The (mostly) limbless magician, penman, musician of the 18th Century
October 8, 2015 9:54 AM Subscribe
Matthias Buchinger, sometimes called Matthew Buckinger, described himself as "the wonderful Little Man of but 29 inches high, born without Hands, Feet, or Thighs." Despite being born (in Germany in 1674) with limbs "more resembling fins of a fish than arms of a man," he was renowned for his works as a calligrapher and micrographer (remarked for details illustrated in psalms written in characters of different sizes), builder of whimsey bottles (the oldest known "mining bottle"), and called the most extraordinary conjurer of all time. People may have initially gathered to see a tragedy, but instead were presented with an astounding range of impressive skills.
Ricky Jay is a huge fan of Matthias Buchinger's history and story, calling Buchinger his favorite figure in the history of magic.
"As another singularity in his domestic affairs, it is remarkable that he has married four times, and had eleven (or more) children." In fact, stories of his abilities of this sort were so far-spread that Buckinger's Boot is slang for "the monosyllable," which is itself a polite euphemism.
Ricky Jay is a huge fan of Matthias Buchinger's history and story, calling Buchinger his favorite figure in the history of magic.
“This is a man with no arms who was writing words so small we literally cannot see with our naked eye,” Jay said. “If you believe this, you’ll believe anything.”Jay also "dotes especially on Matthew Buchinger" in the chapter entitled "More Than the Sum of Their Parts" in his book Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women, which he also turned into an hour-long TV special (previously). Though he didn't talk about Buchinger there, Jay performed one of the cup and ball tricks best liked by "the wonderful little man of Nuremberg" towards the end of another of his TV specials, Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants.
"As another singularity in his domestic affairs, it is remarkable that he has married four times, and had eleven (or more) children." In fact, stories of his abilities of this sort were so far-spread that Buckinger's Boot is slang for "the monosyllable," which is itself a polite euphemism.
Fascinating. Great post!
posted by persona au gratin at 10:52 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by persona au gratin at 10:52 AM on October 8, 2015
The link for "Buckinger's Boot..." also gives us "To Box the Jesuit, and get Cock Roaches", a euphemism for masturbation.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:24 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:24 AM on October 8, 2015
> Sadly, it seems that Ricky Jay doesn't have an online gallery of the art that he owns, nor do the shows he put on/supported include photos of Buchinger's works, though I'd love to be proven wrong.
Not an expert on this stuff by any stretch, but I am a fan of Ricky Jay's writings and have read several of his books. I may have a little insight on this.
Since our ability to learn about Buchinger benefits greatly from the research and writings of Ricky Jay, and since Ricky Jay is cited several times in the FPP, I'd like to suggest this wonderful and revelatory New Yorker profile of Mr. Jay that was written (gasp!) twenty-two years ago:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/04/05/secrets-of-the-magus
The somewhat-lengthy profile discusses his research methods, his reliance on access to private collections (including his stint as the curator of the collection formerly known as the Mulholland Library of Conjuring and the Allied Arts*, and his willingness to spend considerable sums of his own money and energy pursuing this sort of magic and "curiosity" ephemera.
And this sort of gets to the heart of this: a lot of the original source material that still exists is in private hands and not being disseminated or shared. Jay owns many of the pieces that appear in his books, and obtained permission to share many others, but he's not the Library of Congress or the Smithsonian. Some of this material is owned by some very private individuals and unfortunately it just doesn't circulate.
*The New Yorker link has some very interesting notes on that particular collection, how it changed hands, and Mr. Jay's reaction to those changes. I won't spoil the tale, but it's interesting and runs through the above profile.
posted by mosk at 2:46 PM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
Not an expert on this stuff by any stretch, but I am a fan of Ricky Jay's writings and have read several of his books. I may have a little insight on this.
Since our ability to learn about Buchinger benefits greatly from the research and writings of Ricky Jay, and since Ricky Jay is cited several times in the FPP, I'd like to suggest this wonderful and revelatory New Yorker profile of Mr. Jay that was written (gasp!) twenty-two years ago:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/04/05/secrets-of-the-magus
The somewhat-lengthy profile discusses his research methods, his reliance on access to private collections (including his stint as the curator of the collection formerly known as the Mulholland Library of Conjuring and the Allied Arts*, and his willingness to spend considerable sums of his own money and energy pursuing this sort of magic and "curiosity" ephemera.
And this sort of gets to the heart of this: a lot of the original source material that still exists is in private hands and not being disseminated or shared. Jay owns many of the pieces that appear in his books, and obtained permission to share many others, but he's not the Library of Congress or the Smithsonian. Some of this material is owned by some very private individuals and unfortunately it just doesn't circulate.
*The New Yorker link has some very interesting notes on that particular collection, how it changed hands, and Mr. Jay's reaction to those changes. I won't spoil the tale, but it's interesting and runs through the above profile.
posted by mosk at 2:46 PM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
I have been in Ricky Jay's house and seen some of his ephemera collection, including some Buchinger material.
Once I tried one of those online reincarnation sites that gives you a list of historical figures that died on a day close to your birthday, and it listed Matthias Buchinger. So now I like to sometimes imagine I am him, reincarnated.
posted by jjwiseman at 3:30 PM on October 8, 2015
Once I tried one of those online reincarnation sites that gives you a list of historical figures that died on a day close to your birthday, and it listed Matthias Buchinger. So now I like to sometimes imagine I am him, reincarnated.
posted by jjwiseman at 3:30 PM on October 8, 2015
I have been in Ricky Jay's house and seen some of his ephemera collection, including some Buchinger material.
Very cool. Regardless of the circumstances, jjwiseman, I am jealous :-)
posted by mosk at 3:54 PM on October 8, 2015
Very cool. Regardless of the circumstances, jjwiseman, I am jealous :-)
posted by mosk at 3:54 PM on October 8, 2015
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