Chefalo Knot

Chefalo Knot, is a vanishing knot credited and named after Chefalo.

Magic World, (7), 107

The knot was shown to him when he was a boy by a sailor. He used it as an impromptu item in his non-professional repertoire.

Quadruple Vanishing Knot was first published by Stanyon in his "New Handkerchief Tricks" (first series) under date 1900. And again under by Ellis Stanyon in Magic World in 1913.

Stanyon suggested that the original edition of Knots, Ties and Splices by J.T. Burgess stated that the actual knot was known as the "Staffordshire Knot". However, this knot does not appear in this book.

The first known publication of what is now known as the Chefalo knot was in 1723 in Récréations Mathématiques et Physiques by French mathematician Jacques Ozanam (1640-1718), a new edition by Grandin who added a new chapter entitled "Tours de gibecière". The history of this dissolving knot is likely much older.

Chefelo performed the trick for Stanyon when compiling " Exclusive Magical Secrets" (1912) in all innocence of the fact of its previous publication. Hence Chefalo's innocent association with the then new and exclusive secret. In a personal interview with Chefalo, he informed Stanyon that he does not claim the knot trick as it was shown to him when quite a boy by an old sailor.