If you were living in the 19th century, before the age of reliable and affordable alarm clocks, how could you be ensured of getting up on time, and being at your workplace? Hire a knocker-up, of course. That’s if you lived in Britain or Ireland. Knockers-up were employed from the time of the Industrial Revolution up until (in places such as Manchester) as late as the 1950s. Here are a few rare photographs of knockers-up knocking up. Also known as “human alarm clocks” they would use sticks, clubs, pebbles or pea shooters to knock on clients’ door and windows. I wonder who woke them up?
History Undusted 