What do we have here?
This is my magic collection.
I've got a Harry Blackstone Sr. collection and my Harry
Houdini collection.
OK, super cool.
Blackstone, he was like the magician's magician.
He was.
He was the guy's guy, back in the day.
So that's his floating light bulb rig with everything
that he used to use.
The magic trick was he'd put, like,
a little battery in it, right? - Right.
This was way back in the day, so no one
would even think that there was a battery inside a light bulb.
When he was doing that trick, it was absolutely
amazing to most people.
It was.
I think Blackstone is amazing and everything,
but unless you're sort of in the magician world,
you really don't know who he is.
Right.
But everybody knows who Houdini is.
Yes.
My Houdini collection, I've got a program
from Houdini's last show, where he collapsed on stage
and died eight days later.
And then I've got a magic wand.
This was made from wood from Houdini's house.
And my favorite, of course, this is the prize of my collection.
Harry Houdini's needles.
These are the needles that Harry Houdini used to swallow.
He would swallow some thread, and then he
would regurgitate them.
And he would pull them all out.
Why would you want to do that?
OK, I mean, of all the professions in the world--
It's magic.
--there's stuff easier than eating needles.
There is.
I actually brought an extra set of needles with me.
OK, I don't want to eat them.
Would you like for me to show you exactly
how Harry Houdini did that?
OK.
I would probably have to check with my insurance company
first.
[laughs]
Well, first thing Harry Houdini would do
is he would take the entire packet,
show them to the audience, and then--
And then he would take a little bit of thread,
wad it up just a little bit, Rick.
And then he would actually reach.
Just like that, Rick.
Yeah, so I assume you probably ran with scissors
when you were a kid, too. - I did.
I did, once or twice.
[laughs]
All right, you've got some cool stuff here.
I love the program.
It's just so cool, especially that it's his last program.
Yes.
I love the wand and the needles.
How much do you want for them?
Just the three?
Just the three.
$10,000.
OK.
My buddy Murray in Vegas, he's a really big Houdini collector.
Let me just get some pictures of those, send it to him,
and then we can video chat with him.
Sounds good.
All right.
Let's see if I can get this done.
Bam.
And my kids say I don't know how to use the internet.
[laughs]
Murray, how's it going?
What's up, buddy? How's it going over there?
You enjoying yourself?
- I'm having a good time. - Very cool.
What's up, Howard? How are you doing?
Good. Good.
Do you guys know each other?
Yeah, he's got a very famous theater on the East Coast
over there.
The magic world's a small community.
That's for sure.
But this is news to me, Howard.
I didn't know you had this.
It's a nice surprise.
Where did you get these needles from?
Where did they come from?
This came from the Weeks collection,
and it can be traced back to the Houdini family.
Yeah, Larry Weeks was a big collector,
and he had a lot of history in entertainment as well.
He was actually a very well-known juggler
back in the day, and a huge Houdini fan.
So you get definitely got the collection of the right person,
so it's the real deal.
So what do you think of the program and the wands?
It's phenomenal.
The wand's from the wood from his home,
and it's really well made.
It's super cool.
Now, if that wand was actually something Harry Houdini used
in his show, and we had a photo of him using it,
that would be priceless.
And then the program is just awesome.
Now, if it was actually autographed by Houdini,
it'd be a whole different price level as well.
But all three of these things together
is an amazing collection.
OK, so what do you think they're worth?
You know, the coolest thing of the collection
is the needles from the mouth because Houdini
really used those.
He was very famous for them, and it's
from Larry Weeks's collection, which is legitimate.
The wand and the book don't have as strong of value,
but the needle trick really does.
So I'd price this at $5,500 for the whole collection.
All right, Murray.
I'll see you when I get back in Vegas.
All right, buddy. Catch you soon.
Howard, good luck, guys.
Take care.
Thanks.
OK.
We're a little bit off on the price.
You want $10 grand.
He says we're at $5,500, and my offer would be, like, $4,000.
I think we're just really far off, and for $4,000,
I think I would just rather have them displayed at my theater,
to be honest with you.
It's been a pleasure meeting you.
Thanks for bringing the stuff in.
Thanks for the show.
[chuckles] Let me get someone to help you load everything up.
Thanks.
Thanks so much.