Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

THE DAVENPORT CABINET.--This little cabinet must by no means be confounded with the wardrobe in which the notorious Brothers performed their mystic evolutions. The cabinet now in question is but four inches high and two and a half square, and consists of two parts, an outer case, or body, covered at the top, but otherwise open throughout, and a drawer, occupying the upper portion of its interior space. (See Fig. 89.) When the drawer is removed, the case, which has no bottom, may be examined throughout, and will be found to be perfectly plain and unsophisticated; save that a keen examiner might observe a little brass pin, a quarter of an inch long, projecting from the back of the cabinet on the inside, just on a level with the bottom of the drawer when replaced in its proper position. The drawer may also be examined, and will be found to be perfectly plain, with the bottom (which is so thin as to preclude any suspicion of a concealed space), covered within and without with black cloth. On turning the drawer round, and examining the back, a minute hole may be discovered, corresponding in situation with the brass pin already mentioned.