Friday, December 16, 2011

Houdini and his eagle shine in auction


This absolutely stunning signed photo of Houdini with his pet eagle, "Abraham Lincoln", sold Thursday at a Profiles in History auction for $2000 (plus $460 buyers premium). The photo is a gelatin silver glossy 6 7/8 in. x 7 1/8 with an inscription that reads: "The only tame eagle in the world ‘Abraham Lincoln,’ Houdini, N.Y. Hippodrome Season 1916-1917."

Houdini produced Abe from the folds of an American flag during the patriotic review show, Everything, at the Hippodrome. (It was actually the 1918-19 season.) I've never seen this particular image before. I must say, both man and bird look amazing in this shot!

Thanks to Brad Henderson at the Genii forums for the alert.
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5 comments:

  1. Tom IntervalDecember 16, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    Beautiful.

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  2. melboDecember 16, 2011 at 11:51 PM

    Great picture. I haven't seen this version before.

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  3. CarnegieDecember 16, 2011 at 11:53 PM

    Fantastic!

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  4. John CoxDecember 17, 2011 at 10:38 AM

    I'm sorry I didn't learn about this until after the auction was over. I would have bid, but I probably would have lost out to the big boys. This is one of those pics that's worth going over the top for, IMO. I think it was a bit of a steal at $2000. Wonder who got it?

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  5. John CoxJanuary 20, 2012 at 8:24 AM

    So Teller is the man who won this beauty (or at least he bought it from the winner). He just tweeted about it. It's gone to a good home. :)

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