Salon de Magie: The Klosterman Collection Part I

Houdini, Harry (Ehrich Weisz). Harry Houdini’s Engraved Belt Buckle. Circa 1920. Small silver-toned belt buckle, engraved with the letter “H” at its center in a diamond pattern, formerly owned and worn by the great magician and escape artist, Harry Houdini, and said to be the belt buckle he was wearing when taken to the hospital in Detroit when giving his final performance before his death. Framed with a typed, notarized letter signed by Hardeen Jr. (Douglas Geoffrey Mackintosh) attesting to the provenance of the buckle. Buckle approximately 2 x 3"; frame 21 x 14". Hardeen Jr.’s letter states, “The circumstances of my acquiring the belt buckle concern a day at the Hardeen home in Brooklyn. Hardeen opened an old wooden desk drawer on the back porch area of his house. He brought out a belt and buckle. He said, “Doug, I want you to have this – it is the belt Harry was wearing when they took him to the hospital in Detroit.” Although the leather belt has long since disintegrated I myself have worn the buckle for many years. The distinguishing deisgn of the buckle shows an “H” inside a diamond design. The back of the buckle is stamped “Silver Front – Gold Plate – and the stamped label reads “Giant Grip.””