A multitude of minor professions such as this one still existed in Middle Eastern cities, towns and villages during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The public scribe provided his services to illiterate people who were not able to understand or draft a letter, or who needed administrative advice.

A multitude of minor professions such as this one still existed in Middle Eastern cities, towns and villages during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This traditional water carrier would have fetched water from a fountain, well or spring and carried it to the upper storeys of buildings for people to buy.

A multitude of minor professions such as this one still existed in Middle Eastern cities, towns and villages during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Merchants like this one sold various refreshing drinks such as coconut juice or lemonade in cafes or on the street.

With increasing mechanisation, impoverished European women began working in factories such as this textile mill, where they were standing up all day in front of their looms.

In Arab and Ottoman cities, very few women worked publicly in the 19th century. This makes it difficult to find images of women at work, except in the countryside, where they were engaged in traditional agricultural or animal-rearing activities. Here, an Algerian woman grinds wheat in a wooden mortar.