May Magic Auction

Houdini, Beatrice. Photograph of Beatrice Houdini in Australia. Circa 1910. Likely an unpublished image of Houdini’s wife in fancy hat and apron, standing behind a table laden with food and drink. Faint captions above the heads of the other individuals pictured, possibly in Houdini’s hand. 4 5/8 x 6 ¼”, mounted to a partial album page, with a newspaper advertisement affixed to the verso stating that Houdini will fly his Voisin biplane at the Rosehill Racecourse, in Sydney on April 27, 1910. Houdini is generally acknowledged as the first aviator to fly over Australia, taking flight at Digger’s Rest on March 18, 1910. In the following month, Houdini gave additional demonstrations of the plane, as advertised here. This image likely shows Bess Houdini in the tent adjacent to one of these flights, and may show a portion of the crate that contained Houdini’s plane in the background. The faint captions read, “Marie” [?], “Jim,” and “Prince.”