A tallyman is an individual who keeps a numerical record with
tally marks
Tally marks, also called hash marks, are a unary numeral system ( arguably).
They are a form of numeral used for counting. They are most useful in counting or tallying ongoing results, such as the score in a game or sport, as no intermediate ...
, historically often on
tally stick
A tally stick (or simply tally) was an ancient memory aid device used to record and document numbers, quantities and messages. Tally sticks first appear as animal bones carved with notches during the Upper Palaeolithic; a notable example is the ...
s.
Vote counter
In
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, it is common for political parties to provide private observers when ballot boxes are opened. These ''tallymen'' keep a
tally of the preferences of visible voting papers and allow an early initial estimate of which candidates are likely to win in the drawn-out
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
counting process. Since the public voting process is by then complete, it is usual for tallymen from different parties to share information.
Head counter
Another possible definition is a person who called to literally do a head count, presumably on behalf of either the town council or the house owners. This is rumoured to have occurred in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, in the years after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Mechanical
tally counter
A tally counter is a mechanical, electronic, or software device used to incrementally count something, typically fleeting. One of the most common things tally counters are used for is counting people, animals, or things that are coming and going fr ...
s can make such head counts easier, by removing the need to make any marks.
Debt collector
In poorer parts of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
(including the north and the
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
of
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
), the tallyman was the
hire purchase
A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset pl ...
collector, who visited each week to collect the payments for goods purchased on the 'never never', or hire purchase. These people still had such employment up until the 1960s.
The title ''tallyman'' extended to the keeper of a village
pound as animals were often held against debts, and tally sticks were used to prove they could be released.
In popular culture
* "'The tallyman,' Mum told me, 'slice off the top of the stems of the bunches as they take them in. Then him count the little stubs he just sliced off and pay the farmer.'" explains a Ms. Wade in Andrea Levy’s novel "Fruit of the Lemon".
*
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
addresses the tallyman in "
The Banana Boat Song
"Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" is a traditional Jamaican folk song. The song has mento influences, but it is commonly classified as an example of the better known calypso music.
It is a call and response work song, from the point of view of ...
."
* In 1967
Graham Gouldman
Graham Keith Gouldman (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the co-lead singer and bassist of the art rock band 10cc. He has been the band's only constant member since its formation in 1972. Before 10cc ...
wrote a song called "Tallyman," which was recorded by
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
and reached #30 on the British charts.
* Heavy metal singer
Udo Dirkschneider
Udo Dirkschneider (born 6 April 1952) is a German singer and songwriter who rose to fame with German heavy metal band Accept. After leaving the band in 1987, he formed U.D.O., with which he has also enjoyed commercial success.
Biography
Fo ...
produced a song called "Tallyman."
* The
Tally Man
The Tally Man is the name of two fictional characters in the DC Universe. Both characters are supervillains.
Fictional character biographies Original Tally Man
The few glimpses provided into the Tally Man's past reveal a tragic childhood. Starv ...
is the name of two super villains in the
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
, usually enemies of
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
. The original was a "collector" of human lives, having killed a criminal debt collecter in his boyhood.
* The credit information company Experian Tallyman markets
debt collection
Debt collection is the process of pursuing payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a collection agency or debt collector. Most collection agencies operate as agents of ...
management software called Tallyman, a product originally purchased from Talgentra.
Experian Acquires Tallyman Collections Software
Retrieved on 2009-01-23
* The Tallyman appears in the Charmed (2018 TV series)
''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O'Toole, and Amy Rardin. It is a reboot of the WB series of the same name, created by Constance M. Burge, which originally aired from 1998 to ...
.
See also
* Tally
References
Numeral systems