Magicians around the world are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first time a woman was sawn in half.
Magician Emil Kio performs at the Moscow Circus in 1939. Photo: AFP
The illusion was first shown to the public by PT Selbit in Finsbury Park in London in 1921.
But historian of magic Bernard Reid says the trick today isn't the same as Selbit's version.
The woman Selbit used was roped - her wrists, feet and neck were all tied and the ropes were fed through holes in a coffin.
There was nobody in the coffin, Reid says, and members of the audience were holding the ropes as well as expecting it from all angles.
"Well of course there were no feet and legs and head out of the box and of course it fooled everybody and created a sensation."
Historian of magic Bernard Reid. Photo: RNZ / Mabel Muller
A magician going by the name of Golden perfected a version where the feet and head were exposed that very same year.
"He was smart enough to patent it and he actually stop Selbit ... from performing it in the United States."
Over the years it has been refined and some versions even puzzle other magicians.
Reid says while it looks dangerous, he has never heard of any mishaps while performing the trick.
A 100 years on, members of The Magic Circle will be meeting online to celebrate and show off their versions of this classic trick.
As for Reid, he'll never divulge the secrets of the trick.
