rags ands bones

[burston]

A few of us were showing our age yesterday and talking about the rag and bone man who used to ride around the streets. I remember our mum giving him some rags so we could have a baloon of all things, but where does the bones part come in. I never saw any bones, just old junk and metal etc.

[Quizmonster]

In earlier days, the bones were used to make into glue.

[Yellow Peril]

When I was little, my mum received a rubbing stone in exchange for old clothes. Which she used to whiten the steps and around the grid. We used to chalk with it too.

[jno]

C H Rolph in London Particulars - his memoir of an Edwardian childhood - says they were put in a bone crusher and used for fertiliser. He says he never actually saw any bones either.

[Quizmonster]

I daresay crushed bones had a variety of uses, but click here for a bit on the history of bone-glue. ..vital, apparently, in 19th/20th century furniture-making. Even today, we might hear someone say of an aged horse that "it's about time it went to the glue-factory"!