Description:

Harry Houdini
[New York, NY], August 28, 1926
Harry Houdini TLS Re: Death-Defying Underwater Sealed Coffin Experiment! 2 Months Before His Death
TLS
A 1p typed letter boldly signed by American illusionist Harry Houdini (1874-1926) as "Houdini" at the bottom of the page. Houdini has also inscribed an autograph note as "I have not read same" underneath the second paragraph; underlined the phrase "no respect" underneath the third paragraph; and made a few typographical edits by hand in the fifth paragraph. August 28, 1926. [New York, New York.] On watermarked paper with "Houdini / 278 West 113th Street / New York, N.Y." letterhead. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, and isolated minor smudges near the top and left edges. A partially rusted paper clip impression can be found at upper left. Hole-punched along the left margin. Else near fine. 8.375" x 10.875."

Harry Houdini wrote this letter to German writer Karl Graf von Klinckowstroem (1884-1969), an independently wealthy intellectual from Munich with whom Harry Houdini regularly corresponded during the 1920s. The two typically discussed the people, places, schemes, and themes of the world of spiritualism and magic that they knew and shared.

The most exciting part of Houdini's letter describes at length one of the entertainer's last major stunts before dying two months later: his acclaimed underwater sealed casket experiment. Like many of Houdini's acts, this feat would serve an altruistic purpose: proving that individuals like miners could survive in enclosed spaces if they controlled their respiration and tried to stay calm. W.J. McConnell, mentioned in the fourth paragraph, was a physiologist at the U.S. Bureau of Mines with whom Houdini collaborated. McConnell would take Houdini's vitals immediately after the casket experiment.

On August 5, 1926, Houdini had clambered into a custom-designed galvanized iron coffin manufactured for him by the Boyertown Casket Company. The casket was made airtight and then submerged in a swimming pool at the Hotel Shelton in midtown Manhattan. 2,000 lbs of dead weight, in addition to several volunteers (reports vary, between 6-8 people) stood on top of the casket to force it underwater. Houdini remained there for more 90 minutes, easily bypassing the 60-minute record set by his rival, Rahmen Bey, earlier in July 1926 at the Dalton Swimming Pool at West 59th Street. Rahmen Bey was a 26-year-old entertainer born in Eritrea to an Italian father and Egyptian mother. Consequently, Bey's stage names ran the gamut from the "Egyptian miracle man" to, rather illogically, the "Hindu mystic."

Houdini wrote in part:

"About the coffin experiment you are wrong. It was not an extra large coffin but the regulation size. As soon as I get to my trunks [I] will mail you a copy of a letter I wrote to Dr. McConnell who is with the Government and in which are all the details.

As you know I made two experiments before I had the public test. I visited the Boyertown Casket Co, believe this is the second largest coffin manufacturers [sic] in America, 43rd St. and 8th Ave. and the coffin in which I was placed was - inside measurements 17 1/4 inches deep, it had a glass cover so they could watch me and this from underneath the glass top to the bottom of the coffin measured 22 1/4 inches width, 74 1/2 inches long. The top of the casket flared in, which cut off some air space. These measurements would be subject to rather a few deductions. The outside was of galvanized iron, iron braces, inside rubber gaskets. About 32 screws, the glass was made air-tight with litharge [a lead-like material].

Thirty-eight screws (quarter inch screws) were used. Thirty-two for the sides, one on each corner and four for the ends. I stayed in this coffin under water one hour and thirteen minutes. [Houdini is here referring to Test #2, undertaken the day before the public test, on August 4th.] They watched me. I had a red silk handkerchief in case grabbed for same it would mean I was in danger. The coffin I used at the pool was the exact size as the one made for Rahmen Bey and made by the same man. It was six and one half feet long, twenty-two inches wide and twenty-two inches deep…"

The Boyertown Casket Company (also known as the Boyertown Burial Casket Company) was located in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The company operated for nearly 100 years, between its founding in 1893 and its closure in 1988. It was indeed the second-largest coffin manufacturer in the United States, and celebrated for its craftsmanship, quality, and innovation. The company started producing metal caskets (like the iron one used by Houdini) after 1923. Famous celebrities reportedly interred in Boyertown caskets include Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Liberace, Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, and Herbert Hoover.

The remainder of Houdini's letter pertains to his investigation into Mina "Margery" Crandon (1888-1941), also known as the "Witch of Lime Street." "Margery" Crandon was the Canadian-born wife of a prominent Boston surgeon who began experimenting with spiritualism in the early 1920s. Crandon claimed to be a conduit to the invisible world by channeling her dead brother. Ringing bells, apparent spontaneous manifestations of ectoplasm, and the unpleasant touch of disembodied hands during her seances convinced many. In 1924, Crandon's name was submitted for consideration in the contest sponsored by "Scientific American" magazine: a cash prize offered to any authentic medium. The "Scientific American" 5-person investigating committee attended multiple seances with Crandon in July and August 1924. Four of five committee members concluded that Crandon was a fake. Houdini mentions one of his fellow "Scientific American" committee members in this letter: William McDougall (1871-1938), a leading parapsychologist and Harvard professor of psychology.

Houdini refers to five important individuals, including professors and graduate students associated with Harvard University, in reference to the Crandon case. These include:

- Eric J. Dingwall (1890-1986) was a British psychical researcher who served as the official research officer of the Society of Psychical Research from 1922-1927. In this role, Dingwall investigated many alleged mediums.

- Everard Feilding (1867-1936), a British psychical researcher who served as Secretary of the UK Society for Psychical Research from 1903-1920. Feilding conducted many well-known investigations of suspected paranormal activity, including mediums, haunted houses, and bleeding religious objects.

- Hudson Hoagland (1899-1982), the future famous neuroscientist, who had co-led a 5-person Harvard University committee of graduate students investigating Crandon in April 1925 under the supervision of their faculty adviser, McDougall.

- Grant Hyde Code (1896-1974), another McDougall graduate student who had co-led the April 1925 committee.

- S. Foster Damon (1893-1971), an English instructor at Harvard University.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8.375" x 10.875"
  • Medium: TLS

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