I fear Pawn Stars has long past its prime, and Murray seems to phone this one in (in more ways than one). But the market for Houdini collectibles remains hotter than ever, so they have my attention.
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Houdini was rebuffed by Robert-Houdin's daughter-in-law--not his widow. The daughter-in-law was the widow of his son. A signed copy of Unmasking is $5,500 these days. Crazy.
ReplyDeleteYes, Murray gets the history wrong. And putting Houdini's motivation for the book on the snub is the most simplistic read possible. He's really just winging it. Or, to be fair, maybe it's how he's edited.
ReplyDeleteHonestly--I thought it was the snub that started the resentment. Then the meeting with Frikell and the revelations that Houdin was credited for some things he didn't do gave HH the impetus to fire back.
DeleteYou can say it started it. But it was hardly the reason he wrote the book (as Gresham depicts it and Murray implies).
DeleteWhere is the real reason he wrote the book published? I need to check Silverman and Christopher again.
DeleteThere's no single reason. It was an accumulation of factors and Houdini's personality and psychology at that time. It takes it a bit of examination and understanding that I don't think has been in any book. It'll be in mine. :)
DeleteSawchuck is simply NOT a credible reporter of the facts!
DeleteIn this episode (link below) he did on Pawn Stars, he actually called the most common handcuff in England (and many other countries in Europe), a "Darcy" while everyone else who gradated Handcuffs 101, knows that they are called "Darby" cuffs.
Later in this episode he stated that Houdini performed his escapes by the fact that "In the early 1900's there were only 102-105 keys made that fit EVERY lock in the world! - Well, Houdini was a locksmith". and he had every single key that fit every lock in the world".
I personally own well over 600 early 1900 handcuffs, or triple the amount of this false statement, and each one comes with a different style key.
He and I wrote back and forth about his lack of knowledge of handcuffs, but his arrogance was too much for me to deal with.
As I appeared 2 episodes about handcuffs on Pawn Stars and have a major collection of handcuffs (including some Niagara Fall Museum, Nugent, Wresch, Hardeen, Radner owned cuffs) too, I attempted to reason with him and give credit to Houdini's ability to pick locks and not rely on "having every single key in the world..that's how he did it" nonsense. This was replied with "Well, my Nielson rating was better than yours".
As we know, Houdini picked the lock of a Berliner handcuff in front of the Cologne Germany Judge during the famous Slander Trial (I own this cuff). but Sawchuck does not seem to be cognizant of this fact nor any other lock picking demonstration. By his own admission, Houdini was a locksmith, so every locksmith that ever was, or shall ever be, can pick a lock.
I told him that Pawn Stars is a top-rated show on the History Channel and not the Fictional History Channel of which he is morphing the channel into, with his non-factual spewing.
I believe he may be a good magician, but factual or knowledgeable about lock and handcuffs, not so much.
His appraisal of the cuffs value is fairly accurate and his appraisals of Houdini books, should be opinionated with those who have more experience than I.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=pawn+stars+houdini&&mid=689645746408186B30FD689645746408186B30FD&&FORM=VRDGAR
Thanks for the comments, Mark. I thought Murray did a really good job with the straitjacket episode. I learned things from that I didn't know! Maybe you embarrassed him into doing some research. :) I've never known Murray to be a Houdini buff, let alone an expert. I think he's just the show's go-to guy -- one of their cast of "characters." You're probably aware that he's taking heat these days for making Tick Toc exposure videos.
DeleteIs the stupid show still on? Haven’t watched in years.
ReplyDeleteJust to phony for me. That was a great auto though.
Haha, I was actually unaware that the show was still on. I think it's always been phony; they just put more work into it back then. But, yes, it is a great autograph. A Harry HANDCUFF Houdini. Those are special. (It would have been good for them to have mentioned that.)
DeleteYeah, it sounded like Murray said that Houdini "always" put a nickname between "Harry" and "Houdini." Which we all know is not true.
DeleteOh, did he say that? Well, that's ain't true at all.
DeleteI remember, after the Sawchuck (is that really his name?) / Strait Jacket Pawn Stars Episode, Pawn Stars called Sawchuck about something else. After scrambling to find something about the item, he resorted to either Magic Cafe, Genii Forum, or something similar to get the scoop on the item, because he knew nothing about it and wanted to appear to be an expert at all things Magic. He wasn’t and isn’t. However, Sawchuck is an expert at exposing Magic Secrets to the public so he can buy some weekly groceries with YouTube clicks.
ReplyDeleteNice "punch in the stomach" joke there, Magician Evan.
ReplyDelete