Matthias Buchinger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A self portrait

The detailed writing embedded in the engraving

Matthias Buchinger (1674 - 1740), a magician, was born with no arms or legs, and went by the name of "The Little Man of Nuremberg". Buchinger was married four times and had at least fourteen children. In addition to conjuring, Buchinger enjoyed a great reputation as an engraver and an artist. Despite having small, finlike appendages for hands, his engravings were incredibly detailed. One such engraving, a self portrait, was so detailed that a close examination of the curls of his hair revealed that they were in fact the complete biblical psalms and the Lord's Prayer, inscribed in miniature letters.

Despite his obvious handicap Buchinger was an accomplished magician, causing balls to disappear from under cups and birds to appear from nowhere. It was also said that he was unbeatable at cards and would dazzle audiences with his amazing displays of marksmanship. His tremendous dexterity, in light of his disability, also extended to trick shot bowling and an expert musical ability (sometimes mastering instruments he himself had invented).