Bickerstaff papers

The Bickerstaff Papers record a famous hoax Swift played in 1708 and 1709. Writing as the astrologer Isaac Bickerstaff, he mocked the popular almanac maker John Partridge by predicting his death on a given date. Further pamphlets followed, claiming the prediction had come true while Partridge protested that he was alive. Other writers joined the joke. The papers show Swift's talent for mock seriousness, parody of quack prophecy and public teasing, and they gave a name later borrowed by other writers.