Per això, em fa l·lusió penjar aquetes imatges d'oficis que van ser, alguns dels quals ni tan sols els hem arribat a conèixer. Els oficis que s'hi recullen són:
- Col·locador de bitlles a la bolera
- Despertador humà
- Tallador de Gel
- "Escoltador-radar" per a avions enemics
- Caçadors de rates
- Encenedors de fanals
- Conductor de troncs. (A casa nostra, serien els raiers del Pallars).
- Operadora de central telefònica, per fer operacions que ara es fan de forma digital (connexions a trucades a llarga distància, ...). Potser a l'edifici de telefònica al centre de Granollers, ara buit del tot, hi havia un munt de gent treballant-hi?
- "Ressucitador", altrament dits "lladre de cossos". Contractats al segle XIX per retirar cadàvers de les tombes per tal que les universitats utilitzen com a cadàvers. Obtenir cadàvers per mitjans legals era difícil, de manera que les universitats van haver de recórrer a altres mitjans per obtenirlos per a les pràctiques dels seus estudiants.
- Lector que entretenia els treballadors de la fàbrica. Es veu que sovint eren contractats amb diners reunit pels treballadors per llegir en grans sales plenes de treballadors manuals per mantenir-los entretinguts. Alguns llegien publicacions del sindicat.
Com diu el post d'on l'he trobat, la desaparició de la majoria d'aquests llocs de treball és atribuïble als avenços tecnològics. I en molts casos, s'explotaven infants com a mà d'obra barata, tal i com encara passa a molts països del tercer món actualment.
Per als granollerins, és especialment significatiu recordar que al centre mateix de la ciutat hi havia una "fàbrica de gel", on es tallaven barres de gel -i durant alguns segles va ser un negoci rodó, per la necessitat de conservar els aliments. I que havíem tingut "serenos" que encenien i apagaven els llums de la carretera. (Segur que a l'Arxiu municipal n'hi ha més d'una fotografia).
Però potser la més interessant pot ser el darrer de tots: el lector per a entretenir els treballadors de la fàbrica. Si trobéssim una foto d'aquestes feta a Roca Umbert, tancaríem el cercle de la Fàbrica de les Arts!
1. Bowling Alley Pinsetter
Bowling alley pinsetters were young boys employed at bowling alleys to set up the pins for clients. (Image credits:wikimedia.org)
2. Human Alarm Clock
Image credits: laboiteverte.fr
Image credits: imgur.com
Knocker-uppers were essentially alarm clocks – they were hired to ensure that people would wake up on time for their own jobs. They would use sticks, clubs or pebbles to knock on clients’ windows and doors. (Image credits: laboiteverte.fr)
3. Ice Cutter
Image credits: sharenator.com
Before modern refrigeration techniques became widespread, ice cutters would saw up the ice on frozen lakes for people to use in their cellars and refrigerators. It was a dangerous job often done in extreme conditions. (Image credits:sharenator.com)
4. Pre-radar Listener For Enemy Aircraft
Image credits: retronaut.com
Before radar, troops used acoustic mirrors and listening devices like these to focus and detect the sound of engines from approaching aircraft. (Image credits: retronaut.com)
5. Rat Catcher
Image credits: retronaut.com
Image credits: retronaut.com
Rat catchers were employed in Europe to control rat populations. They ran high risks of suffering bights and infections, but helped prevent these from spreading to the public. (Image credits: Michael von Graffenried)
6. Lamplighter
Image credits: lamplighterswooster.com
Lamplighters used long poles to light, extinguish and refuel street lamps – until electric lamps were introduced. (Image credits:blogs.democratandchronicle.com)
7. Log Driver
Before the technology or infrastructure was available to transport logs by truck, log drivers would float and guide them down rivers from logging sites to processing areas. (Image credits: wikipedia.org)
8. Switchboard Operator
Image credits: wikipedia.org
Switchboard operators were integral parts of a telephone network’s operation before modern technology rendered them obsolete. They would connect long-distance calls and do other things that are now done digitally. (Image credits:wikipedia.org)
9. Resurrectionist
Resurrectionists, or “body snatchers,” were hired in the 19th century to remove corpses from graves for universities to use as cadavers. Cadavers from legal means were rare and difficult to obtain, so universities had to resort to other means to procure cadavers for their students. (Image credits: paul-barford.blogspot.com)
10. Lector Who Entertained Factory Workers
Image credits: thecigarmaker.net
Broadly speaking, a lector is simply someone who reads. However, they were often hired with money pooled from workers to read to large rooms full of manual laborers to keep them entertained. Some read left-leaning or union publications to the workers. (Image credits: cultura.elpais.com)
Cap comentari:
Publica un comentari a l'entrada