Genealogy Chat

On the 1851 census, my ancestor Samuel Thomas Firth is recorded as a Dentist and Cupper.

Does anyone know what a cupper was/is/does?

Thanks

Alison

I found this on old occupations site :
Cupper: Worked in the potteries, making cups
however not sure how that matches with dentistry

Im afraid the dentist didnt make pottery in his spare time! he would have bled people into a cup as a remedy for various ills.(a variation on using leeches for same)

Thanks for that. Wonder if it did them any good!! Will try and find out more.

Thanks

Alison

Might it be to do with the process where they heated up the air in a glass or cup and then put the open end on the skin. As the air cooled it created suction which brought blood to the surface.
Don't know what it was suppsed to do apart from bringing a rosy glow to the cheeks.
Bryan

That certainly sounds better than my idea!

Found this through Google once i added bleeding to the request-

Cupping or bloodletting was performed to remedy symptoms of most diseases. This procedure involved cutting the patient and draining "extra or unwanted" blood.

The practice of bloodletting seems barbarian to our modern mind, but was very popular among physicians of the 1840s. As much as 20 ounces of blood would be bled at a time, this sometimes repeated ten times a day, in severe cases of fever, or severe pain.
Unfortunately, physicians thought the blood volume a person has was about twice what it actually is, so undoubtedly much harm was actually done as the heroic therapy was vigorously used.
When blood was taken from patients in the 18th century, it was usually drained into small bowls with a single handle, known as porringers. These bowls were chiefly used for soft foods like soup and porridge, but those made specifically for use as bleeding bowls have a series of graduated rings cut into the interior to indicate the quantity of blood to be taken.
Physicians bled patients using a number of different techniques beautifully illustrated in early texts. After applying a tourniquet, the physician would cut a vessel, usually a vein, with a thumb lancet that he carried in a small case. Fleams were knives containing multiple blades, one of which was placed over a vein and struck with a fleam stick. (Fleam and Fleam Stick- left)
Beautiful "wet" cupping sets (below left) were manufactured with syringes to help draw out blood after scarificators had made their multiple incisions.
"Dry" cupping was also popular in the same period though not meant to draw blood. Cupping glasses were heated with an alcohol lamp and then placed over the skin. As the cup cooled, it created a vacuum which, according to the theory, brought blood to the surface to act as a counterirritant -- discomfort was produced in one place to reduce pain in another.