This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/24/2024
HOUDINI, Harry (Erik Weisz, 1874 – 1926). A Magician Among the Spirits. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1924. FIRST EDITION. Ribbed blue cloth lettered and ruled in gilt. Portrait frontispiece of Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle. Plates. 8vo. Short tear to spine cap, corner bumps, cloth rubbed and darkened. INSCRIBED AND SIGNED on the flyleaf: “To / Sam Putnam / Best wishes / Houdini / March 31 – 1926.” The owner’s bookplate is affixed to the front pastedown; two news stories about Houdini by Putnam are affixed to the rear endsheet, facing Eddie Dawes’ bookplate.
This book was most likely inscribed to the author, poet, and translator Samuel Putnam, a journalist who in later life turned his efforts to translating Latin-American and Spanish literature. His “sensitive” rendering of Don Quixote remains a standout accomplishment of his long career.