Mouching and working in the 1800s

The 19th century, like our own times, was full of contradictions. I say this because of the material I’ve been looking at recently. Last week I was working wood blocks with maps and this week I’m looking at archives of W. & R. Chambers.

This image shows a “Mouchers Map” and it is from the encyclopaedia entry on “vagrant.” The entry says that there are people who for various reasons, do not work, and are homeless. Sometimes this is due to temporary misfortune, sometimes this is habitual and cultural. Gypsies according to this article can by a type of wanderer like the “vagrant” but are not quite this class. Anyway, the map is supposed to be from one vagrant to another telling of things like where food / alms are available in the neighbourhood or where guard dogs are and should be avoided. Clearly being someone who doesn’t work is frowned upon.

However, I also post rules which give an idea of the working conditions in W. & R. Chambers. Note the normal working hours are 60 hours per week, and the firm employed women and children (as everyone did in those days). Also note the requirement for women to be in work earlier and to leave later than their men counterparts. The Chambers firm probably had better working conditions then other employers. Yikes! If these are good conditions, I'd had to be in bad ones.

Rules and Regulation of W. & R. Chambers’s

Printing-Office

Edinburgh May 1, 1855

1. The manager has the entire regulation of the Office; and the various Foremen will take their orders only from him or the Deputy appointed by him in his absence.

2. Any want of hands or material is to be reported by Foreman to the Manager; and the Foremen to see that all persons in their respective departments attend to their assigned duty, and conduct themselves properly.

3. Connected with each department is a Work-book into which it will be the duty of the Foreman to enter work done, according to regulations for the purpose.

4. Every person employed (boys and girls excepted) who may wish to leave their situation, to give notice to the Manager, a fortnight previously. A fortnight’s notice of being no longer required, will be similarly given by the Manager. Boys and girls not apprenticed, to be on a week’s notice.

5. Any person unable to attend from illness, shall immediately send notice to the Manager. Those absenting themselves without notice, or without receiving permission, will expose themselves to instantaneous discharge.

6. The number of regular working-hours per week is to be sixty. All work that exceeds this to be paid as over-time, to those on settled wages.

7. The hours of working to be arranged as follows: on 5 days of the week, from 6:30 am until 7 pm with the exception of an hour from 9-10 for breakfast, and an hours from 2-3 for dinner. On Saturday there is to be no dinner-hour as the Office will close on that day at 3:00. On all occasions, females to come 10 minutes earlier, and depart 10 minutes later, than the above hours.

8. All persons to arrive promptly at the hour as the Office clock strikes, when the Office door will be shut. Those not entering at the hour will expose themselves to fines, or to being excluded for the day, under a corresponding deduction of wages.

9. There is to be no going out at pleasure during work-hours; and no acquaintances or others are allowed to call with the view of speaking to, or doing private business with, the workmen.

10. It is strictly enjoined that there are to be no high words heard, and no bad language used one to another. A frequent repetition of such indecorous conduct to lead to expulsion from the establishment.

11. It is also strictly ordered that there be neither smoking of tobacco, or intoxicating liquor in the Office. Any person doing either the one or the other will be liable to be expelled without previous notice, according to the discretion of the Manager. The act of bringing in drink of any kind to the Office is to be considered the same as drinking, or appearing the worse of liquor.

12. It is also ordered that each class of persons in the Office will not interfere with others, but keep diligently to their own employment, unless requested otherwise by the Manger. In particular, there is to be no interference by the workmen or boys with the workwomen.

13. In order to give all persons in the establishment the opportunity of disposing of their wages to the best advantage, it is arranged that the weekly wages will be paid every Friday afternoon.

14. Messrs Chambers having set on foot a Library for the use of all persons in the establishment, a Librarian is appointed, whose duty it will be to give out and keep an account of the books. In case of a person leaving the Office, and going to work elsewhere, the volume or volumes he may have out is to be returned to the Librarian before settlement with him.

15. All the fines, and any sums which may be contributed by general consent, are to form a fund for the purchase of books or periodical publications for the Library; and the collection of works so formed is to remain exclusively for the use of the establishment in time coming.

16. With a view to lessening the danger from fire, it is ordered that no gas-lights shall on any account whatsoever be lighted by pieces of paper, but shall be lighted only by hand-lamps belonging to the various floors. In each floor, therefore, the lamp shall be under the charge of a person appointed by the Manager, and it will be his duty to light the gas at the proper times. After being used, the hand-lamp to be extinguished and put carefully away on the shelf appointed for it to stand.

17. By-regulations, in connection with cleaning or anything else, put up in the establishment for general or special information, are to be attended to, the same as if engrossed in the present set of Rules.

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All persons employed in the Establishment are understood to have made themselves acquainted with these Regulations and to have engaged to maintain them inviolate so far as they are concerned.

NB – As wages will necessarily cease during illness, Messrs Chambers earnestly recommend all persons in their employment to connect themselves with Friendly or other Societies, which give pecuniary allowances during Sickness. For general accommodation, a Savings’ Bank is established in the Office in connection with the National Security Savings’ Bank. Sums as small as One Penny per Week are received; and payments may be had at a moment’s notice.