The Averbook Magic Art Museum and Library

05/07/2026

I’m very grateful to receive the first MILBOURNE CHRISTOPHER FOUNDATION MAGIC AWARD for “MAGIC HISTORY PRESERVATIONIST” and be amongst the esteemed awardees for 2026. Congratulations to all the other awardees & thank you to the selection committee for this high honor

See: www.AverbookMuseum.com

Email from David Haversat 2011     2026 Milbourne Christopher Foundation Magic Awards Presentation September 26, 2026 Reserve Your Tickets Now! Contact David Haversat [email protected]     To be hel

03/20/2026

Contact: David Haversat
website www.1878press.com
email: [email protected]

A Strenuous Career: The Personal Challenge and Advertisement Scrapbook of Harry Houdini

Bruce J. Averbook, MD, FACS, AIMC & David E. Haversat
For the first time in history, A Strenuous Career: The Personal Challenge and Advertisement Scrapbook of Harry Houdini places in your hands a breathtaking, full-color facsimile of one of the most significant artifacts from the life of the world’s greatest escape artist. This is amongst the largest and most important scrapbooks personally complied by Harry Houdini! Every page is reproduced directly from Houdini’s own working scrapbook—exactly as he assembled it—preserving the energy, ambition, and relentless drive that defined the man.

Across these pages, you will witness the challenges Houdini accepted from around the globe… the advertisements that lured crowds into theaters and public squares. The carefully preserved ephemera that reveal how Houdini crafted his legend in real time. This is not history filtered through interpretation—it is history as Houdini lived it!

• Feel the tension as authorities bind him in handcuffs and leg irons or lock him in the darkest jail cells.
• Sense the danger as he is sealed into wooden crates or water-filled containers and submerged sinking to the bottom of murky rivers.
• Live the experience of being bound in straitjackets and padded suits for the murderously insane that could not hold him.
• Experience the pulse of a career built on risk, spectacle, and absolute mastery.

And now, for the first time, it can be yours!

Meticulously reproduced from the original scrapbook—courtesy of Dr. Bruce J. Averbook’s extraordinary historic archive in The Averbook Magic Art Museum and Library—this volume features over 160 premium, large-format color pages, presented in a luxurious 9" x 12" hardbound edition with an elegant slipcase. Every detail has been preserved to immerse you fully in Houdini’s world.

Limited to only 300 copies!

This is not simply a book—it is a rare artifact, a conversation piece, a centerpiece for any serious collector of magic or history enthusiast.

Debuting May 12–14 at the 2026 Magic Collector Expo in Newark, New Jersey, with limited availability online shortly after at: www.1878press.com
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10/19/2025

On Thursday evening, October 9, 2025, The Averbook Magic Art Museum & Library hosted magic history author Jim Hagy, who returned to his native Cleveland for one evening to talk about his recent books: "The Instant Illusionist and the Cleveland Bunch" & "Animal Wizards: A Critical History of Magicians' Most Trusting Assistants." See the full story in my blog at: www.AverbookMuseum.com

09/20/2025

See this review of our book "Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini from 1897-1899.

Hello, and thank you for watching. Today’s topic: Escaping ObscurityEscaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899" Published by Mike Caven...

09/12/2025

HOLLYWOOD MAGIC CASTLE “BEHIND THE BOOKCASE” EVENT AND ESCAPING OBSCURITY BOOK SIGNING ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2025

On Monday night, September 8, 2025, the Hollywood Magic Castle conducted another amazing “Behind the Bookcase” event with me aka Dr. Bruce Averbook, John Cox, Mike Caveney, and Michael Albright discussing our new book: Escaping Obscurity, The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini. 1897-1899. We had a lot of fun! I talked about how and why I bought the diary plus my vision for its use which is also discussed in the introduction to the book. It is now displayed at The Averbook Magic Art Museum and Library (www.AverbookMusuem.com). Mike talked about what compelled him to become the publisher. John Cox talked about how he got the Houdini “bug” in childhood plus his motivations and excitement of putting the story all together realizing the significance and amount of information contained in Houdini’s travel diary to the launching of Houdini’s magnificent career.

I think people were enthralled with the little diary and were especially awed and excited when I brought out the actual diary and allowed attendees to hold it in their hands. It has a great impact when you hold the actual 128-year-old object that Houdini carried for several years and wrote in throughout. I wanted them to have the same feeling I had when I first held it, letting the DNA run off. I won’t do that often. It is not good to handle these items from a conservation status unless absolutely necessary, but this was special for me to do as part of my giving back. I also remember when Randy Pitchford brought Cardini’s billiard balls to a collector’s meeting and allowed me to handle them. The thrill is fantastic and appreciated. I wanted those at the “Magic Castle Behind the Bookcase” event at one of my favorite places in the world to have the same experience.

As John mentioned on his website blog: www.WildAboutHoudini.com, “There was a lot of love in the room for Harry and Bessie, and genuine excitement about the book.” John called it a “Peak Experience!” Every copy of the book that Mike Caveney brought was sold. John and I went back to Mike’s home (“Egyptian Hall Museum”) and signed several more books for those who wanted one when Mike ran out.

Let me give a BIG thank you to The Magic Castle/The Academy of Magical Arts for hosting us and for a wonderful dinner with great people in the Houdini Séance Room before the event. It was very special.

You can check out my website blog (www.AverbookMuseum.com) about the book’s publication for a link to purchase it online from Mike Caveney. I have a few books for sale at the museum only to sign when you visit.

06/30/2025

I am very excited to note to the public and followers of my site the publication of Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899! This new book beautifully reproduces every page in the earliest known diary of Harry Houdini from my collection. No diary of Houdini's has ever been made public before in its entirety.

The book is fully annotated by John Cox so you can follow Houdini's ups and downs of these early struggling and developing years. This is just before he skyrockets to fame after signing a contract with Martin Beck in the Vaudeville Orpheum Circuit and tours Europe. The story is amazing, the book is beautifully laid out by Michael Albright and contains contributions of artifacts by many Houdini collectors including the world renown magician David Copperfield.

You can purchase it here:

https://www.magicwords.shop/books

03/24/2025

Today would have been Houdini's 151st Birthday. Records show he was born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. He often claimed he was born April 6th, 1874 because he said that's what his mother told him. In honor of his birthday, here are photos from his father's/family bible (Tanach). Enjoy! See: AverbookMuseum.com

10/28/2024

Bess Houdini’s “Pocket” Purse

As Halloween approaches, we remember Harry Houdini (Erich Weiss) born March 24, 1874 (although he always claimed April 6, 1874, because that was what his mother told him) who died of sepsis from acute appendicitis on Halloween in 1926 (October 31st, 1926). Pictured here from the Averbook Magic Art Museum and Library is the tiny “pocket” purse that belonged to his wife and performing assistant Bess (Beatrice) Houdini. It was likely purchased for her in Germany between 1900-1902 by Harry. The purse measures 3 inches x 2 ¼ inches x a little over ½ inch thick. It is composed of silver and gold with uncut diamonds, turquoise, and opal. There are gold filial names and a fleur-de-lis shield. The upper left corner has “Frau Houdini” stamped in gold. Inside are three small velvet lined pockets. This was a very classy piece at that time. It was a testament to Houdini’s rapid rise to fame and success emerging from the obscure medicine shows and dime museum entertainment to the acclaimed American Vaudeville circuit when in 1899 he was signed by the illustrious Martin Beck. By the summer of 1901, Harry Houdini’s career was skyrocketing, and he was conquering Europe with his feats and performances! By the summer of 1901 he was already well-know as “The King of Handcuffs” in Germany.

Also pictured is an original inscribed and signed photograph of Bess and Harry with the inscription: “The Handcuff that holds Houdini” obviously indicating his darling wife, Bess.
No escaping that one!
See: AverbookMuseum.com

03/24/2024

Today would have been Houdini's 150th Birthday. Records show he was born on March 24, 1874 by the Gregorian calendar or Nissan 6, 5634 by the Hebrew calendar. Even so, his mother always told him he was born on April 6, 1874 which corresponds to Nissan 19, 5634 thirteen days later than his actual birthdate. Houdini always claimed April 6th as his birthday. No one knows why his mother said this. I thought this thrice signed original first edition of Houdini's "A Magician Among the Spirits" would be an appropriate post today as it is signed three times once exactly one year before he dies of acute appendicitis on October 31st, 1926. Another signature is here where he notes that he was born April 6, 1874. Another signature in the book is not dated. Everyone wonders what he would have accomplished had he lived past the age of 52. Most of us believe he would have achieved great things!
See: AverbookMuseum.com