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“Procession of Victuallers” (after John Lewis Krimmel) by Joseph Yeager, Philadelphia, PA, 1821.
Credit: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
In the early 1800s, many skilled workers organized through traditional trade guilds. In March, 1821, the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Butchers or Victuallers staged a parade to honor their profession. Accompanied by musical bands, more than 200 butchers marched with 100 carts carrying cattle, 42 oxen, 20 hogs, 19 sheep, 5 bear cubs, and 2 fawns. At the end of the parade, the victuallers butchered the live stock, which yielded 86,731 pounds of meat and demonstrated the number, beauty and quality of meat available in the city of Philadelphia.