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Great chapter about bed bugs in 1865 book
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de-selftreat
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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 46
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 13 2009 11:54:48
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http://books.google.com/books?id=ycUaAAAAYAAJ&dq=&pg=PA265
I'd imagine everyone here will take pleasure in this. Among many other treats, there's an interview with a Victorian PCO, who says:
"We can trace our business back as far as 1695, when one of our ancestors first turned his attention to the destruction of bugs. He was a lady's stay-maker—men used to make them in those days, though, as far back as that is concerned, it was a man that made my mother's dresses. This ancestor found some bugs in his house—a young colony of them, that had introduced themselves without his permission, and he didn't like their company, so he tried to turn them out of doors again, I have heard it said, in various ways. It is in history, and it has been handed down in my own family as well, that bugs were first introduced into England, after the fire in London, in the timber that was brought for the rebuilding of the city, thirty years after the fire, and it was about that time that my ancestor first discovered the colony of bugs in his house. I can't say whether he studied the subject of bug-destroying, or whether he found out his stuff by accident, but he certainly did invent a compound which completely destroyed the bugs, and, having been so successful in his own house, he named it to some of his cus- tojners who were similarly plagued, and that was the commencement of the present connection, which has continued up to this time.
"At the time of the illumination for the Peace, I thought I must have something over my shop, that would be both suitable for the event and to my business; so I had a transparency done, and stretched on a big frame, and lit up by gas, on which was written
MAY THE
DESTROYERS OF PEACEBE DESTROYED BY US.
TIFFIN & SON,
BUG-DESTROYERS TO HER MAJESTY." Our business was formerly carried on in the Strand, where both my father and myself were born; in fact, I may say I was born to the bug business.
" I remember my father as well as possible ; indeed, I worked with him for ten or eleven years. He used, when I was a boy, to go out to his work killing bugs at his customers' houses with a sword by his side and a cocked-hat and bag-wig on his head—in fact, dressed up like a regular dandy. I remember my grandmother, too, when she was in the business, going to the different houses, and seating herself in a chair, and telling the men what they were to do, to clean the furniture and wash the woodwork.
"I have customers in our books for whom our house has worked these 150 years; that is, my father and self have worked for them and their fathers. We do the work by contract, examining the house every year. It's a precaution to keep the place comfortable. You see, servants are apt to bring bugs in their boxes; and, though there may be only two or three bugs perhaps hidden in the woodwork and the clothes, yet they soon breed if let alone."
The whole chapter is well worth reading. Enjoy.
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Aris
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Joined: Apr '08
Posts: 62
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 13 2009 12:52:32
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Now THAT is an amazing find. Thanks for the read.
I almost thought they might be talking about termites or some other critters, when the exterminator described the story of how they had supposedly first come to England in the timbers used to rebuild after the great fire of London. But then I read more of the chapter, and it is clear that they are describing bed bugs.
Best parts were the anecdote about how Princess Charlotte was so eager to see the bug that he had found in her bed which had tormented her the night before, and this passage:
"Gemelli, in 1695, visited the Banian hospital at Surat, and says that what amazed him most, though he went there for that express purpose, was to see 'a poor wretch, naked, bound down hands and feet, to feed the Bugs or Punaises, brought out of their stinking holes for that purpose.'
Mr. Forbes, speaking of this remarkable institution for animals, says: 'At my visit, the hospital contained horses, mules, oxen, sheep, goats, monkeys, poultry, pigeons, and a variety of birds. The most extraordinary ward was that appropriated to rats and mice, Bugs, and other noxious vermin. The overseers of the hospital frequently hire beggars from the streets, for a stipulated sum, to pass a night among the Fleas, Lice, and Bugs, on the express condition of suffering them to enjoy their feast without molestation.'"
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Adele
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Joined: May '08
Posts: 556
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 13 2009 16:01:03
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lovely thought.....OMG what a way to torture someone...tie them to a bed for the "bugs" to feed on them nightly....
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stricken
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Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 75
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 13 2009 17:38:43
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We need the recipe for that "compound," stat!
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de - selftreat
Thanks for posting the link.
I had seen quotations from this text, but I have never had a chance to read the full chapter.
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Albino bed bugs .... Bed bug colony that lived for forty five years.... Yikes ....
Kept captive bed bugs that lived 5 1/2 years ....
" My work is more method ; and I may call it a scientific treating of the bugs rather than wholesale murder. We don't care about the thousands, it's the last bug we look for, whilst your carpenters and upholsterers leave as many behind them, perhaps, as they manage to catch.We don't care about the thousands, it's the last bug we look for..... 16th century folk wisdom
" The bite of the bug is very curious. They bite all persons the same (?); but the difference of effect lies in the constitutions of the parties. I've never noticed that a different kind of skin makes any difference in being bitten. Whether the skin is moist or dry, it don't matter. Wherever bugs are, the person sleeping in the bed is sure to be fed on, whether they are marked or not; and as a proof, when nobody has slept in the bed for some time, the bugs become quite flat; and, on the contrary, when the bed is always occupied, they are round as a lady-bird.
Early expert statement on the appearance of bite wounds and non responders that sounds very familiar to us in the 21st century.
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Hi,
I have long been a fan of messers Tiffin and Son and had I already known of them before I embarked on my current path I would have most likely revitilised the name and played a lot on the history.
I particularly like the single minded focus of the company, "we do bed bugs and nothing else", a man after my own heart.
I am not sure if I will have children enough to follow in the foot steps and create a multi generational business killings bugs as they did but the thought is there.
I am also rather amazed at some of the detail considering that the tools we use were not available to them and examining things in detail could not have been that easy.
I am almost tempted to apply for a royal warrant myself but having looked into it the path is long and the rewards not that great. I would rather wait till I have monitors to supply them first.
I will try and get one of my researchers to see what other documents exist out there in connection with them.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited -
earthangel
newbite
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 28
Posted 1 month ago
Sat Oct 10 2009 14:34:06
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What do you think was the purpose of the "hospital" [a word whose meaning has changed, I think] in which animals and vermin were kept? I would assume it was a study laboratory - no one has ever to my knowledge been sentimental about the care of bugs or rats .
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