The Right Way to Do Wrong Read Online Free
Author: Harry Houdini
Davenport Brothers, he made quite a feature of it. In fact, I have an old monthly of 1870 in which a handcuff trick is explained in an article exposing spirit mediums.
Dr. Redmond, who, I hear, is still very much alive in England, made quite a reputation as a rope expert and handcuff manipulator in 1872â3, and I have several interesting bills of his performances.
Few give me credit, but had I been able to copyright my new tricks, they would all have to pay me a royalty.
But, as such cannot be done, the only thing I ask of the numerous imitators is to give credit where credit is due.
No one, to my knowledge, performs my tests according to my method except my brother Theo Hardeen, as they ALL resort to fakery and collusion in presenting tothe public that which they wish to have thought is exactly as Houdini performs his challenges.
The following challenges have been performed by myself, some of which are very interesting: Release in full view of the audience from straitjackets used on murderous insane; the nailed up in packing case escape; the packing case built on the stage; the paper bag; the willow hamper; the hamper swung in the air; the steel unprepared cage or basket; riveted into a steel water boiler; hung to a ladder in mid-air; nailed to a door; escape from unprepared glass box; out of a large football; release from a large mail pouch; escape from a roll top desk; escape from a zinc-lined piano box, etc., etc. In fact during long engagements, I have accepted a different challenge for every performance.
In order to stop all controversy concerning this jail-breaking affair, I shall publish the methods that have been used by some of those who will stop at nothing in order to willfully deceive the public.
First of all, there is a young man who calls himself Brindemour who, according to all I can learn, claims to be the originator of jail breaking and has accused me of stealing the material from him. He has even gone so far as to say that I assisted him. Why, in 1896 I visited Woonsocket, R.I. with a show and made quite a hit with the handcuff act. There I met a photographer whose name was George W. Brown. He made himself known to me and informed me that he was an amateur magician, and that at certain periods of the year he gave performances for friends and lodges. His great hit was to impersonate a ballet girl.
He showed me pictures of himself in ballet costumeand seemed to be proud that he could impersonate the female sex so perfectly. That was in 1896. About a year later, after purchasing a bunch of handcuff keys, this Brown called himself Brindemour. He gave a trial show at Keithâs Providence house for Manager Lovenberg and failed to make good. His great stunt then was to make the church bells ring, which is accomplished with a confederate and was Sig. Blitzâs standby. At any rate, the Great Brindemour, failing to make good, followed me into Philadelphia and started in to expose his handcuff act. He did this in Providence, also Philadelphia, and made a dismal failure. The effect of his work showed him that he was on the wrong track, and eventually he did not expose the few false tricks that he had and went into it without the exposures.
He pursued the same old groove until I returned to America, when he deliberately copied all of my challenges as best he could. I wondered how he did his jail breaking stunts, as I knew that he could no more pick a lock than the Czar of Russia will give the Russian newspapers the right of free press. Recently I have ascertained the facts as to several of his escapes, or rather their âmysterious means,â and I will give the reader the benefit of my investigations. At the same time I invite the closest investigation of anything that I have ever done. While filling an engagement at Albaughâs Theatre, Baltimore, Brindemour escaped from the cells at police headquarters under the following circumstances: A reporter on the
Baltimore News
, by name of
Dr. Redmond, who, I hear, is still very much alive in England, made quite a reputation as a rope expert and handcuff manipulator in 1872â3, and I have several interesting bills of his performances.
Few give me credit, but had I been able to copyright my new tricks, they would all have to pay me a royalty.
But, as such cannot be done, the only thing I ask of the numerous imitators is to give credit where credit is due.
No one, to my knowledge, performs my tests according to my method except my brother Theo Hardeen, as they ALL resort to fakery and collusion in presenting tothe public that which they wish to have thought is exactly as Houdini performs his challenges.
The following challenges have been performed by myself, some of which are very interesting: Release in full view of the audience from straitjackets used on murderous insane; the nailed up in packing case escape; the packing case built on the stage; the paper bag; the willow hamper; the hamper swung in the air; the steel unprepared cage or basket; riveted into a steel water boiler; hung to a ladder in mid-air; nailed to a door; escape from unprepared glass box; out of a large football; release from a large mail pouch; escape from a roll top desk; escape from a zinc-lined piano box, etc., etc. In fact during long engagements, I have accepted a different challenge for every performance.
In order to stop all controversy concerning this jail-breaking affair, I shall publish the methods that have been used by some of those who will stop at nothing in order to willfully deceive the public.
First of all, there is a young man who calls himself Brindemour who, according to all I can learn, claims to be the originator of jail breaking and has accused me of stealing the material from him. He has even gone so far as to say that I assisted him. Why, in 1896 I visited Woonsocket, R.I. with a show and made quite a hit with the handcuff act. There I met a photographer whose name was George W. Brown. He made himself known to me and informed me that he was an amateur magician, and that at certain periods of the year he gave performances for friends and lodges. His great hit was to impersonate a ballet girl.
He showed me pictures of himself in ballet costumeand seemed to be proud that he could impersonate the female sex so perfectly. That was in 1896. About a year later, after purchasing a bunch of handcuff keys, this Brown called himself Brindemour. He gave a trial show at Keithâs Providence house for Manager Lovenberg and failed to make good. His great stunt then was to make the church bells ring, which is accomplished with a confederate and was Sig. Blitzâs standby. At any rate, the Great Brindemour, failing to make good, followed me into Philadelphia and started in to expose his handcuff act. He did this in Providence, also Philadelphia, and made a dismal failure. The effect of his work showed him that he was on the wrong track, and eventually he did not expose the few false tricks that he had and went into it without the exposures.
He pursued the same old groove until I returned to America, when he deliberately copied all of my challenges as best he could. I wondered how he did his jail breaking stunts, as I knew that he could no more pick a lock than the Czar of Russia will give the Russian newspapers the right of free press. Recently I have ascertained the facts as to several of his escapes, or rather their âmysterious means,â and I will give the reader the benefit of my investigations. At the same time I invite the closest investigation of anything that I have ever done. While filling an engagement at Albaughâs Theatre, Baltimore, Brindemour escaped from the cells at police headquarters under the following circumstances: A reporter on the
Baltimore News
, by name of
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