Poster with an illustration of three men standing against a red background, and a cutaway of the can on the waterfilled ground reveals another, Houdini, crouched within. One man holds the lid of the can, a second pours water into the can to cover the magician

“Harry Houdini’s Death-Defying Mystery: Failure Means a Drowning Death” poster
Cincinnati and New York: U.S. Lithographic Co. Russell-Morgan Print, ca. 1908
Houdiniana Collection and Magic Scrapbooks and Posters Collection, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center

“Harry Houdini’s Death-Defying Mystery: Failure Means a Drowning Death” poster

In the mid-1890s, Harry Houdini was a struggling magician finding little recognition in card and sleight-of-hand tricks. By 1898 he was seeking out police and civic leaders across the United States at each stop on his performance tour to witness his seemingly inexplicable escapes from regulation handcuffs, shackles, and other restraints. After a high-profile tour of Europe in the early 1900s, Houdini became renowned for his daring and skill. This rare poster for one of his most lauded escape acts emphasizes the increasingly high stakes of his evolving performances.

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