Incredible escapes, fantastic sleight-of-hand-Houdini's most challenging performances are dramatically portrayed in Houdini's Fabulous Magic. Walter Gibson, co-author, was in close touch with Harry Houdini for a number of years before his death and worked with the master magician in preparing material for the book. It is with the aid of Houdini's own scrapbooks and notes that this book was written.The spectacular highlights of Houdini's career are described-and explained-here. Included are the famous escapes: escapes from a padlocked milk can filled with water; from locked jail cells; from a water-filled Chinese torture cell while suspended upside down; from packing cases weighted under water. Again, in this book, Houdini walks through a brick wall, vanishes a 10,000-pound elephant and is buried alive. Once more, Houdini and his wife Bessie mysteriously exchange places in a locked trunk-in three seconds!
And Houdini the man is not ignored. His impact on the world in the early years of the twentieth century was enormous. He was a public hero who, in his own way, helped sweep out the cobwebs of nineteenth-century thinking. While doing so, he distinguished himself as a patriot, writer, collector of magic, aviator, movie idol, philanthropist, and crusader against fraudulent spiritualistic practices.
This is a technical manual for magicians, complete with illustrations and diagrams, but it is also an astute analysis of the best of Houdini's magic and a readable biography of a man who turned himself into a legend. It is a book for would-be conjurers, for professional necromancers, for those curious about the methods and means of one of the most enchanting men of our century.
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Houdini's Fabulous Magic is BACK
After being out of print for more than 40 years, today sees the re-release of Houdini's Fabulous Magic by Walter B. Gibson and Morris N. Young. This new edition includes a Forward by Gabe Fajuri of Potter & Potter auctions and is published by Vine Leaves Press.
I've always loved Houdini's Fabulous Magic and I'm excited to see it return to print. You can check out my overview of the book and its publishing history HERE. I haven't seen this new edition in the flesh yet, but I'm excited to get it. I've shared some of the publishers promotional material on Patreon.
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I'm wondering about the quality of the photographs in this edition. Will there be digital cleaning up or just muddy images?
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know when I get mine. Amazon says tomorrow. The photo quality in the original is pretty good.
DeletePlease let me know! I have the late 70s gray hardcover reprint and the photos are passable but not sharp. I had the 1977 Barbes & Noble paperback edition but lost it in a move.
DeleteGot the book today!
ReplyDeleteSorry to say the photos have taken a bit hit. Not only lower quality, but also smaller. The book is print-on-demand quality, which is a shame. I was expecting a better quality reprint from this publisher. But the book is still quality as far as the information goes, so if you can't find an older edition at an affordable price, you do have this.
Thanks for the review! I was afraid of diminished photo quality. When Christopher's Pictorial Bio of HH was reprinted, the photos took a nosedive.
DeleteYou can pretty much find every photo in this book elsewhere. This book isn't about the photos. The true value is in the text.
DeleteThe text...that reminds me, is there any additional text beyond Gabe's introduction? If I remember correctly, the 1977 Barnes & Noble edition has omitted the chapter on the USD. The 12 year old me was bummed out about that.
DeleteNothing additional (apart from Gabe) and nothing omitted as far as I can tell. My Barns & Noble edition has the USD chapter, so not sure why yours didn't.
DeleteIt was long ago and I seem to remember looking for the USD and not finding it in the B & N book. Now I do understand the importance of textual information, but my relationship/experience with HH has always been a marriage of photos alongside the text. HH was a great showman on stage, but he was also a great showman in photos. He understood how to make his photos captivating. Look at the USD photo where he's dangling above the tank and striking a pose with his elbows out. Or the the shackled pose on the diving board at the Ambassador Hotel right before leaping into the pool. Or the pose in front of that elephant standing on its hind legs.
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