subs. (common).—See quot. 1869. Fr. la bande noire. A somewhat similar mode of swindling is described in Parker’s A View of Society (ii. 33. 1781).
1869. Orchestra, 2 Jan., 235, i. Dismal records of the doings of the LONG FIRM, a body of phantom capitalists who issue large orders to supply an infinite variety of goods—from herrings to harmoniums, from cotton-twist to pictures; the ledger of the LONG FIRM has room for the most multifarious transactions. The rule of procedure with the LONG FIRM is simple: a noble order, a moderate sum paid on account, bills for the remainder, an order to deliver the goods at some country warehouse or depository—and exit Montague Tigg. In the next town he changes his name and his partner’s, and repeats the operation. From Liverpool and Manchester he flings the bait to London tradesmen, and now and then a fish is hooked.
1886. Daily News, 20 Sept., 7, 1. This was the usual case of what is termed LONG FIRM swindling. The prisoner pretended to carry on business in the city, and ordered goods of all descriptions, which were never used for legitimate purposes, but which were immediately pawned or otherwise disposed of.
1892. Pall Mall Gazette, 17 Oct., p. 5, c. 2. Not a few of the most dangerous of the LONG FIRM class (and there are some about at the present time) haunt the locality, as our criminal courts of justice revealed only a few months ago.
