Drysalter
Encyclopedia
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
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.
Drysaltery is closely linked to the occupation of salter which in the Middle Ages
simply meant someone who traded in salt. By the end of the 14th century there was a guild of salters
in London
. 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
described a tradesman involved in the "buying of cochineal
, indigo
, gall
s, shumach
, logwood
, fustick, madder
, and the like" as both dry-salter and salter. The Salters' Livery Company
tells us that "some of the members who were salt traders were also 'Drysalters' and dealt in flax
, hemp
, logwood, cochineal, potash
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.
or to someone tanning
leather by wet salting hides.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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.
Drysaltery is closely linked to the occupation of salter which in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
simply meant someone who traded in salt. By the end of the 14th century there was a guild of salters
Worshipful Company of Salters
The Worshipful Company of Salters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, 9th in order of precedence. The Company originated as the Guild of Corpus Christi, which was granted a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1559...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. 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
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
described a tradesman involved in the "buying of cochineal
Cochineal
The cochineal is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the crimson-colour dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico, this insect lives on cacti from the genus Opuntia, feeding on plant moisture and...
, indigo
Indigo dye
Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color . Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from plants, and this process was important economically because blue dyes were once rare. Nearly all indigo dye produced today — several thousand tons each year — is synthetic...
, gall
Gall
Galls or cecidia are outgrowths on the surface of lifeforms caused by invasion by other lifeforms, such as parasites or bacterial infection. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues and can be caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacteria, to insects and mites...
s, shumach
Japan wax
Japan wax is a pale-yellow, waxy, water-insoluble solid with a gummy feel, obtained from the berries of certain sumacs native to Japan and China, such as Rhus verniciflua and R. succedanea ....
, logwood
Logwood
Haematoxylum campechianum is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to southern Mexico and northern Central America. It has been and to a lesser extent remains of great economic importance. The modern nation of Belize grew from 17th century English logwood...
, fustick, madder
Madder
Rubia is a genus of the madder family Rubiaceae, which contains about 60 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and sub-shrubs native to the Old World, Africa, temperate Asia and America...
, and the like" as both dry-salter and salter. The Salters' Livery Company
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
tells us that "some of the members who were salt traders were also 'Drysalters' and dealt in flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
, hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
, logwood, cochineal, potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
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.
Footnote
Wet-salter could refer to a fish curerCuring (food preservation)
Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...
or to someone tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
leather by wet salting hides.