A name given in the shoemaking trade, to a shoemaker who works in his own house, executing contracts for the shops, or disposing of the produce of his work to them.
1833. North Wales Chron., 10 Dec., 4/4. The plaintiff, however, was not a journeyman, but what was called in that trade a chamber-master; he finished a piece of work, and was paid for his labour.
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Labour (ed. 2), II. 343. The chamber-master in the shoe trade making up his own materials.
1888. Jrnl. Soc. Arts, 3 Feb., 284/2. Even in first grade boots, a certain amount of work … is given out by the shopkeeper to contractors, called ‘chamber-masters.’
Hence Chamber-master v., -ing vbl. sb.
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Labour, II. 353. Now, three daughters, my wife, and myself work together in chamber-mastering.
