Есіктен есікке сатушы

Door to door salesperson

A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a chapman, packman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, (coster)monger, colporteur or solicitor (not in Britain), is a door to door and/or travelling vendor of goods. In 19th century America the word "drummer" was often used to refer to a peddler or traveling salesman; as exemplified in the popular play Sam'l of Posen; or, The Commercial Drummer by George H. Jessop. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages. In London, more specific terms were used, such as costermonger. From antiquity, peddlers filled the gaps in the formal market economy by providing consumers with the convenience of door to door service. They operated alongside town markets and fairs where they often purchased surplus stocks which were subsequently resold to consumers. Peddlers were able to distribute goods to the more geographically isolated communities such as those who lived in mountainous regions of Europe. They also called on consumers who, for whatever reason, found it difficult to attend town markets. Thus, peddlers played an important role in linking these consumers and regions to wider trade routes. Some peddlers worked as agents or travelling salesmen for larger manufacturers and so were the precursor to the modern travelling salesman. Images of peddlers feature in literature and art from as early as the 12th century. Such images were very popular with the genre and Orientalist painters and photographers of the 18th and the 19th centuries. Some imagery depicts peddlers in a pejorative manner, and others portray idealised romantic visions of peddlers at work.

The origin of the word, known in English since 1225, is uncertain, but is possibly an Anglicised version of the French pied, Latin pes, pedis "foot", referring to a petty trader travelling on foot. A peddler, under English law, is defined as: "any hawker, pedlar, petty chapman, tinker, caster of metals, mender of chairs, or other person who, without any horse or other beast bearing or drawing burden, travels and trades on foot and goes from town to town or to other men's houses, carrying to sell or exposing for sale any goods, wares, or merchandise immediately to be delivered, or selling or offering for sale his skill in handicraft." The main distinction between peddlers and other types of street vendor is that peddlers travel as they trade, rather than travel to a fixed place of trade. Peddlers travel around and approach potential customers directly whereas street traders set up a pitch or a stall and wait for customers to approach them. When not actually engaged in selling, peddlers are required to keep moving. Although peddlers may stop to make a sale, they are precluded from setting up a pitch or remaining in the same place for lengthy periods. Although peddlers normally travel by foot, there is no reason why they cannot use some means of assistance, such as a cart or a trolley, to assist in the transportation of goods.

Very few peddlers left written records. Many were illiterate and diaries are rare. Most peddlers handled cash transactions leaving behind few or no accounting records such as receipts, invoices or day books. However, a very small number of peddlers kept diaries and these can be used to provide an insight into the daily life of a peddler. Ephraim Lisitzky (1885 1962), an immigrant from Russia, arrived in the US in 1900 and took up peddling for a brief period following his arrival. His autobiography, published in 1959 under the title, In the Grip of the Cross Currents, describes his various encounters with householders and the difficulties he experienced making a sale as door after door was slammed in his face. After arriving in America in 1842, Abram Vossen Goodman also maintained a diary of his experiences, which has been published by the American Jewish Archives. Excerpts from the diary detail his experiences and thoughts about the life of a peddler. When, Goodman's initial attempts to find employment as a clerk were unsuccessful, he wrote on September 29, "I had to do as all the others; with a bundle on my back I had to go out into the country, peddling various articles." (p. 95) In the first few weeks, he found the lifestyle onerous, uncertain and solitary. "Can a man, in fact, be said to be "living" as he plods through the vast, remote country, uncertain even as to which farmer will provide him shelter for the coming night? In such an existence the single man gets along far better than the father of a family. Such fools as are married not only suffer themselves, but bring suffering to their women. How must an educated woman feel when, after a brief stay at home, her supporter and shelterer leaves with his pack on his back, not knowing where he will find lodging on the next night or the night after?" (p.96)

"Last week in the vicinity of Plymouth I met two peddlers, Lehman and Marx. Marx knew me from Furth, and that night we stayed together at a farmer's house. After supper we started singing, and I sat at the fireplace, thinking of all my past and of my family." (p.100)

[By October,1842 Goodman is travelling with a brother] "Not far from [Lunenburg] we were forced to stop on Wednesday because of the heavy snow. We sought to spend the night with a cooper, a Mr. Spaulding, but his wife did not wish to take us in. She was afraid of strangers, she might not sleep well; we should go our way. And outside there raged the worst blizzard I have ever seen After we had talked to this woman for half an hour, after repeatedly pointing out that to turn us forth into the blizzard would be sinful, we were allowed to stay." (p.101)

"On Monday morning, December 5th, we set out for Groton in a sleigh and at night stayed with an old farmer, about two miles from that place. It was a very satisfactory business day, and we took in about fifteen dollars After spending Wednesday in Milford, we traveled beyond on Thursday and Friday, spending Saturday at Amherst and Sunday at the home of Mr. Kendall in Mount Vernon. Business, thanks be to God, is satisfactory, and this week we took in more than forty five dollars. (p. 103)

"It is hard, very hard indeed, to make a living this way. Sweat runs down my body in great drops and my back seems to be breaking, but I cannot stop; I must go on and on, however far my way lies Times are bad; everywhere there is no money. This increases the hardship of life so that I am sometimes tempted to return to New York and to start all over again. (pp 107 108)

Today, peddlers continue to travel by foot, but also use bicycle, hand held carts, horse drawn carts or drays and motorized vehicles such as motor bikes as transport modes. To carry their wares, peddlers use purpose built back packs, barrows, hand carts or improvised carrying baskets. Rickshaw peddlers are a relatively common sight across Asia.

A number of countries have enacted laws to protect the rights of peddlers, and also to protect the public from the sale of inferior goods. In many states of the US, peddlers are required to apply for a license. India has special laws enacted, by the efforts of planners which give mongers higher rights as compared to other businessmen. For example, mongers have a right of way over motorized vehicles. In Britain, peddling is still governed by the Pedlars Act 1871, which provides for a "pedlar's certificate". Application is usually made to the police. In the late 20th century, the use of such certificates became rare as other civic legislation including the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1982 for England & Wales introduced a street trader's licence. As of 2008 the pedlar's certificates remain legal and in use, although several local councils have sought to eradicate peddlers by way of local bylaws or enforcement mechanisms such as making them apply for a street trader's licence.

Peddlers have been the subject of numerous paintings, sketches and watercolours in both Western art and in the Orient, where they depict familiar scenes of everyday life. Some of the earliest paintings of peddlers were made in China. The 12th century Chinese artist, Su Hanchen made several paintings of peddlers as did one of his contemporaries, Li Song, both of whom painted The Knick knack Peddler. The Wayfarer by Hieronymous Bosch is perhaps the most iconic image of a peddler. Painted in about 1500, the peddler in this painting wears a costume almost identical to thieves in other Bosch paintings. From the 18th century, engravings featuring peddlers and street vendors featured in numerous volumes dedicated to representations of street life. One of the first of such publications was a French publication, Etudes Prises Dans let Bas Peuple, Ou Les Cris de Paris (1737) (roughly translated as Studies Taken of the Lower People, Or The Cries of Paris). In 1757, the first English publication in this genre was The Cries of London Calculated to Entertain the Minds of Old and Young; illustrated in variety of copper plates neatly engrav'd with an emblematical description of each subject, was published. and followed by Cries of London (1775) These were followed by numerous illustrated works which continued into the 20th century. Bonnie Young has pointed out that the theme of the monkey and the peddler was relatively common in Medieval art across Europe. These scenes, which appear in books and on silverware, often depict bands of monkeys robbing the peddler while he sleeps. Such images may have been popular in medieval society, because the peddler shared many of the same vices as a monkey; he was seen as "a showman, a bit of a trickster and not always acquiring his wares by honest means and plying them without too much regard for the quality of the merchandise." The Cheap Jack stereotype appears often in 19th century literature. The most famous example is probably Charles Dickens' ‟Doctor Marigold‟. A short story it was originally written for one of his Christmas editions of All the Year Round. In collected editions of Dickens' works, it appears in the volume Christmas Stories. Russian lubok prints (popular prints) also feature peddlers along with other popular stereotypes. Some scholars suggest that the origin of the term, lubok, may have come from the word lubki a type of basket typically carried by peddlers as they carried a myriad of different wares into villages in old Russia. Korobeiniki is a Russian folk song that describes a meeting between a peddler and a girl. Their haggling is a metaphor for their courtship. The Lady and the Peddler, (1947) is an American play by Yosefa Even Shoshan and adapted from a story by S. Y. Agnon. The plot concerns a Jewish peddler who takes up residence with a mysterious gentile woman. Residing in a forest setting, the situation is idyllic for the travelling salesman, as the woman provides for all his needs and never asks for anything in return. Soon, however, he comes to realise that the woman is an evil spirit in disguise. The story is thought to be a metaphor for the dislocation and destruction of European Jews. St Patrick and the Peddler by Margaret Hodges is a novel about a peddler who is visited by St Patrick in his dreams and through a circuitous route uncovers great riches. Robin Hood and the Peddler is a ballad that now forms part of the collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972) is a critically acclaimed film about a German fruit peddler, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The Tin Men (1987), a feature film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Richard Dreyfuss and Danny De Vito, is a comedy set in 1963, concerning two aluminium salesmen and the dirty tricks they use to make a sale as they try to out compete each other.