|
|
Kevin Connolly Inner circle New Jersey 1329 Posts |
I just posted an old spirit bolt escape artist piece on my blog. You can read more about it here.
http://houdinihimself.com/?p=1278#comments Also, look around the blog for escape artist related posts. Enjoy, Kevin
Please visit my website.
www.houdinihimself.com Always looking buy or trade for original Houdini, Hardeen and escape artist items. I'm interested in books, pitchbooks and ephemera. Email [email]hhoudini@optonline.net[/email] |
Roslyn Inner circle UK 3405 Posts |
$515 US is the winning bid for this bolt.
I kinda hope it's gone to someone who'd use it. I hate the thought of this cool stuff being "collected" rather than used for what it was intended. But then I'm no collector.
The Magic Cafe account of The Conwy Jester, Erwyd le Fol formerly known as Roslyn Walker.
My home online Join me on Facebook Follow me on twitter |
Kevin Connolly Inner circle New Jersey 1329 Posts |
It's going into a collection.
Please visit my website.
www.houdinihimself.com Always looking buy or trade for original Houdini, Hardeen and escape artist items. I'm interested in books, pitchbooks and ephemera. Email [email]hhoudini@optonline.net[/email] |
Roslyn Inner circle UK 3405 Posts |
I guessed it might be, and I'm sure the collector involved will give it a very good home.
The Magic Cafe account of The Conwy Jester, Erwyd le Fol formerly known as Roslyn Walker.
My home online Join me on Facebook Follow me on twitter |
houdinisghost Loyal user 287 Posts |
The bolt that was at the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame was from the Dunninger collection and was said by him to have been used by the Davenport Bros.
William Henry Davenport died in, I think, 1877. Whether it was theirs or not is tough to say. It doesn't matter. Butterfield and Butterfield hired a teenager to transcribe the list of auction items from the Niagara Museum and she typed "Davenport Ball." While they searched for a "Davenport ball," they didn't know what the bolt was and threw it in with some other old hardware. Nobody knows what became of it. Every item in that auction had been checked in by Rob Zabrecky and me and he put numbered stickers on everything to correspond with the list we made which matched the inventory list from the shippers. Then, verything remained in the back of a truck, where it got up to 160 degrees, for four months and every sticker fell off every piece. I'd love to know where that bolt wound up. |
Kevin Connolly Inner circle New Jersey 1329 Posts |
Please visit my website.
www.houdinihimself.com Always looking buy or trade for original Houdini, Hardeen and escape artist items. I'm interested in books, pitchbooks and ephemera. Email [email]hhoudini@optonline.net[/email] |
houdinisghost Loyal user 287 Posts |
One of those guys got the bolt? Was it Nelson, John, Fred?
John tried to win the eBay bolt as a gift for Fred and got in a bidding war with Fred? Is this the same bolt that was at Niagara? |
Kevin Connolly Inner circle New Jersey 1329 Posts |
The answer is there.
Please visit my website.
www.houdinihimself.com Always looking buy or trade for original Houdini, Hardeen and escape artist items. I'm interested in books, pitchbooks and ephemera. Email [email]hhoudini@optonline.net[/email] |
houdinisghost Loyal user 287 Posts |
So, the story goes that this particular Spirit Bolt was given or sold by Hardeen to Martin Sunshine, who was one of the very early Houdini collectors. I believe Don Hinz had this bolt along with quite a bit of the Sunshine/Houdini/Hardeen memorabilia.
At one time, there were quite a few Spirit Bolts out there. If, as Dunninger claimed, the Davenport Bros. used one, then the device goes back to at least the 1870s. There no longer are a lot of Spirit Bolt around. People, like the auction snobs at Butterfield and Butterfield, didn't know what they were, and many of them must have wound up as junk. That's how they lost the Bolt Dunninger said was used by the Davenports. They usually look like something you might tie a horse up to. Not at all like a magic prop or even an escape prop. So that Spirit Bolt which provoke the eBay duel between Bushey and Pitella has a pretty good story and a chain of custody. My recollection is that the paperwork was pretty sparse on the Sunshine Houdini collection, but, his collection was written about when he was alive. There might be something there. Now, the Houdini connected Spirit Bolt that Roger Dreyer purchased recently. What is the Houdini connection with that Spirit Bolt. Kevin has some very cool dialogue going on in his blogs at houdinihimself. |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » All tied up! » » Old Spirit Bolt For The Escape Artist (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |