Henry said, “If John knew I had a mock up to display, he’d still be restoring the real cell.” Instead, he kept complaining to John that he needed the restored cell. I asked Henry if John Gaughan had fabricated it and Henry told me he had it done in Canada and never told John. I wonder if this has something to do with that. I believe he gave it to Appleton during a collectors convention in Appleton. Henry Muller had a duplicate cell created by a craftsman in Canada. The split can be seen in numerous photos taken of the USD in the museum and it can still be seen on the cover of November 1991 issue of Magic magazine after John Gaughan had restored it for Sid Radner. This can be seen in a photo of the USD in Sid Radner’s basement in 1970 before it went to the museum in Canada. This split extended horizontally between the screws on that wooden panel.
The original USD had a split in the middle upper wooden panel of the stage left side of the cell box. The Water Torture Cell was later returned to the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Niagra Falls. This was the first time the cell was displayed in the United States since 1926. After Gaughan completed the restoration, the Water Torture Cell was displayed at the Conference on Magic History in North Hollywood, California. Gaughan restored the Water Torture Cell and he was compensated for the restoration. The cell was then shipped to Gaughan for restoration. They asked John Gaughan to restore the cell to its original condition. In 1991, the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame decided to have the water torture cell restored.
Richmond Review British Columbia, Canada Jun 11, 1971 Just one tidbit is that there appears to be a bit of chicanery when the museum at Niagara moved location.
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