When I was a kid I lived in Toronto which was 70 minutes away from Niagara Falls. I built this virtually exact working replica of Houdini’s Chinese Water Torture Cell. Sherry and Krall reveal working Water Torture Cell replica You should be proud.'ĭave Dorsett, Douglas~Wayne Illusioneering, Macomb, IL, USA Your reproduction is phenomenal… better than the work John did on the restoration for Copperfield. ' I also wanted to say how impressed I was by your work on the Water Torture Cell… as the company beat out by Gaughan for the refurbishment and the marketer of the miniature repros, we had every opportunity to study the original. Richard Sherry has once again proven his incredible building abilities by creating the most astounding working replica of Houdini`s Chinese Water Torture Cell since Houdini`s original.īelow is an excerpt from an article that describes the building of this unbelievable piece of equipment by Richard Sherry himself.Ī comment about Richard Sherry`s replica of Houdini`s Chinese Water Torture Cell: Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about memorabilia auctions.Richard Sherry's Magic and Escapes Water Torture Cell Article! The auction will feature a huge array of other posters from other heroes of the golden age, including one for Harry Kellar’s signature trick - the Cassadaga Propaganda.Īnother, for Howard Thurston’s The Levitation, is expected to make $20,000-30,000. The buyer was none other than Vegas magician David Copperfield, who also owns the remains of the original cell. It could even break the record for any magic poster, set for another variant advertising the illusion that realised $55,000 at CRG Auctions in 2004. Another made $51,959 at Christie’s in 2000, suggesting this one will sell towards the top end of its estimate. Only three examples of this particular design are known to exist. Just as audience anxiety reached its peak he would emerge, dripping wet and triumphant. A curtain would then come down for several agonizing minutes.

Houdini would be manacled upside down in the cell and a stagehand posted with a fire axe, should the unthinkable happen. The trick is among the most famous illusions ever performed. The Water Torture Cell was Houdini's most celebrated illusion The print dates to 1912 and features an illustration of the nightmarish cell, alongside a description of its dangers. It’s expected to make between $50,000 and 80,000 on February 4 Potter & Potter will offer a rare poster for Houdini’s infamous water torture cell in its Golden Age of Magic Posters auction.

Houdini water torture