Description - Life and Labour of the People of London Volume 1 by Mr Charles Booth
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 edition. Excerpt: ...In London, which is only one of the English Trade centres, shops are confined to no particular locality, Vol. v. 14 although a good many of the smaller masters are to be found in Crispin Street, Spitalfields, and in and about Tabard Street in Southwark, which is also the home of the brush-makers. Basket-work, by which is to be understood the manufacture of anything with wicker that is not fastened with nails, has no distinct branches for specially skilled men. In practice, the less skilled are kept on what is known as "slewed white" or "brown" work, i.e. the making of hampers, round market sieves, and fish baskets from unpeeled osier rods; whereas more highly skilled men earn better money on "general" work with peeled rods, which includes all fancy work in the making of chairs, wine flats, clothes' baskets and luncheon hampers, as well as laundry and dress baskets, grocers' bottle baskets, basinettes, &c, &c. Process of Work.--Basket-makers, known to their familiar friends as "twiggies," when at work usually sit on a stout wide plank placed on the floor, and slightly inclined upwards at one end. They start on the "bottoms" of the baskets, and when making "round" goods begin by standing over their work, using both hands and feet to keep the bottoms flat. As soon as these are ready they are "staked" up, i.e. the upright stakes on which the sides are woven are fixed in position. This done, the man sits down on his plank and places his work on a " lap-board " in front of him. As the basket grows the lap-board is discarded, and the work is put on the plank until finally it becomes so far advanced that the man himself has to sit on a box which is placed at...
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