Harry Houdini's escapes made him a star in magic's Golden Age

Harry Houdini performs one of his stunning escapes, jumping manacled from the Harvard Bridge in Boston into the Charles River in 1908. Such stunts helped publicize his stage appearances; in Boston that year he performed for two weeks at a vaudeville theater. (John H. Thurston/Library of Congress)

Harry Houdini entertains children with a card trick circa 1926. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

Betty and Grace Cochrane flank magician Harry Houdini, holding two white rabbits, circa 1926. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

Harry Houdini, shown circa 1913, became the world's most famous magician. (Campbell-Gray, Ltd./Library of Congress)

Hungarian-American escapologist Harry Houdini prepares to be sealed in an airtight casket before being submerged in the pool of the Hotel Shelton in New York in 1926. Houdini remained in the casket for 91 minutes. (baiduhai archive)

Harry Houdini poses with his wife, Beatrice, and his mother, Cecilia Steiner Weiss, circa 1907. (Library of Congress)

Harry Houdini, circa 1905. (Library of Congress)

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