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Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: Luke ??? on Saturday 18 November 17 20:40 GMT (UK)

Title: What did a porter bottler, council gas engineer and glass blower's job entail?
Post by: Luke ??? on Saturday 18 November 17 20:40 GMT (UK)
I'm wanting to know what these three jobs meant.

Thank you.
Title: Re: What did a porter bottler, council gas engineer and glass blower's job entail?
Post by: Johnf04 on Saturday 18 November 17 20:49 GMT (UK)
Porter was a strong beer. A gas engineer probably worked at a coal gas generating plant. Coal gas was used before LPG and CNG became available. This wikipedia article covers glassblowing:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glassblowing
Title: Re: What did a porter bottler, council gas engineer and glass blower's job entail?
Post by: KGarrad on Saturday 18 November 17 20:53 GMT (UK)
Just (intelligent) guesswork, but:

Porter bottler - bottled porter (a type of ale). It's dark beer, like Fuller's London Porter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_(beer)

Council gas engineer - In the early 1900s, the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms. So he would have been employed by a council to look after their gas systems. Most street lights in Victorian times were gas lights.

Glass blower - glass is still often made by blowing. Molten glass is picked up on the end of a long tube, and air is blown by mouth through the tube. The result is a bottle, flask, or other hollow glass object.
Title: Re: What did a porter bottler, council gas engineer and glass blower's job entail?
Post by: carlineric on Saturday 18 November 17 21:24 GMT (UK)
Have a look at "A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921 at http://doot.spub.co.uk/ which gives a description of the various occupations used in the census. I have the CD version but the website is much easier to use. You need to just look under bottler  - other workers for the porter bottler. I can't see an entry for a glass blower though.

Eric

Title: Re: What did a porter bottler, council gas engineer and glass blower's job entail?
Post by: stanmapstone on Saturday 18 November 17 21:29 GMT (UK)
There is a RootsChat topic on Glass Blowing at http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=450011.msg3121072#msg3121072
Unfortunately the links no longer work.
Stan
Title: Re: What did a porter bottler, council gas engineer and glass blower's job entail?
Post by: stanmapstone on Saturday 18 November 17 21:45 GMT (UK)
Blower; duties vary greatly; in general when not himself gathering, takes blowing-tube with molten glass attached from gatherer and blows with his mouth down tube to shape glass into required shape, with or without aid of mold, holding mold closed over glass until glass fills mold; when not using mold rolls glass on polished iron table, marver to assist shaping;  measures glass for size with calipers; in some branches of glass manufacture often carries out production further, e.g. doing work of foot maker  using blowing iron , marver, shears, pincers, and punty rods; sometimes specifically designated, e.g. bottle blower, chemical glass blower, electric bulb blower. "A Dictionary of Occupational Terms"

Stan
Title: Re: What did a porter bottler, council gas engineer and glass blower's job entail?
Post by: carlineric on Sunday 19 November 17 08:00 GMT (UK)
How did I miss that? See it now on Doot.

Eric