Teresia Constantia Phillips's life is as extraordinary and outlandish as one can imagine of an 18thC courtesan. She was born in 1709, the daughter of an army Captain who fell upon hard times and she came to London aged 13 to stay with family friends and to try and earn her living as a seamstress. Lodging in the same buildings was the young Philip Stanhope, later the Earl of Chesterfield. In her best-selling, and long-winded Apology in 1748, Con (as she became familiarly known) alleged that Stanhope became infatuated with her, and proclaimed himself her lover. Far from claiming she put him off, Con admitted that she entertained any young girl's enjoyment of being adored, but later realised that Stanhope was fascinated with adolescent girls and virgins in particular. She then alleged that Stanhope locked her in his room, tied her hands to a chair and raped her. It was an allegation Chesterfield was to deny strenuously, but an odd one to make if there was no grain of truth in it. He also admitted that he had kept her as a mistress for a few months when she was very young.
Con went on to become the mistress of too many men to mention without it sounding like a roll call. She kept getting married illegally, made money, spent money, travelled and safe to say, did a lot of entertaining. She died in Jamaica in 1765 on yet another adventure. Some of her liaisons lasted years, and appear to have been exclusive, yet around 1732, she was at something of a loose end, having broken with her long-term lover so that he could make a good marriage (he settled money on her). During her time as a courtesan, Con had learned a thing or two, and so she set up shop (or had someone do it for her) in Half Moon Street, which is now Bedford Street in Covent Garden, and had handbills printed to advertise her wares which were given out in the street by link boys earning a few extra pence.
By far the most well-recorded item of merchandise were Con's 'preservatives' or condoms. Condoms, or 'cundums' (even worse!) had been recorded in popular use since around 1500. They were made from a sheep's intestine, and the standard length was between seven and eight inches, secured with a coloured ribbon about the base. This might sound gross, not to mention unwieldy, but the treatment process to make them thin and flexible was extensive, and the end of the condom was stitched and sealed, then tested, by blowing them up to check for leaks. It was recommended they were soaked in water, then squeezed out before use, to keep them elastic and comfortable. Gut of any sort is porous, which means these condoms weren't infallible, but they were also subjected to various treatments which one imagines must have made them less permeable. They certainly had some degree of efficacy, and they were popular. Casanova swore by them and sought them by the box whenever he found a reliable source. They were marketed as preventing both pregnancy and disease.
Much is made of condoms being expensive, and hence whores not carrying them. Rubbish, rubbish, all. If you had enough money for a whore, you had enough money for a condom. Furthermore, if you wanted to use a condom with a whore, why on earth would you let her provide one when you didn't know where it had been? You don't care if she gets pregnant after all, that's why you are going to her in the first place. Besides, condoms had more than one use in them well into the 20th century, and so men carried them more often than street-walkers. However, any decent brothel boasted of its stock, and the goods did not just include the girls, but 'every Device to restore old men and debauched youths.' Con sold condoms wholesale to the brothels and bagnios, so if you wanted to use one, all you had to do was ask.
In addition to condoms, Con probably also sold other methods of contraception. One of the most common ones for women was a piece of natural sponge with a length of ribbon stitched into it. The sponge was soaked in a dilute solution of lemon juice, or commonly vinegar and worn internally to prevent pregnancy. This was not just a method used by prostitutes, but common amongst ordinary women who wanted a break from child-bearing, and Con's shop provided a decent, if not respectable place to buy them. This brings me briefly onto the subject of clientele. In many of the printed sources referring to the sex trade, there are mentions of 'lady-clients' (Lady Loveit being one of my personal favourites). Whether they attended the brothels in a hetero, homosexual or fetishistic capacity isn't clear, but they were there nonetheless. Most brothels were run by women, and most whores were women. Therefore I conclude that a decent percentage of the customers to The Green Canister would have been women.
The 'Devices' employed by the brothels had to be purchased somewhere, and it appears Con sold just about everything, whatever your particular 'caprice'. 'Widow's comforters' were available in leather, ivory and wood. Flagellation machines could be made to order, and various brothels specialized in different types. Literature on the education of young ladies was prolific and often alarmingly well-illustrated. Although there are no records as to her stock, I can't imagine it would have been any different to a modern sex shop, only fewer batteries.
