London Labour and the London Poor

This section discusses street sellers, primarily men, involved in sporting and vagrant activities, such as bird catching and dog selling. Mayhew delves into dog stealing, touching on the network of thieves, restorers, and buyers who exploited emotional attachments to demand ransoms for stolen dogs. The author describes how the decline of especially brutal sports involving dogs, like bear baiting and bull baiting, gave way to other forms of entertainment, such as theater, and the transition to using sporting dogs for rat hunting and dog fighting.

Mayhew then discusses the sellers of other animals. These sellers include bird catchers, bird duffers, and those selling squirrels, tortoises, and other animals. Bird catchers employed call birds to capture wild birds and supply the market with diverse species. Bird duffers used deceptive practices, painting native birds to resemble exotic ones, mainly focusing on the greenfinch.

This section covers street sellers of miscellaneous goods such as coal. This market emerged because decreased earnings forced people to buy daily essentials like coal in small quantities. Coal was essential to the poor for heat. The sellers catered to different classes, from working-class households to the very poor. In addition, Mayhew describes the sellers of coke (a by-product of gas production that was distributed to poorer communities as a cheaper alternative to coal) and tan turf (oak bark ground into cakes for heating, burning for the smell, or use as fertilizer). He shares the story of a tan turf vendor’s family, their donkey, and their interactions with a friendly dog. Mayhew then describes the sellers of salt and sand. The salt trade began after the repeal of the salt tax in the early 1800s. The sand trade involved two types: scouring sand and bird sand. Scouring sand declined because of an increase in the use of sawdust. The street sellers typically used barrows to transport and sell sand, navigating challenges such as weather conditions and competition to sustain their businesses. The street trade of shells included both common shells (like conches, cowries, green snails, and ear shells) and valuable “cabinet” shells, prized by collectors and imported from the Indian Ocean. Additionally, Mayhew notes that “duffers” or con artists used shells as a cover for introducing other goods, such as imitation shawls, into households. Mayhew also discusses the vendors known as purl-men, who sold refreshments, including beer and spirits, to those working aboard ships and barges on the river. Becoming a purl-man legally required obtaining a license and a boat and stocking it with beer, gin, and other supplies. They used bells to announce their presence and served customers by rowing to ships and barges. Unlicensed spirit sellers along the river operated similarly, though illegally.

In this section, Mayhew examines street buyers—people who purchased various items, including old clothes, wastepaper, animal skins, and more. They were often residents of suburban areas around London and had established routes for their trade. The author discusses several categories, including buyers of kitchen items and buyers of hare and rabbit skins. The former group historically consisted of charwomen and rag collectors who bought from households, sometimes engaging in informal transactions that included stolen items. The latter group catered to the fur industry. They purchased skins from servants and sold them to furriers or suppliers, a trade that was more active during the winter months. Mayhew then delves into wastepaper collection and umbrella repair practices as part of street trading. Wastepaper collectors acquire various types of paper from publishers, printers, and public offices, selling them to retailers in the provisions trade. Umbrella repair involves onsite mending or purchasing old umbrellas for repair and resale. This trade reflects the changing popularity of umbrellas for rain and sun protection and intersects with the secondhand clothing market.

Additionally, the author describes how rag-and-bottle shops purchase items like rags, bones, kitchen waste, glass bottles, and metal scraps from individuals at low prices. Mayhew depicts these places as unsanitary and filled with discarded goods. He directs criticism at these shops’ exploitative practices and pricing, which often target vulnerable individuals.

Mayhew gives an overview of the Jewish population on the London streets. They settled in England at an early date. Despite facing mistreatment, they established a community known as the London Jewerie in the Old Jewry area, which housed England’s first synagogue. They were banished in 1290 but readmitted during the 17th century, though they faced ongoing prejudice.

Mayhew discusses the Jewish community’s involvement in various street trading activities, detailing their involvement in wholesale trades like selling watches, jewels, fruits, and curiosities and their concentration in the East End of London. Negative stereotypes and prejudice persisted, leading to conflicts and mob violence against the Jewish community.

Additionally, the author provides insights into their daily lives, such as gathering in coffee shops, playing games, and engaging in street trading. Mayhew highlights their cramped living conditions, along with the challenges they faced because of competition from other groups, such as Irish immigrants. The article underscores the blend of religious and secular aspects in their lives.

This section covers the lives of collectors, including bone grubbers, rag gatherers, dredgermen, mud larks, sewer hunters, dustmen, nightmen, sweeps, and scavengers. Each group contributed to the city’s ecosystem in distinct ways. Bone grubbers and rag gatherers scoured the streets for discarded items like bones and rags, which they sell. Dredgermen and mud larks ventured along riverbanks and sewers in search of valuable items. Sewer hunters braved the underground sewers to recover valuable items, while sewer management became a growing concern for public health and flood prevention. Dustmen, nightmen, sweeps, and scavengers played pivotal roles in maintaining public hygiene. They worked to keep the streets clean by removing refuse, dirt, and soot from houses and thoroughfares. Mayhew explores these occupations’ economic aspects, revealing the scale of waste collection in London and discussing the challenges of accurately measuring statistics.

Mayhew pivots from talking about the people of London to discussing the city itself—specifically its streets. He discusses the three types of pavements (stone, macadamized, and wood) and addresses the advantages and disadvantages of each. He also discusses data on different streets, traffic volumes, and the challenges of maintaining cleanliness, as well as the types of street dirt, including dust and manure. The author mentions the damage to clothing and property and the smell that visitors noticed.

Mayhew then provides insight into the conditions of the street scavenging contracts for maintaining the streets and removing refuse. About half the workers were “regular hands” who grew up in the trade, while the rest were “casuals” or “casualties” who have irregular employment. The number of casuals fluctuated depending on the demand, and they were willing to take on various unskilled jobs. He mentions the various street sweeping employers, including traders, parishes, and philanthropists, each of which had different motivations and methods for employing workers. A subgroup of this profession was the “scurf labourers,” or working scavengers with lower wages. Although these laborers had social and moral characteristics similar to those of their better-paid counterparts, a higher proportion of such laborers turned to street sweeping for reasons like want, misfortune, or misconduct. Mayhew touches on the tensions between parish authorities and contractors regarding payment matters and the internal conflicts among laborers because of the trade’s inherent hardships. He discusses the potential benefits of the street orderly system for street cleaning in London, emphasizing its positive impact on the livelihoods of the poor because it provided employment and fair wages, ultimately improving their well-being.

Additionally, this section examines the interplay of wages, working conditions, and labor dynamics. Mayhew highlights how reduced wages led to increased work rates, resulting in a cycle of overwork and low pay. The piecework system and small master setups further exacerbated this trend. Intense supervision in “strapping shops” pushed workers to compete fiercely. Division of labor increased productivity in trades like pin making and card manufacturing. The author describes machinery’s impact on labor displacement, using threshing machines as an example. The passage highlights the complex relationship between wages, work environment, labor practices, and technological advancements of the era.

Mayhew concludes the section by examining the factors that contributed to the decline in wages among rubbish carters because of subletting, or subcontracting, practices (in which contractors passed contracts to subcontractors). These practices led to decreased wages and exploitation. Many rubbish carters engaged in subcontracting or underworking, perpetuating lower wages. The seasonal nature of rubbish carting, which entailed only around six months of work annually, further exacerbated the challenges. Well-paid and underpaid rubbish carters faced similar educational, religious, and lifestyle challenges. Wives of rubbish carters often turned to alternative employment.

The final sections of Volume 2 provide an overview of London chimney sweepers and crossing sweepers. Mayhew traces the evolution of chimneys and coal usage, underlining how these technological advancements led to the growth of the chimney sweeping industry. The association of chimney sweepers with soot and dirt significantly contributed to their low social status. In addition to offering detailed accounts of wages and the profitability of the business, Mayhew delves into the darker aspects of chimney sweeping, such as using children as young as four or five to clean chimneys. The hazardous labor subjected children to brutal conditions and mistreatment, including physical abuse and burns. The evidence presented before Parliament, which revealed the experiences of these children, played a role in the prohibition of climbing boys by 1832. The author discusses their transition from climbing boys to machine sweeping.

Mayhew doesn’t focus solely on chimney sweeping; he also investigates the broader urban issues facing those who lived and worked in London. He describes the composition of different types of smoke, focusing on the chemical components of black smoke and its impact on health and cleanliness. Additionally, he addresses fire danger and the exacerbating threat of an inadequate fire response system, as well as the significant volume of wet house refuse and its impact on sanitation in the city. Mayhew then pivots to describing the lives and experiences of crossing sweepers. These individuals earned a living by cleaning pathways and crossings, often combining their work with begging or performing acrobatics. Many had physical disabilities or faced other hardships that limited their opportunities, and they relied on the generosity of passersby for support.