Radium Girl

A female assistant is then introduced and one or more of the volunteers are invited to help her into a series of restraints, which consist of leather straps with short chains or cords attached.

Four short straps are fitted as cuffs around her wrists and ankles, a slightly longer one as a collar around her neck and an even larger one as belt around her waist.

This leaves the assistant apparently held in a standing posture inside the cabinet, with her arms at her sides and with little leeway for movement.

In addition a series of blades are pushed through slots in the front panel so that it appears the cabinet is divided into sections, each of which is too small for the assistant.

The tube, the blades and the rods are then pulled out of the cabinet and the front panel is removed, revealing the assistant unharmed and still held in position by the restraints.

Known performances in more recent times include a presentation by English magician Jeffery Atkins at the FISM congress in Paris in 1973.