Houdini on Magic

by Harry Houdini

Overview

Harry Houdini’s fame is secure as the greatest magician of modern times. Many of his fabulous escapes, indeed, now sound more like legend than history, yet they really happened. He permitted himself to be thrown, manacled, into the Hudson River; to be nailed into packing cases and lowered into the ocean; to be suspended by the ankles, strait-jacketed, hundreds of feet above the ground — and in every case escaped easily.
This book is Houdini’s own account of these exploits, supplemented with rare photographs and posters, first-hand material from periodicals and pamphlets, and behind-the-scenes revelations of some of the master’s most prized secrets: how he picked locks, how he sawed a girl in half to become twins, how he walked through a brick wall, how a girl can vanish from a sheet of plate glass without trapdoors, hoists, mirrors, or other such apparatus.
There are also instructions for performing 44 stage tricks, including the coin and glass, the Indian needle trick, and other standards. These are illustrated with diagram sequences that cover every step in performance. Finally, of special interest to many readers are Houdini’s accounts of great magicians of history and of Houdini’s own battles with spiritualists and fraudulent mediums.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486203843
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	06/01/1953
Series:	Dover Magic Books
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	10 - 18 Years

Table of Contents

I HOUDINI ON HANDCUFF AND RESTRAINTS
Light on Jail Breaking
The Straightjacket Release
Skeleton Keys
The German Transport Chain
Lock Picking Implements
Opening Sealed Handcuffs
The Plug-Eight Handcuff
English Regulation Cuffs
Moscow Escape
Cologne Police Libel Suit
The Spirit Collar
The Champion Lock Cuff
II HOUDINI ON ROPE MAGIC
Know Your Ropes
A Simple Release
Three Effects With the Handcuff Tie
The Thumb Tie
The Clothesline Tie
Simplex Tie
Underwater Escape
Spectacular Escapes
The Big Wheel Release
North American Indian Tie
Russian Transport Tie
Houdini's Full View Release
III HOUDINI ON MAGICIANS
Doctor Katterfelto
Philadelphia
Wiljalba Frikell
Johann N. Hofzinser
George Heubeck
Wyman the Wizard
IV HOUDINI ON CHALLENGES AND ESCAPES
The Sailor Challenge
The Wet Sheet Test
The Blanket Restraint
The Pasteboard Box Escape
The Paper Bag Escape
The Basket Escape
Ladders and Rope Challenge
The Great Cell Mystery
The Barrel Challenge
The Mail Bag Escape
The Spanish Maiden
The Double Box Escape
V HOUDINI ON SPOOKS
Spiritualism Sweeping the World
Houdini Before Congress
A Marvelous Coincidence
The Spirit Knots
The Vanishing Knot
The Spirit Release
Table Lifting
Spiritualistic Secret
Library Directory Service
The Zan Zic Slate
The Talking Skull
Spirit Photos
The Vest Turning Mystery
"Margery" the Medium Exposed"
VI HOUDINI ON TRICKS
Coin and Glass
Four Coin Assembly
Hypnotic Match Box
The Uncanny Glass
A Spooky Ball
The Astonishing Egg
A New Dyeing Tube
Spirits of Aqua
Magnetic Matches
The Traveling Die
Restoring a Match
Tri-Color Cards
The Imprisoned Card
The Houdini Card
Multiple Card Prediction
The Photogenic Card
Cut and Restored String
Cone and Egg
Card in Egg
Finding a Chosen Card
The Balancing Magic Wand
Cigar on Hat
Exchanging a Marked Coin
The Ribbon Escape
Kellar's Wine and Ribbon
Lifting a Human Being With Power From Eyes
The Hindoo Boiling and Disappearing Water Trick
The Spelling Bee Card Trick
A Mind Reading Effect
Coin Balanced on Sword
A Vanish in Mid-Air
Sawing a Woman into Twins
The Transformation Cabinet
The Flight of Venus
The Giant Ball of Wool
A Vanish From a Ladder
Walking Through a Brick Wall
A Second-Sight Act
The Watch Test
"The Figure Test to 10,000"
The Playing Card Test
The Slate Test
The Book Test
The Colored-Pencil Test
Presentation of the Act
VII HOUDINI ON MISCELLANEOUS MYSTERY
Addressing An Audience
Hints for Young Magicians under Eighty
Bobby
The Art of Cryptography
Scytala Laconias
Check Board Cypher
Deciphering Secret Codes
Argamasilli - X-ray Eyes
Ching Ling Foo's Paper Trick
VIII HOUDINI ON THE RIGHT WAY TO DO WRONG
Cheating Uncle Sam
Tricks Of the Bunco Men
Thieves And Their Tricks
Pickpockets At Work
Humbugs