A host of trades were available to the working-class Victorian. Indeed, part of the whole controversy over "women's work" was the concept of the well bred gentlewoman becoming involved in "trade." Trade wasn't just a job, it was a class. People of the upper classes weren't supposed to be involved in "trade" - and tradesmen were expected to remember their place and never aspire to being a part of the upper classes. While many Victorian jobs have gone the way of buggy whip manufacturing, most of the trades and professions listed here are still active today.

Dressmaking & Millinery

From Our Shop (Demorest, 1874)

A day in a dressmaker's shop.

A Song of a Skirt, by Olive Logan (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1877)

A woman sets out to give her dressmaking patronage to a poor, deserving dressmaker - and discovers there may be a reason why so many dressmakers are poor...

A Contrast (Girl's Own Paper, 1880)

A parable on the working conditions of dressmakers.

Gentlewomen as Dressmakers, by Elizabeth Lisle (Girl's Own Paper, 1881)

"Let us consider for a moment the average middle-class dressmaker -- the person who asks from 15s to £2 for making an ordinary gown..."

The Emancipation of Seamstresses, by Anne Beale (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

Millinery as a Career in Life (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

Dressmaking as a Trade in Life (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

How the Other Half Lives: The Dressmaker's Apprentice, by Elizabeth L. Banks (English Illustrated Magazine, 1895B)

Dressmakers and Milliners at Work and at Leisure (Girl's Own Paper, 1896)

Wholesale Millinery, by Gertrude Bacon (Lady's Realm, 1901)

Factory Work

Girls' Work and Workshops, by Ruth Lamb (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

"In what number of handicraft trades are girls employed, and almost every fresh invention finds them more work to do." This multi-part article looks at girls working in cotton mills, lace factories, and silk mills; as sewing machinists and needleworkers; as makers of braid and trim; and as blacksmiths!

Salt-Making in South Durham (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883)

People Who Face Death in the Powder Mills, by A.E. Bonser (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

The Cinderellas of the National Household: Jute Girls in the East End, by Lloyd Lester (Girl's Own Paper, 1896)

Details of work in the jute factories.

The Cinderellas of the National Household: The Match-Makers of East London, by Lloyd Lester (Girl's Own Paper, 1896)

The match-making industry employed over 1000 women and girls, as well as out-sourcing "match box-making" to women working from home!

Life in a Lancashire Cotton Mill, by John Foster Fraser (Windsor Magazine, 1899B)

Engineering

How to Become an Engineer (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

A Conversazione of Telegraph Engineers (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

A look into the migratory life of the telegraph engineer employed by the submarine companies.

On Submarine Telegraph Service, by J. Munro (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

Six Months in a School of Telegraphy (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

How to Become a Mechanical Engineer, by William H. Rideing (Scribner's, 1879B)

Career advice for "the boys of the family."

The Profession of Electrical Engineering, by J. Munro (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1891)

Women as Telegraphers (Ladies' Home Journal, 1892)

Two articles on the topic, one by a woman operator and one from a man's standpoint (both positive).

Law

How to Become a Barrister by A.D. Tyssen (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

How to Become a Solicitor (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

Lawyers' Morals (Century Magazine, 1885A)

Recommendations as to what these should be!

Advice to a Young Lawyer (Century Magazine, 1896A)

A recently discovered package of letters with advice from Webster, Calhoun and others on the best course of study for a young lawyer.

The Bar as a Profession, by the Lord Chief Justice of England (The Strand, 1896A)

Railroad Work

A Cherub Up Aloft (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

The life of the railway signalman who keeps watch "from above."

How to Obtain a Clerkship in the Railway Service (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1879)

Railway Relief Associations, by L.O. Goddard (Century Magazine, 1889A)

Engine Drivers and Their Work, by Alfred Story (The Strand, 1894B)

People Who Face Death: Railway Men, by Henry Frith (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1894)

Railroad Employee Relief Associations, by Albert S. Bolles (Century Magazine, 1898B)

Interesting statistics on railroad pensions.