Thursday, January 17, 2019

There's a skilled Houdini forger out there

Last week I posted about a Houdini fake being sold by High End Memorabilia of Gardena, CA via Liveauctioneers. That auction was removed. Today High End came back with another obvious fake, this time openly showing it to be from a book published seven years after Houdini's death. The auction was also removed.


This would be comical if it wasn't for the signature. It's looks pretty darn good. It's not perfect (and I won't say how, and please don't either), but if this were on something from Houdini's time, it could pass. That's frightening.

In fact, I'm starting to wonder if this is really all about the forger showcasing their skills?

Be careful out there!

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9 comments:

  1. goldiniiJanuary 17, 2019 at 6:47 PM

    That is scary as hell, Have you ever heard of any SAM cards being fake??

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    1. John CoxJanuary 17, 2019 at 7:01 PM

      I've not. And I've never seen any that have raised any red flags. But I'm not a big collector so I don't really look at things with a critical eye. But I might now!

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2019 at 5:17 AM

    You're assuming Harry did not return as he said he would and sign it after he died? I imagine if that occurred, it would fetch a pretty penny. In all seriousness, though, Harry exposed mediums; so I believe you're carrying on work HH would surely be doing today if he was here.--Dale

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    1. John CoxJanuary 18, 2019 at 9:14 AM

      Thanks Dale. But calling out sketchy online auctions could be a full time job! I just do ones that attempt to upend Houdini history (such as photos of family members who are not), or ones that represent some larger problem that's good for everyone to know about, such as this.

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  3. Tom and JohanJanuary 18, 2019 at 7:24 AM

    I'm wondering if this was "authenticated" by the same source that said the signed page from Kellock was legit? If so, there would appear to be a clear paper trail and pattern of behavior on the part of all or some of the parties involved (not accusing, just saying that's how it looks). In which case, all parties might want to make an effort to stop this on all ends as they could conceivably be setting themselves up (knowingly or not) for some pretty disastrous consequences.

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    1. John CoxJanuary 18, 2019 at 8:52 AM

      On this latest batch of Houdini fakes (and there are more from this auction house still running), they don't provide any details. Pretty much just a picture and price. I'm surprised Liveauctioneers always them to continue to list.

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    2. Tom and JohanJanuary 18, 2019 at 9:19 AM

      Sounds right in character. Businesses that are so cavalier about their credibility generally end up paying a steep price for such indifference.

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  4. Jeff 68January 19, 2019 at 12:31 AM

    I've seen listings from this auction house -- all their autographs look fishy. We in the magic community are lucky there are some great reputable auction houses offering real Houdini autographed memorabilia

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  5. John CoxJanuary 26, 2019 at 7:34 AM

    Another possibility has struck me. It's said Jay Marshall could do an excellent forgery of Houdini's signature. Could these be old Jay forgeries? But he was being careful to do these on later books so they could never be confused with being legit.

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