The Expositor

The Expositor; or Many Mysteries Unravelled was one of the first original works on magic published in the United States written by William Frederick Pinchbeck in 1805 in Boston, a descendant of Christopher Pinchbeck.

Pinchbeck's intention in writing the book, as stated in his introduction, was to amuse and instruct, "but also to convince superstition of her many ridiculous errors."

Sometimes refered to as the "Pig Book" because one of the highlights is the explanation of the secret of the learned pig. In England, pigs had been demonstrating simple feats of magic, mathematical calculations and mind-reading for audiences. The Expositor also sheds light on other mysteries including the invisible lady, acoustic temple, feats of John Rannie performing in the U.S., the art of ventriloquism and other miscellaneous tricks.

The Expositor was written as a series of letters between the author to an unknown (and most-likely imaginary) acquaintance "A. B.". Thus, the book is divided into a series of letters from the one to the other.