It was 1921 when one of the most iconic moments in the history of magic was about to occur in London. At the Finsbury Park Empire theater, the magician P.T. Selbit shoved his assistant into a wooden crate, and before the shocked eyes of his audience, he began sawing.
Thus was born one of the most iconic and daring tricks that any self-respecting magician has in their repertoire. Imitations of the trick sprang up instantly, and it didn’t take him long to cross the ocean and reach the United States. How great was the impact of this boldness during that time?
Entertainment in postwar times
The act of ‘Sawing a Woman,’ as Selbit originally named it, was created on January 17, 1921, just three years after the end of World War I.
Spirits were still low, times were tense, and people were looking for new distractions that would make them forget the ravages of conflict and the uncertainty of everyday life.
It was within this context that Selbit’s act entered, a trick that revolutionized the world of illusionism and satisfied the public’s need for new magic. In addition to serving as an escape from the harsh reality for the public, it marked a before and after in the history of the craft.
Female assistants
In its beginnings, the trick involved the magician’s assistant being tied hands and feet; then, she entered the drawer, and Selbit began to saw. The horrified audience calmed when Selbit put the two halves of the drawer together again, and the assistant emerged intact.
Over time, the other magicians modified the trick, making it more daring: They showed the head and legs of the assistant or even ditched the drawer entirely.
But why a female assistant and not a male? It was common for both sexes to assist the magicians in their acts. However, the assistants were chosen for this specific trick because of the implicit power it represented over the woman, immobilizing her, and splitting her by the middle.
It’s believed that this act was one of the main instigators of the trope of the helpless and attractive woman, a sheer contrast to what the UK was going through at the time.
More rights for women
In 1921, the latest topic was the female vote. Women suffragettes were fighting to be taken into account during the elections.
They’d already had achievements when a law was passed in 1918 that allowed women over 30 to vote, although there were still many obstacles involved.
Still, this victory was enough for a sector of society to strongly oppose them, as some considered it bad for women to vote. This group found in Selbit’s act a representation of the control they craved over women suffragettes, making it a popular but controversial stunt.
Crossing the pond
Selbit’s trick began to be imitated in every corner of the United Kingdom, and it was only a matter of months before someone heard about him in the United States: Horace Goldin.
He had two great ideas to make the trick his own: show the heads, hands, and feet of the women he sawed, and license it.
With these two measures, he became the greatest representative of the trick on our side of the globe. By the time Selbit tried to tour America with his gimmick, he couldn’t even use the original name and failed miserably.
Even though he sued Horace, appealing that his trick had been copied, the US court did not agree. It must have been karma for the controversy he caused in the UK. At least, he will always be recognized as the legitimate inventor of the trick. Something is something.
Translated by Gaby Flores
