House of European History - Online Collection

Rag picker trade plate

Artist / Maker
Date
Production: 1858
Object Name
Inventory Number
C.2021.009.001
Physical Description
Brass plate in the shape of an oval medallion with a ring to pass a string through. Engraved inscription. In good condition and with readable text despite a small amount of wear.
Content Description
A trade plate was a kind of identity tag that preceded the invention of photography and identity cards. It gave a precise physical description of the bearer that allowed the police to control rag pickers. The medal also worked as a labour permit – if it were lent to someone else, the rag picker could get a fine or run the risk of losing the right to work.
Exhibition Theme
-> 10. Throwaway. The history of a modern crisis (not on display)
Material / Technique
Brass
Dimensions
H x W x D 6,70 x 4,50 x 0,30 cm
Curator’s Note
Chiffonniers (rag pickers) were men and women, and sometimes their children, working in the streets to collect rags – chiffons in French, which gave the name to their profession – in order to sell them to people who transformed them into paper. They found rags in piles of rubbish in front of houses and in the streets. They located the rags and pulled them out with a pick or hook, their main working tool, and put them into a hood. They also collected animal skins, bones or any other useful material, thus participating in the high circularity of materials at the time. In 1828, the Paris Police Prefecture created an official trade plate to count and control the rag pickers. It was a hierarchised profession with different profiles: authorised rag pickers (a few thousand) as well as unauthorised rag pickers (more numerous). The trade plate was a way to control a profession that was seen with suspicion by the city authorities because it operated at night and often in marginalised areas. With the boom of urbanisation during the 19th century, the rag pickers played an essential role in the social economy of the city. They belonged also to the imaginary, encompassing contrasted feelings and becoming popular characters in European romantic art and literature. Even though by the end of the 19th century rag pickers progressively began losing their crucial role as a result of new waste management methods – for example, the creation of the garbage bin (poubelle in French) – they continued to exist throughout the 20th century.
Inscription
Inscription Transliteration: Recto : Duplicata, N°490, M. Poussot, Chiffonnier Verso : 1858, 49 ans, 1m65c, CH. ET. S. CH. F. ORD. Y. CH. N. OR. B. MO. ME. RD. BA. CH. VI. OV. Traduction: Recto : Duplicata, N°490, M. Poussot, Chiffonnier Verso : 1858, 49 ans, 1m65, CH. ET. S. CH. F. ORD. Y. CH. N. OR. B. MO. ME. RD. BA. CH. VI. OV. (= CHeveux ET SOurcils CHatains, Front ORDinaire, Yeux CHatains, Nez ORdinaire, Bas MOyen, MEnton rond, BArbe CHâtain, VIsage OVale) Translation: Recto: Duplicata, N°490, Mr. Poussot, Ragpicker Verso : 1858, 49 years old, 1m65cm tall chestnut (light brown) hair and eyebrows ordinary forehead chestnut (light brown) eyes ordinary nose average mouth round chin chestnut (light brown) beard oval face
Credit line
Acquired 2021. EU, EP, House of European History, Brussels.
This entry about an object of the House of European History has been compiled and reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. We continuously endeavour to revise and improve our records. We especially welcome additional information from our visitors. Please contact us if you have any queries.