Strand Publishes Houdini's Lost Scrapbook Article
The previously unpublished piece appears 100 years after Harry Houdini's death, drawing on nineteenth-century theatrical playbills.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Magic
The Strand Magazine publishes Harry Houdini's previously unpublished article "An Interesting Scrapbook" in issue 79 on October 31, 2026. The piece reconstructs the careers of early American magicians using nineteenth-century playbills, and its publication falls exactly 100 years after Houdini's death.
Why it matters
Houdini wanted a record of early American magicians because their contributions had often gone unrecorded, and the article fills part of that gap. For magic history enthusiasts and researchers, the piece offers a previously inaccessible firsthand look at how the magician approached the archive of his craft.
The Library of Congress received 3,988 volumes from Houdini's collection through his 1927 bequest, and his 1908 work The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin drew on the same research. Whether the article was ever submitted for publication during Houdini's lifetime remains unconfirmed.
The players
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was an American escape artist and magician whose fame and collection of magic literature made him a central figure in the history of the craft.
The Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a British monthly publication known for its fiction and nonfiction features, which published the article in issue 79.
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin is a major humanities research library that holds Houdini's papers.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and received Houdini's bequeathed collection of 3,988 volumes.
The details
Houdini assembled the article from nineteenth-century theatrical playbills containing magicians' advertisements, which were shared by cartoonist Kin Hubbard. A 1965 fire in a neighboring room complicated the organization of his papers, which are preserved at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
Timeline
1908: Houdini's research informs The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin.
1927: Houdini's bequest sends 3,988 volumes to the Library of Congress.
1965: A fire in a neighboring room complicates the organization of his papers.
October 31, 2026: The Strand Magazine publishes An Interesting Scrapbook, the centenary of his death.
Legacy Archive
The article extends the same archival research Houdini applied in The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin in 1908, when he used historical sources to examine the claims of earlier magicians. Its publication continues a pattern of his using the historical record to document a craft he believed was underrecorded.
Readers interested in Houdini's research can consult the archival materials at the Harry Ransom Center and the Library of Congress. The article is available through The Strand Magazine's issue 79.
The takeaway
Houdini's decision to document early American magicians shows how a performer's archive can preserve traditions that would otherwise disappear. Readers of magic history can now see one of his lesser-known efforts to record that past.
Further reading
Explore more on Magic and the history of performers who shaped the craft.
Source note: This article includes information reported by TimesNow.
