This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/26/2022
Houdini, Harry (Ehrich Weisz). Houdini’s Nest of Boxes. Circa 1920. Set of four finely made polished mahogany boxes with ebony accents in the front panel of each chest. In performance, a borrowed ring, watch, or wallet was made to vanish by the performer, then reappear in the smallest of the four boxes, locked inside the other three. Outer box 4 ½ x 7 x 6”. With ingenious internal mechanism incorporated into each box. Original key included. Said to have been the property of Harry Houdini, and constructed for him by his trusted assistant James Collins. Accompanied by a note in the hand of Charles Kalish, which states, “Made by / Jimmy Collins Houdini’s ass’t / for Houdini / from Mulholland / coll.” The secret working of this nest of boxes is unlike other models we have encountered, and access to the innermost box is achieved while all three boxes are nested and locked shut. Even in this state, depositing a borrowed object in the innermost container is relatively easy. When the boxes are then handed to a spectator to open, they can be minutely examined.