Name Gustavus Katterfelto | Role Conjurer | |
Died 1799, Bedale, United Kingdom | ||
Gustavus Katterfelto (or Katerfelto) (c. 1743-1799) was a Prussian conjurer, scientific lecturer, and quack.
Career
Christian William Anthony Katterfelto (known as Gustavus) arrived at Hull in September 1776 and traveled around Britain until his death in 1799. He performed in London from 1780-84. The widespread flu epidemic of 1782 made him famous as a quack, when he used a solar microscope to show images of microbes he believed were its cause. These "insects" provided him with the catchphrase "Wonders! Wonders! Wonders!" which often headed his advertisements. He lectured in Piccadilly on electricity, magnetism and the invented terms "styangraphy, palenchics, and caprimantic arts" to impress his audience.
Katterfelto was an accomplished conjurer, who performed with a black cat which he advertised as "evil". He claimed to have launched the first hot air balloon fifteen years before the Montgolfier brothers, and claimed to be the greatest natural philosopher since Isaac Newton.
He performed on several occasions for the Royal family. The poet William Cowper refers to Katterfelto in The Task.