Policemen putting manacles on Harry Houdini (1908)
Star of the Straight Jacket Escape, Milk Can Escape and the Water Torture Cell
Poster showing policemen putting manacles on Harry Houdini. In 1908 Houdini was a star of the Circus Busch in Berlin Germany. Harry Houdini first appears at the Circus Busch in 1908 with his Straight Jacket Escape and Milk Can Escape. He began to perform his Water Torture Cell during his fall tour with the Circus Busch in Germany in 1912, calling it simply "The Upside Down."
The escapologist had performed Metomorphosis with the Welsh Brothers Circus in the difficult days of his early career and maintained a circus connection throughout the triumphant years of his breakthrough in Europe. Houdini appeared in Germany and Holland with the Corty-Althoff Circus in 1901, and with the Circus Caree in 1902, and 1903. Medium: 1 print (poster) : lithograph, color.
Image source: Picryl