Help us get to over 8,748 articles in 2024.

If you know of a magician not listed in MagicPedia, start a New Biography for them. Contact us at magicpediahelp@gmail.com

Difference between revisions of "P. T. Selbit"

From Magicpedia, the free online encyclopedia for magicians by magicians.
Jump to: navigation, search
m
(8 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Wikipedia}}
 
[[P. T. Selbit]] (1881 - 1938) was an English magician and inventor who is credited with being the first person to perform the illusion of [[sawing a woman in half]].
 
 
{{Infobox person
 
{{Infobox person
| image                    =  
+
| image                    = Selbit.jpg
 
| image_size                =  
 
| image_size                =  
 
| alt                      =  
 
| alt                      =  
| caption                  =  
+
| caption                  = Cover of Sphinx (Feb. 1911)
 
| birth_name                = Percy Thomas Tibbles
 
| birth_name                = Percy Thomas Tibbles
 
| birth_day                = November 17,
 
| birth_day                = November 17,
 
| birth_year                = 1881
 
| birth_year                = 1881
| birth_place              = London
+
| birth_place              = Hampstead, London
 
| death_day                = November 19,
 
| death_day                = November 19,
 
| death_year                = 1938
 
| death_year                = 1938
Line 23: Line 21:
 
| misc                      =
 
| misc                      =
 
}}
 
}}
 +
'''P. T. Selbit''' (1881-1938) was an English magician and inventor who is credited with being the first person to perform the illusion of [[sawing a woman in half]].
  
 
+
== Biography ==
 
His birth name was Percy Thomas Tibbles and he was born in Hampstead, London. He learned magic at an early age and became a professional illusionist in the early 1900s. He has been reported as working a "pseudo-Egyptian" act under the name Joad Heteb between 1902 and 1908. Later he created the stage name P. T. Selbit by spelling his last name backwards and dropping one of the "B"s.
 
His birth name was Percy Thomas Tibbles and he was born in Hampstead, London. He learned magic at an early age and became a professional illusionist in the early 1900s. He has been reported as working a "pseudo-Egyptian" act under the name Joad Heteb between 1902 and 1908. Later he created the stage name P. T. Selbit by spelling his last name backwards and dropping one of the "B"s.
  
He was a prolific inventor of illusions. In addition to his famous sawing illusion performed for the first time on January 17th, 1921 at Finsbury Park Empire, he is credited with devising Walking through a Wall (1914), Girl/Man without a Middle (1924), Through the Eye of a Needle (1924), The Million Dollar Mystery, Stretching a Girl, and Avoiding the Crush, The [[Mighty Cheese]], Selbit's Blocks and possibly also the Siberian Chain Escape.
+
He was a prolific inventor of illusions. In addition to his famous sawing illusion performed for the first time on January 17th, 1921 at Finsbury Park Empire, he is credited with devising [[Walking through a Wall]] (1914), Girl/Man without a Middle (1924), [[Through the Eye of a Needle]] (1924), [[Million Dollar Mystery]] (c. 1927), Stretching a Girl, and Avoiding the Crush, The [[Mighty Cheese]], Selbit's Blocks and possibly also the Siberian Chain Escape.
 +
 
 +
== Creations ==
 +
* Sawing a Woman in Half (contested)
 +
* [[The Wrestling Cheese]]
 +
* [[Million Dollar Mystery]] (with [[Walter Jeans]])
 +
* [[Iasia]]
 +
* [[Stretching a Woman]] (Elastic Lady)
 +
* [[The Girl without a Middle]]
 +
* [[Crushing a Woman]]
 +
* [[Walking Through a Wall]]
 +
* [[The Haunted Window]]
 +
* [[The Mile a Minute Mystery]].
  
 
==Published work==
 
==Published work==
 
* [[The Magician's Handbook]] (1901)
 
* [[The Magician's Handbook]] (1901)
 +
* [[The Magical Entertainer]] (1906)
 
* Also, from 1905 to 1910, he edited a magic magazine called The [[Wizard (Selbit)]], which, under another editor, later became The [[Magic Wand]].
 
* Also, from 1905 to 1910, he edited a magic magazine called The [[Wizard (Selbit)]], which, under another editor, later became The [[Magic Wand]].
  
==References==
+
{{References}}
 +
{{Wikipedia}}
 
* P.T. Selbit "Sawing Thro' A Woman" in [[The Magic Wand]], Vol. 9, no. 108, February 1921.
 
* P.T. Selbit "Sawing Thro' A Woman" in [[The Magic Wand]], Vol. 9, no. 108, February 1921.
 
* Eric C. Lewis & Peter Warlock, P.T. Selbit: Magical Innovator, Magical Publications (1989), ISBN 0915181193
 
* Eric C. Lewis & Peter Warlock, P.T. Selbit: Magical Innovator, Magical Publications (1989), ISBN 0915181193
Line 39: Line 52:
 
* Jim Steinmeyer, Art and Artifice: And Other Essays of Illusion, Carroll & Graf, (September 2006), ISBN 0786718064
 
* Jim Steinmeyer, Art and Artifice: And Other Essays of Illusion, Carroll & Graf, (September 2006), ISBN 0786718064
 
* P. T. Selbit, The Magician's Handbook: a Complete Encyclopedia of the Magic Art, (various editions, including: Marshall & Brookes, 1902; 3rd edition Dawbarn & Ward, 1904)
 
* P. T. Selbit, The Magician's Handbook: a Complete Encyclopedia of the Magic Art, (various editions, including: Marshall & Brookes, 1902; 3rd edition Dawbarn & Ward, 1904)
 +
* {{cc|illusion:selbit}}
 +
 +
  
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selbit}}
+
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selbit,P}}
 
[[Category:Biographies]]
 
[[Category:Biographies]]

Revision as of 20:47, 3 August 2014

P. T. Selbit

Cover of Sphinx (Feb. 1911)
BornPercy Thomas Tibbles
November 17, 1881
Hampstead, London
DiedNovember 19, 1938 (age 57)
CategoriesBooks by P. T. Selbit

P. T. Selbit (1881-1938) was an English magician and inventor who is credited with being the first person to perform the illusion of sawing a woman in half.

Biography

His birth name was Percy Thomas Tibbles and he was born in Hampstead, London. He learned magic at an early age and became a professional illusionist in the early 1900s. He has been reported as working a "pseudo-Egyptian" act under the name Joad Heteb between 1902 and 1908. Later he created the stage name P. T. Selbit by spelling his last name backwards and dropping one of the "B"s.

He was a prolific inventor of illusions. In addition to his famous sawing illusion performed for the first time on January 17th, 1921 at Finsbury Park Empire, he is credited with devising Walking through a Wall (1914), Girl/Man without a Middle (1924), Through the Eye of a Needle (1924), Million Dollar Mystery (c. 1927), Stretching a Girl, and Avoiding the Crush, The Mighty Cheese, Selbit's Blocks and possibly also the Siberian Chain Escape.

Creations

Published work

References

Wikipedia-logo.png This page incorporated content from P. T. Selbit,

a page hosted on Wikipedia. Please consult the history of the original page to see a list of its authors. Therefor, this article is also available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

  • P.T. Selbit "Sawing Thro' A Woman" in The Magic Wand, Vol. 9, no. 108, February 1921.
  • Eric C. Lewis & Peter Warlock, P.T. Selbit: Magical Innovator, Magical Publications (1989), ISBN 0915181193
  • Jim Steinmeyer, Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear, Carroll & Graf, (reprint August 2004), ISBN 0786714018
  • Jim Steinmeyer, Art and Artifice: And Other Essays of Illusion, Carroll & Graf, (September 2006), ISBN 0786718064
  • P. T. Selbit, The Magician's Handbook: a Complete Encyclopedia of the Magic Art, (various editions, including: Marshall & Brookes, 1902; 3rd edition Dawbarn & Ward, 1904)
  • Conjuring Credits' article on illusion:selbit