![Link-Extinguishers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Link-Extinguishers.jpg)
A link-boy (or link boy or linkboy) was a
boy
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is ...
who carried a flaming
torch
A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. I ...
to
light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...
the way for
pedestrians
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
at night. Linkboys were common in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in the days before the introduction of
gas lighting
Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...
in the early to mid 19th century. The linkboy's fee was commonly one
farthing
Farthing or farthings may refer to:
Coinage
*Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny
** Half farthing (British coin)
** Third farthing (British coin)
** Quarter farthing (British coin)
* Farthing (English ...
, and the torch was often made from burning
pitch and
tow
Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. Th ...
.
Link-boys and their torches also accompanied litter vehicles, known as
sedan chairs, that were operated by chairmen.
[Bath Chronicle](_blank)
(2 December 2002) ''Sedan Chairs Ride Again.'' Page 21. Where possible, the link boys escorted the fares to the chairmen, the passengers then being delivered to the door of their lodgings.
Several houses in
Bath, UK, and many in London still have the link extinguishers on the exteriors, shaped like outsized candle snuffers ''(see image, right)''.
The term derives from "link", a term for the
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
tow that formed the
wick
Wick most often refers to:
* Capillary action ("wicking")
** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp
** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts
Wick or WICK may also refer to:
Places and placename ...
of the torch. Links are mentioned in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Henry IV, part 1'', as
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
teases
Bardolph about the
shining redness of his face:
:"''Thou hast saved me a thousand marks in links and torches, walking with thee in the night betwixt tavern and tavern.''" (Act III, scene 3)
Sir
Joshua Reynolds painted ''Cupid as a Link Boy'', now held by the
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. the museum's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It hosted e ...
in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
. In that painting, little Cupid as a London linkboy wears demonic bat wings and an immense phallic torch to "remind those in the know of the proclivities of a certain patron." Another appears in the first plate of
William Hogarth
William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...
's ''
The Four Stages of Cruelty
''The Four Stages of Cruelty'' is a series of four printed engravings published by English artist William Hogarth in 1751. Each print depicts a different stage in the life of the fictional Tom Nero.
Beginning with the torture of a dog as a ch ...
'', putting out the eyes of a bird using a hot needle heated in the flame of his torch. Hogarth depicts a linkboy again, in plate four, ''Night'', of his ''
Four Times of the Day
''Four Times of the Day'' is a series of four oil paintings by English artist William Hogarth. They were completed in 1736 and in 1738 were reproduced and published as a series of four engravings. They are humorous depictions of life in the s ...
'', this time huddled beneath a bench blowing on his torch.
In the mid-eighteenth century Laurence Casey, who was known as ''Little Cazey'', became the personal linkboy of the famous courtesan
Betty Careless
Betty Careless or Betsy Careless (–1739) was a notorious prostitute and later bagnio-owner in 18th-century London. Probably born Elizabeth Carless (though she later used the name Mrs. Elizabeth Biddulph), she adapted her name to better suit her ...
, and gained something of reputation as a troublemaker. He features in
Louis Peter Boitard's 1739 picture ''The Covent Garden Morning Frolick'', leading the sedan chair containing Betty and being ridden by
Captain "Mad Jack" Montague (seafaring brother of the
Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...
).
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
considered Montague, his companion Captain Laroun, and Casey "the three most troublesome and difficult to manage of all my Bow Street visitors". Casey was eventually transported to America in 1750.
In
thieves' cant
Thieves' cant (also known as thieves' argot, rogues' cant, or peddler's French) is a cant, cryptolect, or argot which was formerly used by thieves, beggars, and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English- ...
, a linkboy was known as a "Glym Jack" ("glym" meant "light") or a "moon-curser" (as their services would not be required on a
moonlit night). Employing a linkboy could be dangerous, as some would lead their clients to dark alleyways, where they could be beset by
footpad
In archaic terminology, a footpad is a robber or thief specialising in pedestrian victims. The term was used widely from the 16th century until the 19th century, but gradually fell out of common use. A footpad was considered a low criminal, as opp ...
s.
[''1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue]
'' Grose, et al. originally published in 1811. Hosted on Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
.
Linkboys make brief appearances in the novels of
William Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and th ...
and
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, and are mentioned by
Samuel Pepys
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
'. Pepys's diary entry of 10 September 1661 mentions Pepys's use of a linkboy to light his way home along the streets of London. in his diary. An anonymous illustrated serial novel, ''The Link Boy of Old London'', was published in the
penny dreadful
Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to ...
''Boys Standard'' from 4 November 1882.
The expression "cannot hold a candle to" (meaning "inferior to") may derive from a comparison to an inadequate linkboy.
Glossary of Colloquialisms
'. Belinsky, Natalya. Part o
the Fluent English Educational Project
Hosted on TranslationDirectory.com[Upendran, S. (21 August 2001) '']The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' ''Know your English.'' (answering "What is the meaning and origin of the expression "Can't hold a candle to someone"? (T.D.V. Raman, Chennai)") During the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
, a person walking home after dark typically would have hired a linkboy to light the way with a candle or torch – then considered a low-status position.
[Roeper, Richard. (13 January 1987) South Florida Sun-Sentinel "20/20 Answers." Features livestyle section, page 1E (from the ]Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
) If you could not hold a candle to somebody, that means you were not even good enough to be their linkboy.
References
External links
Reynolds' ''Cupid as a Link Boy''from The Georgian Index
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Link-Boy
Child labour
Obsolete occupations
Lighting
Servants