HOUDINI, Harry (Erik Weisz, 1874 – 1926). Signed Magicians’...

HOUDINI, Harry (Erik Weisz, 1874 – 1926). Signed Magicians’ Club Dinner Program. [London], 1920. Attractive folding program and menu printed on stiff cardstock, issued for a presentation to Houdini, the President of the organization, at London’s Savoy Hotel on Feb. 8, 1920. 6 ¼ x 4 ½” folded size. Old magazine photos pasted to rear panel. SIGNED in ink and pencil by many of the attendees, including Houdini, David Devant (in a very shaky hand), Arthur Prince, Joe Hayman, Harry Day, Hermalin, Will Goldston, G.W. Hunter, Chris Van Bern, and Maurice Raymond. A choice gathering of autographs.

Though Houdini served as President of the Magicians’ Club for years, the chairman of this event was Maurice Raymond, a fellow American magician with whom Houdini frequently battled. Raymond was one of many magicians who presented escape stunts as part of his show, a fact Houdini was none too happy with. Joe Hayman, one of the other signers of this program, was an early friend and co-star of Houdini’s who went on to success as a vaudeville comedian. Hayman’s brother was instrumental in Houdini’s early days. Harry Day was a British theatrical impresario who managed Houdini in the early years of the twentieth century during his initial rise to fame.