More Human Than Human?
The Houdini that the world experienced was more than any mere man creating the illusion of sorcery to the usual middle class British of yester-year. If anything, Houdini is proof that some dreams are possible, and some are not. Throughout his life, his pursued each goal with almost a tangible tenacity; whether or not he failed at some of them is just semantics. From a poor immigrant family from Hungary, Houdini rose to become literally, the highest paid Vaudeville performer; a celebrity, a crackpot, a movie star, a man who loved his mother and wife dearly, the first pilot to fly in Australia. The man, the magician, the master, and absolutely, “The Houdini.”
Many Harry Houdini photos depict him on stage, — in the era Houdini was performing in, photo-journalism was quite popular. However, Houdini was also in three separate films, recently re-issued, and widely available for the discriminating Houdini collector. Despite his efforts, the films Houdini starred in were not a success, and are only now collected and viewed by fans, and others; film immortalized the man, despite a lack of audio. The majority of Harry Houdini photos show him doing amazing stunts, such as swimming above Niagara Falls, or even casually posing in what seems to be the most inescapable of shackles, and handcuffs.
In 2002 the U.S. Postal Service issued Harry Houdini stamps, portraying him simply, with his arms folded over his chest. While there is obviously more to a man than a bunch of carnival posters, and commemorative postal stamps, it’s saying something that after over a hundreds years, this man is still just as awe inspiring. While we can no longer gaze out of a window to watch the man hanging upside down from a building, and working himself out of a straight-jacket, we can watch his films, and as silly as it is, we can still send letters with Harry Houdini stamps.