Rag and bone man
Encyclopedia
Rag and bone man is a British phrase for a junk
dealer. Historically the phrase referred to an individual who would travel the streets of a city with a horse
drawn cart
, and would collect old rags for making fabric
and paper
, bone
s for making glue
, scrap
iron
for recycling, and assorted miscellany. They would often trade the items collected for other items of limited value.
They would use a distinctive call to alert householders to their presence, sometimes also ringing a hand bell. The call was something similar to "rag-and-bone", delivered in a sing-song fashion. Long usage tended to simplify the words, for instance down to "any raa-boh", even to the point of incomprehensibility, although the locals could easily identify who was making the call.
Just as the costermonger
s and other street-vendors formed the distributive part of the market, the rag-and-bone men supported recycling
or remanufacturing
. They outlasted costermongers, who became settled market vendors when transport improved to the point where the householders could come to the market. While the same transportation infrastructure could equally well serve for removing rags and bones from a household, roving collection remained a viable business model due to a reluctance or distaste for carrying junk, especially on public transport.
A 1950s BBC
documentary followed rag-and-bone men operating in London. One surprise revelation was that old clothes found a lucrative market in countries like India where they were re-sold for wearing.
Once the world became more mechanised, some rag-and-bone men traded their horses and carts for a lorry
or pickup truck
. Other social changes, such as the tendency for all members of a household to work outside the house and higher levels of street traffic, made casual street-by-street pickup unworkable.
Focusing predominantly on scrap metal, these merchants still appear on an almost weekly basis in many parts of the Black Country
, as well as other parts of the West Midlands
. They also often make heavy use of telephones, being called on a case-by-case basis to collect an old appliance such as a refrigerator, sometimes for a small charge.
In the North East of England the rag and bone man's horse often had balloons fastened to it. If a child gave what the rag and bone man considered a reasonable amount of rags for example, then they would be given a balloon as a reward. This was forbidden by the Public Health Act 1925, due to fear that the practice contributed to the spread of disease.
' poem "The Circus Animals' Desertion
" refers to "the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart."
Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
dealer. Historically the phrase referred to an individual who would travel the streets of a city with a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
drawn cart
Cart
A cart is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people...
, and would collect old rags for making fabric
Felt
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
and paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, bone
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
s for making glue
Glue
This is a list of various types of glue. Historically, the term "glue" only referred to protein colloids prepared from animal flesh. The meaning has been extended to refer to any fluid adhesive....
, scrap
Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
for recycling, and assorted miscellany. They would often trade the items collected for other items of limited value.
They would use a distinctive call to alert householders to their presence, sometimes also ringing a hand bell. The call was something similar to "rag-and-bone", delivered in a sing-song fashion. Long usage tended to simplify the words, for instance down to "any raa-boh", even to the point of incomprehensibility, although the locals could easily identify who was making the call.
Collectors and recycling
The rag-and-bone men were an important component of society before automotive transport. Householders had limited ability to travel to collection points, so the rag-and-bone merchants acted as intermediaries, removing unwanted household detritus and supplying manufacturers with raw material. The increasingly widespread use of cars made these dealers unneeded in many areas.Just as the costermonger
Costermonger
Costermonger, or simply Coster, is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention...
s and other street-vendors formed the distributive part of the market, the rag-and-bone men supported recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
or remanufacturing
Remanufacturing
Remanufacturing is the process of disassembly and recovery at the module level and, eventually, at the component level. It requires the repair or replacement of worn out or obsolete components and modules. Parts subject to degradation affecting the performance or the expected life of the whole are...
. They outlasted costermongers, who became settled market vendors when transport improved to the point where the householders could come to the market. While the same transportation infrastructure could equally well serve for removing rags and bones from a household, roving collection remained a viable business model due to a reluctance or distaste for carrying junk, especially on public transport.
A 1950s BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary followed rag-and-bone men operating in London. One surprise revelation was that old clothes found a lucrative market in countries like India where they were re-sold for wearing.
Once the world became more mechanised, some rag-and-bone men traded their horses and carts for a lorry
Lorry
-Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:...
or pickup truck
Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
. Other social changes, such as the tendency for all members of a household to work outside the house and higher levels of street traffic, made casual street-by-street pickup unworkable.
Focusing predominantly on scrap metal, these merchants still appear on an almost weekly basis in many parts of the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, as well as other parts of the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
. They also often make heavy use of telephones, being called on a case-by-case basis to collect an old appliance such as a refrigerator, sometimes for a small charge.
In the North East of England the rag and bone man's horse often had balloons fastened to it. If a child gave what the rag and bone man considered a reasonable amount of rags for example, then they would be given a balloon as a reward. This was forbidden by the Public Health Act 1925, due to fear that the practice contributed to the spread of disease.
Literary references
William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
' poem "The Circus Animals' Desertion
The Circus Animals' Desertion
"The Circus Animal's Desertion" is a poem by William Butler Yeats published in Last Poems in 1939. While the original composition date of the poem is unknown, it was probably written between November 1937 and September 1938. In the preface, Yeats suggests that he intended the poem to combine his...
" refers to "the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart."
In popular culture
- The popular comedy television series Steptoe and SonSteptoe and SonSteptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
centred around a family-run rag and bone business.
- The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
wrote a song titled " Rag and Bone" on their album Icky ThumpIcky ThumpIcky Thump is the sixth and final studio album by US alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released June 15, 2007 in Germany, June 18, 2007 in the rest of Europe, and June 19, 2007 in the rest of the world. It was the band's first album on Warner Bros...
in which Jack and Meg White sing about being rag and bone men and collecting junk. The single cover for the song had a goldfishGoldfishThe goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
on it because of the rag and bone men's practice of giving goldfish to children who gave them rags or other material.
- The "rag man" was also a figure in American culture, as mentioned in the 1903 Arthur Collins recording, "Any Rags?" and a joking reference by Groucho MarxGroucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
in the 1932 film, Horse FeathersHorse FeathersHorse Feathers is a Marx Brothers film comedy. It stars the four Marx Brothers and Thelma Todd. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone. Kalmar and Ruby also wrote some of the original music for the film...
.
- In the popular BBC 1 Soap Eastenders, Eddie Moon (played by David Essex) runs a rag and bone family business flogging and selling antiques.
- "Rag and bone" is a collection of sculptures created by Laura FordLaura FordLaura Ford is a Welsh artist and sculptor who has exhibited her work at the British Art Show and represented Wales at Venice Biennale. She is recognised internationally as one of the UK's leading sculptors and is included in important museum collections worldwide-Early life and career:Ford was...
in late 2007, early 2008, depicting several forest animals being at the edge of society
- The Tornados had a B-side in 1965 titled "ragunboneman" to the single "Granada" in a reference to the rag and bone man.
- RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
wrote a song on their album Hail to the ThiefHail to the ThiefHail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in June 2003 through Parlophone Records. After two Radiohead albums that featured heavily processed vocals, less guitar, and strong influence from experimental electronica and jazz, Hail to the Thief was seen...
titled Go to SleepGo to Sleep"Go to Sleep" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the second single from their sixth album Hail to the Thief in 2003. The song has an initial time signature of 4/4, which alternates with 6/8 time throughout the duration of the song. The alternate title for the song as listed...
which features the lyric "Something for the rag and bone man".
- XTCXTCXTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
were a New WaveNew Wave musicNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band from SwindonSwindonSwindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, England, active between 1976 and 2005. They produced an album, Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and LeftoversRag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and LeftoversRag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers is a compilation album by XTC released in 1990. An odds and sods collection, it brings together B-sides, BBC sessions, soundtrack contributions, both sides of two singles released by XTC offshoots The Colonel and The Three Wise Men and other obscurities...
which included twenty-four rare cuts and leftovers compiled from b-sides, alternate versions, releases under pseudonyms, flexi discFlexi discThe flexi disc is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable...
tracks, dub experiments and other previously unreleased or hard to come by musical adventures.
- The massively multiplayer online role playing game RuneScapeRuneScapeRuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in January 2001 by Andrew and Paul Gower, and developed and published by Jagex Games Studio. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java, and incorporates 3D rendering...
features a questQuest (gaming)A quest in role-playing video games — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games and their predecessors, MUDs — is a task that a player-controlled character or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward...
named "Rag and Bone Man".
External links
- The Guardian - 'Final collection, an article about the rag and bone trade
- a virtual exhibition about ragpickers