Assembling matchboxes at home

Matchbox-making was amongst the lowest paid work, and often undertaken by women and children working from home for up to 12 hours. The work involved pasting together strips of paper and wood, called skillets, to form lids and trays. For this workers received only tuppence ha'penny (two and a half pence) for every 144 boxes completed and had to supply their own paste and firewood to dry the boxes.

This image was one of a series taken by John Galt, a missionary with the London City Mission. His images helped to expose the hardship and the poor working conditions of those working in what were referred to as the 'sweated industries'.