Meat Hook Collection

The Meat Seller, from a book on the street calls of Peking, c.1785 (w/c & gouache on paper)
CHT206322 The Meat Seller, from a book on the street calls of Peking, c.1785 (w/c & gouache on paper) by Chinese School (18th century); Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

Still Life, c1625. Creator: Alonso de Escobar
Still Life, c1625

Improvements in Cookery (engraving)
1594222 Improvements in Cookery (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Improvements in Cookery. Illustration for The Pictorial Times, 18 July 1846)

Paris Shut (colour litho)
3620549 Paris Shut (colour litho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Paris Shut.); © Look and Learn

Jewish Butchers - Aldgate, 1872. Creator: Gustave Doré
Jewish Butchers-Aldgate, 1872. From, " LONDON. A Pilgrimage" by Gustave Dore and Blanchard Jerrold. [Grant and Co. 72-78, Turnmill Street, E.C. 1872]

Frozen Meat, 1923. Creator: Unknown
Frozen Meat, 1923. From " Australia, New Zealand and Oceania in Pictures", by H. Clive Barnard, M.A. Blitt. [A. & C. Black, Limited, London, 1923]

Dressing meat for sale, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. Artist: Michael Walters
Dressing meat for sale, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. At Schonhuts butchery factory in the village of Rawmarsh, near Rotherham

Schonhuts butchery factory, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. Artist: Michael Walters
Schonhuts butchery factory, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. showing an 800LB weighing scale, 1955. View inside Schonhuts butchery factory in the village of Rawmarsh, near Rotherham

Butchery factory, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. Artist: Michael Walters
Butchery factory, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. Interior of Schonhuts butchery factory in the village of Rawmarsh near Rotherham

Interior of a butchery factory, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. Artist: Michael Walters
Interior of a butchery factory, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, 1955. View inside Schonhuts butchery factory in the village of Rawmarsh near Rotherham showing pig carcasses hanging on meathooks

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From Gustave Doré's Parisian butchers of the 1800s to the modern meat factories of Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, the evolution of butchery is a fascinating journey. Improvements in cookery, as depicted in engravings, led to more efficient and hygienic methods. Color lithographs like Doré's "Jewish Butchers - Aldgate, 1872," brought the process into people's homes. By the 1900s, advancements in technology and refrigeration, as seen in the "Frozen Meat" image from 1923, revolutionized the industry. Michael Walters' depictions of Rawmarsh's butchery factories in the mid-1950s showcase the industrialization of meat production. Each era brought new innovations, from the disaster-prone "beaux disaster" of 1747 to the meticulous dressing and selling of meat. The hook, a constant in butchery, symbolizes the transformation of a traditional craft into a modern industry.