[HOUDINI] Invitation to the Final Houdini S?ance. [Los Angeles], 1936. Oversize business card-like printed invitation on gold cardstock inviting the bearer to the final Houdini s?ance, staged on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel on October 31, 1936 (Halloween) by Beatrice Houdini and her ?business manager," Edward Saint. 2 ? x 4". Even toning and wear, scrapbook remnants to verso. Provenance: Collection of Beatrice Houdini, passed to consignor by descent.This rare invitation (which is unsigned) invites the bearer to the last s?ance conducted by Mrs. Houdini and fellow magicians in an attempt to contact Houdini in the great beyond. He died of peritonitis on October 31, 1926, ten years to the day before this last s?ance was conducted. The event was well documented and broadcast over the radio, and many years later an audio recording was released on vinyl. Bess Houdini's final words to the assemblage on that night ? uttered after Houdini failed to appear at the s?ance ? were: ?Houdini did not come through. My last hope is gone. I do not believe that Houdini can come back to me, or to anyone. After faithfully following through the Houdini ten-year compact, after using every type of medium and s?ance, it is now my personal and positive belief that spirit communication in any form is impossible. I do not believe that ghosts or spirits exist. The Houdini shrine has burned for ten years. I now reverently turn out the light. It is finished. Good night, Harry."