F is for Fishing Rods, Etc. I’m enjoying finding out about all these random jobs the
F is for Fishing Rods, Etc. I’m enjoying finding out about all these random jobs the Victorians had, and this was nice excuse to watch a soothing video of someone making a fishing rod. Given the conditions of Victorian labour I reckon a maker of fishing rods wouldn’t have much time to get in actual fishing of her own, but she’s sneaking a little test-drive here. It’s way easier to find the exact number of women employed making fishing rods, than it is to find the racial composition of England at the time, as the census didn’t include racial data. The best the National Archives can do is quote Lord Mansfield in 1772 as estimating some 15,000 people of African descent living in England, but right up until the 20th century the actual statistic seems to be a complete guess! The Old Bailey online, a wonderful resource, has some further reading. -- source link