One hundred years ago this weekend an English magician called Percy Thomas Tibbles sawed through a sealed wooden box that contained a woman. It was a sensation and has since become one of the best known magic tricks. The illusion was invented by Tibbles, who went by the stage name of PT Selbit, and was first performed in north London on January 17.
… Selbit’s original illusion did not have the woman’s head and feet sticking out the box, which would become the tradition. The sawing was also real and slow.