According to birth records, one of my husband's ancestors was a picture hawker in Glasgow in the late 1890s to early 20th century. He was Jewish and lived in the Gorbals. Can anyone give me some insight into what a picture hawker actually did in that time period?
Thanks, Ketzel
picture hawker
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Currie
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Re: picture hawker
Hello Ketzel,
Probably a door to door or street salesman selling pictures of any kind for which there was a market, either of the framed or unframed variety.
In the 1890s a picture hawker in Yorkshire summonsed a dozen people for arrears on ‘easy payments’ for pictures of Mr Gladstone. It’s unclear if they were framed but they appear to have been lithographs of the hangable variety.
In Bristol in 1879 a picture hawker’s wife and her rival got into a scuffle over the husband “the glass of the pictures and the plates themselves sharing very badly in the meantime”
In Birmingham in 1876 there’s mention of picture hawkers waiting till the master of the house was away before tempting the women with their wares, leaving the goods on approval, and then not returning until the pictures had become incorporated into the decorative scheme. Purchase by low deposit and instalments with interest appears to have been common. Husbands behaving badly on news of the Hawker's visit also appears to have been common.
“London Labour and the London Poor”, 1851, p304-305, refers to an earlier period but will give you some background. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=vnR ... J&pg=PA304
All the best,
Alan
Probably a door to door or street salesman selling pictures of any kind for which there was a market, either of the framed or unframed variety.
In the 1890s a picture hawker in Yorkshire summonsed a dozen people for arrears on ‘easy payments’ for pictures of Mr Gladstone. It’s unclear if they were framed but they appear to have been lithographs of the hangable variety.
In Bristol in 1879 a picture hawker’s wife and her rival got into a scuffle over the husband “the glass of the pictures and the plates themselves sharing very badly in the meantime”
In Birmingham in 1876 there’s mention of picture hawkers waiting till the master of the house was away before tempting the women with their wares, leaving the goods on approval, and then not returning until the pictures had become incorporated into the decorative scheme. Purchase by low deposit and instalments with interest appears to have been common. Husbands behaving badly on news of the Hawker's visit also appears to have been common.
“London Labour and the London Poor”, 1851, p304-305, refers to an earlier period but will give you some background. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=vnR ... J&pg=PA304
All the best,
Alan
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Ketzel
- Posts: 37
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Re: picture hawker
That's incredibly useful, Alan. Thanks so much!
Ketzel
Ketzel