Designer: Unknown - if you have evidence of the original inventor, please contact us to let us know.
Burling Hull believed this to be one of the most sensational stage illusions ever produced.1 An empty, upright cabinet is shown to the audience. the doors are closed and immediately reopened where a "Chinaman" is shown standing inside, hands and head bound in a set of stocks.2 The man is shown to be living and moving. His head is removed by the performer and is suspended by the man's long hair. The performer places the head into a small box with a glass front. The performer fires a pistol and the head disappears from the box and is seen back on the body in the stocks. The performer releases the man who then walks out of the cabinet and off the stage.
Photo Credit: Burling Hull - Encyclopedia of Stage Illusions
Sources:
[1] Hull, Burling. 1980. The Encyclopedia of Stage Illusions. Oakland: Magic Limited - Lloyd E. Jones. p. 32.
[2] Ibid.
