Horse-drawn carts like this were used by the Rag and Bone
Man
A Rag and Bone Man is a British occupational term used to describe an individual who
collects discarded items (or refuse) for resale. Although the traditional Rag and Bone Man
is no longer active in the United Kingdom, Rag and Bone Men were common throughout
the 19th century and even during the first half of the 20th century.
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Gathering Discards

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, a Rag and Bone Man generally prowled the streets
in his horse-drawn cart in search of useful trash. While old rags and discarded bones (sold
for glue, bone china, and fertilizer production) were always sought, the Rag and Bone Man
would also collect other items with resale potential.
Rag and Bone Shop

The place where people and industry representatives would come to purchase items from
the Rag and Bone Man was referred to as the Rag and Bone Shop . This shop could be the
Rag and Bone Man's cart, a street stall or any location where the previously discarded items
were displayed for resale.
Descriptions

Many novels and histories of 19th and early 20th century Great Britain provide descriptions
of Rag and Bone Men and Rag and Bone Shops . Particularly good descriptions may be
found in the works of Charles Dickens and Henry Mayhew.
W.B. Yeats

One of the most famous appearances of the term "Rag and Bone Shop" is in the poem, "The
Circus Animal's Desertion," by Irish poet William Butler Yeats. Found in the last line of the
poem, the term is generally believed to refer to the process of turning something unpleasant
into something good.
Robert Cormier

"The Rag and Bone Shop" also happens to be the title of the last book published by the nowdeceased writer of books for young adults , Robert Cormier. He drew his title from the Yeats
poem.