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!
This is one of the envelopes found in Harry Houdini's personal desk. The postmark is Apr 15, 1925. Return address: S.E.C., Camp Roosevelt Headquarters, Room 503, 460 South State Street, Chicago IllAddressed to Houdini c/o Princess Theatre in Chicago
Called a "War Department" camp, this was a summer program that operated on a military plan, similar to an R.O.T.C. program for boys 16 to 18 years old. The camp was under the auspices of the Board of Education, and financially backed by an association of businessmen. Houdini was very patriotic, so it would be reasonable to think that he was one of the contributing businessmen. Also, in 1925 Houdini was waging a vigorous campaign to expose unscrupulous mediums and spiritualists. While in town to perform at the Princess Theater, he and his staff investigated some 40 of these mediums and created huge publicity and controversy, resulting in the famous Breedlove lawsuit.
See a larger version of the front of the envelope here.
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).
This is a standard size envelope (about 9.5" x 4"). It's old, it's been through the mail, it's yellowed, it's brittle.Someone (Houdini?) tore it across the top (probably with a dull letter opener) to remove the contents. Has a rusted paper clip fastened to the right side.This envelope is in "AS FOUND" condition.
DISCLAIMER: Though these envelopes are absolutely original and absolutely came from Houdini's desk, we cannot be totally sure of the contents of the correspondence that was sent in the envelope, because the envelopes in the desk were all empty. What you read in the description above is our BEST GUESS about the contents of any correspondence, based on our research and our own conclusions. WE MAKE NO CLAIM TO BE EXPERTS ON HOUDINI.
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