The Magic Circle gave a great public show last night on the 100th anniversary of sawing a woman in half – invented by Percy Tibbles and first performed on the evening of the 17th of January 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire Theatre.
He reversed his surname and dropped a B to become “Selbit” and I have a much earlier book of his from 1906 called “The Magical Entertainer”.
The effects described included “laughable” Ventriloquism – clearly the word has changed its meaning a little since then.
I also note a Mr SC Tibbles illustrated the book – in fact this was I believe Tibbles himself with different initials – and advertised these services too.
He also included another advert for his stage persona – “Joad Heted” – at the back of the book, therefore revealing himself as four separate identities, a fitting way for a magician to disguise.
The Magic Circle show included a fantastic history presentation by Dr Naomi Paxton of how Christabel Pankhurst – the Suffragette leader – was offered the chance to appear in early performances.
As you might guess, she wisely refused.
