The Enchanted Sedan Chair - Georges Méliès

The Enchanted Sedan Chair (1905), aka.
La Chaise à Porteurs Enchantée, by Georges Méliès
Before becoming the father of movie special effects, Georges Méliès was a stage magician. Here, he demonstrates some classical stage magic - enhanced with camera trickery.

A man stands in front of a backdrop painted with a nature scene. From a fan, he conjures a costume, then a woman appears inside it. An assistant carries in a mannequin; they dress her and she suddenly comes alive. The magic continues: footmen bring in a sedan chair. He covers two seated women with scarves; when he removes the scarves, the women have traded places. The women, the magician, his assistant, and the footmen continue to appear and disappear, changing places and costumes. Then they all disappear, one into another, ending with a curtain call for the entire cast.