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Lot #765
Harry Houdini Autograph Letter Signed

"Am off to Somerville to see spiritualist"

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Estimate: $1000+
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Description

"Am off to Somerville to see spiritualist"

Rare ALS in pencil, signed “Houdini,” one page, 5.25 x 8.5, Adams House letterhead, July 8, 1925. Handwritten letter "to the only Mrs. Houdini," his wife Bess, in full: "Sweetheart Mine—no ink in room here but all my love could not be told with all ink in world—missed train—Sawyer told me wrong time & I lost ticket. Am off to Somerville to see spiritualist…then to A. E. Fay. Kilby with me." He adds a postscript, "Yours and yours alone!" In fine condition, with intersecting folds.

The reference to "Sawyer" is likely Bess's niece Julia Sawyer, who worked as an assistant to Houdini both onstage and off. "Kilby" is Houdini's friend and fellow theatre collector, Quincy Kilby. He concludes with a reference to Anna Eva Fay, the famous medium who lived in Melrose, Massachusetts. In his later years, Houdini dedicated a significant amount of time and effort to debunking the claims of spiritualists, psychics, and mediums by exposing their fraudulent methods.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Fine Autograph and Artifacts, Ft. Sports
  • Dates: #614 - Ended August 11, 2021





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