Note: This article was originally published on the Rock Subculture Journal. I met up with some friends of mine who live in Las Vegas, who, like me, collect original artifacts from film, television, and music. I became acquainted with them years ago through the Original Prop Blog, and they have been huge supporters of my efforts. The History Channel series, Pawn Stars, has been a topic of discussion on the Original Prop Blog for years (see original article), so who could pass up the opportunity to check out the store where it all happens? So we visited Gold and Silver Pawn.
Pawn Stars: Harry Houdini Straight Jacket Matched to Vintage Photo from January 1, 1915 – For Sale On eBay
Last week’s episode of Pawn Stars featured a gentleman who brought in a vintage straight jacket that he believed to have been owned by magician Harry Houdini. In the episode, Rick calls in Murray SawChuck to help authenticate the piece, which he ultimately believes he does irrefutably via matching details (stitching, buttons, placement and style thereof) to a very high resolution vintage photo from January 1, 1915. If correct, it marks the pieces as extraordinarily rare and historically important, yet the owner of the piece and Rick cannot come to terms, with the owner at $30,000 and Rick at $25,000. It would seem to be much more valuable than that, by my estimation, and is currently listed for sale on eBay for $149,000. [Read more…]