Advertising with Third-Party Intellectual Property

The operators of the entertainment venue on the Dutch border certainly demonstrated a sense of humour when they adopted the brand name of a German airline, along with its logo and a marketing slogan, and repurposed them for blatant brothel advertising. Unfortunately for them, the creator and trademark owner understandably had little desire to see her brand associated with sex work. She therefore engaged Kurtz Investigations Duisburg, via a law firm, to verify whether her injunction against the unauthorised use of the trademark was actually being observed. Specifically, according to a Düsseldorf court ruling, the altered trademark and modified slogan were prohibited from use "in commercial traffic for competitive purposes in the services of a brothel-like establishment" as well as for operating a sauna club, commercial room rentals, hotel and catering services, and particularly for party events.

 

Since the unlawful advertising primarily took place via traditional, i.e., analogue, channels, compliance with the court order had to be checked on-site at the Dutch border. Moreover, the airline’s lawyers indicated there was concrete reason to believe that the prohibited advertising continued to be used inside the premises. Accordingly, one of our Duisburg commercial detectives was tasked with attending the brothel personally during a party event.

Detective Deployment in the “Scene”

For this assignment, the operations team quickly selected a seasoned operative from the “scene”: an investigator from our commercial detective agency in Duisburg who, before qualifying as an IHK-certified detective, had gained extensive experience as a security professional, including working as a bouncer for brothels in the Ruhr area. He is therefore highly familiar with the “milieu,” knows how to behave discreetly, and, most importantly, how to encourage informality in such establishments to obtain information.

 

Contrary to what one might expect from a brothel party event, the gathering did not take place solely in the evening or night but began in the morning. When our Duisburg detective arrived at noon, all parking spaces were occupied, and the crowd was so large that two security personnel were stationed to manage traffic and direct visitors to a nearby sports club car park. Upon entering the brothel, the detective immediately noticed a poster behind the reception desk displaying the three trademark violations prohibited by the court order: name, logo, and slogan. As the client requested complete documentation of all violations, the work was far from over: our Duisburg private investigator paid the entrance fee and the mandatory consumption charge for food and beverages. In return, one of the receptionists explained the terms for sexual services during the party (intercourse from €50) and emphasised that neither video nor photography was permitted. According to prior consultations with industry experts, the attending women also paid an entry fee so they could be classified as female guests, making it harder to prosecute the operators under § 180a StGB “Promotion of Prostitution.” Allegedly, the brothel, which marketed itself as a “sauna club,” did not profit from individual sexual services, deriving its income solely from entry fees and consumables.

Theme Party: Boarding Time in the “Sauna Club”

After the informative reception the Duisburg private detective went to the changing area to put on the white robe and white sandals provided by the staff on entry. He noticed that even the changing cubicles were equipped with dome cameras. Dressed in the prescribed attire, the investigator entered the main “party” area. Around 70 male guests were already present, with roughly 35 women opposite them. The women were all dressed in striking uniform outfits: a sexualised version of the typical cabin crew uniform of the client airline. This observation was doubtless of great interest to our client, even though the uniforms did not bear brand names or logos.

 

The Duisburg operative continued to survey the premises and discovered that everything was unusually clean and well organised — the operation clearly ran to a plan; the continued use of the contested logos and word plays could not therefore be dismissed as inadvertent. Nevertheless, the motifs appeared on at least four further posters in the guest area, where the programme schedule was described using aviation vocabulary, for example “11:00 Bordingtime [sic] and Check-in”.

Detective Overhears Unrepentant Club Operator

After his overview of the rooms the investigator from our detective agency decided to take a seat in the buffet tent in order to observe operations under the pretext of dining unobtrusively and without being approached by the women. He sat at a table with two other men and was shortly rewarded for his approach: a man in casual clothes wearing a club T-shirt, who had earlier been seen giving instructions, joined the table and began talking to the others. The conversation quickly touched on the subject of the court order issued to our client. The two interlocutors appeared familiar with the matter and it soon emerged that the casually dressed man was the operator in person.

 

He claimed to have only become aware of the court ruling the previous day. He argued that, on the one hand, it had been impossible to remove the existing trademark infringements in time, and on the other hand he did not care, since the airline had rights only to its own marks and slogans, not to his adapted versions — an, of course, absurd view, but one that found a sympathetic audience in the two men. He even mused about going to the press if he were to be fined, thereby “creating huge publicity for my establishment”. After the conversation the Duisburg detective followed the club operator to hold a one-to-one discussion and elicit further relevant information, but the pimp, who did not wish to be regarded as such, diverted into a room marked “private” and did not reappear before the end of the operation.

Brothel with Multi-Million Turnover

By the afternoon, and thus at the scheduled end of the on-site inspection, the private investigator had accumulated further observations. The number of simultaneously present male guests rose gradually to well over one hundred and the number of female service providers to around fifty. As many did not remain all day and some left immediately after their service, it was not possible reliably to extrapolate the total visitor throughput from the observations made. However, our Duisburg commercial detective had already learned before deployment that the club generated several million euros in annual turnover. The theme party proved popular. It should be noted that not every male guest went to a room with a woman; the investigator repeatedly observed groups of men conversing about business in a relaxed atmosphere and occasionally using the wellness area.

 

When no further material findings were to be expected and the budget limit approached, the operative ended the assignment. Back at the office he prepared his investigation report, which the team at Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg then forwarded, after editorial review, to the law firm representing the aggrieved airline.

Note

In order to safeguard discretion and the personal rights of clients and target persons, all names and locations in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.

Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg

Auf dem Damm 112

47137 Duisburg

Tel.: +49 203 3196 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duisburg

On 15 February 2020, Tim Harpers of the Rheinische Post Duisburg spoke with Patrick Kurtz, owner of Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg, about the work of private investigators in Germany.

Detective Agency in Duisburg

“Duisburg. Patrick Kurtz runs a detective agency with 30 offices across Germany. He and his colleagues conduct investigations in Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and the Lower Rhine region. A conversation about the challenges of his job, fraud, surveillance, and even saving lives.”

The Path to Today’s Kurtz Detective Agency

“Patrick Kurtz could do anything. He is an entirely unobtrusive type – fit and well-groomed, wearing a black sweater, grey trousers, and a silver watch. Calm, deliberate in speech, with no particularly noticeable tics, he appears charming, intelligent, and smiles frequently. He could blend in among lawyers, business graduates, bartenders, or insurance agents – unnoticed. For someone like Kurtz, this is crucial. At 30, he is a private detective, and unobtrusiveness is one of the key requirements of his job.

 

The Kurtz Detective Agency, headquartered in Leipzig, operates more than 30 offices in Germany. In addition to the West German headquarters in Wuppertal, locations include Düsseldorf and Duisburg. From Wuppertal, the agency covers the entire western region, sending detectives to the Lower Rhine, the Ruhr area, and the Sauerland as needed. Most investigators work freelance. Until the previous year, all approximately 600 cases per year went through the boss’s desk. 'That became too much for me,' says Kurtz. 'It wore me down. I had to learn to delegate.'

 

Kurtz grew up in Thuringia. 'Back then, I devoured every book on detective work,' he recalls. Later, he studied Provincial Roman Archaeology, Psychology, Comparative Literature, and German Studies at the Universities of Oxford, Leipzig, Marburg, and Hagen. 'Between my Bachelor’s and Master’s, I had a year off,' says Kurtz. 'I came across an internship offer as a private detective. I applied, but then never heard back.' However, his interest was piqued. 'It was a mix of natural inclination and fascination with the field that made me explore what it takes to be successful in this profession.' Eventually, he discovered the IHK course to become a 'Certified Detective' at the Berlin Security Academy. The curriculum covered two main areas: investigative techniques and legal fundamentals on one hand, and security on the other. 'The security component was less relevant to me,' says Kurtz. 'It covered things like building and goods protection, knowledge useful for a store detective. That’s not the path I wanted to take.'”

Areas of Work at Kurtz Detectives Duisburg

“Test thefts and store surveillance are therefore not offered by Kurtz and his colleagues. 'That is an entirely different focus,' explains the investigator. 'We specialise in personal and corporate investigations.'

 

Most private detective work involves surveillance or research assignments related to fraud – whether in personal or professional contexts. Personal cases often concern infidelity, while corporate cases might involve, for example, sick leave fraud. The agency also offers specialist services such as IT forensics or locating individuals. Kurtz even employs mantrailing, the use of trained scent-tracking dogs.”

Legal Rights of Detectives in Germany

“Detectives cannot take photographs inside private homes at will – as TV shows often suggest. 'We only have what are called “everyman’s rights”, so we always need a legitimate interest to act,' explains Kurtz. Private residences are legally protected zones. 'If we conduct surveillance, it is in public areas.' Observations made there are usually sufficient. 'We communicate this clearly to clients. We cannot photograph inside a living room, but often it is enough to capture that, for instance, a spouse suspected of fraud visited a particular address.'”

Mantrailing Case Involving a Suicide Attempt

“For Kurtz, detective work is more about pursuing fraudsters. That is the ‘bread and butter’ of the job.

 

He recalls a case on the Lower Rhine that stands out. Concerned parents contacted the Kurtz Detective Agency about their 18-year-old son who had gone missing, leaving a farewell note indicating he might harm himself. The only information the parents had was a nearby ATM where he withdrew money. 'In this case, mantrailing was appropriate,' recalls Kurtz. 'We asked the parents to bring an item carrying the boy’s scent to the ATM. The dogs picked up a trail, leading us to a hotel. We had to convince staff that it was a life-or-death situation. When the dogs alerted at a hotel room, staff opened the door – and the boy was lying unconscious on the bed with slashed wrists.' He was rushed to hospital in time and saved.”

Ongoing Challenges in the Detective Industry

“Cases like this motivate the 30-year-old. Motivation is crucial, as lapses are not an option. The industry is currently facing tough times. 'The market is shrinking,' says Kurtz. 'Social media and the internet help us in some ways, but also cost us jobs. Today, much information that once required a detective is readily available online.'

 

He welcomes every competent new colleague. Good investigators need curiosity, endurance, and improvisational skills. 'Endurance is crucial – a single surveillance can last 12, 13, 14 hours. If a case hits a dead end, you need to sit down, think laterally, and find a solution,' says Kurtz. 'I call it using your head.' High demands for a profession without protected title make recruiting motivated and capable newcomers difficult. 'We are constantly looking.'

 

Ideally, new colleagues are as unobtrusive as their boss. Lawyers, business graduates, bartenders, or insurance agents with brains, talent, and interest in a career switch – Kurtz welcomes them all.”

Note

The original article appeared in the Rheinische Post. Any highlights (bold text) and hyperlinks on this page may differ from the original.

Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg

Auf dem Damm 112

47137 Duisburg

Tel.: +49 203 3196 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duisburg

From imagined to real cases

Most clients of our detective agency in Oberhausen* contact us because they have a concrete, real, and verifiable problem. Occasionally, however, we investigate for clients who later turn out to suffer from a mental condition such as unfounded fears of persecution, compulsive behaviours, or simple senility. The following case illustrates both the investigative possibilities of our corporate detectives in Oberhausen and an example of somewhat confused clients.

Missing and moved items

The Marl couple were in their late seventies. Their only son had long been concerned about his parents’ safety, as they repeatedly reported burglaries and constant changes to their belongings—as if someone deliberately wanted to drive them mad. The son had already installed several infrared cameras in and around the house but never found any evidence of intruders—until all cameras suddenly stopped working. Living and working in Switzerland, he could not regularly check on his parents’ home and therefore commissioned our private detectives in Oberhausen. Since not only the parents’ possessions but also the son’s items stored in the attic were affected, he had a dual interest in resolving the case.

Detective on the trail of burglary traces

The first measure taken by our commercial detectives in Oberhausen was to secure traces. The neighbour was said to have recently entered the house via a flowerbed, opened the door with a copied key and forced open a documents and jewellery cabinet with burglary tools. Although nothing was missing from the cabinet, the internal order had allegedly been completely disturbed and there had been thefts in the past. Although the preceding days had been rather rainy, there were no foot or shoe prints in the flowerbed, nor did the cabinet show any signs on the wood or on or inside the lock of having been opened without the appropriate key. It should be noted that even sophisticated and outwardly inconspicuous lock-opening methods such as lockpicking leave scratch marks on lock cylinders and are therefore detectable.

 

Next, our detective from Oberhausen searched the house for possible entry routes for burglars. The lock on the back door had been replaced; the front door had recently been fitted by the son with a new security lock and met private requirements for high burglary resistance. In the cellar there were several smaller tilt windows through which a small, slender person might have gained entry, but not without completely smashing the glass or forcibly removing the frame. As all the windows were intact, this was not an option. The upper floor of the house would at best have been accessible via ladders through tilted windows, yet here too there were no signs of forced entry. Finally, the couple suspected that the burglar or burglars had entered via the attic. Accordingly, the private investigator inspected the attic window on the pitched roof, which could only be reached with the help of a ladder and by walking a short distance along the roof beams. Months-old dust lay on these beams; any passage would inevitably have left impressions in this dust, yet the layer showed no irregularities whatsoever. The window itself also displayed no signs of forced entry. Subsequently, the investigator from our private detective agency in Oberhausen thoroughly turned the entire attic upside down, pulled out every cupboard to look for connections to neighbouring houses and examined every object for traces — nothing.

Sabotaged Camera Surveillance and Futile Observation

Despite the lack of results from the trace search, the Marl couple insisted they regularly heard movements in the attic and subsequently noticed changes. For this reason, our commercial investigator installed covert infrared cameras in the attic and connected them to the mains to ensure continuous operation. After a week, during which several incidents had allegedly occurred again according to the Marls, he dismantled the cameras and reviewed the recordings. On the very first evening Mrs Marl appeared on camera, moved a few items, dusted something off, then — apparently surprised — examined the power strip to which the cameras were connected, pulled the plug and the recording ended. Naturally, she had previously been informed by our detective in Oberhausen about the purpose of the power strip and that she must not under any circumstances unplug it.

 

At the next meeting with the operations management of our commercial detective agency in Oberhausen, the Marls stated that every time they left the house someone tampered with their possessions. There was not one occasion, they claimed, on which everything was as they had left it upon their return. To verify this assertion, our investigator agreed with the couple to enter the house secretly at night and wait inside for the burglar after the Marls had left. The security specialist repeated this procedure on four nights, without a single person ever appearing in the house.

Bug-Sweeping Specialists and Mantrailing Dogs

The next idea put forward by the couple, backed by their son, was that of listening devices and miniature cameras placed in the flat. How else could it be explained that the burglar or burglars only failed to enter the house on those days when the detective was waiting inside?, the Marls asked. The perpetrators must have been able to obtain a visual insight into the living space. Consequently, our bug-sweeping specialists in Oberhausen were deployed promptly and examined all floors and rooms for listening devices such as bugs and cameras hidden in camouflaged containers. The methods used by these nationally recognised counter-surveillance experts ensure an almost one hundred per cent level of accuracy. Nothing was found and, of course, our detective agency in Oberhausen had long suspected that the burglaries were most likely age-related delusions. A cautious attempt to confront the son with this possibility failed due to resistance and accusations such as, “You are not capable of catching the burglars and now you want to blame my parents’ mental state! They are perfectly fit! Do your job, please!”

 

Very well, we thought, there was one last possibility and, if we were being compelled in this way to continue an essentially hopeless activity, we would not additionally engage in a dispute about why we might terminate the Auftrag from our side, after all it was not the Marls but the demanding and argumentative son who was paying us — and given his age (early forties) one could hardly ascribe senility to him. We therefore resorted to a final straw: mantrailer dogs. These highly specialised scent-tracking dogs, trained from an early age, are capable of detecting and following human scent trails even weeks and months later. In the past they have repeatedly assisted us with great effectiveness in solving missing persons cases or identifying anonymous letter-writers. If these true instruments of detective casework found nothing, then there was nothing to be found. A box in the attic served as the scent carrier; Mrs Marl swore blind that it did not belong to the family, had never been touched by any family member and must definitely have been brought there by the burglar. Using this box, the dogs picked up the trail, followed it through the front door to the Marls’ garage, then further along the driveway to the pharmacy where Mrs Marl had shopped that same morning. The tracking of the last person who had touched the box therefore led directly to Mrs Marl. Further attempts with other scent carriers produced the same results — the dogs either trailed Mrs Marl or her husband. Nothing among the items supposedly last touched by the burglar bore fresh scent traces of persons not living in the household.

Extensive Portfolio of Investigation Methods

At this point our detective agency in Oberhausen finally terminated the investigation, to the annoyance of the unyielding son. Of course, we could have continued to sit in the empty house for days, weeks or months, listening to nothing, but that would have been pure profiteering, as the detective costs had already exceeded the €5,000 mark at that stage. So we preferred, with a clear conscience, to hear the son’s reproaches and let him keep his bank balance. In the event of a burglary, it is unlikely that any other private or public provider could have carried out a more comprehensive catalogue of measures than our security specialists and detectives in Oberhausen did in this case. Below again is a summary of the investigative tactics applied here:

 

• Search for traces
• Installation of a burglary-resistant new lock
• Video surveillance of the living space
• Observation of the living space
• Analysis of the living space for optical and visual espionage/listening devices
• Perpetrator search using mantrailing dogs 

In order to safeguard discretion and the personal rights of clients and target persons, all names and locations in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg

Auf dem Damm 112

47137 Duisburg

Tel.: +49 203 3196 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duisburg

Even in the best relationships, it can arise: the gnawing feeling of jealousy and doubt about one’s partner. Although this jealousy may often prove unfounded and ideally diminishes as the relationship progresses, the private investigators of Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg (+49 203 3196 0052) regularly witness cases of unfaithful men and women. Many of them are actually involved in what appears to be a close, long-term relationship, yet evidently this is not enough for them. The number of male and female clients is largely balanced; dissatisfaction within the relationship or the desire for an adventure is not gender-specific and therefore occurs on both sides. The following case example illustrates how our private investigators in Duisburg assist with investigations in cases of suspected adultery and infidelity.

Infidelity: A Case Example from Our Detectives in Duisburg

Sabine from Dinslaken, a client of Kurtz Investigations Duisburg, had already been living for over six years in what she considered to be a well-functioning relationship. Her steady boyfriend and, as she hoped, future fiancé, Thomas from Ratingen, behaved lovingly, attentively and was always committed to maintaining the quality of their relationship. Of course, the two argued occasionally, but never to such an extent that their relationship would have suffered as a result. After the first three years, they moved into a shared flat in Duisburg, bought a dog and regularly went on holiday together. Sabine worked as a senior employee in a fashion shop where she felt comfortable and which gave her the opportunity to express her creativity. Her boyfriend Thomas worked in the administration of a large car dealership in Duisburg-Kaßlerfeld. Their relationship seemed stable and their shared future lay directly within reach.

 

One day, while washing a pair of her partner’s trousers, Sabine found receipts for a restaurant at Duisburg’s Inner Harbour, which puzzled her as Thomas had not mentioned having dined there. At first, she thought nothing serious of it and threw the slips into the bin. However, when she casually mentioned it to her best friend, the latter became concerned and advised Sabine to ask Thomas about the meal and whether it had been a business dinner. Sabine was not inclined towards excessive jealousy, as she felt secure in Thomas’ love and did not wish to become a nagging shrew. Her best friend, however, had planted an initial suspicion in Sabine’s mind, as she herself had been cheated on by her husband: she had set the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg on him and, following the results of the surveillance which documented her husband spending a weekend with his mistress, had filed for divorce after only one year of marriage.

When the First Doubts Are Sown …

Back at home, Sabine retrieved the receipts from the bin and compared the time and date on them with her calendar. To her shock, she realised that the dinner had taken place on an evening when, according to Thomas, he was supposedly on a business trip at a motor show in Erfurt. Still, the former resident of Dinslaken considered it all a coincidence and hoped that the receipt might have belonged to a colleague. Yet this hope soon vanished when she repeatedly received evening telephone calls from her partner informing her that he unfortunately had to work late, for example due to a financial audit at the dealership, and would be home late; she should not wait up for him. Naturally, on those nights she could not sleep and, full of doubt and disbelief, searched her boyfriend’s laptop, where she found two photographs of a young woman that had presumably been downloaded from a social network. Her decision was made: her boyfriend Thomas, who was highly likely to be cheating on her, was to be placed under surveillance by the private investigators of Kurtz Investigations Duisburg on the next evenings when he would be “delayed”. If he were to be unfaithful, she would then have it in black and white.

 

Sabine engaged two of our Duisburg private investigators and instructed them at the next opportunity to position themselves on both sides of the dealership after Thomas’ official working hours in order to observe him and, if necessary, commence tailing him. After nothing unusual had occurred on the first three evenings and Thomas had indeed remained in his office for a long time, Sabine already began to reproach herself severely for having doubted her boyfriend and his integrity. On the fourth evening, however, when she received only a text message and no call regarding another delay, the two detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg documented photographically how Thomas left work at 5 pm, drove into the city, met the young woman from the laptop photographs for dinner and checked into a rather exclusive hotel with her, holding hands and closely embracing. Sabine from Dinslaken was utterly stunned when the detectives reported the investigation results to her shortly afterwards. She ended the relationship that very night when Thomas returned home at three o’clock in the morning and, confronted with Sabine’s accusations and the details of the previous evening, remorsefully confessed his infidelity.

Detectives as the Final Authority for Proving Infidelity

Naturally, Sabine from Dinslaken was saddened that her suspicion had been confirmed by our detectives from Duisburg; however, she thereby gained important certainty and was able to end the relationship before becoming even more firmly bound to Thomas. In the everyday work of our private investigators, matters can also unfold differently from the above example: some clients who are concerned about their partners’ fidelity learn through the investigations of our Duisburg private investigators that no adultery or infidelity has occurred within the partnership – the suspicion is not confirmed in these cases. Although instructing Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg is, of course, initially anything but a sign of trust, the doubting partner can, if the suspicion of infidelity is not confirmed, subsequently devote themselves once again with complete peace of mind to the relationship that previously may not have seemed sufficiently secure.

 

When instructing our detectives in Duisburg, it is important always to note that a legitimate interest must exist for the surveillance of a partner, one which outweighs the right to privacy of the partner being observed. This means that there must be a marriage or a marriage-like partnership. A marriage-like partnership is defined, among other things, by living together in the same property, making joint purchases and acquisitions and being able to demonstrate a certain duration of the relationship, which should generally be at least one year. A relationship that has existed for only half a year, in which the partners live separately and possess no joint property, is unfortunately not sufficient to justify this legitimate interest. If you have any questions regarding legitimate interest or the surveillance of your spouse or partner, Kurtz Investigations Duisburg will of course be pleased to assist you in person or advise you by telephone or by email (kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de).

In order to safeguard discretion and the personal rights of clients and target persons, all names and locations in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.

 

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg

Auf dem Damm 112

47137 Duisburg

Tel.: +49 203 3196 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duisburg

A Typical Detective Stereotype Since Sherlock Holmes: The Pipe

Pipe smoking is arguably the most original form of smoking; the oldest tobacco pipes ever discovered were found among Egyptian mummies – grave goods from nearly four thousand years ago. Although pipe smokers have become rarer in recent decades due to the widespread rise of cigarettes, they still exist: connoisseurs, thinkers, calm and independent spirits. Today, the pipe smoker is associated with many attributes – rarely negative ones. And of course, it is above all the profession of the private detective that, since Sherlock Holmes, has been closely linked with pipe smoking – just as much as with a magnifying glass and deerstalker hat. Our detectives at Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg regularly note this with amusement. The question “And do you also smoke a pipe?” is part of almost every conversation and usually follows directly after “And what do you do for a living?” As is often the case, there is a grain of truth behind stereotypes. It is indeed true that some of our private investigators are passionate pipe smokers. Patrick Kurtz himself, owner of our detective offices in Duisburg, has smoked a pipe since the age of 14 and owns more than twenty pipes.

 

Much has changed since the days of the Bow Street Runners and Eugène François Vidocq, pioneers of modern detective work. Today, cutting-edge technology, IT forensics and commercial investigations shape the daily routine of our detectives in Duisburg. Yet the association between private investigators and the pipe remains remarkably strong. Reason enough to take a closer look at the background of pipe smoking and examine why detective work and the pipe are still so closely intertwined.

Pipe Smoking During Surveillance? A No-Go!

There is one cliché we should dispense with straight away: even if some of our detectives are enthusiastic pipe smokers, the pipe has no place in fieldwork! One might think it would be no problem: your own car, for example, is one of the few places where you can legally smoke undisturbed, and carrying out a lengthy surveillance of a subject from the car would certainly be more pleasant for some of our Duisburg private investigators when accompanied by a pleasantly aromatic pipe. The problem, however, is quite prosaic, because two things are essential to provide a flawless and promising surveillance for the client:

 

First, of course, is the requirement for as inconspicuous an appearance as possible: during a surveillance, for example when there is suspicion of sick-leave fraud, it is important that the deployed investigator remain unobtrusive so that the subject does not realise they are being watched. An inconspicuous appearance is therefore imperative — and given how rare pipe smokers have become, these two requirements are difficult to reconcile. Second, smoking a pipe intermittently always requires a certain amount of attention: you often have to handle it with your hands, the tobacco needs to be packed, occasionally re-lit, and ultimately pipe smoking places one in a relaxed state that may reduce the necessary readiness to react during surveillance — after all, our private investigators in Duisburg must be able to react instantaneously when relevant situations arise, to take a quick photograph or to follow the subject. A pipe would be more of a hindrance in such circumstances.

Pipe Smoking in the Detective Office? By All Means!

Quite a different picture emerges, however, in the solitude of the detective office: pipe smoking is said to create an atmosphere of calm and relaxation that favours thought and, naturally, creativity. Our investigators can fully confirm this! Detective work is not merely routine fieldwork and does not take place exclusively on the street. Where loose threads must be tied together and relationships established, calm and relaxation are appropriate — and the pipe is ideally suited to that purpose. Thus it happens that one or two private detectives, at least among our investigators at Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg, do not want to forgo the contemplative pleasure of pipe smoking.

Preview of Part 2 of the Series “Detectives and the Pipe”: The Danish Pipe-Maker Poul Winsløw

High-quality pipes are made in time-consuming handcraft, and many pipe-makers are genuine artists. One need only look at the different pipe types, shapes and colours, the materials used and the various functional designs to appreciate the meticulous work involved, sometimes featuring delicate inlays and great attention to detail. Some pipe-makers are genuine icons of their craft, extremely talented masters of their art. One of them is Poul Winsløw, a name that may mean little to those who have rarely encountered pipes — reason enough for Kurtz Business Detective Duisburg to pay tribute in Part 2 of our series “Detectives and the Pipe” to a true master of the pipe-making craft!

Author: Gerrit Koehler

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg

Auf dem Damm 112

47137 Duisburg

Tel.: +49 203 3196 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duisburg

The detectives of Kurtz Investigations Duisburg may stand firmly rooted in reality, yet there is probably not a single professional private investigator in the world who is not fascinated by the numerous role models that literature and film have produced over nearly two hundred years. Today, we therefore continue our journey through the history of the private detective in literature.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Proto-Detective Dupin Conquers Europe

As we saw in the previous part of our analysis, the classic detective story is often mistakenly attributed to the English. In truth, however, we owe it to Edgar Allan Poe, an icon of American literature. And as so often happens once a good idea has entered the world, it cannot be stopped, but inspires and invigorates others. Of course, since time immemorial there have been stories about people solving crimes — from the Bible to ancient legends and the literature of the Enlightenment and Romanticism. Voltaire’s Zadig ou la Destinée (1747) or E. T. A. Hoffmann’s Das Fräulein von Scuderi (1821) are merely two examples from the period before Poe’s detective tales and still lack many classic elements of the later detective story.

 

With the appearance of the stories about C. Auguste Dupin in 1841, however, the detective in the modern sense was established for the first time — the literary ancestor of today’s private investigators and commercial detectives in Duisburg. The success was enormous: early translations by Charles Baudelaire helped Poe achieve great fame in Europe; even in Russia he was widely read and admired. Fyodor Dostoevsky, openly admiring Poe, modelled the investigating magistrate Porfiry in Crime and Punishment (1866) on Dupin. Above all in France, Poe’s detective stories continued to receive immense appreciation even after his early death in 1849 — and thus the history of the private detective initially continued there.

Émile Gaboriau’s Detectives Lecoq and Père Tabaret

In L’Affaire Lerouge (1866) by Émile Gaboriau, a detective appears for the first time who, though far less well-known, deserves to be mentioned alongside Dupin and Sherlock Holmes: Monsieur Lecoq. He is not, strictly speaking, a private detective, but head of the Paris security authority, the Sûreté, and has a criminal past — a nod to the real-life figure Eugène François Vidocq, about whom we have previously reported in detail. Alongside him stands an amateur detective, Père Tabaret. Both solve their cases through the same analytical and deductive methods already employed by Dupin. Lecoq, however, differs in one important respect: he is a police officer. For him, criminal cases are not merely intellectual puzzles, but quite simply his profession.

 

It is therefore rather the figure of Père Tabaret who views the solving of cases as both challenge and pleasure, and thus more closely resembles the independent investigator embodied today by private detectives in Duisburg. Gaboriau describes the solving of criminal cases to a certain extent as a science, and what we now call forensic science — though not yet formally established as such at the time — is already presented by him as an essential means of reaching a solution. Later, Arthur Conan Doyle would adopt this approach for Sherlock Holmes, openly expressing his admiration not only for Poe but also for Gaboriau, whom he counted among his influences.

The First Female Detectives in Literature

From this point onwards, the detective story increasingly takes shape and certain framework conditions are established. The narrative no longer focuses on how the crime occurred — that would move it closer to the crime novel — but rather reconstructs the case retrospectively. The crime has already happened at the beginning of the story, and the task of the detective — and increasingly also of the reader — is to discover the perpetrator. Above all, “amateur detectives” begin to replace professional police investigators: Dupin was not a police officer, nor was Père Tabaret.

 

In Germany it was not a detective from Duisburg but an aristocratic globetrotter from Braunschweig, Hans von Solberg, whom Friedrich Gerstäcker had solve a crime in his serial novel Im Eckfenster. In the United States, however, in the stories of Anna Katharine Green (née Rohlfs), a police inspector initially again took centre stage: Ebenezer Gryce (from 1878 onwards). Later, however, he too was joined by someone outside the police service — one of the first female detectives in literature, Miss Amelia Butterworth — who became a second main character alongside the inspector.

From Police Investigation to the Private Investigator

Thus, the boundaries between professional police work and passionate private detection remain somewhat blurred for a long time. Writers were still hesitant fully to detach the detective figure from official police structures. One man, however, would change that decisively from 1892 onwards, relegating all police friends and helpers to supporting roles — a man who serves directly or indirectly as a model for all modern detectives, including those at Kurtz Investigations Duisburg. But we shall turn to Sherlock Holmes in the next instalment of our series Private Detectives in Literature.

Author: Gerrit Koehler

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg

Auf dem Damm 112

47137 Duisburg

Tel.: +49 203 3196 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duisburg

The Roots of the Detective Story

Since the profession came into being, the private detective has been a popular subject in literature. Countless types of detectives have been imagined by writers over the past two centuries. Many of them found their way early into film or television, so it is easy to forget that, in most cases, the root of every well-known detective lies in crime fiction: whether the classic (Sherlock Holmes) or the eccentric (Hercule Poirot), the hard-boiled detectives of the American interwar era or the down-to-earth contemporary figures such as Wilsberg from Münster — private detectives remain extremely popular among crime readers worldwide, and our investigators at Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg naturally hold the literary forebears in the highest regard. Frankly, many detective agencies worldwide might not exist in their present form if the private detective had not enriched literature and the public imagination for more than 150 years. Today we therefore turn to the roots of the detective story — and, contrary to common assumption, it does not begin with Sherlock Holmes.

Detectives Become Famous in Reality and in Fiction Almost Simultaneously

Historically, the real-world profession of private detective was accompanied almost immediately by a literary counterpart (see our feature “The Detective through the Ages: Eugène François Vidocq” for background). The founder of the first detective office (1833), Eugène François Vidocq, clearly inspired numerous literary figures among French authors such as Honoré de Balzac and Victor Hugo. Yet the author who introduced the classic detective story to the world was — surprisingly — an American.

Edgar Allan Poe: Inventor of the Detective Story

There had of course been earlier tales in which a mysterious offence was clarified by an unofficial intermediary, but never in the form of the private detective as we know him today. Prior protagonists who solved crimes were usually outsiders — for example the court poet in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s Das Fräulein von Scuderi — and solving crimes was rarely their passion or profession; they were dragged into events by circumstance. This changed in 1841 when “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” first appeared in Graham’s Magazine in Philadelphia. Its author was none other than Edgar Allan Poe, already famed for gothic tales such as “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) and widely regarded in literary studies as a father of the short story and the macabre tale.

 

It is often forgotten that the detective story as we now know it stems from him; the credit is too frequently given to Poe’s English successors. Poe’s protagonist C. Auguste Dupin already displays many of the qualities that, forty-five years later, would characterise his more famous colleague Sherlock Holmes: the tale is told in the first person by Dupin’s unnamed assistant and roommate (a device Arthur Conan Doyle adopts for Dr Watson); Dupin is analytical, well read, highly observant, fascinated by puzzles and mysteries, and able by means of intellect alone to triumph over crime.

 

Poe himself called his then-novel mode of storytelling “ratiocination” — the solving of puzzles by reason alone — in other words, the art of deduction that later made Sherlock Holmes famous. There are other parallels: Dupin effectively operates as a professional sleuth because he is repeatedly consulted by the police (represented by a high-ranking officer “G”) — just as Holmes later works alongside Inspectors such as Lestrade at Scotland Yard.

Clear Intertextuality between Holmes and Dupin

Dupin assists the Paris police in three short stories in total (besides “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) these are “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt” (1842) and “The Purloined Letter” (1844)). His solutions are original and repeatedly allow the police to identify the true culprit — in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” the perpetrator turns out, surprisingly, to be an orangutan, whom Dupin establishes as responsible.

 

Arthur Conan Doyle never hid his admiration for Poe and explicitly references Dupin. In Dr Watson’s first meeting with Holmes in “A Study in Scarlet” (1887) Watson remarks, “You remind me of Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin. Such types have hitherto only existed for me in the pages of romance.” Holmes, in typical Doylean irony, replies that Dupin seems to him “of no great account” and that his methods are “showy and artificial.” Perhaps this is Doyle’s playful acknowledgement of a passage in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in which Poe has Dupin speak dismissively of his real-world model Vidocq as “a man… clever at guessing and inference” but lacking “trained thought”.

Thinking and Methodology of Early Literary Models Lastingly Shaped the Profession

The analytical approach and methods presented by these early literary prototypes have had a lasting effect on the real-world profession of detective. Our investigators at Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg do not cultivate the eccentric-loner stereotype; we emphasise teamwork. Nonetheless, analytic thinking and a methodical approach to bringing a case to a successful conclusion remain central to our everyday practice — and, to be honest, we are all rather relieved when the culprit is not an orangutan: how would one explain that to a client?

 

By the way, Poe never uses the term “detective”, since it had not yet been coined in that sense; it was Doyle who later described his hero as a “consulting detective” — a topic for a subsequent instalment.

Author: Gerrit Koehler

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Duisburg

Auf dem Damm 112

47137 Duisburg

Tel.: +49 203 3196 0052

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-duisburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-duisburg