A black substance or polish used historically to clean and shine boots and shoes, or the act of applying this substance.
From the verb 'black,' with the '-ing' suffix. The product was originally made from soot, bone black, or tar. Charles Dickens famously worked in a blacking factory as a child.
Young Charles Dickens worked in a blacking factory, and that traumatic experience inspired his writing about working-class children—it shows how historical jobs can shape great literature!
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