General Chat

1851 Census again - please see below

I was born in a Sarf London hospital that had been the Camberwell Workhouse. (Cue violins) Last night I had another 'Oliver Twist' moment, when I discovered an 11-year-old orphaned pauper who was probably related to me (cue more violins) in a Bishopwearmouth 'Institution' (which I took to be a Workhouse). Further down the handwriteen list of names, there appeared a 57-year-old man whose occupation was shown as 'Profilist' - a word I've never seen before. Woss one o' them then??? CB >|<

Its not in the dictionary, but a profile is a sketch of the human face, maybe he was an artist or drew profiles for the police or something....then again, maybe I am waffling, but I did try CB xxx

well by ny reckoning he's either someone who writes profiles of people like biographys (or maybe criminal ones a la Cracker) or a Professor of Lists - if he's one of them he maybe related to my mum - she writes hundreds of the things every day

I think its someone who painted silhouettes. Bev x

OK, ta all round. CB >|< :>)

Hi Mrs Camberwell Beauty.According to a crossword solver a Profilist is a definite occupation,It is someone who draws in profile,a drawing as seen from the side.drawn in profile by a Profilist Bill

see more proof that I am very clever

CB In my Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations it shows a profile cutter. Described as a street artist who would cut profile silhouette portraits from black paper. He was also known as a 'shade cutter' and later a 'silhouette cutter' They would generally work in the street and a portrait would be cut within minutes for a small amount of money Dee xx

CB I want one of those in my tree. All I've got are labourers, labourers and even more labourers with the odd brass finisher thrown in. Jean x.

According to my reference book: A street artist who would cut profile silhouette portraits from black paper. He was also known as a profile or shade cutter and later (in the 19th century) as a silhouette cutter. The word 'silhouette' is said to have come from a French Government finance minister who decorated his home with these inexpensive portraits because it saved him money. These artists generally worked in the street where a 'sitting' would take place. A portrait would be cut within minutes for a small amount of money. Later, before the advent of photography, more expensive versions done in a studio became fashionable and sometimes served as a basic model upon which a face could be painted. len Ps I've got one, passed down through the family, but the original sitter omitted to put his name to it.

Well good job it said 'profilist' on the census, just think what a transcriber could do with a badly-written 'silhouettist'!

The most famous of the British profilists was John Miers. He worked in the north of England from 1781, and is said to have been the first to paint silhouettes on plaster. He relocated to London in 1788, setting up business on the Strand, where he remained until his death in 1821. That he left an estate worth over £20,000 — a huge amount at the time — is testament to his success. His sitters included King George III and Queen Charlotte. Miers was a fine artist known for his exquisite treatment of diaphanous draperies and feathers. Though many of his early contemporaries used touches of gold and colored pigment to delineate clothing details, especially in silhouettes of military officers, Miers favored the pure black 'shade.'