Abracadabra: London show puts magic props under the spotlight

Tommy Cooper's fez and Paul Daniels' saw-in-half box part of display at Wellcome Collection

Tommy Cooper's fez, a gorilla mask used by Derren Brown and a wooden box and saw that Paul Daniels used to saw Debbie McGee in half have gone on display at a museum best known for exploring science and medicine.

"It is so macabre," said artist AR Hopwood of the saw-in-half box. "It looks like a torture device. There are no foot holes and no head hole so it would have needed an extraordinary feat of dexterity by the female assistant. Unless they were really sawn in half."