Splendid trio of letters related to William Eglinton, a spiritualist medium known for his convincing levitation tricks, consisting of two TLSs signed in pencil by Harry Houdini, and an ALS signed by Harry Kellar. The first Houdini letter, one page, 8.5 x 10, September 15, 1915, a copy of a letter to Kellar, in part: "Have just (at this late date) obtained a copy of Mr. I. K. Funk's 'Widow's Mite' and other Phenomea' and on the page 52 there is published a letter from your pen written to the Indian Daily News Calacutta [sic] Jan 25th 1882, in which you state that you went away from the sceance 'utterly unable to explain by natural means the phenomena you witnessed that tuesday evening.' Thirty four years have passed since that evening, and from my various chats with you, Memory has not dimmed her light for you so for the sake of future writers, will you please let me know if at this date you still of the same opinion? You were the guest of Mr. J. Meugens, at Eglinton's sceance and afterthought may have caused you to think differently"; the second TLS, one page, 8.5 x 11, dated at the top in Houdini's hand, "Sept 16/16," a letter to an unknown recipient, in full: "Kellar told me personally that he suspected the host in 1882 as assisting the medium Eglington, and he evidently does not wish to say so in print, but before Kellar I knew that I wanted his statement for publication, he positively told me that 'The—had fooled him, I trusted him and the only way he could have done so was to have the host let go his hand, and that is how he fooled me"; and the ALS signed “H. Kellar,” two pages, 6 x 9, Hotel Astor Letterhead, September 16, 1916, addressed to Houdini, in part: “I beg leave to say that the article signed by me and published in the Indian Daily News Calcutta Jan. 25th 1882, relating to my experiences at a séance given by Eglington at the home of Mr. J. Meugens is a true description of my impressions at the time and as I never had an opportunity to witness another of Mr. Eglington’s performances I cannot conscientiously refute what I then wrote. If you should ask me to tell you how Eglington produced his mystifying effects I should answer: I don’t know. If he was a trickster he was clever enough to put ‘one over’ on me.” The pencil notations on the two Houdini letters are all in his own hand. In overall fine condition, with file holes and edge chipping to one Houdini letter. Houdini, who later was able to reproduce Eglinton's famous levitation stunt, in no way diminished the abilities of his acclaimed predecessor in Kellar, but rather supported and admired his honest admission, later asserting that 'No magician is immune from being deceived and it is no way beneath a magician's dignity or demeaning to professional reputation to openly admit that he cannot always account for what he thinks he sees.'
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