<P> A rag - and - bone man (or "bag board" or totter) collects unwanted household items and sells them to merchants . Traditionally this was a task performed on foot, with the scavenged materials (which included rags, bones and various metals) kept in a small bag slung over the shoulder . Some rag - and - bone men used a cart, sometimes pulled by horse or pony . </P> <P> In the 19th century, rag - and - bone men typically lived in extreme poverty, surviving on the proceeds of what they collected each day . Conditions improved following the Second World War, but the trade declined during the latter half of the 20th century . Lately (2007 - 2017), however, due in part to the soaring price of scrap metal, rag - and - bone men can once again be seen at work in many third - world (as well as some first - world) countries . </P> <P> In the UK, 19th - century rag - and - bone men scavenged unwanted rags, bones, metal and other waste from the towns and cities where they lived . Henry Mayhew's 1851 report, London Labour and the London Poor, estimates that in London, between 800 and 1,000 "bone - grubbers and rag - gatherers" lived in lodging houses, garrets and "ill - furnished rooms in the lowest neighbourhoods ." </P> <P> The bone - picker and rag - gatherer may be known at once by the greasy bag which he carries on his back . Usually he has a stick in his hand, and this is armed with a spike or hook, for the purpose of more easily turning over the heaps of ashes or dirt that are thrown out of the houses, and discovering whether they contain anything that is saleable at the rag - and - bottle or marine - store shop . </P>

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