Late in 2019, Johari, with whom I've had the privilege of creating for on numerous projects, approached me with a request for a custom box.  While the original plan was for just one box, over time, the concept evolved into the creation of two separate unique boxes.  One of these boxes was The Bell Drop Box.  The other, I  dubbed The Faraday Bell Cage (aka: Isolation Box).  Both items were created around Johari’s work with a Death Bell.  In this case, a vintage hotel desk bell that he was utilizing to communicate with the Spirit World.

 

The concept for the Faraday Bell Cage was straightforward yet somewhat deceptive, as it had to be, in order to achieve Johari’s objective. Johari would invite a chosen volunteer to place their hand inside the box through a sliding door panel, palm facing upwards. Once the individual’s hand was inserted into the void of the empty box, they would not be able to remove it!  As its name ultimately implied, it was a cage…a trap!

 

My design achieved this by use of a concealed wrist stock that could be stored out of the way of the spectator’s hand, but could swiftly swing down and secure the person’s wrist, trapping their hand within the confines of the box.  The wrist stock was then locked in place utilizing two brass screw knobs, one on each side.  With the participant’s hand locked within the box, the top door of the box could be opened, and the desk bell placed in the palm of the person’s hand.  The box lid, then closed and latched, prevented any physical outside interference with the bell.  The artfully unique design of the box, featured three open screen sides made of copper mesh, effectively created a Faraday Cage-like environment. 

 

The idea was that, for a spirit to communicate by ringing the bell, their energy had to travel through the spectator and into the box.  Nothing was touching the bell in any way, except for the spectator’s hand upon which the bell rests. With the three open sides of the cage, the bell and the volunteer’s hand could be seen.  So if, and or when, the bell should toll, it could be observed that Johari, nor his unwilling random victim, had anything to do with it.  The three open sides also allowed for the bell to be clearly heard by those around.

 

Johari had suggested that the wood that was used for the box, could appear to be old flooring from a house, but I think I did one better.  During work on the project, someone in our neighborhood was looking to re-home an antique that had been in their family and passed down since it was originally purchased 100 years ago.  

 

This piece of furniture was an Angelus Phonograph Table, patented May 14, 1918, manufactured by the Angelus Furniture Manufacturing Company of Las Angeles California.  Back in that era, the time of the old wind up Victrola record players, electronics were not used for amplification.  Electronic speakers, as we know them today, were still in development and not yet practical.  The first electric phonograph to hit the market did so in 1924.  In the early years of the Victrola, prior to 1924, a horn was used to amplify the sound. In 1904, Victrola began experimenting with using the phonograph’s cabinet itself as a speaker by embodying the horn into the design.  This led to other companies such as Angelus to incorporate the phonograph and horn into other useful pieces of furniture, other than the Victrola’s vertical cabinet.  And thus, the Phonographic Table was born.  It was an actual useful table that one could sit at and use as any other table or desk.  The design incorporated a drawer on either end.  One drawer housed the wind up player, the other drawer could be used for the storage of records.  When the player drawer was closed, the sound from the player’s needle was routed into the horn which was built into the middle section of the table.

 

For years, this exquisite piece of furniture resided in the family's garage, its beauty and history covered and concealed, used only as a table to stack things on. I was told, that at times, the owners would hear faint whispers of music, thumps or crackling sounds…even feel a presence when around the table.  This despite the fact that the table’s phonograph had been removed many years before (its horn still intact).  These incidents were the primary reason that when the family moved into their new home, a home they filled with prized antiques, they decided to leave the phonograph table in the garage, ultimately decided it needed to be with someone else.  They didn't care so much as to what ultimately happened to the table, as long as it was no longer taking up space with them, physically or mentally.

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All of the wood used in the creation of The Faraday Bell Cage came from wood reclaimed from the Angelus Phonograph Table.