Friday, August 16, 2024

Houdini's gold lock


Here's an intriguing account of a mailbag escape Houdini performed in New Orleans in November 1907. Is this "Houdini" engraved gold lock still out there somewhere? A new treasure hunt for us!

Times-Picayune, Nov. 11, 1907.

Houdini played two weeks at what was commonly known as the St. Charles Orpheum in New Orleans. (Not to be confused with the Orpheum that still stands today, although Houdini did play that theater in 1923.) During this engagement, he was also challenged by the B. Cohn Company Ltd. to escape a packing case while shackled in "old-fashioned slave chains,” and he dove manacled into the Mississippi river. The St. Charles Orpheum was razed in 1965.


Thanks to Eric Fry for the St. Charles Orpheum vintage postcard.

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4 comments:

  1. Abby MartinAugust 17, 2024 at 5:32 AM

    Me and my friends in my group chat now use this lock for a gag. Basically if you type in *boop* it’ll heal you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leo HeviaAugust 17, 2024 at 6:50 PM

    New to me. Never saw a Houdini gold lock in an auction. Never read about it before. Sounds like something Bess would have held on to.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 18, 2024 at 1:03 PM

    John, Where did you get this photo of a gold lock? I assume it is a representative example but not the one discussed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John CoxAugust 18, 2024 at 1:08 PM

      Yes, it's just a representative photo. I nabbed it online. Have no idea what the real one looked like.

      Delete