birth records, etc. The only lead I could give him was the name and address of the building where Houdini’s name was registered when he was born. I know, I’m not much help. I do know that many of you out there know much more than I when it comes to Houdini. If anyone has the smallest piece of information about Houdini’s time in Budapest, please post it here. I’ll forward any bits and pieces  to David. Hopefully someone can help him(and us) on his quest.

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Gary Frank Collection

Update!

Gary Frank, magic collector and historian, is looking for any information on this Houdini broadside. The playbill is dated the performance of April 5th. This date is mentioned on page 22 of the Koval Research booklet The Illustrated Houdini Research Diary – Past 5: 1916 to 1920. He would like to know who (if anyone) played on the bill with Houdini. Gary mentions that possibly the acts on the bill changed every night of the week, except for Houdini and that is why this playbill is smaller then what we have seen in the past. If you have anything to add about this piece, Gary and the rest of us would appreciate  hearing about it.

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Both Weird Tales magazines auctions are now closed. Each thread below has the prices realized for both issues. Harry is still a draw.

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Scam Alert!!!

I just received this scam in my email. It is supposedly from my daughter’s soccer coach. Remember, this a scam. Someone broke in to their email account. Here is the initial email, my rely and their reply. Don’t people have better things to do with their lives?

Title of Email : Very Sad News!!