Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

The subject of the trick, generally dressed in a page’s costume, is made to mount upon a table, and is covered by a wicker cone, which being almost instantly removed, he or she has vanished. The table in this case is draped to within a few inches of the ground, but to show that no hidden receptacle is thereby concealed, the performer before commencing the trick lifts up the table-cloth, and shows that the top of the table is at most not more than two or three inches in thickness. The drapery is then again allowed to fall into position, and the trick proceeds. The table used in this trick is a bellows table; i.e., it has a double top, or rather two tops, one above the other. The upper one is a fixture, with a large wooden trap (opening upwards) in it, to allow of the passage of the person to be conjured away. The under top is moveable, being in its normal condition pressed against the upper one by the action of four spiral springs (one in each leg of the table), but sinking down to nearly the depth of the cover under the weight of a person stepping upon it, and thus affording the requisite hiding-place, in which the person remains until the fall of the curtain enables him or her to come forth with safety. Cloth is nailed round three sides of the upper and lower boards, folding between the two when closed, after the manner of the leather of a bellows; and from this circumstance the table derives its name.