Just think- you can own a piece of magical history-
something that was handled by the great Harry Houdini in his daily life!
This is a one-of-a-kind collectible, perfect for framing.
What a great gift!
About this envelope:
This is one of the envelopes found in Harry Houdini's personal desk.
The postmark is March 19, 1925.
The return address is: A.B. Harrington, Austell GA.
The envelope is actually from the Everett Hotel in Jacksonville, Fla., but that has been crossed out.
Harrington was evidently "on the road" when he sent this letter.
This letter was sent to Houdini's home in NYC.
Albert B. Harrington (1875-1936) was a unique mentalist who performed a musical mindreading act with his wife.
Members of the audience would select songs and A.B. would telepathically send the names of the songs to his wife, who would then play the songs on the piano.
Houdini and stage mentalists like the Harringtons had a lot in common- half of Houdini's stage act during the 1920s consisted of demonstrations of "psychic" abilities.
Perhaps A.B. was sharing some secrets with the master, or maybe just complaining about all the fake mediums who were thriving at the time!
See a larger version of the front of the envelope here.
The story behind the Houdini Envelopes:
In the late 1980's, magician Peter Monticup (owner of MagicTricks.com), purchased Harry Houdini's ornate personal desk.
The desk had been in storage in Houdini's former NYC home from 1926 until it was sold in 1980.
Peter purchased the desk from this buyer, along with some other personal items from the Houdini home.
The desk had a number of secret compartments and hidden drawers.
Inside one of the drawers was a stack of envelopes from correspondence Houdini had received.
The envelopes were from all different sources- his lawyers, his fans, fellow magicians, etc.
He even wrote notes on some of the envelopes, either noting the importance of the contents, or just scribbling on them as scrap paper.
In researching each of the envelopes, we've found an important connection to an event or person in Houdini's life.
Of all the thousands upon thousands of letters he received each year, he saved each of these envelopes for a reason.
Houdini was a notorious "saver".
These envelopes were used as his personal Rolodex (address directory).
