The costume of Great Britain - Dustman The costume of Great Britain - Dustman The costume of Great Britain - Dustman The costume of Great Britain - Dustman Aquatint

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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The costume of Great Britain - Dustman
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

The costume of Great Britain - Dustman
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

The costume of Great Britain - Dustman
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Aquatint
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Aquatint, hand coloured (with text) from 'The costume of Great Britain' by W.H. Pyne. Pub. by W. Miller, 1808. Numbered as Plate 28, Dustman.

In the early 1800s, dustmen – then often called ‘night soil’ men – usually announced their arrival by ringing a bell. Their job was to remove piles of rubbish, dirt and ‘night soil’, a polite term for human excrement, from outside of houses, domestic cesspits and the street.

Once the rubbish had been collected using shovels and baskets, it was removed to the outskirts of town. The rubbish was then sorted to find anything that could be re-used, motivated more by thrift than concern for the environment. The ‘night soil’ was re-used as farmland manure.

Details

Category:
Art
Object Number:
1983-164/7
Materials:
paper and aquatint
Measurements:
overall: 253 mm x 356 mm
type:
print