WHO/WHAT AM I

I'd go for PIECENER / PIECER
a worker in a spinning mill to piece together any threads which broke

I don't think there's a specific job title for this kind of work in German. It's done by (textile) machine operators as said above. That's the umbrella term.
 
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I managed to reverse track the answer with "what's the name for someone who puts up ends in a textile mill?" but I think it's only because I was writing the answer previously. The first two autocompletes here for "what's the name for someone who" were 1: only eat white meat. 2: identifies as a cat.
I think these were because I recently googled crocodile pie and furballs.

I've also realized that i'm not in a position to say that Thomas' answers are not right. I'll cough up the original answer tomorrow if nobody has it by then.

Waulkmiller has something to due with fulling, which is cleaning. Fuller Brush Company!
 
Calling a tie between all participants. None of you got it but neither would I have, I think. Modern search tools are seeming to become very weak on social history - easy to discover stuff but increasingly hard to find it. The lady is a Doffer, and replaces those spools (doffs) as they fill. Precise and dangerous work because they don't slow the machine down while she does it. The job's now supposed to be historical but I bet they still do it by hand in India.

English article: Doffer - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doffer#:~:text=A%20doffer%20is%20someone%20who,the%20manufacture%20of%20spun%20textiles.
German word that seems closest: Kammwalze - Translation in LEO’s English ⇔ German Dictionary - https://dict.leo.org/german-english/Kammwalze

The english one explains the importance of the Throstle Jobber, but that's another story.

Next who/what for whoever jumps in first, if that's ok Richie.
 
Craig said 'reeler' which I think is closest after Thomas. I was shooting from the hip..

My 'dags' are the crap on the wool from sheeps' bottoms.

Oakham pickers came to mind too but that's the tar from old ropes. Workhouse stuff from Victorian England, worse than purgatory.

"Don't be a Dag" is an old Aussie phrase.
"Daggy " too. 'Those jeans on ya Shirly are awfully daggy.'
 
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Calling a tie between all participants. None of you got it but neither would I have, I think. Modern search tools are seeming to become very weak on social history - easy to discover stuff but increasingly hard to find it. The lady is a Doffer, and replaces those spools (doffs) as they fill. Precise and dangerous work because they don't slow the machine down while she does it. The job's now supposed to be historical but I bet they still do it by hand in India.

English article: Doffer - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doffer#:~:text=A%20doffer%20is%20someone%20who,the%20manufacture%20of%20spun%20textiles.
German word that seems closest: Kammwalze - Translation in LEO’s English ⇔ German Dictionary - https://dict.leo.org/german-english/Kammwalze

The english one explains the importance of the Throstle Jobber, but that's another story.

Next who/what for whoever jumps in first, if that's ok Richie.
Well, if that isn't specific, I don't know what is. :thumbsu:


"A doffer is someone who removes bobbins, pirns or spindles holding spun fiber such as cotton or wool from a spinning frame and replaces them with empty ones."
In this case wasn't it Richie who suggested she was a bobbin turner?:thumbsu:

My first assumption was right then: there's no German equivalent for the activity since it stands for a technical device or a part of it called peigneur which is a roller.

My other suggestion "piecer" seems to be correct as well.
"The team was reduced to one spinner and one piecer, with the position of doffer eliminated. ... Most of the remaining child workers were doffer boys."

Great stuff, Vince Vince ! I liked it.:thumbsu:
 
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I assume he also was Italian and not someone who merely lived in Italy. And when it comes to writers who experienced the turn of the centuries, the only one that springs to mind is Dante. Correct?
 
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