Harry Houdini Signed Houdini Picture Corporation Stock Certificate.

HOUDINI, Harry.

Item Number: 127391

New York: The Brown-Green Co., March 14, 1923.

Rare stock certificate signed by the world’s greatest escape artist, master illusionist Harry Houdini. One page, partially printed in brown and black ink with an embossed seal, the document is dated March 14, 1923 and certifies that William M. McCormick hereby owns five shares of the Capital Stock of Houdini Picture Corporation. Signed by Harry Houdini as President of the Corporation and countersigned by J.L. Dienstag as Secretary and Harry H. Poppe as Assistant Treasurer. In near fine condition. With a duplicate bill of sale for fifteen shares to E.S. Bosworth of Millburn, New Jersey dated March 1, 1929.

In 1918, Houdini signed his first contract with film producer B. A. Rolfe to star in a 15-part serial, The Master Mystery (released in November 1918), and after Rolfe went our of business, he was signed by Famous Players-Lasky Corporation/Paramount Pictures, for whom he made two pictures, The Grim Game (1919) and Terror Island (1920). Following this successful Hollywood two-picture stint, Houdini returned to New York and founded his own film production company, Houdini Picture Corporation, in 1921 with a capitalization of $500,000. He produced and starred in two films: The Man from Beyond (1921) and Haldane of the Secret Service (1923). He also founded his own film laboratory business called The Film Development Corporation (FDC), gambling on a new process for developing motion picture film. Houdini's brother, Theodore Hardeen, left his own career as a magician and escape artist to run the company and Magician Harry Kellar was a major investor. Neither Houdini's acting career nor FDC found success, and he gave up on the movie business in 1923, complaining that "the profits are too meager".