A jar for keeping medicinal leechesHirudo medicinalis, a medicinal leech, attached to the skin
A leech collector, leech gatherer, or leech finder was a person occupied with procuring medicinal leeches, which were in growing demand in 19th-century Europe. Leeches were used in bloodletting but were not easy for medical practitioners to obtain. The collector would sometimes gather the leeches by attracting them to the legs of animals, often old horses. More commonplace was for the collector to use their own legs, gathering the leech after it had finished sucking enough blood. Many in the profession suffered from the effects of the loss of blood and infections spread by the leeches.[1]
Leech collectors were active across the United Kingdom, with bogs and marshes being the best hunting ground. They were described by artist George Walker in his 1814 book The Costume of Yorkshire as being predominately Scottish women.[2]
The career was seasonal; leech collectors could not work in the colder months because the leeches would not be particularly active.[2]
There are obvious negative effects of being repeatedly bitten by leeches, most commonly the significant and dangerous levels of blood loss. The leeches would suck on the legs of the collector for 20 minutes or more, and even when they had finished the resultant wound continued to bleed for up to ten hours.[2]
Leech collectors were not well paid. William Wordsworth's poem Resolution and Independence, written in 1802 and published in 1807, was inspired by an encounter Wordsworth had with a "leech-gatherer".[3] In Stanza XV he describes the hardships that the old, poor leech collector had endured:
He told, that to these waters he had come
To gather leeches, being old and poor:
Employment hazardous and wearisome!
And he had many hardships to endure:
From pond to pond he roamed, from moor to moor;
Housing, with God's good help, by choice or chance,
And in this way he gained an honest maintenance.
Parts of the poem have been interpreted as drawing similarities between leech collectors and poets,[4] comparing the difficulties of finding leeches with the struggle to write poetry.[5] The old man in the story is said to "have wisdom and fortitude that can elevate the wiser poet".[6]
^Leech collectors Archived 2015-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, Science Museum. Accessed 2 September 2011.
^ abcRobinson, Tony. The Lake District and Somerset Levels had particularly suitable sites. The Worst Jobs in History. Pan. ISBN 0-330-43857-3 p.54–56.
^Wordsworth, Dorothy. The Grasmere Journals. Edited by Pamela Woof. Oxford University Press, 1991.
^Wordsworth's Poetry. SparkNotes. Accessed 2 September 2011.
^Durrant, Geoffrey. William Wordsworth. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07608-0. 1 September 1969. p. 95
^Moore, Pamela. Wordsworth, William - Resolution and Independence. Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database, New York University. 7 May 2001. Accessed 2 September 2011.
A leechcollector, leech gatherer, or leech finder was a person occupied with procuring medicinal leeches, which were in growing demand in 19th-century...
medicinal leech, is one of several species of leeches used as medicinal leeches. Other species of Hirudo sometimes also used as medicinal leeches include...
between meals. The leeches were collected using either horses or, frequently, the legs of the leechcollectors themselves. A leech was removed after it...
the more repulsive or dangerous jobs included fuller, executioner, leechcollector, plague burier, rat-catcher, leather tanner, gong farmer, and sin-eater...
the Leech". CMJ New Music Report. 73 (788). New York: The CMJ Network: 26. ISSN 0890-0795. Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide...
"The Collector" "Marrow Cold" "My True Love" "Dust" "The Horror" "The Ugly Avoided Places" "Gradations of Death" "Summation" "Sea Grotto" "The Leech Collector"...
Haunted Collector is an American television reality series that aired on the Syfy cable television channel. The first season premiered on June 1, 2011...
first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited...
John Henry Leech (5 December 1862 – 29 December 1900) was an English entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. His collections from...
John G. Carlisle, Leech's superior. Palmer suggested to the congressman that he advocate for the Lady Managers with Carlisle and Leech. Palmer, by letter...
Leech instructed Barber to prepare new designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar, and after the chief engraver made changes to secure Leech's endorsement...
historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys (while...
Keeling as Gazy Denis Carey as Skulpit Richard Leech as Wilfred Thorne George Malpas as the ticket collector Mischa De La Motte as The Dean Raymond Platt...
introducing himself, just like in the Leaders Not Followers EP and Order of the Leech. Mark "Barney" Greenway – vocals Jesse Pintado – guitar Mitch Harris – guitar...
duo consisting of Mark McCausland and Oisin Leech, formerly of The Basement and The 747s. In 2006, Leech appeared on Arctic Monkeys' cover of Barbara...
alternate names, accessed March 30, 2007. Plants of Colonial Days by Raymond Leech Taylor, p. 61. (1996) ISBN 0-486-29404-8. Accessed March 30, 2007. "Kalmia...
Strakk, Tarix Direct-to-video Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Clank, Leech, Fairy Gary The Haunted World of El Superbeasto Nerdy Patron Direct-to-video...
following year she played the role of Liz Walker in Attack of the Giant Leeches. During the same period, she made a number of appearances on TV shows,...
Buscema New Mutants #13 Delphine Courtney 1984-03 John Byrne Alpha Flight #8 Leech 1984-03 Chris Claremont, John Romita Jr. Uncanny X-Men #179 Black Crow 1984-04...
Global Information
