Continuing his latest European tour, Houdini was performing at Hamburg’s Hansa Theater on Steindamm in late 1909 when he learned of a Voisin biplane being available for sale. He quickly purchased it and learned to fly at the nearby Hufaren exercise field, and taught German army officers to fly as well (something he came to regret during World War I).

The weather in Germany was ill-fit for flying, but Harry was next booked on the other side of the world — and it was summertime in Australia. The biplane was duly crated up and loaded onto the Malma, the P&O liner that would carry him and his fame across the oceans. They set sail for a new world on January 7, 1910.

Berlin’s Hackescher Markt, now a popular array of cafes, restaurants, boutiques and art galleries, evolved from the Bahnhof Borse, or Stock Exchange Station, which was home to Circus Busch, founded by Paul Busch in 1895. The original building was levelled in 1937 when Alfred Speer redeveloped the city.

Circus Busch was one of the premier circuses in Europe, comprising all manner of entertain- ment, including, on September 21, 1912, the continental debut of Houdini’s now-famous Water Torture Cell. His Milk Can escape copied ad nauseum by imitators, Harry had the new apparatus built in England and put on a show there for an audience of one to secure the copyright before its unveiling in Cardiff, Wales.

Houdini had had his first stint with Circus Busch in 1908, performing his Metamorphosis routine.