New York City, 1889.

NEW YORK CITY, 1889.

‘I was still Ehrich Weiss when my father and I earned enough money to bring the rest of the family to New York City.’

‘I was working at Richter’s necktie factory at the ripe age of fifteen. It was there that I made friends with Jacob Hyman.’

MOTHER! YOU‛RE HERE!

‘Jacob and I loved to read stories about the magician known as Robert Houdin.’

GOSH! IF IT ISN‛T MY LITTLE EHRICH!

IN FRENCH, IF YOU PUT AN ‘I‛ AT THE END OF SOMEONE‛S NAME, IT MEANS ‘LIKE THAT PERSON.‛

HOO-DEE-NEE!

‘It was then and there that “Houdini” was born.’

‘As for “Harry”, I’d like to say that was in honour of my friend Harry Kellar, but the truth is that...’ 27

NEW YORK CITY, 1894.

‘...my nickname was always “Ehrie”, which sounds rather like “Harry”.’ NOW, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION! MY BROTHER WILL BE TIED IN THE SACK AND THEN LOCKED IN THE TRUNK!

‘While I was always Ehrich to my mother, when I met my future wife, it was as Harry Houdini.’

TRY NOT TO TAKE YOUR EYES OFF HIM!

‘Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner was performing – as I was – for low wages…’

NOW, FOR ONLY A MOMENT, I SHALL COVER MYSELF AND THE TRUNK!

‘…but together we would make a fortune.’

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FIVE SECONDS LATER.

‘The metamorphosis was a stage illusion, created by John Nevil Maskelyne.’

AMAZING! HOUDINI CHANGED PLACES WITH HIS BROTHER!

‘My brother and I perfected it… or so we thought. ’

‘As The Brothers Houdini, we amazed the crowds. But the five second record for the metamorphosis trick did not last long.’

‘Soon it was cut down to three seconds... but Theo wasn’t my stage partner any longer.’

‘The Brothers Houdini were finished. Theo resigned himself to the inevitable – he had been replaced. Not only could my new partner, Bess, do the trick faster, but…’

‘…she was also my wife.’

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‘We not only performed the metamorphosis quicker than any other rival, but we also introduced handcuffs into the act.’

DETERMINED TO KEEP ME TO YOURSELF? YOU‛RE A HARD MAN TO TIE DOWN, MR HOUDINI.

‘When I saw how popular the handcuffs were, I started to add other escape routines to the performance.’

‘I even challenged the audience to bring in their own cuffs.’

‘I had a standing offer of $100 to anyone who could cuff me in a genuine fashion and prevent my escape.’

‘I never lost a challenge. I’ve never had to pay that $100.’

‘There were certain standards in handcuff construction that I could exploit.‘ 30

‘I studied every pair of handcuffs I could get hold of. All of them had their own individual strengths and weaknesses. Some could be opened simply by banging them down on a hard floor.’

CHICAGO POLICE STATION. 1899.

GENTLEMEN! MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION FOR A MOMENT.

I NEED TO BE LOCKED UP!

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, JOE?

FINE OFFICERS OF THE LAW, I AM HERE TODAY TO SHOW YOU…

DON‛T ASK ME, LIEUTENANT ROHAN! HE CALLS HIMSELF AN ESCAPE ARTIST . HE‛S HERE TO CHALLENGE US.

…THAT I CAN ESCAPE FROM ANY HANDCUFFS YOU HAVE IN THIS POLICE STATION.

LET ‛S SEE YOU GET OUT OF THOSE, KID. I THINK YOUR CAREER‛S OVER.

IF THAT ‛S WHAT HE WANTS, LET ‛S DO IT. HE WON‛T STAND A CHANCE.

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NOW, HERE‛S WHAT I WANT TO TELL THE NEWSPAPER REPORTERS, AND YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THIS. THE YOUNG UPSTART, KNOWN AS HOUDINI, HAD NO CHANCE OF ESCAPE WHEN DEALING WITH THE STEEL AND WIT OF THE CHICAGO POLICE FORCE.

SO LET THAT BE A LESSON TO THESE MAGICIANS WHO THINK THEY‛RE GOING TO MAKE IT BIG, AND WHO LIKE TO SHOW OFF.

YOU SEE, THIS HOUDINI FELLOW IS SMART. I CAN SEE THAT. IT ‛S JUST A SHAME HE WASTES HIS TIME TRYING TO FOOL PEOPLE. I MEAN, REALLY, HE SHOULD FIND A PROPER JOB. IF HE THINKS HE‛S SO GOOD WITH LOCKS, THEN HE SHOULD BECOME A LOCKSMITH!

HE WILL NEVER FIND SUCCESS ESCAPING FROM HANDCUFFS.

BUT I TELL YOU THIS – HE IS NOT GETTING OUT OF THOSE HANDCUFFS. I LOCKED THEM MYSELF. I‛M SORRY TO SAY, BUT MR HOUDINI‛S CAREER ENDS HERE.

THANK YOU.

HOUDINI!

HOUDINI! HOUDINI!

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‘It was not the end of my career. In fact, it was just the beginning.’

l a n r u o J o g a c i h C

5th JANUARY

1899

ECTIVES

AMAZES DET T IS T R A E P A C He ES han. self that day was him ian an amateur magic ited and had a lim to escape ability . But from such things any neither he, nor t that other man presen

met Ro claims Houdini’s ape that he could esc icago the best the Ch Department Police him could throw at dain. with utter dis

be that Houdini would state frustrated by the ffs of the art handcu uld and chains, and wo . finally admit defeat and Bent double t he bound tight, so tha ea could not even tak r of step without fea face, crashing on his required Houdini his assistance to reach cers ‘cabinet’. Two offi him lifted and carried area to this screened imed where he cla his he would work rth magic. It is wo ore noting that, bef udini being bound, Ho and was stripped ghly searched thorou ed until the experienc professional and were police officers could convinced he key not be hiding a ice or any other dev his which would aid the escape. Although nd way he was bou not meant he could ks, even reach the loc able Houdini was still han’s to laugh at Lt Ro and attempts to tease

kind of wizard magician, is the Young en his art ni, who has tak udi Ho He Harry to the next level. l tra cen the at else; appeared is something go ica Ch the station of ething that the Department som ice Police good men in the pol . oon ern aft never yesterday d force have nte ede rec unp In an ty, he act of bold audaci that announced loudly ked he wished to be loc short, up. Had this d in hardy fellow dresse bare, a neat, yet thread a suit committed some crime? Perhaps s on heinous act wa and his conscience him was compelling s his to confess. Perhap ni, wife, Bess Houdi her had convinced self husband to turn him t to in and leave the res tice the American jus system. ther Nothing could be fur udini from the truth. Ho up wished to be locked one for one reason, and t he reason only – so tha could escape. ton, Hailing fromApple ing Wisconsin, and hav ces travelled to pla rile him. oss far and wide acr quiet, ni The station grew udi Ho ca, Ameri the men waited as ts. and I sor IN of D ard U O wiz is a tor ’ HARRY H rge the ‘Self Libera the a Leading the cha However, he is not prepared to nt to work. After t re we and tha we d , ard bin day wiz ter, of a fet : to kind only encountered before ness to what ni, few minutes, the and wit udi s r Ho toe bea ts s ras new bar stews t of tor. about em ntly sound was tha ke a Self Libera Mr Houdini was Lt Rohan consta owl pellets to ma floor. from h his steel hitting the is he Escaping r wit do. No es to . jok ion d pot cke e cra lov ns, udini rose ian handcuffs, leg iro among those fellow officers about Then Ho the kind of magic ent every Chief ter from his concealm gh and oards sailor knots and uds lau fra teb to pas s s thi dy use rea t how tha rope ter be holding only the , once out other kind of fet ry him n car ce soo to oun ns den coi uld wo and to that had has and restraint known realised his begging to be released. and steel tricks, although he new they had him. great man is not a brand was Police He seemed convinced once bound , ent int demonstrated a the Andrew e in idea. In fact, one of t nan ute Lie deal of competenc n He officers in the statio this area as well. dest among the lou lieved was the bunch rhaps Rohan be of pe s ter it ub do do uld this ‘I knew he co cape. m. However, prior to the es ese were the also spoke to all along!’ Th nfidently ter co or n rep ha d, Ro Lt rotun rmed officers the words of ifo Houdini g un un the yo ed d clapp red-face rted robust and tion. They had irons and sta ant at the sta ten in eu g Li un yo the his Police e bets from en first seen tak ok to sp y n, ldl ha ur bo to Andy Ro man of the ho inates as rd the bo su ed pp th wi as he cla ter the building g it would en lon rry w Ha ho g t tha back of youn proclamation re the ‘Self ey were the ir take befo Houdini. Th uld escape the co would beg to ’ he or rat en be ok Li sp kind words, And these fine s. AN from ‘good ter ROH d Y fet se AND ea d ANT rel an ent, POLICE LIEUTEN t Rohan be with excitem PD cuffs.’ go men say tha ica Ch old

ULD DO IT

O I KNEW HE C

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