Harry Houdini shackles bring $28,000 to Briggs Auction

A fantastic collection of Harry Houdini's wrist and ankle shackles crossed the block with Briggs Auction on February 21 in Pennsylvania.

Houdini shackles Briggs auction
The shackles were accompanied by a letter of provenance from the Houdini Museum's president



The collection, displayed in a box under glass, sold for $28,000 as the highlight of the auction. The shackles were previously part of the Houdini Museum collection in Niagara Falls, and were accompanied by a letter of provenance from museum president Henry Muller.

Also selling from the museum was a matching set of padlocks used in Houdini's daring escape acts. Also employed as set dressing in the 1953 movie Houdini starring Tony Curtis, they sold for $22,000.

Much of the sale was dedicated to Houdini memorabilia, with a billboard titled The World Famous Houdini, Master Mystifier beating its $10,000 high estimate to sell for $16,000 - a 60% increase.

Paul Fraser Collectibles has this iconic signed photograph of Harry Houdini for sale, bearing a superb example of his autograph.


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