The Railway Porter by C Slowman
Promotional music sheet cover for The Railway Porter music hall song of 1864 by C. Slowman and sung by Arthur Lloyd. The development of the railways was one of the most important innovations of the Victorian period and music hall songs celebrated railway personalities as cheerful, though not always hardworking, characters that all their audiences would recognise. It was accepted that porters would get tips from the passengers and that the other workers did not get this perk and so porters wages were low. The leisured classes could pay a porter to keep a carriage door locked so that no other passengers could sit there and porters could also receive money for carrying luggage, obtaining travelling rugs and looking after animals. This Alfred Concanen illustration shows a slightly harassed-looking porter trying to negotiate with passengers whilst pushing a trolley loaded with their luggage
