harryhoudini

The obligatory Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini

Is this when he was submerged into the Detroit River and he escaped from a locked trunk underwater? He really was an exceptional escape artist. They say that he hid a pack of lock picks and keys in his underwear.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Old fashioned lovers, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Looks to be with same people as

One possibility is described in The Star and Newark Advertiser. August 31, 1908, EVENING EDITION, page 1, column 4
- chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91064009/1908-08-31/ed-...
'"Houdini," who has made manacles look like playthings on the stage, gave a big open-air and free exhibition today by leaping from the Jackson street bridge Into the Passaic Rlver. Several
thousand persons who witnessed the act did not wonder so much that he freed himself from the heavy irons which seemingly bound him—for he has done that many times before—but how a normal person could stay beneath the surface of the Passaic river flfty-four seconds, and come up alive was a puzzle.'

But commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HoudiniSubmergedCrate.jpg...
suggests a date of 1912 for this picture and that he was submerged, with manacles on hands and feet, in a crate -- and escaped.

The Washington Times. August 22, 1912, LAST EDITION, Page 8, top of column 4
- chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1912-08-22/ed-...
reports that he did such a trick at a party in Newport, RI, but that ropes tied by other guests were used instead of chains.

According to New-York Tribune. July 08, 1912, Page 2, near bottom of column 5,
- chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1912-07-08/ed-...
he performed the trick with chains and a crate in the East River in New York City.

The July 1912 event seems likely to be the answer.
See www.wildabouthoudini.com/2018/07/houdini-first-went-overb...
and
New York Times. July 8, 1912, Page 6
- timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/07/08/11003725...
"THROWN OVERBOARD MANACLED IN A BOX; Houdini Bobs Up Smiling in the Harbor, the Box Being Unopened and Still Nailed and Roped."

From Boston Magazine here's some of the backstory on Houdini's jump. When Houdini Jumped Off the Harvard Bridge by Madeline Bilis "What better way to promote an upcoming performance in Boston than to be locked up in chains and take a 30-foot plunge into the Charles River? "That’s exactly what Harry Houdini did on April 30, 1908. (Spoiler alert: He lives!) Before two weeks of performing at Keith’s Theater on Washington Street, the master of the “Impossible Possible” decided to take his talent of escaping from handcuffs and chains a step further by doing so underwater. "Houdini stood at the edge of the Harvard Bridge—commonly referred to as the Mass. Ave. Bridge—and was shackled by a Boston patrolman. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and chained to a collar around his neck. According to a Boston Globe article chronicling the feat, a signal was tooted from a towboat, and Houdini went overboard into the chilly waters below. "'There is always the possibility that I will be unable to free myself, as one never can tell what will happen to a lock,' Houdini told the newspaper. 'However, I am a good swimmer, have confidence in myself, and I hope to perform this feat successfully.' "The Globe estimated some 20,000 spectators gathered to see Houdini’s leap, including the mayors of Boston and Cambridge. They waited 40 seconds for the magician to resurface, which he did with the shackles in his hands. "A plaque commemorating Houdini’s jump is situated on the Boston side of the bridge, commissioned by Boston’s chapter of the Society of American Magicians."  

Also:

"Houdini" c.1910                                     by The Library of Congress

Amazing muscles in his legs. Houdini was in great shape.

damn... those legs.!

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed what great shape he was in!!