The oldest among us will surely remember the "punches", these agents of the metro lines whose function was to punch the tickets of travelers until the 1970s. Swept away by the "creative destruction" theorized by the economist Joseph Schumpeter - who wants each wave of technical progress to erase with it a certain number of professions - the lamplighters, the herdsmen and the crossbowmen have all also disappeared.
Here is a small list of the most extravagant functions that may have been occupied by our predecessors.
The opportunity to reconnect with ancient customs as varied as they are fun.
● Alarm clock
Before the invention of the alarm clock and the cell phone, you had to find a way to wake up in the morning.
It is from this very natural need that the profession of “awakener” was born, according to the CNRTL.
Very numerous in the Victorian era in England, the alarm clocks multiplied the stratagems to pull their customers out of the arms of Mopheus: pebbles, shouts, sticks and whistles among others.
● Swallower
When you navigate on a river, crossing a bridge is not an easy thing.
Fortunately, until the 15th century, ship swallowers worked to help boats get through this ordeal.
Subsequently called the "masters of the bridges", they steered thanks to their small boat called "flette", the "naves", these large sailing ships.
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● Cooking master
Beware of misinterpretation!
The master cook is by no means some sort of medieval bartender who has perfected a magic cocktail.
Indeed, the person responsible for a very specific task was often referred to as a “master”.
This is the case of the master baker who had the mission of potters to monitor the cooking time of ceramics.
● Ball holder
Jewels, perfumes, spices and trinkets: here is an overview of what your favorite ball carrier could offer you.
Very numerous until the 18th century, these itinerant merchants indeed traveled the country carrying their goods in a “ball”, a sort of trunk installed on their backs.
● Sheet shearer
When we say “shearer”, it is difficult to imagine that such a profession could exist in the textile industry.
And yet... the shearer or shearer of sheets is a now extinct profession which consisted in polishing and smoothing fabrics and sheets to make them more united and flatter.
● Chasubler
The chasubliers have not completely disappeared, they are simply much less numerous these days.
And for good reason, the secularization of our societies has considerably reduced the number of their customers... Indeed a chasubler is a rather special dresser: it is he who is responsible for making the clothes of men of the Church.
● Aquajolo
All vacationers have already crossed paths with a traveling lemonade vendor.
Well, know that these merchants have distant ancestors.
At the time of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, an itinerant seller of refreshing citrus drinks was called “acquajolo” (plural “acquajoli”).
He mainly practiced his trade in a kiosk, a kind of small mobile refreshment bar.
Théophile Gautier (
Italia
, 1852), or Paul de Musset (
Course en Voiturin
, 1845) and (
Picturesque Voyage in Italy
, 1856) praised it several times.
Very popular in the summer, the "acquajoli" were positioned along the main arteries of the cities of the kingdom.
