Robert Harbin

Robert Harbin was a South African-born magician and inventor working in Britain whose creations reshaped twentieth-century stage magic. He is best known for inventing the Zig Zag Girl, an illusion that became one of the most widely performed stage effects in the world.

Harbin was also a pioneer of close-up and platform manipulation and an early developer of origami as a performance art in the West. His prolific output of original methods and his willingness to publish them made him a defining creative force in mid-century illusion.