I think Klyd mentioned the rag man. We had a rag and bone man who used to come round on his cart and collect all the old crap left out in the streets.
A little off-topic for a second.... Kirk Douglas wrote a wonderful autobiography called "The Ragman's Son" (his father was a ragman). I'd recommend it highly to anyone who likes biographies! (My mother recommended it to me many years ago - her grandfather was a ragman when he first came to the U.S. in the late 1880's). Very good book!
