Pony Express. Typewriters. Hula Hoops. Horse and carriages. In the past and not coming back. So are some jobs now. YOURS?

Hmm. How do we know horse and carriage aren't coming back?

Good question!

I have been retired for 3 years now, but thinking back over the work I did in various  companies I think much of my work would adapt but would not disappear.

Also some ancient trades as in your examples have found new, but very small-scale leases of life. Some of that is driven by a wish to have something unusual or unique made by skilled people rather than just bland mass-produced items. Being surrounded by the latter, has if anything encouraged the desire for something of obvious quality, made by obvious skill - the personal touch.

I don't agree with the "snob appeal" phrase - some wealthy buyers may be snobs but you don't need be a snob to be able to afford a horse and carriage or anything else individual. You just need to be well-off! I have a friend who owned two horses and she is by no means snobbish, but she did tell me it is an expensive hobby. (She was a teacher, her husband an IT manager in a scientific establishment - both now retired.)

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There are carriage-makers now, but in a very small, specialist trade; limited mainly to carriages used for ceremonies like weddings, and certain equestrian sports.   The physical act of making the vehicle does not involve many processes and techniques not found anywhere else. In fact it would be much quicker and easier than in ages past thanks to power tools and machines - though you still need to be skilled to use them properly.

Not sufficient numbers for production-line manufacture though - which does mean a lot of skilled hand-work helped by machine-tools. I doubt any carriage's designs are patented, or if an older one had some patented feature that would have lapsed long ago.

Breeding suitable horses? Yes - horses are bred for draught work, others for pleasure-riding, as well as racing. This means the saddler and the farrier as well as breeder are still important.

 Not long ago I saw a funeral procession with a splendid horse-drawn hearse on the main road near my home. I don't think my last journey will quite that ostentatious though!


So whilst a lot of trades are disappearing or drastically changing, it's surprising and heartening to know just what old trades still survive or have even been rejuvenated, modified where necessary - the modern wainwright uses up-to-date woodworking machine-tools, the saddler uses electric cutting and sewing-machines. 

And I cannot imagine robots replacing the thatcher, or digging holes in the street to repair a water-main among a lot of other pipes and cables!
 
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