Designer: Thomas W. Tobin
Thomas W. Tobin created the Cabinet of Proteus in the mid to late 1800s, obtaining US patent 146,293 on Jan. 6, 1874. He applied for the patent June 11, 1873.
The illusion premiered April 10, 1865 at the Royal Polytechnic as part of the Easter program. It was credited as a join invention of "J.H. Pepper and T. Tobin."1
Assistants are made to appear and disappear from a large cabinet that has folding doors in front and an upright pillar that extends from top to bottom inside. At the top of the pillar is usually a lamp which illuminates the inside. The cabinet can be revolved to show there is nothing hidden behind the cabinet.
https://youtu.be/a9rAbcAHBp0
Photo Credit: Hoffman. Modern Magic.
Video Credit: Magic Unlimited
Sources:
[1] Steinmeyer, James H. "We are Here but Not Here." The Science Behind the Ghost. Burbank: Hahne. 2013. p. 108.
