Dictionary of Old Occupations

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Definitions of jobs Book Gilder - Bozzler

Book Gilder: gilded book covers with gold leaf as decoration.

Book Keeper: an accounting clerk who maintained financial records.

Book Marbler: produced marbled paper for use as book bindings. Book marbling is a technique which creates patterns resembling stone or marble surfaces.

Bookholder: worked in the theatre as a prompter holding a complete copy of the script to enable them to prompt where necessary.

Bookman: a Scholar.

Boonmaster: responsible for surveying the roads in his Parish and organising their repair using labour provided by local landowners.

Boot Catcher: employed at an Inn to remove and clean visitor's boots.

Boot Clicker: a person who worked a machine that made lace holes in boot uppers, or cut the leather for the different parts that made up the shoe. This job made a distinctive noise from which the name Clicker was derived.

Boot Closer: stitched together the parts which makeup the shoe upper.

Boot Laster: produced leather uppers using a wooden shoe shaped last.

Boot Sprigger: boot maker / mender who was employed to nail soles onto boots using tiny nails known as sprigs.

Bootbinder: used a machine to stitch / bind boot uppers to soles.

Bootleboy: US military term for a Batman, who performed domestic chores such as laundry or cleaning for soldiers.

Boothman: a Cowherd. The term is thought to date back to the 13th century or earlier.

Borer: employed to cut holes by hand in pottery, for example to connect the tea pot to the spout.

Borler: alternate spelling of Borreler, who made course cloth for woollen clothing.

Borreler: produced borrel, a rough woollen cloth used for course clothing.

Borsholder: a Parish Constable.

Botcher: tailor or Cobbler specialising in repairs.

Bottle Boy: assistant to a pharmacist.

Bottler: a maker of leather water bottles or flasks, or a worker in a Bottling Factory or distillery.

Bottom Knocker: assistant to the Saggar Maker in the pottery industry.

Bottom Maker: moulded the bottoms for saggars in the pottery industry.

Bottom-Sawyer: worked in a saw mill. The bottom Sawyer stood in the sawing pit and the top sawyer stood above, they used a long two man saw to saw up tree trunks.

Bowdler: a metal worker, worked in iron.

Bower of Cows: generically, an alternate term for a Dairyman. More specifically, found this occupation in the 1851 census for Ayreshire, Scotland where the occupation is listed as 'Dairy Man or Bower of Cows'. Given that one definition of 'bower' relates to a dwelling place, and another relates to a cottage, suspect this might refer to a domestic farm hand who tended cattle and dwelt nearby.

Bower Maiden: a lady-in-waiting or a Chambermaid. The word 'bower' in this sense refers to working in the private room(s) of a lady of status.

Bowker: alternate term for a butcher, person who slaughtered animals for meat.

Copyright: Jane Hewitt. This dictionary is authorised for use on www.familyresearcher.co.uk only.

Bowler: a person who shaped the concave part of the spoon, or who made bowls / dishes.

Bowlman: a man who dealt in crockery / tableware.

Bowlminder: looked after the raw wool washing vats in a woollen mill.

Bowlwoman: female who dealt in crockery.

Bowlturner: maker of traditional wooden plates and bowls.

Bowman: Scottish term for a Cattleman or a medieval English term for a bow maker, similar to Bowyer.

Bowyer: bow maker, as used for archery.

Boxmaster: guild treasurer.

Bozzler: a Parish Constable.

This dictionary is my own work, and copyright Jane Hewitt. I sometimes find unauthorised (i.e. stolen) copies of my website content appearing on other people's websites. If you should read a group of identical glossary definitions elsewhere on the web, consider whether such sites are reputable or not.

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