Not a direct ancestor, but the husband of my Great-Grand-Aunt (who was twin sister to my Great-Grandmother) — Frank Edward Slate, whose family is still proving somewhat elusive (can't find the documentation, even though some of it is in the post-1937 period where it became mandatory to register).
The earliest noted occupation for Frank was as a Bookbinder's Forwarder (em'ee) in London. (That (em'ee) had me bamboozled for a while, until I found out it designated an employee, rather than owner/employer.) Ten years later and Frank is a Book Binder, now in Essex. From information so far, it seems the family have a history of being in the bookbinding trade, as several of them show with that as occupation.
I found this interesting for two reasons; firstly because love books. I love to own books. It hurts me when I see a book mistreated (deliberately, not through years of being read (that's loving the book)). The second reason is because, way back in the pre-Dark Ages, when I was fresh out of school and determined to help my mother pay the bills (I left school because I decided she could not afford to send two teenagers to High School, but it was something I never discussed with her at the time .. years later, yes, but that becomes part of a different story), I applied for work as a trainee bookbinder. I had seen an ad in the paper for this position and, in my innocence, thought I would be sure to get such a job because of my love for books. Little did I know (as a naĂŻve 15 1/2 year old) that you didn't just interview and say how much you love something. They look for experience and references; and I had neither. There were also probably dozens of equally hopeful people interviewing for that same job, only one or two of whom would be the chosen.
So, finding the census for Frank, that told me he had worked at something I would have loved, made me happy. (And, of course, I had to go find an image of a bookbinder for the occupation sticker!)
Now all I need is to find the documentation for the rest of his family, so I can see just how far back they go as bookbinders.
[Week 35: 35th participation post . . AND I remembered to actually link to the profile!]