Drysalters were dealers in a range of chemical products, including glue, varnish, dye and colourings. They might supply salt or chemicals for preserving food and sometimes also sold pickles, dried meat or related items. The name ''drysalter'' or ''dry-salter'' was in use in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by the early 18th century when some drysalters concentrated on ingredients for producing dyes, and it was still current in the first part of the 20th century.

Background

Drysaltery is closely linked to the occupation of ''salter'' which in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

simply meant someone who traded in salt. By the end of the 14th century there was a guild of salters in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Later ''salter'' was also used to refer to people employed in a salt works, or in salting fish or meat, as well as to drysalters. In 1726,

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

described a tradesman involved in the "buying of

cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...

s, shumach,

logwood ''Haematoxylum campechianum'' (blackwood, bloodwood tree, bluewood, campeachy tree, campeachy wood, campeche logwood, campeche wood, Jamaica wood, logwood or logwood tree) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is na ...

fustic Fustic is a common name for several plants and a yellow dye produced from these plants: * '' Maclura tinctoria'' (dyer's mulberry or old fustic) and the yellow dye produced from its heartwood, principally the flavonol morin Morin is a surname of ...

madder ''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains ''Coffea'' (coffee). It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World. The genus and it ...

, and the like" as both dry-salter and salter. The Salters'

Livery Company A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...

tells us that "some of the members who were salt traders were also 'Drysalters' and dealt in

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

, logwood, cochineal,

potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

es and chemical preparations." Being a drysalter might be combined with manufacturing – paint, for example – or with trading as a chemist/druggist or ironmonger/hardware merchant. In contrast, a wet-salter could refer to a fish curer or to someone tanning leather by wet salting hides.

References

External links

John Lewis, wholesale drysalter, importer of glues, gelatines, goldleaf etc., 1889
*{{cite book, author-link= Michael Symmons Roberts , first = Michael Symmons , last = Roberts, year= 2013 , title = Drysalter; Jonathan Cape; (winner of the 2013 Costa Poetry Award , publisher = Jonathan Cape , isbn = 978-0-22409359-0 Obsolete occupations Sales occupations

Background

See also

References

Further reading

External links