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Poem on Mathew Buckinger [sic], The Greatest German Living
Dedicatee Matthias Buchinger German
Anonymous, German, 18th century German
Not on view
This long and poetic broadside celebrates Buchinger as “The Greatest German Living” in rhyming verse. Filled with puns, the poem recounts his cleverness and dexterity and notes, “Thus he with double Art can write / At once to please and cheat the Sight.” Shown above in a crude woodcut, Buchinger appears to be on stage, perched on his generous pillow, between an oboe and a trumpet. He is said not only to have played traditional instruments but to have invented some of his own for the amusement of his clientele.
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