Now that I'm finally reading The Ghost Map, here's a few more tantalizing tidbits:
"Above the river, in the streets of the city, the pure-finders eked out a living by collecting dog shit (colloquially called 'pure') while the bone-pickers foraged for carcasses of any stripe." (p. 2)
You'd think the bone-pickers would've tried to find carcasses that were solid-colored, as well as striped. They must've been picky bone-pickers.
Oh, sorry! Figured everyone knew ahead of me. :-) From OED: "The name of ‘Pure-finders’. . . has been applied to the men engaged in collecting dogs'-dung from the . . . streets."
And: "The occupation of collecting dog faeces for sale to tanneries (which used it as a siccative for bookbinding leather). Undertaken by old women in Britain in the 18th century. (Reference: Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore, 1987.)"
Apparently the tanning process was called puring; hence "pure" in a not-so-pure practice.
"It is August 1854, and London is a city of scavengers. Just the names alone read now like some kind of exotic zoological catalogue: bone-pickers, rag-gatherers, pure-finders, dredgermen, mudlarks, sewer-hunters, dustmen, night-soil men, bunters, toshers, shoremen."
Opening sentences of "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson.
Indeed. But if you pronounce "striped" as a two-syllable word, it sounds ever so much more elegant. :-)
Now that I'm finally reading The Ghost Map, here's a few more tantalizing tidbits:
"Above the river, in the streets of the city, the pure-finders eked out a living by collecting dog shit (colloquially called 'pure') while the bone-pickers foraged for carcasses of any stripe." (p. 2)
You'd think the bone-pickers would've tried to find carcasses that were solid-colored, as well as striped. They must've been picky bone-pickers.
Oh. I see.
No, but we have ... er... tanneries... that... er... THERE'S A LOTTA DOG POOP!
Why so? Do you need siccatives for bookbinding leather?
Ohhh... OK, thanks.
You know, we could use some pure-finders in my neighborhood.
And Johnson's book was on my reading list even before sionnach quoted from it. :-)
It has to doo with dogmire.
Oh, sorry! Figured everyone knew ahead of me. :-) From OED: "The name of ‘Pure-finders’. . . has been applied to the men engaged in collecting dogs'-dung from the . . . streets."
And: "The occupation of collecting dog faeces for sale to tanneries (which used it as a siccative for bookbinding leather). Undertaken by old women in Britain in the 18th century. (Reference: Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore, 1987.)"
Apparently the tanning process was called puring; hence "pure" in a not-so-pure practice.
OK, I clicked on all the links and didn't find what you're talking about. Can you post the definition please?
*impatient*
Judging by the definition I found, it sure isn't a very apt name! :-)
"It is August 1854, and London is a city of scavengers. Just the names alone read now like some kind of exotic zoological catalogue: bone-pickers, rag-gatherers, pure-finders, dredgermen, mudlarks, sewer-hunters, dustmen, night-soil men, bunters, toshers, shoremen."
Opening sentences of "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson.