Harry Houdini claims to house the largest collection of original Houdini artifacts in Europe. The Houdini Museum of New York is located at Fantasma Magic, a retail magic manufacturer and seller located in Manhattan. The museum contains several hundred pieces of ephemera, most of which belonged to Harry Houdini. Houdini published numerous books during his career (some of which were written by his good friend Walter B. Gibson, the creator of The Shadow) Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (; born Erik Weisz, later Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-born American illusionist and stunt performer,
The Illusionist (1983 novel) The Illusionist (1983 novel) The Illusionist is a 1983 novel written by English author Anita Mason. The novel follows the story of Simon Magus, mentioned in Acts of the Apostles (8:9-24) as a magician, set in the first years of the Christian Church. It follows Magus' quest for power through magic, and contrasts that the power struggles between the apostles Paul, Peter and James who each have a different vision of what Jesus had stood for, and wish their perspective to dominate the Christian church. The novel is set in the Holy Land some years after the death of Christ.