Sawing a Woman in Half

Sawing a woman in half is a stage illusion in which a woman lies in a box, a saw is drawn through the middle, and she is then shown unharmed. It was first presented by the British magician P. T. Selbit in London in January 1921, and within months Horace Goldin was performing his own version in America.

Who first presented it

Selbit introduced the illusion at the Finsbury Park Empire in north London in January 1921. In his version the woman was tied with ropes and shut inside a closed crate before it was sawn through.

Goldin's version, first shown in the United States later in 1921, differed in a way audiences noticed at once: the woman's head, hands and feet stayed visible, sticking out of the ends of the box, while the saw went through the middle. Goldin patented his design in 1923.

Who deserves the credit has been argued about ever since. Selbit appeared first in public; Goldin claimed the idea was his and built a different illusion. There are also reports of older presentations with a similar theme, but none had anything like the same impact. The timeline entry for 1921 records the dispute.

What the audience sees

In the classic presentation the assistant climbs into a long box and lies down. The box is closed, and in many versions her head and feet remain in view the whole time. The magician saws through the centre, sometimes slides the two halves apart so the audience can see a gap, then pushes them back together, opens the box and the woman steps out whole.

How it is done is the magician's secret. Different performers have used very different apparatus over the past century, and none of them is explained here.

Publicity and rivalry

The illusion was a publicity gift. Goldin's touring company is said to have parked ambulances outside theatres and placed nurses in the lobby, and newspapers carried advertisements inviting women to volunteer. Rival magicians rushed out copies, and both Selbit and Goldin spent money and effort trying to protect their versions.

Later versions

The basic plot has been reworked many times:

• versions using a large circular power saw, an idea usually credited to Goldin
• illusions that divide the assistant into three, such as the Zig Zag girl introduced by Robert Harbin in the 1960s
• television versions in which the two halves are wheeled apart across the stage

Some performers have swapped the roles, with a man in the box.

Why it endures

Sawing a woman in half is probably the most widely recognised stage illusion in the world, known even to people who have never seen a magic show. It joins danger and an impossible picture in a few seconds of theatre. It has also drawn criticism as a symbol of the way women were used as props in stage magic, which is part of why modern performers often rethink who is in the box. For the bigger picture, see the history of magic and stage magic.

Frequently asked questions

Who invented sawing a woman in half?

P. T. Selbit first presented it in London in January 1921. Horace Goldin presented a different version in America the same year and patented it in 1923. Credit is still disputed.

When was sawing a woman in half first performed?

In January 1921, at the Finsbury Park Empire in London.

How is sawing a woman in half done?

That is the magician's secret, and many different versions exist. This encyclopedia records the history of illusions, not how they are performed.

What is the Zig Zag girl?

A related illusion introduced by the magician Robert Harbin in the 1960s, in which the assistant appears to be divided into three sections and the middle one is pushed to the side.