Harry Houdini (1874-1926), master magician and escape artist, wrote in A Magician Among the Sprits, (1924) that he had "accumulated one of the largest libraries in the world on psychic phenomena, Spiritualism, magic, witchcraft, demonology, evil spirits, etc., some of the material going back as far as 1489." In 1927, through Houdini's bequest, the Library received 3,988 volumes from his collection. While strongest in nineteenth and twentieth century publications on spiritualism- Houdini doubted "if any one in the world has so complete a library on modern Spiritualism: - the Houdini Collection contains a number of magic books inscribed or annotated by well-known magicians. Leonard N. Beck. discusses significant items in "Things Magical in the Collections of the Rare Book Division," QJLC, v. 31, October 1974, p. 208-234. Also in the collection are prints, playbills, printed ephemera, periodicals, and many volumes of pamphlets on such topics as card tricks, mediums, hypnotism, handcuff escape methods, and chalk-talking. Of special note are over one hundred unannotated scrapbooks containing theatre notices and news clippings on subjects of personal interest. Houdini's theatrical collection was sold after his death to Messmore Kendall and later donated to the University of Texas. Supporting Resources
Even though the original box set is no longer available, I can still offer you my experience & knowledge through the digital medium. You'll have access to the downloads an and annotated PDF version of Expert at the Card table.
Annotated Erdnase Pdf
The Appendix includes Tables of word occurance counts for a variety of thematic terms A couple longer annotated examples: a) Sanders' 1906 letter to Mining and Scientific press that illustrates, in a single short text, many Erdnasean characteristics; and b), a paragraph from Erdnase annotated with corresponding excerpts from Sanders. A list of words that demonstrate the well-developed vocabularies of the two authors. A list of other authors using anagrams or reversed pen names. More evidence to further flesh out Sanders' educational background with a list of the many literary allusions found in Sanders' writing. Textual comparisions between Introduction to the Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana, Vol 2 and Sanders' other writing. Some new photos of Sanders An analysis estimating Sanders' height as depicted in his class photo. Notation: About one third of the examples are highlighted with red asterisks (****). These are cases that seem particularly worth noting or otherwise more relevant than others. They are generally near the top of each section and can be read first to get a sense of the most salient examples before examining the rest. Also, within each example, a few closely related variants are sometimes included. These are usually separated from the main pairings by a blank line.
---- facts and conditions ----Erdnase: We give the FACTS AND CONDITIONS of our subject as we find them [p10]Sanders: is so exact in its fidelity to the topographical features of the region and to geographical FACTS AND CONDITIONS---- it is nevertheless (a fact / certain) that ----Erdnase: IT IS NEVERTHELESS A FACT THAT the coat sleeve of the magician is to him much the same as a Saratoga trunk to a summer girl [p185]Sanders: IT IS NEVERTHELESS CERTAIN THAT the Class as a whole has followed with very great interest and pride his success and good fortune... [CR bio]---- it is a fact (well known / often found) ----Erdnase: but IT IS A FACT WELL KNOWN to conjurers. [p175]Sanders: indeed, IT IS A FACT that its use in large operations IS OFTEN FOUND to be cheaper in the end...---- the fact that... (tell whether / tell the true / accept / find to be ) ----Erdnase: THE FACT THAT he cannot TELL WHETHER all or none were [p190]Erdnase: conscious OF THE FACT THAT he himself cannot TELL THE TRUE from the blind [p21]Sanders: THE FACT THAT on this point Father Coquard ACCEPTED the indirect or hearsay EVIDENCESanders: it is A FACT THAT its use in large operations is often FOUND TO BE ---- (as a rule / generally) careless ----erdnase: and AS A RULE IS generous, CARELESS and improvident.Sanders: they are GENERALLY caused by CARELESSNESS as in improperly feeding the machine or by...---- the rule (is / should be) ----Erdnase: THE RULE IS "divide the number by thirteen," [p183-184]Erdnase: The INVIOLABLE RULE of the professional IS uniformity of action [p22]Sanders: THE RULE SHOULD BE that the size of workings must be ample to carry out their purposes properly, BUT NOT larger than is necessary for...Erdnase: The cautious and prudent expert MAKES IT A RULE to NEVER "hold out," or palm extra cards.. [p115]Erdnase: IT IS THE RULE for players to cut in about the same manner each time. [p113]Erdnase: AS A GENERAL RULE the card expert WILL NOT hold out EXCEPT on his own deal for the cut [p113]---- Laws of nature and cause and effect -------- laws of truth/nature/chance/science ----Erdnase: The LAWS OF CHANCE are as IMMUTABLE as the LAWS OF NATURE. [p9]Sanders: Acquire the LAWS OF TECHNIC TRUTH AND SCIENTIFIC LORE [CR poem]
Appendix: Other reversed and anagrammatic pen namesPrevNext Table of ContentsS.E. Erdnase was clearly a pen name, whether it was a simple reversal or an anagram. The following are examples of magicians, authors, and others who have used reversed or anagrammatic names. The great majority of these were found, compiled, and annotated by Bill Mullins and posted in the Genii Erdnase thread. Others were identified by Joe Pecore, Edwin Corrie, and Tom Sawyer on the same or other Genii threads. One source is Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous English Literature, Volume 3 By Samuel Halkett
What follows are two photos of Sanders, over 25 years apart. The first is a photo of Sanders with his Columbia crew team (ca. 1882). The second is a photo of Sanders in 1910 during his 25th college reunion dinner. Apparently Sanders' 1918 passport described him as having a crooked little finger on his left hand. It's not evident in the 1910 photo. See also here for the crew photo with annotated heights of the various team members.
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