So, like, just a reminder that Houdini spent a lot of his life “exposing” mediums. Which really kind of reminds me that Houdini really just wanted to be in the newspapers a lot. If you think about what sort of magic he did, there’s a lot of evidence to support that he wasn’t all that good at what he did (comparatively to other magicians of the era) but that he was an extremely good marketer and knew how to gather publicity for these frequent stunts he performed, and always take pictures.

I’m telling you, Houdini took pictures from almost any event he was doing, and he took a LOT of promotional photos. Like, a lot. Houdini would be that guy at the party instagramming everything in selfie mode with his face in it. I’m serious here.

Go ahead and google “Houdini'“ and then the name of ANY other contemporary magician eg: Kellar, Alexander aka The Man Who Knows, Thurston, etc. and you’ll find some really cool posters that survived the years. But no faces such as Houdini’s. Also helps that Houdini was in movies.

Which brings me to my last point here: if Houdini were alive today, would he be the guy on TikTok, taking selfies (or asking people to take his photo flexing, see Exhibit B on the right), and constantly putting his face out there by saying “Look! Watch the ____” while yelling at you in some sort of vertical video format, maybe even with a clickbait thumbnail? High chances.

— J.R.