Harry Kellar's Lamp

Origin
Harry Kellar (July 11, 1849 – March 10, 1922) was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Kellar was a predecessor of Harry Houdini and a successor of Robert Heller. He was often referred to as the "Dean of American Magicians" and performed extensively on five continents. One of his most memorable stage illusions was the levitation of a girl advertised as the "Levitation of Princess Karnack", which was similar to an illusion invented by John Nevil Maskelyne, from which Kellar copied by bribing one of Maskelyne's theater staff.

He was a longtime customer of the Martinka Magic Company, which built many of his illusions and sets, including the "Blue Room".

The Vanishing Lamp
A lamp is seen set on top of a glass table. Still lit, Kellar covers the lamp with a thin cloth. Kellar told the audience that each evening, the lamp would be returned to its purported, original owner in India at a specific time. As a bell sounded out the current time of day, Kellar loaded a pistol and aimed it towards the lamp. At the last chime, Kellar fired the pistol. The lamp seemed to melt away, with the cloth falling to the stage.

Kellar was known to have a short temper, and once, after an incident in which the "Vanishing Lamp" failed to vanish, he took an axe to the defective prop. Later Kellar built another one that would continue to work reliably long after his retirement.