The world of work is ever-evolving, with new jobs blooming while others fade into the pages of history. These 22 “lost professions” offer a glimpse into a bygone era, reminding us how much society has changed.
Lamplighters
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-lamplighter.jpg)
Editorial credit: Yogi555 / Wikimedia Commons /CC BY-SA 3.0
Before electric lights, these dedicated souls traversed city streets, lighting and extinguishing gas lamps to illuminate the night. Imagine the clatter of their ladders and the soft glow of flickering gas, a scene forever etched in Charles Dickens’s novels.
Town Criers
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-Town-Crier.jpg)
Editorial credit: Charles Green /Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The human megaphones of yore town criers announced important news and decrees with booming voices, captivating audiences in town squares before newspapers and radio waves dominated communication.
Milkmen
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/milk.jpg)
Editorial credit: Stephen Barnes / Shutterstock.
The familiar clinking of glass bottles on doorsteps is a distant memory for many. Milkmen delivered fresh dairy products door-to-door, a role replaced by supermarkets and refrigerated trucks.
Switchboard Operators
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Editorial credit: Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle / Wikimedia Commons /CC BY 2.0
Connecting callers through a maze of blinking lights and tangled wires, these human switchboards facilitated communication before automated systems and mobile technology took over.
Pinsetters
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Pinsetter.jpg)
Editorial credit: Lewis Wickes Hine /Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Before automated lanes, pinsetters in bowling alleys manually reset fallen pins, a physically demanding yet satisfying job that’s become a relic of the past.
Elevator Operators
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Elevator-Operator.jpg)
Editorial credit: Ned Snowman / Shutterstock.
In the gilded age of elevators, skilled operators whisked passengers between floors with grace and aplomb, adding a touch of luxury to the vertical journey.
Typewriters
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Typewriter.jpg)
Editorial credit: 4Max / Shutterstock.
The rhythmic clatter of typewriters once filled offices with skilled typists meticulously transcribing words onto paper. Today, keyboards reign supreme, leaving typewriters to museums and vintage film sets.
Ice cutters
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Ice-cutters.jpg)
Editorial credit: John Boyd /Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
In a pre-refrigerator era, ice cutters harvested frozen lakes and rivers, storing the ice in insulated houses to keep perishable goods cool. Their trade melted away with the rise of electric refrigerators.
Human Calculators
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Editorial credit: Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock.
Before computers crunched numbers, human calculators performed complex calculations by hand, often for scientific or engineering purposes. Their mental math skills were astounding but, thankfully, no longer a necessity.
Carriage Drivers
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Horse-carriage-driver.jpg)
Editorial credit: STUDIO BONOBO TOSHIO S / Shutterstock.
The clip-clop of horses and the crack of whips marked the transportation scene before automobiles. Carriage drivers navigated city streets and countryside roads, offering rides and deliveries in a slower, more romantic era.
Proofreaders
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Historian-reading-an-ancient-book.jpg)
Editorial credit: Ollyy / Shutterstock.
While some publishing houses still employ proofreaders, AI tools and spell checkers are becoming increasingly popular. This technology frees human proofreaders to focus on more complex tasks like stylistic consistency, fact-checking, and overall text flow.
Telegraph Operators
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Telegraph-Operators.jpg)
Editorial credit: Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures / Wikimedia Commons /CC BY-SA 3.0
Sending and receiving messages through Morse code, telegraph operators connected the world before telephones and the internet. Their skills are now lost to most, a reminder of the evolution of communication.
Cobblers
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Cobblers.jpg)
Editorial credit: United States Library of Congress /Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The rhythmic tap-tap-tap of hammers repairing shoes once echoed from street corners. Cobblers were skilled in mending leather and restoring worn footwear, a craft largely replaced by mass-produced shoes and disposable culture. While there will be a handful of cobblers working today, most people will rather pay for a new pair of shoes than pay the high cost to repair old ones.
Lantern Makers
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Lantern.jpg)
Editorial credit: Thierry from Gif-sur-Yvette / Wikimedia Commons /CC BY 2.0
Before electric streetlights, lantern makers crafted and maintained oil-powered lamps illuminating roads and alleys. Their intricate designs and flickering flames painted a distinctly historical streetscape that you don’t get with modern street lighting.
Knife Sharpeners
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Knife-Sharpeners.jpg)
Editorial credit: William Edward Fretwell /Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The rhythmic whirring of their grinding wheels was a familiar sound in towns and villages. Knife sharpeners kept blades honed and ready for everyday tasks, a trade now often replaced by disposable kitchen tools.
Type Setters
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Type-Setters.jpg)
Editorial credit: Willi Heidelbach / Wikimedia Commons /
CC BY 2.5
In the age of printing presses, typesetters meticulously arranged metal letters to form words and pages. Their skill and precision created the physical foundation of printed materials, a role overtaken by digital publishing.
Street Sweepers
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/sweeper.jpg)
Editorial credit: Goami / Shutterstock.
Before mechanized cleaners, street sweepers kept cities tidy with brooms and carts. A Street sweeper’s hard work ensured clean streets, although their role has largely been absorbed by modern sanitation equipment.
Rat Catchers
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rat-Catchers.jpg)
Editorial credit: Mayhew, H. /Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
These vermin exterminators, often depicted in literature and cartoons, played a crucial role in pest control before modern poisons and sanitation practices. Their work was vital, but they could have been more glamorous. These days, there will be a small number of pest control officers on local councils but most rats will be caught be private companies or homeowners themselves.
Chimney Sweeps
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Chimney-Sweeps.jpg)
Editorial credit: Axel Swinhufvud / CC BY 4.0/ Wikimedia Commons
Climbing narrow chimneys to clear soot and debris, these daring individuals faced a dangerous and dirty job. Fortunately, improved chimney design and modern heating systems have rendered them unnecessary.
Linen Drapers
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Linen-Drapers.jpg)
Editorial credit: Adriaen van Bloemen /Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Before washing machines and tumble dryers, linen drapers specialized in washing, drying, and ironing bedsheets and other linens. Their meticulous work is now a quaint historical footnote that only baby boomers will have knowledge of.
Video Store Clerks
![](https://finetunedfinances.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Blank-DVD-video-cases.jpg)
Editorial credit: HSNphotography / Shutterstock.
The explosion of streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ has drastically changed how people watch entertainment. Consumers no longer need to physically visit a store to rent movies or DVDs, leading to a significant decline in foot traffic and demand for video store clerks.
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