Hungarian-American escape artist Harry Houdini honored on Nov. 29 Magyar Posta souvenir sheet

By Linn’s Staff

Magyar Posta, Hungary’s postal service, honors the 150th birth anniversary of Harry Houdini with a souvenir sheet issued Nov. 29.

The Hungarian-American escape artist was born in Budapest on March 24, 1874. His family immigrated to the United States in 1878, settling in Appleton, Wis.

The souvenir sheet contains one 1,270-forint stamp, which pays the priority rate for letters sent to locations outside of Europe. The stamp shows a padlock, while the selvage of the sheet captures a scene from one of Houdini’s film performances.

In a special feature, a portrait of Houdini appears in the padlock on the stamp when viewed under ultraviolet light. The same portrait can be seen under normal light in the space behind the self-adhesive stamp once it is removed from the sheet. When this space is viewed under ultraviolet light, the padlock appears over Houdini’s portrait.

As part of the issue, Magyar Posta offers an official first-day cover franked with the souvenir sheet and canceled with a pictorial postmark showing Houdini’s portrait and signature. The cachet on the first-day cover shows another of the illusionist’s escape acts.

Born Erik Weisz, Houdini adopted the name Harry Houdini in homage to French magician Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Houdini began his career in vaudeville, performing traditional magic tricks.

His breakthrough came in the late 1890s when he transitioned from card tricks to escape acts. Dubbed the Handcuff King, he gained fame for his ability to escape from various restraints, including handcuffs, straightjackets and locked containers. One of his most iconic acts involved escaping from a water-filled tank while shackled.

Throughout his career, Houdini created increasingly daring stunts that captured public imagination, such as escaping from a straightjacket while suspended. These feats were often performed in public spaces to draw large crowds. His showmanship and athleticism cemented his reputation as a master of illusion and endurance.

In addition to his career in magic, Houdini was a pioneer in early cinema, appearing in several films, including five between the years 1918 and 1923.

Houdini died Oct. 31, 1926, in Detroit, Mich., from peritonitis possibly caused by a ruptured appendix and possibly related to punches in the abdomen he had received over a week before his death.

Tamas Ajtai and Barnabas Baticz designed the souvenir sheet, which was printed by Codex Ertekpapírnyomda Zrt. in a quantity of 20,000. The self-adhesive stamp measures 30 millimeters by 40mm, and the souvenir sheet is 95mm by 70mm.

The Harry Houdini souvenir sheet and FDC are available for purchase on the Magyar Posta website and on the WOPA+ Stamps and Coins website.

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