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Philatelic News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2002
Stamp Release #02-041
HARRY HOUDINI RETURNS TO WORLD STAGE ON NEW POSTAGE STAMP ISSUED IN NEW YORK
David Copperfield Helps Dedicate Commemorative Stamp
David Copperfield Helps Dedicate Commemorative Stamp
NEW YORK - Harry Houdini, America's most famous escape artist and magician, returned to the spotlight today when a new commemorative postage stamp was issued by the U.S. Postal Service.The Harry Houdini stamp was dedicated at a first day of issue ceremony held in conjunction with the SAM (Society of American Magicians) 2002 Centennial Convention in New York. The convention runs through July 6.
The stamp is now available at New York City post offices. It will be available at post offices across the country starting July 5.
"Not only does our stamp program connect the Postal Service to the American people, today with the issuance of the Harry Houdini stamp, it also connects the American people to an extraordinary culture-the culture of magic," said David Solomon, vice president of the New York Metro Area for the Postal Service, who dedicated the stamp.
"The Postal Service also performs a little magic of its own, every day," he said. "For less than the price of using a pay phone, you can fold up a piece of paper, seal it, put it in a special blue box and have it magically appear anywhere else in America-delivered to exactly the person of your choice. Now that's magic!"
Joining Solomon at the stamp dedication ceremony were David Copperfield, hailed as "the greatest illusionist of our time"; Warren Kaps, national president, SAM; Marie Blood, niece of Harry Houdini; and Brian Fitzpatrick, manager of Sales for the Postal Service's New York Metro Area.
The 2002 issuance of the Houdini stamp coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Society of American Magicians. Houdini served as president of the society from 1917 until his death on Halloween, Oct. 31, 1926.
Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary, on March 24, 1874. His family immigrated to the U.S. when he was four and settled first in Appleton, Wis. His "professional debut" occurred at the age of nine, when he appeared as a contortionist and trapeze performer at a five-cent circus staged by a friend. He went on to perform magic and escape tricks in dime museums (exhibitions that featured human oddities and curiosities for a low price), medicine shows, circuses and other small performance venues.
Houdini's name was Ehrich Weiss until he changed it in the early 1890s as a tribute to the famous French illusionist, Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. He began performing escape tricks on vaudeville stages in the spring of 1899, and by the following spring he had become a star known as the King of Handcuffs. Houdini astonished audiences with his daring escapes, not only from handcuffs but from straitjackets, ropes, chains, jail cells, and trunks submerged in water.
Beginning in 1915, Houdini thrilled huge crowds with his suspended straitjacket escape. In this "outside stunt" Houdini was bound in a straitjacket and a rope was tied around his ankles. He was then hoisted high above the crowd and suspended from a beam that projected from a window in a tall building. In a 1916 performance in Washington, D.C., an estimated 15,000 spectators watched Houdini free himself from this terrifying predicament.
In his later years Houdini crusaded against spiritualism and worked to expose fraudulent mediums who claimed to be able to contact the spirit world. Houdini, who believed that these people preyed on grieving families, used his knowledge as an illusionist to reveal their methods. Ironically, Houdini died on Halloween, Oct. 31, 1926. He was one of the best-known performers of the early 20th century, and his name remains synonymous with magic and escape today.
The portrait on the Harry Houdini stamp, which depicts a confident, self-assured man at the height of his career, was taken from a 1911 lithographed poster in the collection of Gary H. Mandelblatt. Designed by Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Ariz., the stamp contains a hidden image that-when viewed through the official U.S. Postal Service Stamp Decoder-appears to wrap Houdini in chains.
This stamp, the U.S. Postal Service Stamp Decoder and other current U.S. stamps and philatelic products, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available toll free by calling 1 800 STAMP-24. In addition, a selection of stamps and other philatelic items are available at the Postal Store at www.usps.com.
For more information on SAM 2002, visit the SAM Web site at www.magicsam.com.
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Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 137 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $65 billion, it is the world's leading provider of postal services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 207 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves 7 million customers each day at its 40,000 retail locations nationwide.
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