This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/9/2023
GOLDIN, Horace (Hyman Elias Goldstein, 1873 - 1939). Sawing a Woman in Half Souvenir. American, ca. 1922. Miniature gold plated replica of a cross-cut saw, possibly meant to be incorporated into a charm bracelet. The verso bears the text, “Horace Goldin / Sawing A Woman in Half,” the recto, “With A Genuine / Disston / Saw.” 1 ¾". Uncommon. Fine.
The Sawing illusion was Goldin’s greatest triumph and a constant source of problems, both financial and artistic. Though he is regarded as an innovator in the design and method used to accomplish the effect, Goldin spent much of his fortune defending his rights to the apparatus through various legal channels. In the end, he may have ultimately spent more money on attorney fees than he was paid to present the trick. Even so, Goldin surely deserves credit for his innovations, particularly his development of the “Living Miracle,” a boxless version of the Sawing using a giant circular buzz saw.