This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/11/2021
HOUDINI, Harry (Ehrich Weisz). Houdini TLS to David P. Abbott Regarding Arthur Conan Doyle. Dated July 12, 1922 and written on Houdini’s letterhead, the magician writes to Abbott, himself an inventive conjurer, stating, “Before Sir Arthur [Conan Doyle] sailed for Europe I had given him a copy of your “strange case” which I had in my library. He seemed very much interested, and asked me at the time to send you the enclosed letter. His address is Windlesham, Crowborough, Sussex, England, and you can acknowledge it to him abroad.” Staple holes and thinning, old folds. Boldly signed in ink, “Houdini.” Abbott, an ardent researcher into spiritualistic phenomena, wrote several books on the subject, exposing the tricks of fraudulent mediums. Arthur Conan Doyle, despite being a champion of logic and reason, as evidenced in his Sherlock Holmes stories, was also a fervent believer in spiritualism and communication with those in the “great beyond.”