Rag and bone men - did they collect bones?

[simms]

I remember rag and bone men from my childhood, and I know people gave them junk and old clothes - but I don't ever recall bones being involved. Did they collect bones originally, and if so, why?

[tartanwiz]

Yes, they used to collect bones and sell them to glue manufacturers.

[Lindy Loo]

I hope it was just animal bones they collected.

[Octavius]

A rag and bone man was, quite simply, a junk man. In England, the rag and bone man was sort of a heavy trash pick-up man, picking up items of trash not accepted by the regular bin-men.

The rag and bone man travelled the countryside collecting scrap materials, e.g. old iron, rags, bones, rabbit skins, in fact any reusable item.

Rag and bone men used to be called "totters." They used a handcart to collect clothing, books and other discarded items that might be useful. They passed out balloons and even goldfish to the children who came out to them. A few times a year they would come out with the horse and cart to collect larger items, such as old bedsteads.  This was a time when most glues were made from bones or rabbit skins.  Thus the totters trolley was equipped with bins for the bones and if the rags were wet they were first dried by being hung across the front mounted drying racks before being carried inside the vehicle.