Knocker Up 002

Smith studio image of a knocker-up at work. In the days before clockwork alarm clocks, millworkers relied on the knocker-up's long pole scratching at the window to wake them up. This image is clearly staged to show the person behind the window is indicating she has no work to go to during an employer lockout. Cotton employers sometimes attempted to cut wages during a downturn in trade, using the 'lockout' as the ultimate weapon until workers agreed to a wage reduction. The original photograph is thought to have been taken in the Audley area, where Smith's studio was also located. Whoever wrote the picture caption obviously thought it funny. The millworkers themselves may have thought differently.