Friday, March 17, 2023

My incredible week inside the Copperfield collection


For the past week I've been living a dream inside David Copperfield's incredible International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts in Las Vegas. I was invited to go through all his Houdini material (or as much as I could do in a week) for the purposes of research, organization, and to generally flip out at the tidal wave of rarities and share my discoveries with David. It was an honor to be given such generous access to the world's largest magic collection.

I still haven't processed everything I saw and experienced, but being swept up in the world of David Copperfield and all the talented people who work with him gave me a taste of what it would have been like to spend a week with Houdini himself.

I kept my patrons updated with semi daily reports from inside the walls, which includes a list of 12 wild Houdini rarities I uncovered. You can read those posts below if you are a member of my Patreon or would like to join. Enjoy!


Thanks to David Copperfield, Glenda Wellendorf, Chris Kenner, and everyone at The Magic of David Copperfield and the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts for an unforgettable experience. 

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7 comments:

  1. Leo HeviaMarch 17, 2023 at 4:40 PM

    I'm of two minds about this like Two Face in Batman: Happy for you but frustrated I didn't get a glimpse of a rarity. Only a sliver of the letter to Kellar.

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    1. John CoxMarch 17, 2023 at 5:43 PM

      Your only problem is patience, my friend. This is a research trip for longer term projects. What I can share with you now is my experiences. And if you want to see inside DC's museum, all you need to do is buy his book. I just checked and it's currently marked down 76% on Amazon!

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    2. Leo HeviaMarch 18, 2023 at 8:36 AM

      Imagine you have a friend who visited the DC Museum and told you about the wild HH stuff he saw that you listed on Patreon. He also pointed that he couldn't share any images of those items, at least for a while. What would your reaction be? Now be honest.

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    3. John CoxMarch 18, 2023 at 10:10 AM

      I would be disappointed but I would totally understand. I would also be confident and excited that one day I will see them. I would also be thankful to that person for excavating those items and extracting the Houdini history from them, because that is what's important.

      I have never seen and may never see Houdini's diaries. But I am thankful Bill Kalush has formed a relationship with the owners and the history that's contained inside them is being preserved. And I'm hopeful one day I will see them. That's it.

      I'm also not being as selfish as you're making me out to be. If you come over to my house I will show you all the pics I took and more. I do that all the time. But sharing something online is PUBLISHING and that's different. Wikipedia, Google, Getty and a dozen jackasses on eBay will snatch the images, erase the watermarks, and put them up for sale. I have to really consider what I'm sharing online and what's best for the owner. I also have to seek permission and this isn't the time for that.

      A year ago I said I was transitioning from being a Houdini blogger to an author with long term plans for some exciting books and I may be less active online. Well, I've not been less active online. I've continued to give you many, many Houdini treasures. But I'm also doing my deeper research and taking research trips for my long term projects. So, at the moment, the best I feel I can do is share my journeys and tell you all some of what I'm seeing. You are making me think that's a mistake.

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    4. John CoxMarch 18, 2023 at 10:57 AM

      P.S. I just sent you an email to let you in on a little secret that might also help you understand.

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    5. Leo HeviaMarch 19, 2023 at 6:06 AM

      Oh no, you're not being selfish. Much is out of your hands in sharing photos and other items. But you do understand the disappointment in not seeing Houdini rarities. I didn't know watermarks could be erased from Internet photos. That's disconcerting. Don't leave the Internet! You'll cut out your connection to your fans who love WAH and Patreon.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 19, 2023 at 5:31 AM

    And steal them they will,great peek inside,thank you for what you are able to share with the community

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