THE HIGH COLLAR ILLUSION.
The effect shown in figure 1 never fails to attract a great deal of notice. It is easily performed by two persons as illustrated in figure 1. The former is a front view, and from the street the people see a person sitting comfortably in a chair in the center of the show window. The remarkable feature is the very long neck of the person, on which is a collar two or three feet high. The trick is done with mirrors as in figure 2. First, quite a tall man is required to stand upright like the figure at the back. The upper part of the high collar circles this man’s neck. The collar is cut open at the back so that the shoulders are on the outside. The collar extends down and over the head of the second man. The latter is of small size, generally a boy. He is placed on chair G, facing to the front. Plate mirrors C and D are now set up at an angle with each other of about 65 degrees. The edges of the mirrors join at F, completely obscuring the body of the man at the rear from the front view. It is necessary that the mirrors be cut out at E for the shoulders and correctly matched at B, so that from the front or the street, only the man’s head and the collar show. If rightly adjusted, persons looking in from the front will see only the man in the chair, the high collar and the head. Of course the effect is startling and novel, but it always interests. The edges of the mirrors should be trimmed with any goods which it is desired to advertise. The reflection in the mirrors make it appear as if the space back of the chair were vacant.