What year would that be? What area does he live in - and what do the neighbours do for a living? There could be a few clues there. At first glance it looks as though he finished off curtains! Georgina 10821 Georgina Colwell www.musicair.co.uk www.musictheatrebritain.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Melody Richardson" <melodyr@vianet.ca> To: <SFHG@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 2:09 AM Subject: [SFHG] job description Hi Everyone: I've come across a job description for one of my ancestors in the Census. He was a drape dresser. I'm going out on a limb to assume that's not a fashion statement. Any suggestions what the dear man did for a living??? Melody Richardson Ontario, Canada ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SFHG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:37:41 +0100, Georgina Colwell <georgina@musicair.co.uk> wrote: > What year would that be? What area does he live in - and what do the > neighbours do for a living? There could be a few clues there. Agreed, more information needed. > At first glance it looks as though he finished off curtains! Be wary, that usage of 'drape' is very 'North American' and dates back only to c.1895 (according to the OED). It seems more likely, to me, that 'drape' refers to some specific variety of fabric and that 'dresser' refers to preparation for first (wholesale) sale. Some fabrics were, for instance, brushed (== dressed) after weaving. That said, I think there is also scope for it to be a (probably lightweight, ladies) cloak. regards, Malcolm, who might well be barking up the wrong tree ... > Georgina > 10821 > > Georgina Colwell > www.musicair.co.uk > www.musictheatrebritain.co.uk > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Melody Richardson" <melodyr@vianet.ca> > To: <SFHG@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 2:09 AM > Subject: [SFHG] job description > > > Hi Everyone: > I've come across a job description for one of my ancestors in the > Census. He was a drape dresser. I'm going out on a limb to assume that's > not a fashion statement. Any suggestions what the dear man did for a > living??? > > Melody Richardson > Ontario, Canada -- Malcolm Austen in Oxfordshire. Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/