In 2004 the famous Radner Collection of Houdini paraphernalia was sold at auction.  When the pictures of authentic Houdini items were revealed, a picture of Houdini's last mailbag was among them. In the booklet, The Great Houdini Auction, published for potential buyers, it was described as, "Canvas Bag- Canvas with leather trim and slots for ties (ties not included). Bag also has grommets with pencil markings.  Used during performances, the 5' 4" Houdini easily escaped from this full length canvas bag."

This information started a quest for the author that culminated in this booklet.  It is 8.5" x 11" and consists of 5 chapters across 22 full-sized pages.  The book is filled with drawings, pictures and insights into the four mailbags associated with Harry Houdini.  In addition, it also contains detailed information about the famous, "patent Rotary Mail Lock" used on the original mailbag challenge!  Its details have been protected by laws that have kept the public from owning this lock!  Learn about its workings and its role in Houdini's showmanship.

The author's discoveries fly in the face of the "bar and bag" version that is wrongly proclaimed to be Houdini's mailbag escape.  In fact, Houdini never used a bar in his mailbag escapes nor did he have a mailbag with grommets along the top.  The grommets in the authentic Houdini mailbag appeared as a design directly over the location of his mouth. This permitted greater ease in breathing from within the mailbag under hot stage lights. Leave it to Houdini to put function into what appears to be decoration!

This is just some of the information pertaining to Houdini's four mailbags.