Pulgas Vestidas for Sale

In my research into trained fleas, I came across Painted Fleas or Pulgas Vestidas, I've quizzed a few experts on why they are made. The natural history museum passed on the following article that was first published in an edition of Flea News by Frans Smit from the Rothschild Zoological Museum at Tring.

Just a small point - the fleas themselves are not actually dressed, they form only the head of the tiny figures. They are amazingly detailed considering they are hand-made, probably without much magnification and best appreciated under a microscope. Tring has the peasant couple (2 fleas) and the NHM (not on display) two bridal couples accompanied by a 6-piece Mariachi band (10 fleas). None are more than a 5mm tall.

In 1910 the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild was offered a fine collection of fleas from Mexico - in those days quite a terra incognita as regards these insects. To his intense disappointment (but surely to NCR's amusement) the collection proved to consist of twelve dressed fleas, known as pulgas vestidas. They consisted of two "peasants", a man carrying wood and a woman with a basket which form one of the more popular exhibits in the public galleries at Tring Museum. The other is a set piece comprising two brides and bridegrooms with a Mexican band that now reside in the Entomological collections of the British Museum (Natural History) in London.

This week I received an email telling me about big collection (pun not intended) of these fleas, 12 in total on sale on the Canadian Ebay.

Rare Vintage Pulgas Vestidas Dressed Fleas Mexican Folk Art Bulk 12 Pack Lot

Each box is 2 match heads high by 3 match heads wide. Each doll's head is a flea, and each color of material is a different material. there are 2 different displays. All photographs and microscope images are from actual items on auction. Photograph with Canadian $2.00 coin for scale.
A) Bride and Groom (x 7) Each groom in a Tux, each Bride in veil, and has a bouquictttureet
B) Farmer and wife 1 (x 5, Pink clothes) male dressed with sombrero, and carrying a bail of wood, and female in Mexican traditional head dress.
D) Bulk packaging (outer packaging for 12 pack (7x bride and grooms, 5x pink farmer and wife) Scribe on side of box Indios (in Spanish meaning Indians – to the best of my ability). The outer package is in good to poor condition, but has protected the 12 inner displays, to a pristine quality.

As with everything in the flea circus world the history of Pulgas Vestidas is wrapped in flamboyant stories with suggestions that these were made by nuns or monks being common. The sets nearly always seem to be related to marriages so perhaps there is a religious connection. The seller does have evidence that dates the items back to 1920s so we can be fairly sure these items are pretty old.

Fleas on TV

The flea circus episode of 'David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities' is going to be aired on Watch TV on Monday (2nd Feb) at 9pm.

Watch is available on satellite and cable services

David Attenborough's Natural Curiousities

Svenson's Flea Circus have teamed up with Sir David Attenborough for his new series of "David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities".

The episode highlights jumping feats in the natural world. David wanted a real flea circus to feature so Svensons were brought in to harness and train the fleas for the programme.


The fleas were selected from candidates from the local vet, only about 1 in 10 were good enough to perform. Eric and son Sven harnessed the fleas using a traditional technique of a wire neck collar.


"We do it all by hand without the use of ice, ether, or any other cheat" said Eric. Sven does it by eye but Eric does use a magnifying glass. They don't use tweezers as those tend to harm the fleas.

The fleas were hooked up to chariots, either singly or in pairs and performed well for the cameras.


The program will be on the 'Watch' channel very late this year or early in 2015 (Sky channel 109, Virgin 124), "David Attenboroughs Natural Curiosities - Series 3"

Svenson's Flea Circus

Fleas die in the cold

Many thanks to everyone who's sent me the link the story about the poor fleas who died in the cold weather in Germany. The weather in Mechernich-Kommern has been dropping to -3°C over night and despite having the protection of a styrofoam container the 300 fleas died. Robert Birk the flea circus director who performs at the Oktober Fest managed to retrieve more fleas from the University of Dusseldorf and hence the show at the Faire of Yester-year Freilichtmuseum in Mechernich-Kommern could go on.

The flea circus library is investigating to ensure such disasters do not happen again.

Heinrich Künstler - Nürenberg

Last week I was chatting on the emails with Janus Clausen, Curator of the Cirkusmuseet in Denmark. He advised me of a new name for flea circus history, "German Mecanicus called Heinrich Künstler from Sachsen". I quickly found in google books the following newspaper article.

Nurnberger Zeitung 121 from Montag 1 Mai 1843


Transalation thanks to Justin

Advertisement

With authoritarian permission

Heinrich Kuenstler from Saxony arrived here on his journey with a unique curiosity that has never been seen before.

He'll be in town for a few days to present it to a honorable audience for their viewing pleasure in the "Guesthouse under Moonshine" in the Gostenhof, No. 11, one stairway up.

You'll see:

An extraordinary cabinet that consists of 160 trained fleas.

Among many shows these will also be performed:

1.) An English touring car pulled by 6 fleas.

2.) A Russian chaise pulled by 2 fleas.

3.) Two fleas pulling a barrel.

4.) One flea pulling an Italian chaise.

5.) A flea fires a cannon as a cannoneer at last. Additionally it is shown that the fleas are lying in silver chains.

The cost of entry is 12 fr., children pay half.

The fleas can be seen daily from 10-12 before noon and 2-7 in the afternoon.

If somebody doesn't find everything as advertised he'll get his entrance fee back.

3 day festival of circus in Israel

Next week sees a festival of circus in Israel. Modi'in near Jerusalem is host to three days of circus fun and entertainment.


Kirkas Minimax will be performing with tricks such as a high jump, tightrope and trebuchet.

Curious Pursuits

The flea chariot made it safely up to Manchester in time for the opening night of the Curious Pursuits exhibition by Porter and Jenkinson set in the delightful Portico Library and Gallery.





The exhibition runs till the end of February at The Portico Library & Gallery, 55 Mosley St, Manchester, Greater Manchester M2 3HY, UK

Photos by Keith Clark

Bertolotto rival in Kassel

From the "The Bavarian People's Friend,Volume 17, 1840" and "La Fame" - Journal of science, literature, arts,. industry and theaters 1840.

Bertolotto, the flea tamer has found a rival in Kassel. Hr. Fiarenzi from Genoa announced, that he had trained "ants", taught them to march in rank and file, to climb scaling ladders and conquer a fortress, which was built of sugar; also, they were, on word of command’ able to retreat before the heat of a fire, while saving oats, crumbs of bread and small cut off pieces of cheese, with the result that they looked, in this way, like people who salvaged their belongings "under their arms" from the fire;

People still say that the present century had produced no great men: Bertolotto and Fiarenzi eclipse the finest intellects of all time.



Translation assistance from Google and from JohnThePotter

Miniatures night @ExploreWellcome

Yesterday was a late night event at the Wellcome Collection. On arrival I was greeted by a large crowd of people listening to the Hot Potato Syncopators ukulele band who were having a great time. I collected a programme which itself was a miniature 3inches tall.


I headed into the basement to get tickets for the talks by Author Steven Connor and Psychiatrist Isobel Heyman but despite the ticket office only opening 5 minutes before, all the tickets were gone. So I headed up the the first floor where most of the events were happening. The first floor of the Wellcome Collection houses their medical exhibits so the event was intermingled with giant sculptures of bodies, wierd bottles and masses of books. One exhibit was a mechanical eye that opened when you walked close to it (one for Poter and Jenkinson)

Over in the Forum area the people from Pestival had done an excellent job of creating a sideshow atmosphere. The first stall I visited was hosted by the entomologist and flea expert Amoret Whitaker. She'd brought some dressed fleas along from deep in the archives of the Natural History museum and we got to look at them under a microscope.


Further around the room was Tim Cockerill he'd brought along his collection of flea items including some impressive chariots, more pulgas vestidas (dressed fleas) and many pamphlets, postcards and showbills from around the world.



Tim had also filmed a short clip for the event telling you about flea circuses



The first showing for the flea circus was packed out. Whilst I was waiting I took the opportunity to sketch up some designs for an improved flea chariot based on what I'd seen. I left it on the wall of thoughts so that others might take inspiration.


The nanotechnolgy did not interest me that much so I visited the Medicine Man room which hosted some Bonsai and Zoe Hughes who was painting names of grains of rice. The Medicine Man collection is a permenant exhibit with some strange items such as a shrunken head. There was obviously a law put in place for importing shrunken heads at some point as the label made very clear that it had been brought into the country some time back.



I got to see second performance of the flying starts flea circus. Before the show I had a chat and looked at their flea circus hall of fame, classic moments from flea history such as Vivaldi and the four flea sons and a member of the Fleamasons.


The flea show was excellent, a wide range of acts from around the globe all performed in an entertaining style. One of the trainee fleas had a bit of an accident with his trick and one of the props went up in flames but thanks the Mama Mia and her fire engine it was all put out without any issue. The audience loved the show and afterwards I bumped into a new flea trainer who was quizzing Michael for techniques for building props.


All in all an excellent evening, to finish things off I had to exit via the gift shop, there was a wide range of gifts and books including some on miniatures which I though was good, although it could have been a co-incidence.

More Events - A flea talk

It must be a popular month for flea related events, as well as the miniatures event at the Wellcome Collection, Tim Cockerill will be at the Natural History Museum on the afternoon of the 19th Jan to give a talk on Flea Circuses. Some of the secrets of how it is done, how circus 'professors' fed their fleas and the flea effects on Victoria ladies wil be shared.

Kickstart Stufenfedder's Fleas

Richard Mann is looking for backers for his flea theatre project in Chicago, IL My Life Infested with Fleas

Events

A couple of new events coming up. On 18th January the Wellcome Collection is running a miniatures evening, there will be talks about miniatures and collections and the fine line between collecting and hoarding. Free entertainment will be provided by nanotechnologists, bonsai experts and a flea circus from the flying starts
In Feb the Art Historian Collective Porter and Jenkinson are running an exhibition called "Curious Pursuits" at The Portico Library and Gallery in Manchester. There will be a preview evening Thu, 2 February, 18:00 – 20:00 and then the exhibition will run from 3 – 29 Feb 2012.

The Abbot and the Flea

From Aesop's Fables there is a tale about an Abbot and a flea.

This is the story of the flea that was caught by the abbot. The abbot said, 'Now I've got you! You have bitten me many times, making it impossible for me to get a good night's sleep. I will never let you go; in fact, I am going to kill you right now!' The flea said, 'Holy Father, since you intend to kill me, please hold me in the palm of your hand so that I will be able to freely confess my sins to you. Let me make my confession, and then you can kill me.' The abbot was moved by the flea's piety so he placed the insect in the middle of his palm. The flea immediately leaped up into the air and flew away. The abbot yelled loudly at the flea, but the he refused to come back.

From Aesopica - Aesop's Fables in English, Latin and Greek

Sea Firefleas

Thanks to a rather silly kids TV programme, "Barney's Latin America" I now know about the sea fire fleas or Photeros annecohenae a type of Ostracode Crustaceans.

These tiny creatures make vivid light by mixing two chemicals which is used to attract mates and to scare off predators.



Reference:
Insect Behavioral Ecology '85
Discover the beauty and complexity of Photeros annecohenae

Nikon International Small World Competition

A water flea (Daphnia magna) has made it into the top 10 of Nikon International Small World Competition with some help from photographer Joan Röhl.



This fantastic image is 100x magnified and was created with Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Microscopy at the Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Germany.

Other flea entries include a 20x magnified mouse flea by Dr. Jerzy Gubernator from the University of Wroclaw, Poland and another water flea with grean algae by Dr. Ralf Wagner of Düsseldorf, Germany

Fleas at the Natural History Museum 1926

I occasionally check Ebay for interesting flea items and today I spotted this one.



"This modern postcard features a reproduction of a work by American artist Edward "Ted" McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954). Montana born McKnight Kauffer was one of Europe's most prolific and influential advertising poster artists during the Twenties and Thirties

The original poster titled The Flea ( Natural History Museum) was created by the artist in 1926 for the British Natural History Museum in South Kensington. London."

Camping fleas?

Flea Circus Tonga now has it's own circus tent and hence can provide shows whatever the weather or if you've only a small venue he's also available in a portable table top variation of the show.

"Betty LaBelle" is back from Australia and has brought more artists! Overall, six fleas their arts! Experience "Hannibal" the daring stuntman, "David Copperflea" and "Professor Fips" as a magician, as well as the Grand Dame "Mme Flohrentine" as a prima ballerina and many others more.

ABC, My Grannie Caught a Flea

Spotted in a castle bookshop in Scotland, a gripping insight into the author's grandmother's entomological studies including techniques for acquisition of new specimens.


ABC, My Grannie Caught a Flea

Nu Way Flea Circus!

Chuck Caputo from the USA has announced his new "out of the box" flea circus that has no suitcase but still has plenty of contents. The acts contain some of the standards such as a high wire, diving board, strong flea but also some new ideas such as a bowling flea and Annie Oakly flea. The stage also has spot lights and a magician flea who makes a card rise from a pack.

The circus platform "integrates sophisticated electronics, electronic pad control, pull bar and magnetic operations."

Fleas in Novels

The latest from Lee and the Victorian London website is a searchable index of literature.

Of course the first thing I did with it was to search for fleas. This returned an interesting selection of books with flea references. Here's a sample of the results at the time the query was run

Middlemarch, by George Eliot - "I should stick to it like a flea to a fleece for my own sake"

The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope - "'With a flea in her lug,' suggested the farmer."

Martin Chuzzlewit, by Charles Dickens - "I looks at him tolerable hard. 'Fleas?' says I. 'And more,' says he. 'Wampires?' says I. 'And more,' says he."
also
"Astonishment making him surly, he preferred the latter, and sent her into the toll-house with a flea in her ear."

Antonina, by Wilkie Collins - "It is easier to make a drinking-vessel of the skull of a flea than to make an honest man of such a villainous night-walker as thou art!"

The Mysteries of London, by G.W.M.Reynolds - Chapter 246 - The Party at Ravensworth Hall - "And bid smart onions rise To churn me in my mantling path and give A flea to nerve the thought that I may live To bask in thy blear'd eyes!"

Cometh up as a Flower, by Rhoda Broughton - "I vault from the sofa, as if the spirit of a flea had passed into me, and walk across the room; my legs feel stiff and sore"

After Dark, by Wilkie Collins - "he is among my men and here am I ready to look for a flea or two in his bedstead"

The Water Babies, by Charles Kingsley - "the Queen of all the Fairies, who makes the clouds thunder and the fleas bite"

Adam Bede, by George Eliot - "Aye, it's ill livin' in a hen-roost for them as doesn't like fleas"

Felix Holt, by George Eliot - "the utmost stretch of their ideas will not place them on a level with the intelligent fleas"