Thinbox Sawing a Woman in Half illusion

The first public performance of a sawing illusion was achieved by British magician P.T. Selbit in January 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire theatre in London. In fact Selbit had previously performed the illusion in December 1920 before a select audience of promoters and theatrical agents at the St. George's Hall, London, to try to persuade one of them to book his new act for public shows. His trick, which he billed as "Sawing Through A Woman", was significantly different from what a modern audience would expect. Selbit's assistant was locked inside a closed wooden crate and could not be seen. The impression that she could not evade the saw was created by the confined space in the box and by ropes tied to her hands, feet, and neck, which were held throughout the illusion by spectators from the audience.

The question of who was the first woman to be sawn in half has received much less publicity than the question of which magician first presented the illusion. According to Jim Steinmeyer the woman who participated in the December 1920 demonstration was Jan Glenrose, who was Selbit's main assistant at that time and who was also the partner of magician Fred Culpitt.In the public performance the role of victim was taken by principal assistant, Betty Barker.

Later in 1921, Horace Goldin, a magician working in the United States, presented the first version which might look familiar to modern audiences. Goldin's assistant lay in a box from which her feet, head and hands protruded. Goldin sawed through the middle of the box, inserting metal sheets to cover the cut ends, and then pushed the two halves a little way apart. This process was then reversed, and the assistant released unharmed. Goldin later developed a sawing illusion that dispensed with boxes and used a large buzzsaw.The success of Selbit and then Goldin led to more and more magicians trying to imitate them with copies or improved versions of sawing illusions.

The thin model sawing is one of the most common variants performed by contemporary magicians.The box appears very shallow. The ends of the box are initially open when the assistant climbs in. Once the assistant is lying down she is secured in place by having stocks placed over her neck and ankles. The stocks form the ends of the box. The shallow box adds to the impression that the assistant could not possibly find room to evade the saw blade even if she could release herself from the stocks and try to curl up in one half of the box. .

Glamour illusions Thinbox Sawing Apparatus

Over the years we have had various versions of the Thinbox sawing illusion The current one used by XMP is a prop built originally by Repro Magic of London. It has been refurbished and redecorated twice now since it was added to our collection in 2002

Thinbox Sawing

Zig Zag Lady Illusion

The Zig-Zag Girl illusion is a magic trick akin to the more famous sawing a woman in half illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides an assistant into thirds, only to have them emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance completely unharmed.

Since its invention in the mid-1960s by magician Robert Harbin, it has been hailed as one of the greatest illusions ever invented due to both the apparent impossibility of the trick, and the fact that unlike many illusions it can be performed surrounded by spectators and withstand the scrutiny of audience members.

Harbin was frustrated by his illusion being pirated by other magicians and this inspired him to publish the method in his book The Magic of Robert Harbin in 1970. The book was limited to 500 copies and owners of the book were granted permission to build or have built the Zig Zig Girl (or indeed any other of the items in the book). The rights to the book and the Zig Zag illusion were then in time passed to The Magic Circle in the wake of Harbin's death. The concept of dividing a lady assistant in two or three parts was something that Harbin experimented with throughout his career before creating his ultimate divide, the Zig Zag Girl. Evidence of his fascination with this concept of dividing an assistant can be found in his earlier publications and the closest relative to the Zig Zag is the "Little by Little" which was also explained in The Magic of Robert Harbin.

Harbin's original Zig Zag Girl illusion is currently on display in The Magic Circle museum.

The assistant (usually a woman) is placed in an upright cabinet, her face, hands, and left foot visible through openings in the front of the cabinet. Large metal blades are inserted horizontally in the cabinet's midsection, dividing it and presumably the assistant inside into thirds.

The magician then slides the cabinet's midsection apart from the top and bottom thirds, giving the appearance that the assistant's midsection has been pulled away from the rest of her, giving her a "zig-zag" shape.

While divided, a small door on the cabinet's midsection can be opened to examine?even touch?the assistant's body inside, a duty frequently performed by an audience member brought up on stage to help perform the illusion. At the completion of the illusion, the assistant's midsection is slid back into place, the two blades removed, and she steps out of the cabinet unscathed.

Glamour illusions Zig Zag Lady

The current XMP illusions Zig Zag Lady illusion is a prop built by Repro Magic of London and is constructed from MDF. It has a material covering and decoration to the exterior

Zig Zag Lady