Rag & bone man

[JanetA]

Where does "rag and bone man" originate from and what does it really mean because they collected rags and scrap but not bones.

[shaneystar2]

They collected bones for making glue etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rag_and_bone_man

[crystalglobe]

In the 19th centuary,they did actually collect bones which were sold to the glue factory.