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Occupations That Have Faded Away

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We used to buy sacks of used rags for use in the workshop, sometimes they were not very clean , I recall one bag was quickly returned when we opened it and found a turd. :eek:

There are companies around now who will buy your used clothing, they export it by the container load to the poorer parts of the world, pay anything from 25p to £1 a kilo and they collect from your door.
Here's an example.
https://www.bobscash4clothes.com/
 
One of my ancestors was called a "marine store dealer" but it just means he was a dealer in old clothes and rags, on a census he had a second-hand clothes shop. Perhaps that's why I love charity shops and jumble sales!

Eric, that also happened to my daughter-in-law who was sorting in a charity shop, after that she always wore gloves.
rosie.
 
I remembered about the glue from old bones. Was it made from animal hooves too?

I think charity shop workers deserve a medal. Graham's cousin worked in one for some time and they got a lot of abuse from some customers too. What's all that about?

My great-grandmother was a 'clothes dealer' in Summer Lane at the turn of the 20th century and my daughter and I both like charity shops etc. We swap clothes around, with my cousin too, but I must say that whatever I buy my daughter looks much better in it than I do!

I'll have a look at those sites - thank you.

A few minutes later: I've looked at those sites you mention and they both very interesting. Especially the 'Choddy & Mungo' one. Great picture of a rag grinding machine.
 
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When I first went to Cadbury's , there was a large bag of (clean, no turds) rags in the washing area for cleaning benches etc. When they replaced this with large paper rolls we were not too keen , as the paper was not as resilient.
Certainly bones were used to manufacture glue (I once visited a glue factory and the smell was awful). They were also used to make what was called artificial manure, by treatment with sulphuric acid.
 
Glue size was made with bones and quite commonly used by decorators, signwriters and guilders.
 
Even then it was for charity, so not someone making his living. Would think one would ha eto go back pre WW2 for one fulltime
 
Not completely faded away, but almost, bus conductors/conductorettes/conductresses. Wonder if these ladies still had jobs a few months later with the ending of WW2 ? Viv.

7E3E416C-DC61-49F2-875B-1C9741B1E367.jpeg
Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
Well there are five as well in the photo, which refers to a strike which is located at Digbeth Midland Red depot.
 
Re the Urine Collector job. I read a good book I am sure it was called Black Rain, apertaining to coal dust that got in to everything, even the rain. There is another book with this title, mine was about Welsh miners. In it there was a character a lady who emptied the loos every day and collected it in buckets her name was Sarah The Pissio.
people in wales are named after there occupations ie jones the death (undertaker)
 
I am sure Maturi’s also had a small shop in Gosta Green, small half timbred place
Maturi's had a van in the 1960s and 70s which came to Bearwood, Smethwick for knife grinding. I see now that it was a big family active in the trade in many parts of the country. There's a sharpening shop currently in London which traces its origins to Peter Maturi. https://www.kitchenknives.co.uk/about-sharpening-shed/

I think they came to the houses about twice a year for carving kitchen knives and had a more regular service for butchers' knives.
 
I worked as the Assistant works manager at JJ and H Hossell in Coventry Street in Digbeth,they were a firm of Fellmongers,can anyone guess what a fellmonger was?? I`ll let you all know in a few weeks!
Yes one of my ancestors was a Fellmonger and I'm guessing from the addresses I've gathered from various sources he worked at Hossells.
 

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From the middle ages there were many trade guilds in various towns and cities in the UK but very few still survive outside the City of London.
One that does still exist is The Fellmongers Company of Richmond Yorkshire.
See https://www.fellmongers.org.uk/ for a note about their history
 
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