New Houdini Exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center

[Richard Kaufman]

Press Release:

The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin recently launched its online digital image collection, which contains more than 8,000 items from its varied collections. Some collections that may be of interest are digitized access to the Harry Houdini scrapbook collection:
http://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landi ... 22#nav_top

... and the magic posters and playbills digital collection:

http://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landi ... l5#nav_top

The Houdini scrapbooks contain playbills, theater programs, clippings, photographs, prints, correspondence, and other materials dating ca. 1850 to the 1920s. Most of the content falls into two categories: notices and reviews of performances by magicians, and articles about magic and spiritualism. Nearly every scrapbook contains elements of both categories.


The magic posters and playbills digital collection includes selected posters, playbills, prints, and other ephemera documenting the careers of Houdini, Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, Harry Kellar, Henry Evanion, and others.

[JohnCox]

I've been going though these all weekend. Amazing! I'm especially blown away by the wealth of Robert-Houdin playbills. I've never seen so much Robert-Houdin material before. And some killer Kellar!

[JohnCox]

Here's something from the scrapbooks that I wrangled permission to share on my site. Houdini's Walking Through A Brick Wall illusion in color.

http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2013/11 ... ll-in.html