The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin.

HOUDINI, Harry.

Item Number: 127831

New York: The Publishers Printing Co, 1908.

First edition Houdini’s homage to his idol, French illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Houdini, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed by Harry Houdini on the front free endpaper. Bookplate to the front pastedown. In very good condition.

French watchmaker, magician and illusionist, widely recognized as the father of the modern style of conjuring. He transformed magic from a pastime for the lower classes, seen at fairs, to an entertainment for the wealthy, which he offered in a theatre opened in Paris, a legacy preserved by the tradition of modern magicians to perform in tails. Harry Houdini (born Ehrich Weiss) was so impressed by Robert-Houdin that, after reading his autobiography in 1890, Weiss adopted the stage name of "Houdini" in honour of Robert-Houdin. “Harry Houdini was a unique figure in the history of entertainment… a hero of legend and folklore.” Following the death of his mother in 1913, Houdini began to investigate spiritualism and “soon became an all-out crusader against it. Early in 1924 he began lecturing throughout the United States on fraudulent mediums. In city after city he attended séances in disguise, exposing frauds on the spot and sometimes securing their arrest, aided by his personal squad of detectives. The raids brought him huge publicity as well as a million dollars in lawsuits.” At his death in 1927, “he was buried in a brass replica of the iron casket, his head pillowed on a bundle of his mother’s letters to him” (ANB). The legendary magician and illusionist Harry Houdini turns a critical eye to the astonishing claims of those in his own profession in his work Miracle Mongers and Their Methods. Using personal research and observations, Houdini reveals the cunning techniques employed by fire-eaters, sword swallowers, and other masters of deception to mystify and amaze audiences around the world.