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“A Monkey in Every Home”: Henry Trefflich, Colonial Networks, and the American Commercial Animal Trade
This article explores the career of Henry Trefflich, America’s most prolific twentieth-century animal merchant, by using previously unexamined historical media sources and Trefflich’s autobiographical writing. Trefflich’s outsized role within the twentieth-century global animal trade permits a uniquely penetrating view into a business rife with animal suffering and the exploitation of the Global South. Trefflich used European colonial networks in Africa and Asia for animal supply, relying heavily upon poorly-paid local labourers to carry out highly dangerous hunts. Scrutinising Trefflich’s supply chain also reveals animal resistance and agency – many animals captured by his company vigorously resisted confinement and relocation. Finally, I analyse Trefflich’s role in catalysing mass exotic pet ownership in mid-century America. Trefflich was the era’s foremost advocate of exotic pet ownership and its primary supplier as he sought to realise his store motto: “a monkey in every home.”
