Outdated occupations that have bitten the dust

[mw0njm.]

Factory lector​

Night soil collector​

This most revolting of occupations called for a weak sense of smell and super-strong stomach. Night soil collectors had the unfortunate job of removing human waste from people's privies.

 

[mw0njm.]

Doffer​

Doffers, for instance, were nimble-fingered young boys who worked in textile factories removing and replacing bobbins from the spinning frames​

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Rat-catcher​

A profession straight out of the fairy tale books, rat-catchers used everything from ferrets and terrier dogs to poison and traps to control vermin in villages​

 

[mw0njm.]

Breaker boy​

Another Victorian profession that has thankfully disappeared, coal breaking entailed separating impurities from coal by hand,

 

[mw0njm.]

Buggy whip maker​

whip industry was thriving in the 1890s with thousands of companies producing the essential riding accessory, but had all but vanished by the early 20th century as the automobile replaced the horse and carriage.

 

[mw0njm.]

Ice-cutter​

Before air con and refrigeration became widespread, ice cutting was big business Cutters would harvest tonnes of ice during wintertime, which would be stored in hay-packed icehouses, then distributed in towns and cities during the heat of summer

 

[mw0njm.]

Gas lamplighter​

 

[mw0njm.]

Caddy butcher​

Caddy butchers specialised in selling horsemeat which, believe it not, was actually pretty popular in the UK up until the 1940s. The meat, which was always considered a cheap and somewhat undesirable

 

[mw0njm.]

Stoker​

A stoker or fireman was the unlucky individual tasked with tending the fire in the boiler of a steam train, ship or saw mill. The job entailed lots of shovelling coal in horrifically high temperatures, and was not for the faint-hearted.

 

[mw0njm.]

Used teeth salesman​

or much of the 20th century, access to decent dental treatment was limited, particularly in Europe, and many people who couldn't afford to visit the dentist resorted to buying second-hand false teeth when their pearlies had rotted away. The foundation of the NHS in 1948 ended the icky trade in the UK,

 

[mw0njm.]

Linotype operator​

Linotype machines were used by newspapers and magazines for typesetting from the late 19th century until the 1980s, when computer technology made them defunct

 

[mw0njm.]

lift attendant​

During the first half of the 20th century, lifts were manual and required a human operator. The occupation declined from the 1930s when automatic elevators began to replace the manual models, and only survives today as a luxury novelty in a small number of high-end department stores

 

[mw0njm.]

Encyclopaedia seller​

Now that the Encyclopædia Britannica has moved online, the internet has finally killed the hard copy encyclopaedia,

 

[mw0njm.]

Muffin man​

Do you know the muffin man? In the UK, this cheery hawker would go from house to house at breakfast time carrying a tray of freshly-baked English muffins on his head. The practice continued well into the 20th century in some cities. This photograph of a London muffin man was taken in 1924.

 

[A Sparks]

Some great pictures and information there - thanks!

 

[Vivienne14]

I am closing this thread to move each occupation reference to its own or an existing thread dealing with that particular occupation. These lost occupations are often of interest to genealogists, family researchers etc, so information on each occupation separated onto individual threads will be more easily accessed.

Thanks for posting Pete.

 

[Vivienne14]

Each occupation listed above is now covered in its own, specific thread. Please post further comments on those threads by first searching for "Doffer", "Used Teeth salesman" .....etc. Thank you.