Escapologist Harry Houdini (1874 - 1926) preparing to perform his famous "overboard box escape" for the first time in July 1912.
Photo of escapologist Harry Houdini (1874 - 1926) preparing to perform his famous "overboard box escape" for the first time in New York Harbor on July 7 1912. Houdini, wearing handcuffs and leg-irons, can be seen climbing into a packing crate on the side of a tugboat. The crate was subsequently nailed shut, roped and weighed down with two hundred pounds of lead before being lowered into the water. Houdini escaped in 57 seconds and when the crate was subsequently pulled to the surface it was still intact with the manacles inside. The legendary escape artist, who had been forced to hire the boat after police forbid him from using one of the piers, went on to perform the stunt many times during his career. Houdini, a Hungarian Jew born Erik Weisz (later spelt Ehrich Weiss), moved with his family to the United States in 1878 at the age of four and became a renowned magician, escapologist and stunt performer as well as an actor and film producer. He was also a noted skeptic who exposed fraudulent mediums and psychics who claimed to have supernatural abilities. Photo by Carl Dietz.
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Photo credit: © Archive Pics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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