MISCELLANEOUS.
_Assistants in Shops._--I do not think it is generally known how valid
the claim of the girls employed by the large linendrapers is to the
much-disputed title of "young lady." At all the houses where I have
inquired, I find that a large proportion of the girls are daughters
of professional men, the fathers of the remainder being for the most
part farmers and clerks; they are all fairly well educated, possess
good manners, and if their conduct is not above reproach they are
immediately dismissed.
I give particulars of five representative houses. I think the rules
of others of the same class will be found very similar. All the
particulars have been furnished me by members of the firms, and in many
cases I have also made inquiries of the young ladies who are employed.
Their universal opinion is that they are much better off than they
would be if they were governesses; in fact, many of them have been
governesses, and have given it up from the difficulty of obtaining
comfortable engagements. Their evenings are entirely at their own
disposal, and they are allowed to go away from Saturday until Sunday
night or Monday morning, if their employers know where they are going.
At very nearly all the shops I mention the girls are allowed to sit
down excepting when they are engaged in serving. The good feeling
existing between employers and employed seems to be very general.
I heard no complaints from either side; the heads of the firms
all seemed to think they could not do too much for the comfort of
their employés, and they on their side seemed fully sensible of the
kindness with which they are treated. Their sitting and bed rooms are
all spacious and airy, and their food, which on two occasions I had
opportunities of inspecting, plentiful and good.
All the firms employ large numbers of women who do not live in the
house, but I shall not give any particulars respecting them, as they
are of quite a different class to those I am writing for.
Messrs. Howell and James, Regent Street, employ twenty-five ladies in
their establishment, who live in the house. When their contemplated
alterations and improvements are made, each young lady will have a
separate bed-room; they have very pleasant sitting-rooms, and a library
and piano are provided for their use.
The hours of work are from 9 to 6, Saturdays until two, and they all
have a fortnight or three weeks' holiday in the summer. The salaries
vary from £20 to £200 a year. Apprentices are received for three years;
they live in the house, and pay a premium of £40. Improvers are also
taken. All applicants must have good references and manners, and be
well educated.
Messrs. Lewis and Allenby, Regent Street, employ seventy ladies in the
house, twenty-four in the show-rooms, and the rest in the workrooms.
They take neither apprentices nor improvers, and all the young ladies
who apply to them must previously have received a thorough training.
Hours of work are from 8.30 until 6.30, Saturdays until 2. They have
three weeks' holiday after the London season. Their house has lately
been rebuilt, and the rooms are everything that can be desired; two
young ladies usually share a bed-room. A piano, and house library,
besides a subscription to Mudie's, are provided for the use of the
young people.
The salaries range from £25 to £200 per annum. A doctor calls every day
to see any one who may be ill, and anything he orders is immediately
provided at the expense of the firm.
Messrs. Marshall and Snelgrove, Oxford Street and Vere Street, employ
seventy ladies in their show-rooms. The hours of work are from 8.30
until 6.30 in the winter, or 7 in the summer; Saturdays until 2.
Sixteen days' holidays are allowed after the season. No apprentices are
received, and the salaries vary from £20 to £150 a year. About ninety
or a hundred girls are also employed in their work-rooms, at salaries
of from £15 to £100 a year.
Messrs. Venables, High Street, Whitechapel, a very old-established
firm, employ twenty-five in the house, at salaries of from £20 to £200
per annum. The hours of work are from 9 till 7 in winter, until 7.30 or
8 in summer, Saturdays until 3 o'clock. A fortnight's holiday is given
every year. Apprentices are taken for two or three years at a small
premium, which is usually returned as a bonus for good conduct. There
is a bagatelle and a billiard table, a piano, and a library of 2,000
volumes, for the use of the employés. Not more than four girls are ever
expected to share the same room.
Messrs. Spencer, Turner, and Boldero, Lisson Grove, employ seventy
ladies. The working hours are from 8.30 until 7, and they have a
fortnight or three weeks' holiday in the year. The salaries are from
£5 to £100 a year. Apprentices are received for two years without a
premium, and their friends are only required to provide them with
clothes. In one large room five young ladies sleep, but as a rule there
are not more than three or four in a room.
Only the young ladies in the show-rooms are allowed to sit down; it
would interfere too much with business if those behind the counters
were provided with seats. I asked two of them if they found the
continual standing affect their health; they said girls for the first
month found it very trying, but after that they become used to it,
and, excepting in very hot weather, did not mind it at all. Cases of
serious illness are very rare in all the establishments I have visited.
At the last two shops I have mentioned the class of customers is very
different from the others; but, with that exception, I believe the
young ladies employed are equally comfortable.
_Teachers of Cookery._--At the National Training School for Cookery
in the Exhibition Road, South Kensington, ladies are taught to be
efficient teachers of cookery, and, as a rule, do not find it difficult
to obtain engagements. The School Board employs a considerable number,
and pays them at the rate of £60 a year.
Teachers of cookery can now pass through a full course of twenty
weeks' training in cookery and practice in teaching at the National
Training School for Cookery, South Kensington. The fee is £20. Teachers
of plain cookery only can now pass through a course lasting ten weeks;
the fee is £8 8s.
Students in training are expected to attend evening classes, held by
staff teachers, once a week. A student in training for a teacher first
passes as a pupil through the Scullery and Demonstration Classes. This
takes (working every day except Saturday) one month, from 10 A.M. to 4
P.M., with an interval from 12 to 2 for rest and luncheon. At the end
of the month her note-books are to be examined and corrected. She then
spends one month learning in the Plain Cookery Practice Kitchen, and a
fortnight in teaching there what she has already learnt. She next goes
into the High Class Practice Kitchen, and spends one month in learning
and a fortnight in teaching. The last month is devoted to practice in
demonstrating, first a fortnight in private, and lastly a fortnight
in public, for which the lady superintendent has drawn up careful and
strict rules; they are hung up close to where the student stands, to
give her demonstration.
During her course of training the student can, if she likes, dine with
the other pupils for 1s., or, if that is beyond her means, she is
allowed to purchase any little dish that has been cooked as a lesson,
at a nominal charge.
The staff teachers receive £75 per annum and their dinner at the
school while employed in London. When sent to reside out of London
they receive a further sum of 20s. a week for board and lodging, and
all their travelling expenses; one months' notice on either side to
terminate the engagement. When the staff teachers are all employed a
few extra teachers are taken on as improvers at £1 a week, as this fits
them to fill good appointments in the provinces when they offer. These
engagements are terminable by a week's notice on either side.
The work of a teacher on the staff varies somewhat according to the
nature of her appointment--_i.e._, if employed in the school itself
she will have to be in her kitchen by 9.30 A.M. to see that her
kitchen-maid has everything in proper order for the pupils to begin
work at 10 A.M. The lessons end at 4 P.M. The teacher would, in most
cases, be able to leave the school at 5 P.M.
If a staff teacher is sent to the provinces, the hours of work in that
case depend greatly upon the local committee who for the time being
employ her, but the number of hours of work are limited to twenty-four
in the week, to be distributed by arrangement with the local committee
and the teacher. If nominated for training, the candidate must not
be under eighteen nor exceed thirty-five years of age. She will be
admitted either by payment of fees or by subscriber's nomination. She
must be sufficiently educated to be able to perform the duties of an
instructor after the special training.
The diplomas of teachers are of two classes. Students, according to the
class of diploma they have obtained, will be recommended to the public
desirous to employ teachers, preference being given to teachers in the
highest class.
The conditions of admission are:--
(_a_) That the student agrees to obey all the rules of the school laid
down by the Executive Committee.
(_b_) That for any infraction of the rules the student may be
discharged at a day's notice, without having a claim of any kind upon
the school.
(_c_) That if after training the student proves competent (of which
the Committee are sole judges), and her services be required, she will
be prepared to accept an engagement on the staff of the school, at a
salary ranging from £1 to £2 weekly; but it is to be clearly understood
that the Committee are not responsible for finding any paid employment
for the student while in the school, or afterwards, the employment of
teachers certified by the school resting wholly with the public.
Teachers, while on the staff, and employed in the school, are not free
to take any engagement without leave from the Committee, given in
writing. Teachers holding diplomas not on the staff are free to make
any engagement for teaching they may think fit, and may refer to the
lady superintendent, who will give additional information as to their
qualifications when required to do so.
Any subscriber to the school of £1 1s. has a right to a vote, and
twenty votes admit a candidate to a full course of training, so that to
become a subscriber is an excellent opportunity to be charitable, and
oblige, possibly, a friend at the same time.
I think if, in addition to teaching cookery, ladies were able also to
lecture on the elements of physiology and the laws of health, they
would more readily find engagements, and be able to command better
salaries. Unfortunately, at present there is no place where they can
be examined as to their capabilities, and receive certificates, which
would be most desirable. They can, however, acquire the necessary
information by reading and attending some of the excellent courses of
lectures on the subject that are frequently held in London; they are
generally advertised in the daily papers.
_Music._--No lady should take up music as a profession unless she has
sufficient talent to justify her in expecting to be a first-rate
teacher and performer. The profession is overstocked to a most painful
extent already with second-rate teachers, and, speaking roughly, I
should say there are very nearly as many people anxious to teach music
as there are people to be taught. In the one branch of class-singing,
I believe there is a large demand for good lady teachers, as they are
most difficult to obtain, and any really competent persons may be sure
of obtaining engagements at good salaries. For any one with exceptional
talent a thorough training is the great thing to be desired, and this
can be obtained at the Royal College of Music, Kensington Gore, where
a free musical education, in all its branches, is given for five
years, to any one who can obtain a scholarship. Many of these are open
to public competition, without any limit of age. The school does not
provide board or lodging, though I believe some of the scholarships
carry with them exhibitions for maintenance. The year is divided into
three terms, and there are twelve weeks of vacation. Students, when
competent, are allowed to give lessons or perform in public during
their spare time. No engagements are guaranteed at the end of the
course of study; but the authorities do all in their power to secure
them. For further information respecting the scholarships, &c.,
application should be made to the registrar at the school.
_Royal Academy of Music_, Tenterden Street, Hanover Square.--At this
Academy, also, pupils are thoroughly trained in music.
Students are admitted at the commencement of each term and half-term.
Candidates for admission must attend for examination, bringing music
they can perform, at eleven o'clock on the Saturday before each term
or half-term, with a recommendation from a subscriber, a member, an
associate, or an honorary member.
The fee for examination is £1 1s., which is returned on the admission
of the candidate. Candidates residing at a distance from London may be
primarily examined by any one of the local examiners, from whom they
may obtain information and advice respecting the Academy. One or more
local examiners (whose services are honorary) are appointed in every
principal town of the kingdom.
The year is divided into three terms, and there are thirteen weeks of
vacation.
The annual fee for the entire course of study is 30 guineas, or 10
guineas per term, with an entrance fee of 5 guineas.
The course of instruction includes two weekly lessons in a principal
study, one in harmony, one in a second study, when deemed desirable,
one in elocution for singers, and the advantages of the sight-singing
class and violin quartet class, and the orchestral and choral practices.
All payments must be made in advance. On leaving the Academy students
may undergo an examination. Should the examination prove satisfactory
they will receive a certificate, and in special cases the additional
distinction of being made an associate of the institution.
There are a great many free scholarships attached to this institution;
inquiries about them should be directed to the secretary at the Academy.
* * * * *
_The London Academy of Music_, St. George's Hall, Langham Place, Regent
Street, is designed for vocal and instrumental students, amateur and
professional, desirous of receiving a complete musical education in
this country from the best London professors on the moderate fees of
the Continental institutions.
Students can select either harmony, pianoforte playing, singing, or
any other branch of the art, as their principal study, and receive
individual instruction in that branch from one of the principal
professors; they will in addition receive instruction in two other
branches.
The year is divided into three terms, each term consisting of twelve
weeks' instruction. A lesson is given once a week in each branch of
study, students residing at a distance can receive all their lessons
on one day. The fee for each student is 5 guineas per term. This
includes a whole course of instruction necessary for a complete musical
education. French, German, Italian, elocution, and deportment, are all
extras. The fee for each is £1 1s. per term. A fee of £3 3s. is charged
for students desirous of attending the operatic class and the drawing
and painting class.
All fees are required to be paid in advance. Candidates for admission
as students must show that they possess sufficient ability to profit by
the course of study, and are required to attend at the Academy before
the commencement of the term at which they desire to be admitted in
order to be examined by the principal. The examination fee is 5s. There
are several scholarships; these entitle their holders to one year's
free instruction, or to two years' instruction by paying half fees each
term.
Further particulars can be obtained at the office, St. George's Hall.
_Printing._--A women's printing office has been established at 21B,
Great College Street, Westminster, where only female apprentices are
taken. In answer to my questions, the girls said they liked the work
much, and found it very interesting; it is necessary that they should
read and spell well, and have some knowledge of punctuation. The
apprenticeships are for three years, and the premium is £2, which is
returned in wages, as they commence after the first month, at the rate
of 2s. 6d. per week, rising to 10s. by the end of the three years;
after that time the amount earned depends upon the worker's industry
and quickness; the average earnings are from £1 to £1 10s. a week. The
hours of work are from 9 till 6.30, with an hour's interval for dinner;
all the workers, including apprentices, are paid extra for overtime.
Several other printers employ women, but when men are employed as well
the women are not usually paid at the same rate, and the premium in
most cases is £5. Messrs. Bale, of 87 and 89, Great Titchfield Street,
have taken girl apprentices for many years, and Mr. Bowden, of Red
Lion Street, has done the same. Miss Emily Faithfull was the first
to introduce printing as an occupation for women in England, and has
employed them for some time at her Victoria Press, in Praed Street,
Paddington.
_Dressmaking._--A lady, trading under the name of Grace and Co., has
recently started a business at Albany House, 259, Vauxhall Bridge Road,
S.W., with the following avowed objects:--
I. To provide work for ladies who do not desire charity.
II. To afford ladies the means of thoroughly qualifying themselves in
cutting, fitting, and making-up dresses of every description
III. To give employment to those who have become qualified in
work-rooms, in their own homes, and in the houses of those willing to
treat them as ladies.
IV. To aid those who may be considered competent in opening branch
establishments.
V. To assist those who are qualified and desirous of emigrating in
finding suitable colonial engagements. Workers will be required to give
satisfactory references. They must be good needlewomen, and forward
a sample, which will not be returned. The object of this undertaking
is to provide remunerative employment for those requiring it; so all
those employed are expected to conform heartily to the rules which are
essential to success in business. One of the partners can always be
found at Albany House, and will be pleased to see any one interested in
the work.
_Plain Needlework._--Classes for ladies are held at 7, Fitzroy Street,
Fitzroy Square Each course consists of ten lessons in plain needlework
and cutting out in alternate lessons, according to the German method
of teaching in schools. Tickets for one course, £1 1s.; to ladies who
take more than one course a reduction of 5s. will be made for each
additional course. Tickets are not transferable. Each lesson lasts an
hour and a half.
Ladies anxious to start in business for themselves, or to obtain
situations as overlookers of workers in wholesale houses, are
frequently at a loss to know where they can obtain the necessary
knowledge. The firm of Hamilton and Co., co-operative shirtmakers, 27,
Mortimer Street, London, is willing to take young ladies to train in
business habits and a knowledge of what is expected from forewomen of
workers, for a year, at a premium of £5, to be returned in instalments
after the first six months. The knowledge of what work really is, and
the punctual habits that might be acquired in that time, would prove
very valuable to any one wishing to engage in business on their own
account.
At many of the large City warehouses ladies could, if they liked,
be employed in the work-rooms as machinists, plain-needleworkers,
feather-dressers, and to make up artificial flowers and lace goods. In
the last-mentioned occupations their taste would be a great advantage.
The only objection to ladies being employed is the class of girls
they would have to associate with; but of course they need have no
acquaintance with them outside the work-room. The work is usually paid
for by the piece, and the earnings of tolerably quick workers are from
14s. to 18s. a week. The hours of work are from 9 to 7, with an hour's
interval for dinner, half an hour for tea, and a quarter of an hour for
luncheon.
The plain needlework can in many cases, if the worker likes, be done
at home. Apprenticeships are necessary for some kinds of the work
required, but no premium is charged, the girl is only expected to give
her time for a few months. This may be difficult at first, but in
the end it is always an advantage; the skilled workers can always be
tolerably certain of getting employment.
_School Board Visitors._--A few ladies are employed by the School Board
to go to the children's homes and to make inquiries as to the cause
of their absence from school; they are paid from £60 to £75 a year.
The duties are frequently very unpleasant indeed, as their visits are
considered an intrusion, and are often deeply resented by the parents;
but as no special qualifications are required, I dare say many ladies
would be glad to obtain the situations. Application should be made to
the Secretary, School Board Office, Victoria Embankment, London.
_Minor Food Productions._--A Ladies' Association has been recently
formed for the promotion of horticulture and of minor food production.
They are anxious to establish a college for ladies where theoretic
and practical instruction would be given, and scientific training
in horticulture and arboriculture, poultry-raising, dairy work,
bee-keeping, etc. To carry out this plan a freehold farm is necessary,
together with sufficient funds to secure a well-organised system of
instruction. It is believed by the promoters of this scheme that
country life may be made healthy, interesting, and profitable, by a
wise application of intelligence and capital; and that by so doing many
openings to beneficial and healthy occupations may be found for women
of the higher and lower classes, both at home and in the colonies.
Many millions of money are annually paid by Great Britain to foreign
countries for various articles of food, a large part of which could be
equally well raised at home, if the best methods of their production
were more widely known and acted upon.
This association is still quite in its infancy, but a committee has
been formed to act as a means of communication between ladies desiring
instruction in the various branches of minor food production and
ladies and gentlemen competent to give the necessary teaching. Letters
addressed to the Honorary Secretaries, Miss Thorn or Miss May Thorn,
Southover Grange, Lewes, Sussex, will receive attention. I believe
these ladies have already tested the scheme themselves, and found
poultry and pig keeping decidedly remunerative.
_Machine Knitters._--A great many girls are employed in working
knitting-machines. They have to give a short time to learn how to
manage the machine, and then their earnings are from 10s. to 15s. a
week. The hours of work are generally eight a day, but these vary with
the season. This trade is not overstocked.
_Hairdressing._--This is a very suitable occupation for women, and
it is a great pity they are not more extensively employed. Messrs.
Truefitt and Douglas are still the only two large firms where girls
are employed in dressing ladies' hair. Mr. H. P. Truefitt, 13, Old
Bond Street, tells me he always trains the young women in his own
workshops, and that a moderately apt girl is ready to take her turn in
the hair-dressing saloon in six or nine months. Their average earnings
are from 32s. to 35s. weekly. Hours of work are from 9.30 A.M. to
6.30 P.M. Mr. Douglas's (also of Bond Street) rules are almost the same.
The last set of girls Mr. Truefitt trained were ladies, and he found
the intelligence they brought to bear on their profession and the
difference in their address to ladies much appreciated.
_Perfumery._--Mr. Eugene Rimmel, 96, Strand, employs 60 young women
in making-up valentines, scent-packets, &c., and in gumming labels on
to bottles, packing violet powder, bottles of scent, and in various
other ways. Their wages begin at 8s. a week and rise to 21s. The work
is quite light and easy. The hours are from 8 to 1, and 2 to 7.30.
The young ladies he employs to serve in his shops have rather higher
salaries. They begin at 10s. a week, and rise to £2.
_Stationery Work._--Most of the wholesale stationers employ large
numbers of women. The firm that kindly furnished me with the following
particulars employs 100. They go as apprentices for two years, paying
a premium of a guinea, and they receive in wages, for the first six
months, 1s. a week; during the second, 2s. 6d.; the third, 5s.; during
the fourth, and last six months, 7s. 6d. a week. After that time their
wages vary from 10s. to 15s. a week. They are employed in book folding
and sewing, stamping paper, and in various other ways. The hours of
work are from 8.30 to 7; Saturdays until 1.30. An hour is allowed them
for dinner, and two short intervals of from a quarter of an hour to
twenty minutes for luncheon and tea.
_Superintendents in Laundries._--It is desired to employ ladies as
superintendents of laundries. The work is not at all disagreeable, as,
of course, they are not expected to do any of the washing; only they
must have a thorough knowledge of how it should be done, including the
proper amount of soap, starch, &c., to use. The salaries are about £80
a year, as well as board and lodging. Application should be made to
some of the large laundry companies.
_Artificial Flower Making._--Large numbers of women are employed in
this trade. They should begin very young, immediately they leave
school, and it is a great advantage to them if their fingers happen
to be pointed. A large West End firm where I made inquiries employs
60 or 70 women. The hours of work are from 9 till 8, with an hour and
a half's interval for refreshment; on Saturdays they cease working at
2. The wages vary from 14s. to 22s. a week. To learn the business it
is usual to give a few months; no premium is expected. The large City
houses, I believe, pay by the piece. Making common flowers is very
unhealthy work.
_Feather Making._--Girls are not generally apprenticed to this trade,
but begin to learn it when they are very young. Their wages commence at
2s. or 2s. 6d. a week, rising eventually to 15s. or £1. The hours of
work are from 9 to 7, out of which time half an hour is allowed for
dinner, and half an hour for tea.
_Jewellery._--Women are employed in most manufacturing jewellers' as
polishers. They are apprenticed for two years without a premium, but
during that time they receive no wages. Afterwards they are paid from
5d. to 8d. an hour, according to their skill. The hours of work are
usually nine a day, from 8.30 to 1, and from 2 to 6.30.
_Jewel Case Makers._--The apprenticeship for lining jewel cases is
generally four years without premium. The first year the girls receive
no salary; the second, 3s. a week; the third, 5s.; and the fourth
year, 8s. weekly. The average wages after that time are from 18s. to
30s. a week, and work is very regular and certain, although the trade
is small. For covering cases the apprenticeship is three years. Wages
begin after the first six months, at 3s., rising until during the
last six months of their time they receive 8s. a week. Their earnings
afterwards are from 14s. to 22s. a week. The hours of work are from
8.30 till 8. Saturdays until 4.
_Gold and Silver Burnishing._--Girls are apprenticed to this trade
generally for three years, sometimes paying a small premium, sometimes
none at all. They give their services for the first year, and are
generally paid 3s. or 4s. a week the second; and from 8s. to 10s. the
third. After that time their wages are from 14s. to 18s. a week, but
a really good burnisher, if she could get sufficient gilt-work to do,
would make as much as 25s. a week. The hours of work are from 9 till 8;
an hour allowed for dinner, and half an hour for tea. They are expected
to provide their own tools at a cost of from £3 to £5, but these will
last a life-time, and improve by using.
_Dentistry._--Manufacturing dentists employ girls in making false
teeth. The wages are generally from 15s. to 18s. a week. An
apprenticeship of from 18 months to two years is necessary, and the
premium greatly depends upon the position of the dentist. Some are glad
to teach girls simply for their services.
_Map Mounting._--Mounting maps is tolerably easy work, and requires
no special knowledge, only great care and neatness. Employment can be
obtained from map-shops, and the wages are usually about 15s. a week.
_Concertina Makers._--Manufacturers of concertinas employ girls at
about 25s. a week wages. An apprenticeship of a year is necessary. The
premium is £10 10s.
* * * * *
Addresses of manufacturers of all the things I have mentioned will be
found in the Post Office Directory.