[HOUDINI] Houdini Embroidered Tapestry Presented to his Nurse. Circa 1925. A large and handsome decorative linen tapestry or possibly a tablecloth embroidered with pink and white irises on its border and text originally penned by Longfellow: “And the night shall be filled with music / and the cares that infest the day / shall fold their tents, like the Arabs / And as silently steal away” in cascading banners at its center. Owned by Sophia Rosenblatt, Beatrice Houdini’s nurse, and being a gift presented to her while in the employ of the Houdinis as nurse to Beatrice Houdini, wife of the great magician. 94 x 72”. Tattered hems with small losses at old folds, but intact, attractive, and unique.

Accompanied by extensive documentation from the family of Sophia Rosenblatt attesting to her work for the Houdinis (including a copy of her sworn statement on Feb. 15, 1927 regarding her time with the Houdinis and Houdini’s last days and death in Detroit), an ALS regarding the textile and her ownership of it (she describes it as a “curtain”), and other documents from her family regarding her ownership of the textile and her receipt of the object from Houdini. Also included is a photograph from 1977 showing Ms. Rosenblatt gazing at a photograph of Harry Houdini. Beatrice Houdini was a talented seamstress and at least one other example of her elaborate embroidery has survived. This object was most likely an elaborate work by her hands, gifted to the nurse who was charged with her care, and then, who by her mere presences, also cared for Houdini in his last days in Montreal and Detroit before his untimely death due to peritonitis. A fascinating and unusual relic from Houdini’s final years.