![]() ![]() The assistant is secured to the Bascule by straps, usually after having had their hands tied behind their back. It also uses a separate wicker basket to catch the falling head in place of the attached box. In place of the fixed board attached to the guillotine as used in the Guillotine Extreme, it copies the original French design and has a tilting board (known as a Bascule). It is also the only version where the assistant's head is genuinely severed and separated from the rest of their body. This is the most realistic version of the illusion, as it uses a very authentic copy of a genuine French guillotine. As this is usually performed, the magician apparently fails to free themselves in time and their head is apparently severed by the falling blade, only for the magician to dramatically reappear unharmed elsewhere in the theater. This version of the illusion has sometimes been presented as an escape, with the magician themselves being locked into the guillotine, and having to attempt to free themselves before the blade falls. Often, their head is then removed from the box hidden under a cloth, and then placed on a table next to the guillotine before being revealed to still be alive. As the blade passes through the neck stock, the assistant's head apparently drops into a large wooden box attached to the front of the guillotine. The assistant is made to lie down on a board attached to the guillotine, their head is locked into place, and the blade released. Rather than having a blade pass through their neck, this illusion features the assistant's head apparently getting visually cut off. While in most versions of this variation, the "victim" simply kneels behind the guillotine to place their neck in the stock, some have a fixed bench attached on which the "victim" can lay down. Because it is actually passing through the neck of the "victim", the blade must be pulled upwards before undoing the stock and letting them free. When the blade is released, it passes through the stock and the lower edge of it can be seen projecting from the lower edge of the stock, clearly demonstrating that it is passing completely through the neck of the "victim". It features a very large blade that includes the large weight mounted above it which prevents it from falling all of the way through the stock. This variation uses a larger version of the prop that more closely resembles a real guillotine. The upper part of the stock can then be raised to release the "victim" from the guillotine. ![]() ![]() When the blade is released, it falls through the stock and emerges completely from the bottom, having apparently passed completely through the "victim's" neck. Unlike the traditional guillotine used for executions, the narrow blade does not have the large weight mounted above it. The inner faces of the uprights contain tracks within which runs a narrow blade, and the upper end of the uprights supports a mechanism for raising, holding and then releasing the blade. This has two uprights, with a stock at their lower end to restrain the neck of the "victim". In its most familiar form, the illusion uses an apparatus which is a stylised version of the type of guillotine historically used for executions. ĭue to the air of secrecy surrounding the art of magic, it is very difficult to trace the origins of the modern guillotine illusion, and no reliable information is available concerning its inventor or the details of the first performance. A decapitation illusion involving the apparent beheading of two boys and a dove was also recorded as being performed by Jacob Philadelphia in 1765. Ī method for performing a decapitation illusion, where a person's head is severed and displayed on a plate next to their headless body, was described in The Discoverie of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot, published in 1584. Decapitation illusions have a long history, with the first documented example dating from the reign of Khufu in ancient Egypt, when a magician named Dedi apparently decapitated and restored birds and other livestock. The Guillotine is probably the most famous member of a family of illusions featuring the decapitation of a person or other living subject. In some versions of the illusion, the apparatus also has a bench attached to the uprights at the same level as the neck stocks, on which the "victim" lays down - usually in a face-down position - rather than kneeling behind the guillotine. The blade is released and passes through their neck and out the bottom. ![]() A person kneels behind the guillotine and inserts their head into the stocks. The blade of a guillotine is shown to be sharp and real, usually by cutting a vegetable or something similar. ![]()
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