Rose Mackenberg was among the most prolific and experienced “spook busters” of the 20th century, having learned at the feet of Harry Houdini himself as a member of Houdini’s “secret service”. Disguise was a necessary weapon in her arsenal and her first stop in any new town was the local department store; there she would spend several hours making notes on the clothing of various “types” of women whom she might be required to impersonate in infiltrating fraudulent seances.
While a number of photographs of Miss Mack’s disguises have appeared online in recent years, we believe that this is the first modern reproduction of this particular ensemble.