Iceman (occupation)

An iceman is someone who sells or delivers ice from a wagon, cart, or motor-truck.

From the late 19th century to mid-20th century, in cities and towns icemen would commonly make daily rounds delivering ice for iceboxes before the electric domestic refrigerator became commonplace.

The tools of the iceman were wires (to tie the bags of cubes), hooks, tongs, and ice picks.

As Arthur Miller recalls in his autobiography Timebends, "icemen had leather vests and a wet piece of sackcloth slung over the right shoulder, and once they had slid the ice into the box, they invariably slipped the sacking off and stood there waiting, dripping, for their money.

[citation needed] Media related to Icemen at Wikimedia Commons