P. T. Selbit

P. T. Selbit, born Percy Thomas Tibbles, was a British magician and inventor credited with creating the Sawing a Woman in Half illusion in its modern, enduring form. Introduced in the early 1920s, the effect became one of the most famous and widely imitated illusions in the history of magic.

Selbit was an innovative showman who also developed escapes and large-scale publicity stunts, helping to define the spectacle-driven style of early twentieth-century stage magic. His invention of the signature sawing illusion secured his place as a pivotal figure in the evolution of grand illusion.