Matthias Buchinger, the youngest of nine children, was born in Anspach, Germany, in 1674, "without hands, feet, legs, or thighs". For arms he had "two excresences which grew from his shoulder-blades, like fingers without nails" (Thompson). Some accounts claim he had phocomelic feet attached directly to his body, like Eli Bowen, while others say he was completely without lower extremities. Some period drawings show him with normal-length arms that merely lack hands. In any case, Buchinger was but 29 inches tall when fully grown.
Around the turn of the eighteenth century, Bunchinger moved to England and Anglicized his name to Matthew. There, he held exhibitions of his extraordinary skills - he played the hautbois (a woodwind instrument), dulcimer, trumpet and bagpipe, wrote beautifully with a pen, drew excellent portraits, shuffled and dealt cards, played skittles, juggled, and did magic tricks with cups and balls. He could even "dance a Hornpipe in Highland Dress, as well as any man - without legs!" (Fiedler). Most notable of Matthew's artistic pursuits were his exquisite ships in bottles, still widely sought-after by collectors.
Matthew was married no fewer than four times and was a father of eleven. His second wife, it is said, spent all of Matthew's money on fine clothes and food and was abusive of him. Once, after she had beaten him publicly, he knocked her to the ground and hit her with his deformed arms until she agreed to treat him with respect, and for the remainder of their marriage she kept her promise.
During his career, Matthew appeared before "three successive Emperors of Germany, the most of the Kings and Princes of Europe and in particular, several times before his late Majesty King George." (Thompson) He died in Cork, Ireland, in 1732.