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What a way to make a living!
From the pea-shooting knocker-upper paid to wake up sleeping Victorians to the bowling alley pinsetter who replaced the skittles... jobs consigned to history by changing times or technology
Knocker-ups, or knocker-uppers, were particularly common in the north of England, where there were thousands of factory workers who started their shifts very early in the morning. They were also common in London, where dock workers kept unusual hours due to the fact they had to take note of inconstant tides. Before the days of automation, someone had to pick bowling pins back up when they were knocked down at bowling alleys. The job had more or less died out by the early 1950s, when automatic pinsetting became common place after the invention of the technology in the 1940s. Rat-catchers - the forerunners to the modern pest control man - were once common in Britain and elsewhere. During the Victorian era, when London was infested with disease-carrying rats, catchers were in high demand. Rat catchers also worked for the London Underground, catching the rodents that scurried along tracks and platforms. Pictured: Knocker-upper Mary Smith is seen at work in the East End of London in 1926 (left); a female pinsetter in California (top right); a rat catcher after a day's work at Euston station in 1939 (bottom right).
Knocker-ups were also common in London, where dock workers kept unusual hours due to the fact they had to take note of inconstant tides. Above: Knocker-up Mrs Molly Moore uses a peashooter to wake people up in Stepney, East London
Knocker-up Charles Nelson is seen at work in Hoxton, East London in 1929. At the time, he had been working in his role for 25 years
Railway knocker-up Doris Weigand is seen making a call to a home on May 31, 1941. She was employed to tell railway drivers and firemen that they were needed to work a shift at short notice. At the time, phones were not common in working class households
Knocker-up William Crompton is seen at work in Bolton in 1939. He had been working for 53 years, waking factory workers up every morning. His work had initially survived the introduction of cheap alarm clocks. Amazingly, Mr Crompton was himself woken every morning by an alarm clock - at 3.45am
Rat catchers - the forerunners to the modern pest control man - were once common in Britain and elsewhere. Above: A rat catcher is seen with the results of a day's work on the track at Euston Station in central London in 1939
Rat catchers also worked for the London Underground, catching the rodents that scurried along tracks and platforms
During the Victorian era, when London was infested with disease-carrying rats, catchers were in high demand. Above: An illustration of a rat-catcher at work in London's sewers in 1849
Before the days of automation, someone had to pick bowling pins back up when they were knocked down at bowling alleys. Above: A young woman working as a pinsetter at a bowling alley, California, mid 20th century
Cigarette girls were a feature at bars and clubs from the 1920s onwards. Glamorous images show them wearing trays stuffed full of cigarette packs as they advertised their wares to customers sitting at tables in venues
Mary Brian, the Hollywood actress, in costume as a cigarette girl in 1928. Cigarette girls also featured at sporting events, which were dominated by tobacco advertising
Scissors grinders were once common in Britain and elsewhere around the world. They would travel door to door to sharpen scissors, knives and other tools using a sharpening wheel that they carried with them. Above: A scissors grinder at work in Brittany, France, in 1901
In 1911, the Daily Mail reported the case of a scissors grinder who had made a £20,000 fortune after working hard enough to run a grocer's shop and off-license, which he then bought outright along with adjoining houses. More than a decade earlier, in 1897, the paper told about a 'needy knife grinder' who was put in prison after initially charging 'twopence' to sharpen a pair of scissors but then demanding a fee that was 750 per cent higher
Woodcut engraving depicting a woman handing her scissors to a man who is using a scissor grinder
Although still present in plush hotels and some apartment buildings, lift operators have largely disappeared. They were once common on the London Underground, before the introduction of automatic lifts with buttons pushed by users made their role largely redundant. Above: A lift operator at a store in London in 1927
A smiling lift operator is seen waiting to welcome passengers inside his car in a building in 1930. It is not clear which country the image was taken in
Two female lift operators on duty beside the lifts at Swan & Edgar's department store in London in 1916, during the First World War
In the 19th century, there was growing demand for leeches to cater to the practice of bloodletting. Doctors at the time believed that releasing blood from the body, through leeches or other means, could prevent or cure some diseases
Rag and bone men were once a common sight on streets in Britain and elsewhere. Above: A rag and bone man seen with his cart in London in 1930
They made a living from collecting objects such as rags and pieces of metal - as well as bones - and then selling anything that proved to have some value. Above: A rag and bone man in the East End of London in the 1960s
Before legislation in the 1870s banned the practice, children were frequently sent up chimneys in Britain to clean them. Above: A chimney sweep, his face blackened with soot, leans against railings outside an office. Illustration by the English engraver and printmaker George Baxter
An illustration showing a child chimney sweep crossing the road in front of Blackfriars Bridge, with St Paul's Cathedral in the background
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11377637/From-pea-shooting-knocker-upper-bowling-alley-pinsetter-jobs-consigned-history.html
Knocker-ups, or knocker-uppers, were particularly common in the north of England, where there were thousands of factory workers who started their shifts very early in the morning. They were also common in London, where dock workers kept unusual hours due to the fact they had to take note of inconstant tides. Before the days of automation, someone had to pick bowling pins back up when they were knocked down at bowling alleys. The job had more or less died out by the early 1950s, when automatic pinsetting became common place after the invention of the technology in the 1940s. Rat-catchers - the forerunners to the modern pest control man - were once common in Britain and elsewhere. During the Victorian era, when London was infested with disease-carrying rats, catchers were in high demand. Rat catchers also worked for the London Underground, catching the rodents that scurried along tracks and platforms. Pictured: Knocker-upper Mary Smith is seen at work in the East End of London in 1926 (left); a female pinsetter in California (top right); a rat catcher after a day's work at Euston station in 1939 (bottom right).
Knocker-ups were also common in London, where dock workers kept unusual hours due to the fact they had to take note of inconstant tides. Above: Knocker-up Mrs Molly Moore uses a peashooter to wake people up in Stepney, East London
Knocker-up Charles Nelson is seen at work in Hoxton, East London in 1929. At the time, he had been working in his role for 25 years
Railway knocker-up Doris Weigand is seen making a call to a home on May 31, 1941. She was employed to tell railway drivers and firemen that they were needed to work a shift at short notice. At the time, phones were not common in working class households
Knocker-up William Crompton is seen at work in Bolton in 1939. He had been working for 53 years, waking factory workers up every morning. His work had initially survived the introduction of cheap alarm clocks. Amazingly, Mr Crompton was himself woken every morning by an alarm clock - at 3.45am
Rat catchers - the forerunners to the modern pest control man - were once common in Britain and elsewhere. Above: A rat catcher is seen with the results of a day's work on the track at Euston Station in central London in 1939
Rat catchers also worked for the London Underground, catching the rodents that scurried along tracks and platforms
During the Victorian era, when London was infested with disease-carrying rats, catchers were in high demand. Above: An illustration of a rat-catcher at work in London's sewers in 1849
Before the days of automation, someone had to pick bowling pins back up when they were knocked down at bowling alleys. Above: A young woman working as a pinsetter at a bowling alley, California, mid 20th century
Cigarette girls were a feature at bars and clubs from the 1920s onwards. Glamorous images show them wearing trays stuffed full of cigarette packs as they advertised their wares to customers sitting at tables in venues
Mary Brian, the Hollywood actress, in costume as a cigarette girl in 1928. Cigarette girls also featured at sporting events, which were dominated by tobacco advertising
Scissors grinders were once common in Britain and elsewhere around the world. They would travel door to door to sharpen scissors, knives and other tools using a sharpening wheel that they carried with them. Above: A scissors grinder at work in Brittany, France, in 1901
In 1911, the Daily Mail reported the case of a scissors grinder who had made a £20,000 fortune after working hard enough to run a grocer's shop and off-license, which he then bought outright along with adjoining houses. More than a decade earlier, in 1897, the paper told about a 'needy knife grinder' who was put in prison after initially charging 'twopence' to sharpen a pair of scissors but then demanding a fee that was 750 per cent higher
Woodcut engraving depicting a woman handing her scissors to a man who is using a scissor grinder
Although still present in plush hotels and some apartment buildings, lift operators have largely disappeared. They were once common on the London Underground, before the introduction of automatic lifts with buttons pushed by users made their role largely redundant. Above: A lift operator at a store in London in 1927
A smiling lift operator is seen waiting to welcome passengers inside his car in a building in 1930. It is not clear which country the image was taken in
Two female lift operators on duty beside the lifts at Swan & Edgar's department store in London in 1916, during the First World War
In the 19th century, there was growing demand for leeches to cater to the practice of bloodletting. Doctors at the time believed that releasing blood from the body, through leeches or other means, could prevent or cure some diseases
Rag and bone men were once a common sight on streets in Britain and elsewhere. Above: A rag and bone man seen with his cart in London in 1930
They made a living from collecting objects such as rags and pieces of metal - as well as bones - and then selling anything that proved to have some value. Above: A rag and bone man in the East End of London in the 1960s
Before legislation in the 1870s banned the practice, children were frequently sent up chimneys in Britain to clean them. Above: A chimney sweep, his face blackened with soot, leans against railings outside an office. Illustration by the English engraver and printmaker George Baxter
An illustration showing a child chimney sweep crossing the road in front of Blackfriars Bridge, with St Paul's Cathedral in the background
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11377637/From-pea-shooting-knocker-upper-bowling-alley-pinsetter-jobs-consigned-history.html
Comments
Great photos Tony, thanks.