In this sequence of photographs Harry Houdini demonstrated how spirit hands that appeared at seances were made by less ethereal beings. In "A magician among the spirits" Houdini described the mediumistic fraud known as "finger-printing a spirit." A mold of a dead person's hand would be carefully prepared and, during a seance with the believed relatives, fingerprints of the deceased would appear on a lampblacked trumpet.

In this sequence of photographs Houdini demonstrated how spirit hands that appeared at seances were made by less ethereal beings. In "A magician among the spirits" Houdini described the mediumistic fraud known as "finger-printing a spirit." A mold of a dead person's hand would be carefully prepared and, during a seance with the believed relatives, fingerprints of the deceased would appear on a lampblacked trumpet. In his book Houdini stated the following: "There are two cases on record where fortunes were at stake because of this sort of fraud. In one case five hundred thousand dollars changed hands upon the recognition of the finger prints of a man who had died two years before."

1923

LMY24T01_2A575RB

uniquement en France

Non

Non

Libre de droits

38,3Mo (843,2Ko) / 27,7cm x 34,7cm / 3266 x 4096 (300dpi)