MET's Matthias Buchinger's Works from Ricky Jay's Collection "Wordplay"

Matthias Buchinger (b. Germany 1674-1739) was an artist, musician, magician & entertainer to both Royalty and commoners.  What makes Buchinger uncommon was his stature, a mere 29" and was born without hands or feet.  An amazing feat to have mastered the intricate technique of micrography and slight of hand (card tricks.)  The drawings, prints & artifacts are mostly from the collection of Ricky Jay, a master of the slight of hand and entertainer extraordinaire.  It would make sense that Jay would be fascinated with the accomplishments of Buchinger as he knows 1st hand the dexterious demands of prestidigitation and then how incredibly incredulous to consider these skills without the benefit of digits. Nonetheless, I felt a perverse voyeruistic astonishment that overpowered the mystifying collection.  Magnifying glasses are available (bring Purell) to examine the miniscule prints.  Buchinger's own family tree, which represents his 4 wives from 3 different countries & 14 children was impressive as were the ancient bibles from the 11th C.  I would not recommend making a trip to the MET for this show but would endorse catching a performance of Ricky whenever out in LA.