The Collection of Jim Rawlins Part II

Saw Through an Arm. Ardmore, PA: Massey, ca. 1948. A spectator’s arm is locked in a gruesome-looking wooden and brass stock. A small hand saw is now pushed down through the volunteer’s arm, sawing through a slat of wood next to it, but without harming the flesh. 22 x 22”. Clever mechanical method. Rare. The most elaborate and likely rarest of Massey’s ingenious props, this effect retailed for $100 when released in 1948. According to advertising of the time, “This effect has the chilling, grating sound of the saw cutting through wood WHILE IT GOES THROUGH THE LADY’S ARM AT THE SAME TIME! … With the arm in position, the performer comes down very gently upon the flesh of the occupant in order that the sharpness of the teeth may be convincingly felt. THE TEETH ARE ACTUALLY FELT and the lady usually gives a quite definite admission to that effect.”