Images and video clips I have collected for my own reference on
The Vanishing Bird Cage
. I hope these may also be of interest to other people interested in this history of this amazing feat of magic.
NOTE: this page is graphics heavy with many images and some of the video GIF files are quite large so be patient as they may take a minute to load up and play back smoothly depending on your internet connection speed.
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The man who started it all,
Buatier De Kolta, the creator of 'La Cage Volante' ('The Flying Cage'). His first cage was a large
cylindrical cage. Later he switched to the more familiar rectangular cage.
(click on any of the images to view them larger)
De Kolta with his cylindrical La Cage Volante -- The Flying Cage . )
Most magicians use a rectangular or square shaped cage , but aside from Buatier De Kolta's original
cylindrical shaped cage ,
Jon Martin made a round dome shaped cage that was used by
Frakson and
David Alexander, among others. (David Alexander was a student of Frakson).
In the Frakson routine the performer covers the cage with a scarf, vanishes the cage , then removes his coat to show there is nothing concealed. The cage is then reproduced from under the empty scarf. James Riser photographed David Alexander performing the Frakson routine, which may be viewed here:
https://jamesriser.com/Magic/Frakson/Recreation.html
Del Adelphia about to vanish the canary and the cage. After vanishing his cage he would remove his coat and allow a spectator to examine him to show nothing concealed in his sleeves or under his coat.
[Other performers who would remove their coat (and sometimes their shirts or even their pants!) after vanishing the cage to show nothing concealed in the coat included
Arnold De Biere, H
oward de Courcy, Granville Taylor, Frakson , Larry Grey, Servais LeRoy, Bill Williston Steve Shepard, Lee Noble, Pete Biro. And in more recent times
Michel Clavello, Jonathan Neal, John Carney, Jonathan Pendragon.]
Magician and author
Richard Heinemann with bird and cage Photo from Heinemann's book 'Original Magic' (1945). He is using a European-style bird cage made by
János Bartl and others.
Mystic Craig (William Michael Vagell) who wrote a book
"The Elusive Canary"
(1936) about his approach to performing the vanishing bird cage and some alternative handlings, along with some with some historical information about the vanishing bird cage provided by John Mulholland and Jean Hugard. Purchase an e-book version here:
https://www.lybrary.com/the-elusive-canary-p-926908.html Photo from the collection of Charles Hadala.
Autographed photo of
Howard de Courcy performing the Vanishing Birdcage (1938). From the collection of Tim Reed.
Howard de Courcy performing his version of
The Vanishing Bird Cage in 1937 for the
newsreel cameras of British Pathe.
The Vanishing Bird Cage in 1937 for the
newsreel cameras of British Pathe.
(Howard de Courcy's full vanishing bird cage act may be seen in the British Pathe newsreel "Vaudeville Cocktail" posted on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/hFG1UtbyuVc . After he has vanished the cage , de Courcy hears someone from the audience say
"it went under his coat", so he removes his coat and allows the gentleman to examine the coat where no trace of the bird or cage is to be found.)
European-style vanishing bird cage , possibly by
János Bartl . Other European manufacturers made similar style cages. In England
Jon Martin made a cage in this style that was regarded as superior in quality to all others in this style.
St. Louis-based magician and magic shop owner
Will Lindhorst's Vanishing Bird Cage design, first introduced in 1947. This is generally thought of as the best, most practical cage design and has been widely copied. The cages were actually made by Will Lindhorst's brother,
Charles Lindhorst.
The Lindhorst vanishing bird cage was introduced in 1947. British magic dealer Harry Stanley had the magical craftsman "Yimka" (Dick Scott) make a very similar style cage , which Stanley at frist called the "Secundus" cage, introduced in 1949. In the mid-1950's and continuing into the 1960's and 70's Gene Devoe continued production of the original Lindhorst cage when he purchased Lindhorst's magic shop after Lindhorst died in 1954. The cages continued to be made by Charles Lindhorst. In the 1960's and 70's , Fred Rickhard made a Lindhorst-style cage for Owen Magic Supreme. Owen Magic Supreme continued to produce a Lindhorst-style cage after Rickhard passed away. In the 1980's - 2000's master craftsman James Riser made Lindhorst-style cages , including his scaled down "Baby Lindy" version, which are very highly regarded and sought after. Riser's cages are considered among the best ever made. Chris Reesman of Encore Magic made a Lindhorst-style cage around 2003 - 2006 for Billy McComb's marketed version of his "Slow-Motion Vanishing Bird Cage". In recent years Daniel Summers collaborated with the late Walter Blaney to produce "The Walter Blaney Perfect Vanishing Bird Cage" and also "The James Riser Baby Lindy Vanishing Bird Cage" (authorized by James Riser).
A
Lindhorst bird cage c.late 1940's - early 1950's , owned by the author of this blog.
Here is a Lindhorst-style cage sold by
Gene Devoe (made by
Charles Lindhorst) -
After
Will Lindhorst died in 1954, his magic shop , Lindhorst's Magic Den in St. Louis, was purchased by
Gene Devoe , who continued in business for many years as Devoe's Magic Den. Gene Devoe had
Charles Lindhorst continue to make the Lindhorst cage , but in all aluminum , which had the advantage of making the cage lighter , but the aluminum bars tended to come loose more easily than the brass bars on the original Lindhorst cages.
Owen Magic Supreme Vanishing Bird Cage in the Lindhorst-style. For many years the cages were made for Owen by
Fred Rickard. (from the collection of Louie Foxx).
3 bird cages made by
James Riser. Small size ("Baby Lindy"), Large size , and Standard Size Lindhorst-style cage. Riser's cages are highly sought after and are considered among the best cages ever made.
Lindhorst-style cage made by
Daniel Summers, "The Walter Blaney Perfect Vanishing Bird Cage". This is the best cage available today , maybe the best ever.
Daniel Summers Blaney cage with parakeet by
Jonathan Neal -
The parakeets made by
Jonathan Neal are considered the gold standard for birds to be used with the Vanishing Bird Cage. These attractive birds are much advanced over the latex rubber canaries of days gone by. Jonathan hand carves and hand paints each parakeet (
Jonathan Neal is also one of the foremost performers of the vanishing bird cage effect; scroll down further on this page to see his outstanding handling of the vanishing bird cage ... and at the end he removes his jacket to show nothing concealed !)
James Riser "Baby Lindy" cage made by
Daniel Summers with
Jonathan Neal parakeet.
Another
James Riser
"Baby Lindy"cage by
Daniel Summers
with a parakeet made by
Jonathan Neal
Will Lindhorst's ads for his Vanishing Bird Cage appeared in 1947. At first the famous
Bert Allerton (known for his skill with the Vanishing Bird Cage) was associated with Lindhorst's cage, but after some time the Allerton name was dropped from the advertisements for the Lindhorst cage. Note that Lindhorst also scored endorsements from the well-known magicians
Frakson and
Bill Baird. The first ads proclaimed:
"Comes with the Allerton method, routine, and advice" The price of $17.50 in 1947 would equal $246.17 in 2025 with inflation factored in. BUT , in fact, a brand new Lindhorst-style vanishing bird cage in 2025 will cost you anywhere from $1200 - $2500 depending on the maker.
Al Koran (better known as a mentalist) was famous for his one-handed vanish of the bird cage. This photo of Al Koran appeared in an advertisement for the "Unique" cage made by
Yimka (Dick Scott) for Harry Stanley's Unique Magic. Harry Stanley started selling this cage in 1949, two years after the Will Lindhorst cage (which is almost identical) was introduced in 1947.
(originally dubbed the "Secundus" cage by Harry Stanley, he eventually changed the name to simply"The Unique Vanishing Bird Cage". This cage was used and endorsed by
Al Koran, Billy McComb, Hans Trixer, and
Ian Buckland, among other notable magicians. )
Another advertisement for
Unique Magic's Vanishing Bird Cage (aka the
"Secundus" Cage) made by
Yimka (aka Dick Scott). The price of £5 pounds in 1949 would equal £150 pounds in 2024 with inflation added. ( £150 = $187 U.S. dollars at current rate of exchange , in January 2025. But expect to pay anywhere from $250 - $500 for one of these Yimka cages in good condition. )
Unique Magic "Secundus Vanishing Bird Cage, made by
Yimka. from the collection of master magician
Ian Buckland -
Photo montage of
Billy McComb performing his version of the Vanishing Bird Cage ,
"The Slow-Motion Vanishing Bird Cage"
(Photos by John Moehring
) .
Billy McComb vanished the cage (containing a mouse, not a bird) in a
slow-motion manner , unlike most magicians who vanish the cage with a quick toss or clap of the hands. In McComb's version , the cage seems to melt away to nothing.
Billy McComb's
"Slow-Motion" Vanishing Bird Cage
without the sheer chiffon scarf he usually covered the cage with before vanishing it. (from the movie "Presto") -
Another example of
Billy McComb vanishing the cage barehanded, without the sheer chiffon scarf he usually used to cover the cage .
One of
Billy McComb's bird cages , made by
Chris Reesman (Encore Magic), in the Yimka/Lindhorst style.
Alan Wakeling performing the Vanishing Bird Cage on the midway at the San Diego County Fair in 1949, as a warm-up act for the Great Dante's show. (cage is either a Holmdale or LIndhorst cage).
A closer view of
Alan Wakeling performing the Vanishing Bird Cage on the midway at the San Diego County Fair in 1949. (cage is either a Holmdale or Lindhorst cage) .
(although not shown in this photo , Wakeling was the first to put into print the idea of vanishing
t he cage under a sheer chiffon scarf, and that is how he usually presented the effect.)
t he cage under a sheer chiffon scarf, and that is how he usually presented the effect.)
Close-up magician
Bert Allerton was well-known for performing The Vanishing Bird Cage close-up while seated at a table with patrons of the restaurants where he performed. Allerton used a Lindhorst cage at various times and later had his cage(s) custom made by magic craftsman Ed Miller.
A Lindhorst cage owned by
Bert Allerton. Photographed by magician and vanishing bird cage collector
Louie Foxx at MAGIC Live, 2024.
Harry Blackstone Sr. performs an abbreviated version of his Vanishing Bird Cage routine on the television show "Person To Person, with Edward R. Murrow". Blackstone's cage was trimmed in red ribbon, made by his brother,
Pete Bouton.
The full Blackstone routine involved vanishing the cage , then allowing a gentleman from the audience to feel his sleeves and look under his coat , then Blackstone would say: "
Allow me
to step off stage for a moment to get another cage and another canary , and I'll do it again ..."
then upon returning with another cage and canary he would invite children from the audience to come up to put their hands around the cage and the cage would vanish !
Harry Blackstone Jr. performs The Vanishing Bird Cage (starting at the 0:31 mark
https://youtu.be/FMV618cRmiU?t=31) in the full routine used by both Blackstone Sr. and Blackstone Jr. in theaters across the world and on television.
The so-called "Blackstone-style" red-ribbon trimmed brass bird cage made by
Pete Bouton (or possibly
Walter Schroeder ) for the
Abbott's Magic Co.
Harry (Bouton)
Blackstone Sr. and Jr. used these style of cages.The ribbon trim helped the small brass bird cages to show up better from a distance on stage.
Ribbon-trimmed Vanishing Bird Cage , with white ribbon made by
Walter Baker for
Floyd Thayer's magic shop.
Fred Keating favored the white or silver ribboned cages because they showed up better under a bright spotlight on stage.
Ribbon trimmed cage made by
Martin Sunshine.
Jay Palmer also made these type of ribbon trimmed cages. Similar to the so-called "Blackstone Cage" made by Abbott's these type of ribbon-trimmed cages were quite popular and used by well-known performers such as
Fred Keating , John Booth, Al Baker, Neil Foster, Lee Noble, as well as
Harry Blackstone Sr. and
Jr. In later years these ribbon trimmed brass cages fell out of favor compared to the
Lindhorst-style cage, but some performers such as
David Charvet and
Marc Gilday prefer the ribbon-trimmed brass cages as pictured here.
Ad for
Abbott's Vanishing Bird & Cage. This illustration is the fantasy of how every magician wants this effect to appear to the audience. In fact, the red ribbon trimmed Abbott cages are somewhat smaller than the cage pictured in the illustration. The "flash" effect as the cage vanishes drawn by illustrator
Sid Lorraine is purely imaginary (although some magicians have tried to produce a flash effect as the cage vanishes using various flash devices)
Charles Hadala holding his two smaller
Abbott Vanishing Bird Cages, one with red ribbon trim and the other with green ribbon trim.
In his book 'Marvels of Mystery'
John Booth advised using one cage trimmed in red ribbon and the other trimmed in green ribbon when using the presentation where the performer says:
"Now, if you'll allow me , I will step off stage briefly to get another cage and another canary, then I'll do it again" to underscore that the peformer was in fact vanishing two different cages.
Warren Simms full-size bird cage (made from the 1940's - 1970's , very similar to the
Charles Holmdale cage (1920's - 40's). Simms also made a smaller version of this cage called the "Silver Flash" , which was later copied by Milson Worth, called the "Silver Meteor" cage. (from the collection of
Louie Foxx )
Milson-Worth bird cage (c. 1970's) based on a cage design by
Warren Simms. The M-W cage is considered an inferior design to the Lindhorst cage, but with some careful work and some slight modifications they can work fine. The Milson-Worth bird cage is smaller than a full size Lindhorst bird cage, but is about the same size of the so-called "Baby Lindy" cage.
Two views of a
Milson-Worth bird cage. The small Milson-Worth cage is not nearly as good as the Lindhorst cage, but it's not as bad as some make it out to be (for example, see the video posted below of Jeff Hobson's excellent vanish using a Milson-Worth cage).
Milson-Worth cage (c.1977) compared to a later
Sam Dahal/Funtime Magic cage (c.2000's) which is based on the
Milson-Worth/Warren Simms design, but is slightly larger than the M-W cage. (5" x 4" x 4", compared to M-W cage 5.00" x 3.75" x 3.625") -
Interestingly,
Sam Dahal's Funtime Magic at one time offered a vanishing bird cage that was modeled after the Lindhorst vanishing bird cage, made for Funtime by
Sucharoo Bhatacharjee.
This cage was marketed as the
Pro Van Bird Cage
from 2004 - 2011.
Photos of a
Pro Van Bird Cage that was erroneously offered on eBay as a vintage Gene Devoe Lindhorst-style cage, but it is
not a Devoe/Lindhorst cage because the corners of the cross bars are square , not rounded-off , as on the classic Lindhorst-style cage made by Devoe , Owen Magic Supreme, and others.
Some people are asking very high prices (over $500) for these inexpensive Pro Van cages, listing them as vintage collectible Lindhorst or Devoe cages, but they are not worth that much in my opinion. The Pro Van Cage was last sold in magic shops for about $50.00 in 2011. It is not a bad cage for what it is , but it is not made to the same exacting technical standards as a Lindhorst , Devoe, or Owen cage.
The Pro Van Bird Cage is almost an exact duplicate of a Lindhorst cage, except that it is a very loose cage , designed to also be used as an appearing cage with the use of a special rigging system that was originally designed by Richard Buffum. (reference: Richard Buffum's "RELEASO" , marketed in the 1970's by Buffum). The Pro Van cage is made of all brass (chrome plated) so it is a much heavier cage than the aluminum & brass Lindhorst cage or the all aluminum Gene Devoe Lindhorst-style cage. Another difference is that the ends of the cross-bars on the Pro Van Bird Cage have square edges , not rounded off edges as with the Lindhorst-style cages. This can be modified with the use of a fine metal file to round-off the square edges.
(Pro Van Cage at left , compared to Lindhorst cage at right. The square edges of the Pro Van Cage need to be rounded-off.)
Eddie Diijon's cage had distinctive red bars at top and bottom. Diijon's design shared things in common with both the Lindhorst and Abbott style cage. Only three were ever made.
Vincent Price (assisted by
Bob Haskell) vanishes a bird cage in the movie
"The Mad Magician"
. Haskell was the magic consultant/coach who taught Vincent Price the magic he performed in the film.
A still of
Vincent Price (assisted by
Bob Haskell) preparing to vanish a bird cage in the movie
"The Mad Magician".
Haskell was the behind-the-scenes magic consultant/coach who taught Vincent Price the magic he performed in the film and appeared on screen (uncredited) as the magician's assistant.
Carlyle the Magician (Lyle Laughlin) with bird cage , in a still from a British Pathe newsreel featuring magicians arriving for the annual PCAM magic convention in Seattle, WA (1941).
https://youtu.be/uxBTRd-PLbY?t=25
Close-up view of
Carlyle the Magician's bird cage before it disappears. This is possibly
Thayer/Walter Baker cage or a
Jay Palmer cage, brass , trimmed with ribbon.
Carlyle the Magician (Lyle Laughlin) vanishes a bird cage for a bemused airline employee.
Rob James sometimes vanishes his bird cage in a literal flash, but other times does it in the usual manner.
Jeff Hobson's presentation of the vanishing bird cage -
Baffling Bill Schulert performs his version of the vanishing bird cage-
Tommy Wonder vanishes his bird cage under a sheer scarf. (similar to Billy McComb, except Wonder vanishes his cage in a flash, whereas McComb's cage melts away in a slow-motion manner).
The next two clips show
Tommy Wonder performing the cage vanish barehanded,
with sleeves rolled up.
Jonathan Pendragon vanishes his bird cage containing an origami bird.
John Carney casually tosses his bird cage into the air where it vanishes.
Here,
John Carney places his bird cage into a paper bag , then casually crumples up the bag and tosses it away to show that the cage has disappeared.
Mark Kalin's elegant one-handed vanish of the bird cage under a handkerchief. The cage seems to melt away in the blink of an eye.
The amazing
Jonathan Neal's cage vanishes in a flash , then he removes his jacket to show nothing concealed there !
Montage of
Walter "Zaney" Blaney doing the vanishing bird cage over the years. Blaney performed the cage vanish for decades. He would do it almost anywhere at any time, He performed it many times on television in addition to performing it in his regular act that he presented at theaters, clubs, and trade shows.
Walter "Zaney" Blaney displays his 'Texas OO-AHH Bird' in its' cage. Blaney explained:
"The bird lays big square eggs, so you can hear it squawking "OOOO!!! AHHHHH...." as it lays its' eggs."
Walter Blaney casually vanishes a bird cage while seated at a table. (usually he presented this while standing , but he was so adept at performing this effect that he could do it almost anywhere.
Paul Daniels presents the Vanishing Bird Cage. (the jumping stool bit at the end is Ken Brooke's). As always, Paul's comedic timing is spot on.
One of the funniest presentations of the The Vanishing Bird Cage is by Kyle Eschen. This sort of deadpan humor is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is my cup of tea. I love it.
The
Most Artistic Theatrical Presentation of the Vanishing Bird Cage is by
Gonzalo Albiñana . To me, this is
art. (and technically a totally terrific performance of the vanishing bird cage -- THREE times .)