— Chuck Romano (@CRomanoMagic) April 1, 2018
While Chuck has not yet fessed up to this being an April Fools Day prank, there are clues here that tell us this is not a real Houdini lithograph. You might notice Houdini's body is actually that of Howard Thurston from a Levitation poster (cleverly reversed). And Houdini's head is from his 1914 Buried Alive lithograph, as is the typeface.
The subject, the Vanishing Elephant, is very well chosen, because there is famously no known poster for this iconic Houdini illusion. But if one ever surfaced, it would probably look a lot like this, so thank you Chuck!
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Nice one.
ReplyDeleteI did actually admit it was a joke on Instagram. Now I confess to everybody here! John, you have a good eye on where the images came from. The elephant came from a Friedländer circus poster. I hope someone finds an actual Vanishing Elephant poster someday.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Thanks Chuck. It's brilliantly done! And thanks for the info on the elephant image. I was wondering about that. And, yes, I also hope to one day see a real Vanishing Elephant poster.
DeleteYou know, I think there would be a market for beautifully done mock-up Houdini lithographs like this depicting feats for which no known posters exist: Vanishing Elephant, Walking Through Brick Wall, Bridge Jumping, Suspended Straitjacket, etc.
The folds are a nice touch. I a bit of wear and tear around the edges of the poster would have added more realism.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea John! Make one mock-up poster, then sell it to DC for $20,000 as a "discovered" long lost Houdini lithograph.
Ha! DC would be no more fooled by that than I was by this.
DeleteSome of the untapped images from Houdini's films would also be great as posters; e.g., an artist could really have a field day with Houdini at Niagara Falls in "The Man From Beyond". I'd also love to see a more classic rendition of "Do Spirits Return", in the grandiose style of his earlier posters. Even Houdini's fictitious escape from the frozen Detroit River could be spectacular as rendered by an artist (e.g., a "split screen" of Houdini under the river, contrasted with the bridge and spectators above the frozen surface!) One can dream!
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Check out The Man From Beyond poster in this post. That's from the pressbook and it's the only image I've ever seen. I can only imagine how breathtaking that must be in full color!
DeleteI've never seen that, John - it's great! It would be amazing in color. Thanks for the heads-up!!
Deletewhy cant I say i'll buy it??
ReplyDeleteSorry, Anon. I thought that comment was spam.
DeleteJohn appreciate that.
ReplyDelete