Designer: Robert Harbin
Little By Little was created by Robert Harbin and detailed in the Magic of Robert Harbin. Owners of this book are authorized to build and perform the illusion.
The magician shows a cabinet with an open front. The cabinet is divided in left/right halves by means of a wooden panel in the middle. An assistant enters the left half of the cabinet. The magician then places a drawer on the bottom and the assistant puts her foot through a hole in the front of the drawer. Another drawer is placed above the first and a small door on the front is opened to show the assistant's midsection. A final drawer is placed on the top and the assistant places her hand through a hole in the front. The magician uses 6 blades to divide the assistant into 3 pieces - top, middle, and bottom (two blades forming a top and bottom for each separate piece). The magician then removes her midsection and places it on the right side of the divider. Her hand is still moving and her foot still visible on the left. The magician then removes the lower drawer and asks the assistant to place her foot more firmly in the drawer - which she does all while the drawer is in the hands of the magician! He then places the drawer on the bottom right side of the cabinet under the middle drawer. The assistant's hand is still moving about on the left side as the magician removes the final box and places it on the top of the right side of the cabinet. The assistant then emerges, having been reconstructed on the other side of the cabinet, piece by piece.
Harbin built his original version in one day and then performed it the next!
Photo Credit: Mark Wilson