The Bottle Conjuror

The Bottle Conjuror was the stage name given to a hoax theatrical performer, advertised to appear at the Haymarket Theatre in England, on 16 January 1749.

While in the company of other noblemen, the Duke was reported to have made a bet that, with an advertisement claiming that a man could "creep into a quart bottle", he could fill a theatre.

[7] The "Man in the Bottle" instantly became the target of the newspapers and pamphlets, who published cutting satires about the conjurer's non-appearance, and its consequences.

Many satirical prints were produced, among them two caricatures published within the month: The Bottle-Conjuror from Head to Foot, without equivocation, and English Credulity; or ye're all bottled.

[8][9] One newspaper explained the non-appearance of the conjurer by claiming that he had been ready to perform on the night, but was asked for a private audience beforehand; whereupon receiving a demonstration of the trick, the viewer had "corked up the bottle, whipped it in his pocket and made off.

[10] The critic Barbara Benedict wrote in 2001 that the Bottle Conjurer ″promised to bring literature to life; to reverse power relations; to incarnate onanism; to make monstrosity—the transgression of physical boundaries—humorous.