Pig, cow, and poultry offal. The tripeiro was a typical figure of Rio de Janeiro's urban landscape in the 19th century and much of the 20th. He would go around the city with his little cart, leaving behind a trail of blood that, over time, became unacceptable — as did the other unsanitary conditions of this type of trade. In 1960, new legislation forced the carts to become more sophisticated and sealed. But it was no use: the tripeiros gradually died out.
Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of two men standing side by side against a plain background. The man on the left is wearing black trousers and a plaid shirt, holding a large wicker basket over his head with both hands. A bird is perched on the basket. The man on the right, wearing white trousers and a hat, is holding a live animal in his hands. Both are looking directly at the camera.Foto: Marc Ferrez - Vendedores de aves - 1895
The milkman and the baker need no introduction. The knife grinder, however, had a distinctive trait among the trades offered door-to-door: music. Turned into an improvised instrument, the friction of the knife against the grindstone, done rhythmically, reproduced club anthems, modinhas, and marchinhas, announcing the knife grinder's passage through the street.
The lambe-lambe photographer was another figure who was part of the Rio landscape. Their box-shaped cameras, covered in leather or wood and with their sides turned into photo displays, stood ready in squares and boulevards to capture family poses or scenes of tourists in postcards. The reason for their disappearance from public spaces is clear: they were undermined by technology. To this day, however, some old trades still endure on the streets of Rio, albeit more discreetly, as is the case with chair caners and the kombi vans that drive around the suburbs selling products such as eggs, bread, and pamonha.
