 | OF THE STREET-SELLERS OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. London Labour and the London Poor, volume 1 |  |
OF THE STREET-SELLERS OF DOLLS.
The making of dolls, like that of many a thing
required for a mere recreation, a toy, a pastime, is
often carried on amidst squalor, wretchedness, or
privation, or — to use the word I have frequently
heard among the poor — "pinching." Of this matter,
however, I shall have to treat when I proceed to
consider the manufacture of and trade in dolls
generally, not merely as respects street-sale.
Dolls are now so cheap, and so generally sold
by open-air traders whose wares are of a miscel-
laneous character, as among the "swag-barrow"
or "penny-a-piece" men of whom I have treated
separately, that the sale of what are among the
most ancient of all toys, as a "business of itself,"
is far smaller, numerically, than it was.
The dolls are most usually carried in baskets
by street-sellers (who are not makers) and gene-
rally by women who are very poor. Here and
there in the streets most frequented by the patrons
of the open-air trade may be seen a handsome
stall of dolls of all sizes and fashions, but these
are generally the property of makers, although
those makers may buy a portion of their stock.
There are also smaller stalls which may present
the stock of the mere seller.
The dolls for street traffic may be bought at
the swag-shops or of the makers. For the little
armless 1d. dolls the maker charges the street-seller
8s., and to the swag-shop keeper who may buy
largely, 7s. 6d. the dozen. Some little stalls are
composed entirely of penny dolls; on others the
prices run from 1d. to 6d. The chief trade, how-
ever, among the class I now describe, is carried on
by the display of dolls in baskets. If the vendor
can only attract the notice of children — and more
especially in a private suburban residence, where
children are not used to the sight of dolls on stalls
or barrows, or in shops — and can shower a few
blessings and compliments, "God be wid your
bhutiful faces thin — and yours too, my lady,
ma'am (with a curtsey to mistress or maid). Buy
one of these dolls of a poor woman: shure they're
bhutiful dolls and shuted for them angels o' the
worruld;" under such circumstances, I say, a sale
is almost certain. I may add that the words I
have given I myself heard a poor Irishwoman,
whom I had seen before selling large pincushions
in the same neighbourhood (that of the Regent's
Park), address to a lady who was walking round
her garden accompanied by two children.
A vendor of dolls expresses an opinion that as
long as ever there are children from two years old
to ten, there will always be purchasers of dolls;
"but for all that," said he, "somehow or another
't is nothing of a trade to what it used to be. I've
seen the time when I could turn out in the morn-
ing and earn a pound afore night; but it's dif-
ferent now there's so many bazaars, and so many
toy shops that the doll hawker hasn't half the
chance he used to have. Sartinly we gets a
chance now and then — fine days is the best — and
if we can get into the squares or where the
children walks with their nurses, we can do tidy;
but the police are so very particular there's not
much of a livelihood to be got. Spoiled children
are our best customers. Whenever we sees a
likely customer approaching — we, that is, those
who know their business — always throw ourselves
in the way, and spread out our dolls to the best
advantage. If we hears young miss say she will
have one, and cries for it, we are almost sure of a
customer, and if we see her kick and fight a bit
with the nuss-maid we are sure of a good price.
If a child cries well we never baits our price.
Most of the doll-sellers are the manufacturers of
the dolls — that is, I mean, they puts 'em together.
The heads are made in Hamburgh; the principal
places for buying them in London are at Alfred
Davis's, in Houndsditch; White's, in Houndsditch;
and Joseph's, in Leadenhall-street. They are sold
as thus: — The heads that we sell for 3d. each,
when made up, cost us 7s. 6d. per gross, or 7½d.
per dozen; these are called 1 — O's. No. 2 —
O's., are 8s. 6d. per gross, and No. 3 — O's. 10s.
per gross. One yard and half of calico will make
a dozen bodies, small size. These we get sewn
for three halfpence, and we stuffs and finishes
them ourselves.
"When our 3d. dolls are made up, they cost
about 1s. per dozen — so there is 2d. profit on every
doll, which I thinks is little enough; but we
often sells 'em at 2d.; we lays 'em out to the
best advantage in a deep basket, all standing up,
as it were, or leaning against the sides of the
basket. The legs and bodies is carefully wrapped
in tissue paper, not exactly to preserve the lower
part of the doll, for that isn't so very valuable,
but in reality to conceal the legs and body, which
is rather the reverse of symmetrical; for, to tell
the truth, every doll looks as if it were labouring
under an attack of the gout. There are, however,
some very neat articles exported from Germany,
especially the jointed dolls, but they are too dear
for the street-hawker, and would not show to such
advantage. There is also the plaster dolls, with
the match legs. I wonder how they keep their
stand, for they are very old-fashioned; but they
sell, for you never see a chandler's shop window
without seeing one of these sticking in it, and a falling
down as if it was drunk. Then there's the wax
dolls. Some of 'em are made of wax, and others
of `pappy mashy,' and afterwards dipped in wax.
The cheapest and best mart for these is in Barbi-
[Description: 915EAF. Page 446.]
exactly what was laid out in the course of a year
in dolls. It would be impossible, I think, to ascer-
tain exactly; but I think I could guess something
near the mark. There are, at least, at this time
of year, when the fairs are coming on, fifty doll-
hawkers, who sell nothing else. Say each of these
sells one dozen dolls per day, and that their average
price is 4d. each. That is just 10l. a day, and 60l. per week. In the winter time so many are not
sold; but I have no doubt that 50l.'s worth of dolls
are sold each week throughout the year by Lon-
don hawkers alone, or just upon 3000l. per annum.
The shops sell as many as the hawkers, and the
stalls attending fairs half the amount; and you
may safely say that the sum taken for dolls in and
around London in one year amounts to 7500l.
A doll-merchant can begin business with a trifle,"
continued my informant; "a shilling will obtain
a dozen 3d. dolls. If you have no basket, carry
them in your arms, although they don't show off
to such advantage there as they do when nicely
basketed; however, if you've luck, you may soon
raise a basket; for 3s. 6d. you can get a very
nice one; and although the doll trade is not what
it used to be, there are," said my informant,
"worse games than that yet, I know. One man,
who is now in a very respectable way of business
— `a regular gentleman' — was a very few years
ago only a doll-hawker. Another man, who had
two hands and only one arm — poor fellow! he
was born with one arm, and had two hands, one
appended to his arm in the usual way, and the
other attached to his shoulder — a freak of nature,
I think, they called it. However, my one-armed
friend keeps now a very respectable little swag-
shop at North Shields, in Northumberland."
I inquired of my informant whether he ob-
jected to relate a little of his history? He replied,
"not the least," and recounted as follows: —
"They call me Dick the Dollman. I was, I
believe, the first as ever cried dolls three a shilling
in the streets. Afore I began they al'ays stood
still with 'em; but I cried 'em out same as they
do mackrel; that is twenty years ago. I wasn't
originally a doll-seller. My father was a pensioner
in Greenwich College. My mother used to hawk,
and had a licence. I was put to school in St.
Patrick's-school, Lanark's-passage, where I re-
mained six years, but I didn't learn much. At
thirteen years of age I was apprenticed to a brush
and broom maker's, corner of C — Street, Spit-
alfields. My master was not the honestest chap
in the world, for he bought hair illegal, was found
out, and got transported for seven years. A man
who worked for my master took me to finish my
apprenticeship; this man and his wife was very
old people. I used to work four days in the
week, two for them and two for myself; the
other two days I went out hawking brooms and
brushes, and very often would earn 7s. or 8s. on a
Saturday, but times was better then than they are
now. Arter that, for sake of gain, I left the old
people, I was offered 20s. to make and hawk; and in
course I took it. I remained with this master five
months; he was afflicted with rheumatic fever —
went into the hospital — and I was left to shift for
myself. When my master went to the hospital I
had 7s. 6d. in my pocket; I knew I must
do something, and, to tell you the truth, I
didn't like the brush-making; I would rather
have hawked something without the trouble of
making it. I think now I was a little afflicted
with laziness. I was passing London-bridge and
saw a man selling Marshall's pocket-books; I
knowed him afore; I thought I should like to try
the pocket-book selling, and communicated my
wishes to the man; he told me they cost eight
shillings a dozen, if I liked we would purchase a
dozen a'twixt us; we did so; I received half a
dozen, but I afterwards learned that my friend
obtained seven for his share, as they were sold
thirteen to the dozen. I went to Chancery-lane
with my lot and was very lucky; I sold the six
books to one gentleman for six shillings: in course
I soon obtained another supply; that day I sold four
dozen, and earned 20s. I was such a good seller that
Marshall let me have 3l. or 4l.'s worth on credit — and
I never paid him. I know that was wrong now;
but I was such a foolish chap, and used to spend
my money as fast as I got it. I would have
given Marshall a shilling the other day if I had
had one, for I see him selling penny books in the
street. I thought it was hard lines, and had been
such a gentleman too. Somerset-house corner
was a capital stand for selling pocket-books. The
way I took to the dolls was this; I met a girl
with a doll basket one day as I was standing at
Somerset-house corner; she and I got a talking.
`Will you go to the' Delphy to night?' says I; she
consented. They was a playing Tom and Jerry
at this time, all the street-sellers went to see it,
and other people; and nice and crabbed some on
'em was. Well, we goes to the 'Delphy — and I
sees her often arter that, and at last gets married.
She used to buy her dolls ready made; I soon
finds out where to get the heads — and the profits
when we made them ourselves was much greater.
We began to serve hawkers and shops; went to
Bristol — saved 47l. — comes to London and spends
it all; walks back to Bristol, and by the time we
got there we had cleared more than 20l. We
were about a month on the journey, and visited
Cheltenham and other towns. We used to spend
our money very foolishly; we were too fond of
what was called getting on the spree. You see
we might have done well if we had liked, but we
hadn't the sense. My wife got very clever at the
dolls and so did I. Then I tried my hand at the
wax dolls, and got to make them very well. I
paid a guinea to learn.
"I was selling wax-dolls one day in London,
and a gentleman asked me if I could mend a wax
figure whose face was broken. I replied yes, for
I had made a few wax heads, large size, for some
showmen. I had made some murderers who was
hung; lately I made Rush and Mr. and Mrs.
Manning; but the showmen can't afford to get
new heads now-a-days, so they generally makes
one head do for all; sometimes they changes the
dress. Well, as I was telling you, I went with
this gentleman, and proposed that he should have
[Description: 915EAF. Page 447.]
much broken. It was Androcles pulling the
thorn out of the lion's foot, and was to be ex-
hibited. I got 20s. for making the new head.
The gentleman asked me if I knew the story
about Androcles. Now I had never heard on him
afore, but I didn't like to confess my ignorance,
so I says `yes;' then he offers me 30s. a week to
describe it in the Flora Gardens, where it was to
be exhibited. I at once accepted the engagement;
but I was in a bit of a fix, for I didn't know
what to say. I inquired of a good many people,
but none on 'em could tell me; at last I was
advised to go to Mr. Charles Sloman — you know
who I mean — him as makes a song and sings it
directly; I was told he writes things for people.
I went, and he wrote me out a patter. I asked
him how much he charged; he said, `Nothing my
man.' Sartinly he wasn't long a-doing it, but it
was very kind of him. I got what Mr. Sloman
wrote out for me printed, and this I stuck inside
my hat; the people couldn't see it, though I dare
say they wondered what I was looking in my hat
about. However, in a week or so, I got it by
heart, and could speak it well enough. After ex-
hibiting Androcles I got an engagement with
another waxwork show — named Biancis — and
afterwards at other shows. I was considered a
very good doorsman in time, but there's very little
to be got by that now; so we keeps to the dolly
business, and finds we can get a better living at
that than anything else. Me and the old woman
can earn 1l. a week, bad and all as things are;
but we're obliged to hawk."
| OF THE STREET-SELLERS OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES. London Labour and the London Poor, volume 1 | |