Victorian London had a huge network of over-worked sewers under the city, washing away the effluence of the crowded metropolis. TosherĪn 1851 illustration of a sewer-hunter or "tosher." Wikimedia // Public Domain Some collectors wore a black glove to protect their scooping hand, but others considered it harder to keep a glove clean than a hand and eschewed the protection altogether. Pure collectors haunted the streets where stray dogs amassed, scooping up the poop and keeping it in a covered bucket before selling it on to the tanners. Leather was in great demand in Victorian times, as it was used not only as tack for horses but for shoes, boots, bags, and in bookbinding. Dog poop was known as "pure" because it was used to purify the leather and make it more flexible. Pure finderĭespite the clean-sounding name, this job actually involved collecting dog feces from the streets of London to sell to tanners, who used it in the leather-making process. Unsurprisingly, leech collectors were in danger of suffering from excess blood loss and infectious diseases. Leeches can survive for up to a year with no food, so they could be stored at the pharmacy to be dished out as required. Once the critters attached to the leech collector’s legs, the individual would prise them off and collect them in a box or pot. The job usually fell to poor country women, who would wade into dirty ponds in the hope of attracting a host of leeches. Leeches were once a useful commodity, with both doctors and quacks using the blood-sucking creatures to treat a number of ailments, ranging from headaches to "hysteria." But pity the poor leech collector who had to use themselves as a human trap.
Back then, people were forced to think of some imaginative ways to earn a living, from seeking out treasure in the sewers to literally selling excrement. Next time you complain about your boring desk job, think back to Victorian times-an era before the concept of occupational health and safety rules-and count yourself lucky.
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