Updated: Nov 16, 2022
Eli and Morris served together overseas in WWII. After they returned home to New York City they remained friends and lived nearby to one another on Riverside Drive. Eli plays a role as a member of "The Inner Circle" in Houdini's Last Handcuffs, the historical fiction novel to be released by Vine Leaves Press in 2024. (Photo circa 1980's)
Quite heavy and large, the tops would have required a larger vehicle than we had for transport. Reluctantly, we abandoned them.
Turning to the storage room, I was greeted by stacks of brown paper wrapped packages, some of which had been opened and contents strewn around. There were copper cuts, leaflets, and mats, all of which pertained to Houdini's film projects, serving as promotional material. In a corner were bundles of the "Margery" exposure booklets, and pamphlets titled, Life and History of Hardeen. After selecting a few of each item for John and myself, I reentered the large central open area of the cellar.
I was transfixed by a lobby display board from which Houdini's face regarded me intensely. The painting had become grimy with time. Another large lobby display board, painted black, from which many cut wires protruded, still had a small metal plaque attached, with barely legible words referring to a jail lock that had once been affixed above it. I removed the plaque (which is now to be seen at the Houdini Historical Center).
A sweeping glance identified several metal trunks and a wooden box of drawers, next to be examined. There was much rubble everywhere that had to be stepped on or over, such as carpenters', plumbers', and electricians' tools and supplies, a treasure trove for maintaining a house. Two of the large trunks were empty, not prepared in any way to use in illusions except for storing or shipping purposes. The third trunk, with "Houdini 8" painted on it, demanded investigation.
Many of the items in this precious trunk and the box of drawers standing alongside are described by me in the December 1951 issue of MUM. They are the basis of an exhibit at the Houdini Historical Center. Trunk 8 yielded a book on mechanical movements and another on the steel square, that was autographed by J. Collins, Houdini's valued assistant. Separately tucked away in one of the adjacent box drawers, the inventory book of Houdini's successive shows was discovered. John and I gave all three books to the Library of Congress.
Updated: Feb 3, 2023
By Morris N. Young, M.D.
Reprinted with permission from The International Brotherhood of Magician, The Linking Ring 1992
Accompanied by Hardeen's widow, John McManus and I stepped down into the cellar of her home at 537 East 21st Street, Flatbush, in Brooklyn. We were respectfully curious. Confronting us was a dismal scene that resembled the litter inside an abandoned barn. There was a shambles of wood, metal, cloth, paper, boxes, trunks and otherwise not readily identifiable objects. Hardeen had been gone almost six years.
Permission was given to John and me to take whatever we wished, but to have the place cleaned out by the end of the week, as Mrs. Elsie Hardeen was moving out. She related that since her husband had passed away, many people had scoured the cellar, purchasing or taking whatever they liked. Al Flosso was the last to do so.
John, an attorney, chose to stand by, chatting with Mrs. Hardeen about legal problems which had been concerning her. While they talked, I began my tour of inspection for finds. A quick survey noted that the central open area of the basement was bordered by a coal bin, an open alcove, and a small storage room. The fourth wall was covered with aging brown boards.
A body-shaped framework made of wires lured me to the alcove where it lay upon a heap of crumbled dirty tarpaulin-like cloth. No other parts for an Astra illusion were locatable thereabouts. The next attraction was the coal bin from which a frame of metal with mahogany colored sidings peeked out. Two more similar contraptions were stacked in the open bin, each frame enclosing different designed slats, and all recalling a top for the Chinese Water Torture Cell. Mrs. Hardeen explained that "They" had been working on various types of improvements.