Below is an illustration that appeared in Reginald Marsh's "The Spotlight" column in the New York Daily News on February 8, 1925. Marsh's column consisted of various vaudevillians sketched from the stage and reviewed with a percentage. His sketch of Houdini shows him inside the famed Margery Box.
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Houdini was midway through a six-week run at the New York Hippodrome where he offered a different act each week. For this third week, he exposed the tricks of fraudulent mediums, specifically Margery. Marsh's illustration confirms Houdini used the Margery Box this week. It's also the first confirmed appearance of the box outside of Boston.
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| New York Evening Journal, Jan. 23, 1925 |
One wonders how effective this would have been on the gigantic Hippodrome stage. What more could Houdini do than demonstrate how Margery could potentially slip a ruler through the neck hole to ring the bell box? Not quite as dramatic as a vanishing elephant! Maybe that's why Marsh only gave him an 85%.
While this is the first appearance of the Margery Box in New York, it's also the last confirmed appearance of the box anywhere. Where did the Margery Box go after this? That's the question.
Below is a look at the complete Hippodrome bill for this week.
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| New York American, Jan. 25, 1925. |
Want more? You can view Reginald Marsh's full "Spotlight" column as a member of my Patreon below and see which Hippodrome performer received the coveted 100%. Thanks to my patrons for supporting content like this.
I know one place it's going to be-in a frame on the wall in my "Escape" room in the Houdini section. I'm giving Houdini 100% for sticking to his principles and doing the act. I can't resist! Thank you, John for an absolutely delicious post.
ReplyDeleteYou're not going to get a high score if your act is more of a college lecture than an entertainment spot. But it's pure Houdini.
ReplyDeleteHoudini: *made a PowerPoint*
ReplyDeleteAudience: *groans*
I wonder if because HH presenting/featuring the Margery Box received little, poor response, is it possible he just threw that unattractive, (to him then) pile of lumber in trash?
ReplyDeleteDiego Domingo
The box may not have survived because as John points out, it wasn't a magic prop, and therefore not worth saving. If Houdini trashed it after this 1925 Hippodrome performance, I wouldn't be surprised. He did trash a number of his magic illusions in Britain 1920 without giving it a second thought, according to him.
DeleteI don't think HH would have ever trashed the Margery Box. It was an important part of an important investigation, and he was proud of it. What I said is it may have been trashed after he died. Also, I think people are misunderstanding my quip about his ONLY getting 85%. That's not bad! It's just not 100%, and that's what we want from our Harry.
DeleteThere are some NYC reviews that say they prefer Houdini's spiritualism demonstrations to his escapes at this stage.
I understood what you meant. If the box didn't survive, it meant the people after Houdini's death saw no value in preserving it. Interesting that Sid Radner never mentioned the box. Was it already gone by the time Hardeen began selling off his collection to Radner? Did Hardeen get the box after HH died and tossed it out? Did Dunninger get the box?
Delete"Only 85%" IS actually a pretty good score...although by HHs standards, not the 100% he always fought for, never settling for whatever.
ReplyDelete(It reminded me of a radio programmer years ago, when the point of recording songs was to sell records, (remember them?) saying, "If I cut a record and it sold a half-million copies, it would be a hit. If Michael Jackson cut a record and it sold only (!) a half million copies, it would be considered a flop.")
Diego Domingo
I wonder what his expectations were from his fraud spiritualism lectures. At least good enough to include his 3 in One show. He put it in the third act and that served as a wind down from the extravaganza of magic and escapes.
DeleteI wouldn't characterize it as a wind-down. For many, it was the best part of the 3 Shows in One. It wasn't the slide show lecture. Houdini took what had played the best before an audience, such as the demonstrations with a blindfolded audience member, etc. And the Q&A was filled with fireworks as Houdini would expose mediums in the audience. Lots of action.
DeleteInteresting. The best parts of the lecture tours were used for the 3 in One. Professional entertainers do that: Keep what goes over well and prune away the weak spots.
Delete