 It was believed during the mid @-@ 19th century that wife selling was restricted to the lowest levels of labourers , especially to those living in remote rural areas , but an analysis of the occupations of husbands and purchasers reveals that the custom was strongest in " proto @-@ industrial " communities . Of the 158 cases in which occupation can be established , the largest group ( 19 ) was involved in the livestock or transport trades , 14 worked in the building trade , 5 were blacksmiths , 4 were chimney @-@ sweeps , and 2 were described as gentlemen , suggesting that wife selling was not simply a peasant custom . The most high @-@ profile case was that of Henry Brydges , 2nd Duke of Chandos , who is reported to have bought his second wife from an ostler in about 1740 . 
