'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison turned down Houdini’s straitjacket — and then regretted it instantly
People come to "Pawn Stars" with vintage weapons and iconic guitars as well as sports memorabilia, which do command a significant value. But once in a while, a seller catches the shrewd pawn shop boss Rick Harrison by surprise, with an audacious pricetag. One such individual came in with a straitjacket that once belonged to the great Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer, Harry Houdini. The owner of the jacket, William, was so excited to see evidence of the jacket's authenticity that he decided to outbid the master negotiator Rick Harrison. In the end, William refused to budge from his $30,000 demand and walked out of the pawn shop. This later became a loss that Harrison dearly regretted.
William brought the old, beat-up jacket to Harrison's table, claiming that he got it from Houdini's family. "I have an antique straitjacket, an original Harry Houdini straitjacket," he said. "It does look Friday the 13th-ish," Harrison pointed out. William further shared that he was sure that the item was the real deal and that he was looking to get about $100,000 for it. "It was given to my Grandfather by Theo Houdini, Harry Houdini's brother. They became good friends after Houdini passed away," he shared. Harrison noted that Houdini was one of the most renowned performers in history. However, Harrison noted that Theo Houdini was notorious for selling fake memorabilia, so he had to bring in an expert.
Harrison then called in Murray, a famous magician, to try and find out if Houdini ever wore the same straitjacket. Before walking in, Murray noted that there was a one-in-a-million chance that he would find proof of the jacket's authenticity, but he was excited to take a look. Looking at the jacket, the expert noted that it came from the same company that Houdini used to buy from. Furthermore, he suspected that it was worn in one of the performer's events. "I thought for sure there was no way we could prove this was Houdini's, and now we have a positive clue. This is a great start, but to prove it, I need to find the photograph, which is like a one-in-a-million chance, but this is really Houdini's jacket, this is like the Holy Grail," Harrison said.
The expert returned with some photographs from Houdini's January 1st, 1915, event at St. Louis, Missouri. "I found the only photographs of a jacket that's as close as we can get to this jacket. This is the exact same style made by the same company," he said. Murray confirmed that the jacket in front of them was the same straitjacket Houdini wore during the event.
While everyone was amazed, Harrison asked the important question: "How much do these go for?" To this, Murray estimated that the jacket could be worth $34,000 to $42,000 in the current market. "This is the first time ever I've seen Harry Houdini in a jacket and then having the exact same jacket beside me," he said.
After Murray left, Harrison got straight down to negotiations. By then, William had modified his asking price to $40,000, but Harrison wasn't willing to pay that much. "I'm thinking $15,000. It's in really rough shape, it's had repairs on it. It could be years before I sell this thing," he said. The owner then came down to $35,000, but Harrison could go up to only $25,000. William put forward his final ask of $30,000, but Harrison wasn't willing to budge. Surprisingly, the owner refused to make a deal and decided to keep the jacket. "Forget the number, the most exciting thing is to actually have the expert come in and find an actual photograph of Harry Houdini wearing my jacket. It absolutely blew me away!" he mentioned.
In the end, Harrison regretted not going up to $30,000 as he really wanted the jacket. "I almost feel like running after him in the parking lot right now," he said.
