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ABSTRACT
Peddlers of varying geographic, ethnic and cultural background played an important role for everyday consumption in late nineteenth century northern Europe. In the sparsely populated region, peddlers answered to a growing demand on consumer goods, spurred by industrialization and rising living standards. Many traders originated from outside the region, from Germany in the south to the multi-ethnic Russian Empire in the east. Their possibilities to succeed in the foreign environments largely depended on the networks that they established. This article examines the role that networks played for peddlers from the outside. First, we analyse the connections that traders from a certain region (Eastern Jews, Tatars, Russian Karelians, Germans) established between themselves to further their business in the Nordics. Second, we study the networks formed between peddlers from the outside and their local customers. And third, we examine the role of transnational, national and local networks for the acquisition and transport of goods over long distances. The article illuminates the various types of networks that characterized peddling in northern Europe as well as their functions. It also illustrates how the possibilities to study networks depend on the types of sources used and underlines the importance of analysing various types of sources to identify networks.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Rosander, Gårdfarihandel i Norden, 10; Wassholm and Östman, “Introduktion,” 10.
2 See e.g. Honningdal Grytten and Minde, “Konsum og levestandard,” 61; Hjerppe, The Finnish Economy, 41–2.
3 Anna Sundelin, “‘Medan prästen predikar för tomma väggar’,” 33–58; Wassholm and Östman, ”Introduktion,” 11–12.
4 Alanen, Suomen maakaupan historia, 206–7, 229, 275; Furnée and Lesger, “Shopping Streets and Cultures,” 1–3; Nilsson, En förbindelse med en större värld, 11–13.
5 Honningdal Grytten and Minde, “Konsum og levestandard,” 61; Rosander, Gårdfarihandel i Norden, 21–22; Lundqvist, Marknad på väg, 19–20.
6 Fontaine, “The Role of Peddling in Consumption.”
7 Hammarström, “Judar öfwersvämma landet.”
8 Runefelt, En idyll försvarad, 183–4; Häkkinen, “Kiertäminen, kulkeminen,” 226–7.
9 Light and Karageorgis, “Immigrant Networks,” 659–660; Curtin, Cross-Cultural Trade, 3.
10 Nevalainen, Kulkukauppiaista kauppaneuvoksiin; Naakka-Korhonen, Halpa hinta, pitkä mitta; Storå, “Ostkarelische Wanderhändler als Kulturvermittler in Finnland”; Storå, “‘Rucksack Russians’ in Finland”; Wassholm and Sundelin, “Emotions, Trading Practices and Communication.”
11 Stare, Judiska gårdfarihandlare i Sverige; Carlsson, Medborgarskap och diskriminering; Hammarström, Nationens styvbarn; Hammarström, “Judar öfwersvämma landet”; Ekholm, “Jews, Second-Hand Trade and Upward Economic Mobility”; Gjernes, “Uldjøder, tøyjøder og klesjøder”; Wassholm, “Judar och tatarer på Finlands marknader”; Wassholm, “Tatar Pedlars in the Grand Duchy of Finland”; Elmgren, “Visual Stereotypes of Tatars.”
12 Wassholm and Sundelin, “Gendered Encounters in Mobile Trade”; Wassholm and Sundelin, “Rag Collectors”; Sundelin and Wassholm, “Hospitality and Rejection.”
13 Mikkola and Stark, “Himotut ja halveksitut kulutustarvikkeet,” 4–6; Wassholm and Östman, “Introduktion,” 17–19.
14 Digital newspaper archives in the Nordics: Denmark (www2.statsbiblioteket.dk/mediestream/avis); Norway (www.nb.no/samlingen/aviser); Sweden (tidningar.kb.se); Finland (digi.kansallisarkisto.fi).
15 Sundelin and Wassholm, “Hospitality and Rejection,” 331.
16 Naakka-Korhonen, Halpa hinta, pitkä mitta, 6–7.
17 The questionnaires are hereinafter referred to as Nm 48, ULMA M148, and KIVA 9/9b.
18 Hagström and Marander-Eklund, “Att arbeta med frågelistor,” 16–20.
19 Sundelin and Wassholm, “Hospitality and Rejection,” 331–2; Söderberg and Magnusson, “Inledning,” 7.
20 Rosander, Gårdfarihandel i Norden, 21–22 (for variants of petty trade, see 12–13); Lundqvist, Marknad på väg, 19–20.
21 Wassholm, “Threatening Livelihoods,” 221.
22 Rosander, Gårdfarihandel i Norden, 10; Wassholm and Sundelin, “Gendered Encounters in Mobile Trade,” 3–4.
23 Lundqvist, Marknad på väg, 19–20.
24 Stearns, Consumerism in World History, 47–9; Trentmann, Empire of Things, 37–9.
25 Trentmann, Empire of Things, 609.
26 Milward and Saul, The Economic Development of Continental Europe 1780–1870, 381.
27 Hjerppe, The Finnish Economy, 81–2.
28 Lundqvist, Marknad på väg, 138.
29 Naakka-Korhonen, Halpa hinta, pitkä mitta, 35.
30 Nevalainen, Kulkukauppiaista kauppaneuvoksiin, 84.
31 Hammarström, “Judar öfwerswämma landet,” 32; Gjernes, “Uldjøder, tøyjøder og klesjøder,” 145.
32 Brinkmann, “Introduction,” 3–5; Bredefeldt, “Ekonomi och identitet,” 34–5. Jews were prohibited to settle in Finland until 1858, when a Russian decree allowed former soldiers of the Russian army to settle in the town where they had been stationed. Civil Jewish communities were established in major Finnish towns, but livelihood was restricted to local petty trade. Ekholm, “Jews, Second-Hand Trade and Upward Economic Mobility,” 77–9. While peddling was prohibited for Finnish Jews, they did visit fairs around the grand duchy. See Wassholm, “Judar och tatarer på Finlands marknader.”
33 Cwiklinski, “Introduction,” 3.
34 Leitzinger, “Tataarit Suomessa,” 25; Wassholm, “Tatar Pedlars in the Grand Duchy of Finland,” 14. Individual Tatar traders also moved to Sweden, but they were too few to form a community: see Sorgenfrei, “Establishing Islam in Sweden,” 82–4.
35 See e.g. Dagbladet 2.2.1870, 2; Barometern 17.6.1871, 2; 13.1.1873, 2; Aftonbladet 24.10.1871, 2; Helsingfors Dagblad 1.12.1871, 2; 4.2.1872, 2; 1.5.1872, 3; Dagens Nyheter 24.10.1871, 3; Åbo Underrättelser 29.1.1872, 3; Folkets Avis 5.1.1873, 3.
36 Wassholm and Sundelin, “Gendered Encounters in Mobile Trade,” 5–6. Other groups of mobile traders, such as the Russian Karelians, female hair artisans from the Swedish province of Dalarna, and domestic peddlers, also seized the opportunity to buy hair as a side-business to their main trade.
37 A shared language facilitated communication, but previous research has shown that linguistic differences did not pose a severe impediment. Peddlers usually quickly learned the basic vocabulary needed for trading. Storå, “Ostkarelische Wanderhändler als Kulturvermittler in Finnland,” 34; Wassholm and Sundelin, “Emotions, Trading Practices and Communication,” 145–7.
38 For early mentions of Tatars in the Finnish press, see Tammerfors Aftonblad 8.9.1882, 2; Kaiku 28.7.1883, 2; Satakunta 12.9.1883, 3; Åbo Tidning 23.9.1885, 3. On the stereotype, see Elmgren, “Visual Stereotypes,” 27–9.
39 Carlsson, Medborgarskap och diskriminering, 141.
40 Sundelin and Wassholm, “Hospitality and Rejection,” 335.
41 Carlsson, “Immigrants or Transmigrants?,” 57–8; Wassholm, “Threatening Livelihoods,” 228.
42 Wassholm, “Tatar pedlars in the Grand Duchy of Finland,” 16.
43 Lundqvist, Marknad på väg, 17; Sundelin and Wassholm, “Hospitality and Rejection,” 334.
44 Rosander, Gårdfarihandel i Norden, 10; Lundqvist, Marknad på väg, 43.
45 Wassholm and Sundelin, “Rag Collectors.”
46 Levander, “Hårarbete i Dalarna,” 146.
47 Nevalainen, Kulkukauppiaista kauppaneuvoksiin, 84.
48 Fontaine, History of Pedlars in Europe, 8–11.
49 Gjernes, “Uldjøder, tøyjøder og klesjøder,” 148.
50 Interview with V.I. Arhippainen, 23–4, 27; Toukomies 5/1927, 69–71.
51 Dagstelegrafen 30.5.1870, 2. For similar accounts in other parts of the region, see e.g. Strengnäs Weckoblad 23.6.1871, 3; Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning 25.5.1870, 2; 30.7.1870, 3; Smålandsposten 29.3.1871, 3.
52 Åbo Posten 21.8.1883, 4; Satakunta 12.9.1883, 3. The arrival of Tatars can be traced in passenger lists published in the newspapers. See, e.g. Åbo Underrättelser 21.7.1882, 4.
53 Åbo Tidning 23.9.1885, 3.
54 Storå, “‘Rucksack Russians’ in Finland,” 81–2; Sundelin and Wassholm, “Networks in Trade,” 10.
55 Fäderneslandet 26.7.1871, 2. For other examples of violence against Jews, see, e.g. Nerikes Allehanda 26.2.1875, 2; Trosa Tidning 11.12.1880, 2.
56 Göteborgs Annonsblad 4.4.1871, 2.
57 See, e.g. Interview with V.J. Arhippainen, 32.
58 Diner, Roads Taken, 127–30; Blom, “Mordet på den judiske gårdfarihandlaren,” 95–103; Nevalainen, Kulkukauppiaista kauppaneuvoksiin, 125–31.
59 Hufvudstadsbladet 22.4.1871, 2; 28.5.1875, 2; Blekinge Läns Tidning 14.2.1874, 2; Wiipurin Uutiset 15.5.1880, 3; Borgåbladet 23.8.1882, 1; Mikkelin Sanomat 16.5.1888, 3; Rauman Lehti 19.5.1888, 2; Östra Finland 9.10.1888, 2.
60 KIVA 9/9b: M 781:5, FM 910:8; Nm 48: E.U. 5618, 5666; ULMA M148: 13745, 15607, 19104.
61 Interview with V.I. Arhippainen, 14.
62 Curtin, Cross-Cultural Trade, 3.
63 Sundelin and Wassholm, “Networks in Trade,” 16.
64 KIVA 9/9b: M 722:3, FM 980:3, 985:4; Nm 48: E.U. 3991, 5695; ULMA M148: 13406, 13663, 13668.
65 Beardsworth and Keil, Sociology on the Menu, 101, 104.
66 Nm 48: E.U. 5695.
67 See, e.g. Naakka-Korhonen, Halpa hinta, pitkä mitta, 210–36.
68 KIVA 9/9b: M 678:2, 683:4, 686:1, 715:1–2, 716;3, 764:3. See also, Wasa-Posten 5.5.1899, 2.
69 KIVA 9/9b: M 2075:2, 2093:5–6, 2302:1, FM 960:10.
70 KIVA 9/9b: M 722:3, FM 980:3, 985:4; Nm 48: E.U. 3991, 5695; ULMA M148: 13406, 13663, 13668.
71 KIVA 9/9b: M 722:3, 985:4; Nm 48: E.U. 3991, 5568, 5695; ULMA M148: 13406, 13572, 13663, 13668.
72 KIVA 9/9b: M 695:2, 727:2, 747:4. See also Naakka-Korhonen, Halpa hinta, pitkä mitta, 176–7; Rosander, Gårdfarihandel i Norden, 80.
73 KIVA 9/9b: 2059:7.
74 KIVA 9/9b: M 722:3, 985:4; Nm 48: E.U. 3991, 5568, 5695; ULMA M148: 13406, 13572, 13663, 13668.
75 Positive descriptions include, for instance, “good-natured” and “joyful”; see, e.g. KIVA 9/9b: M 729:1, 734:2, 778:2, FM 988:2; Nm 48: E.U. 459.
76 Stare, “Judiska gårdfarihandlare i Sverige,” 22, 24–5, 29.
77 Dagbladet 2.2.1870, 2; Morgenposten 4.2.1870, 3; Morgenbladet 6.2.1870, 2; Bergens Tidende 5.3.1870, 3.
78 Göteborgs Annonsblad 4.4.1871, 2.
79 Göteborgs-Posten 9.6.1871.
80 Tidning för Skaraborgs Län 18.1.1901, 3.
81 Hämeen Sanomat 7.12.1886, 2; Päivälehti 4.5.1898, 4; Wasa Tidning 7.5.1898, 2; Kotka 14.4.1898, 3.
82 For examples of this in the questionnaires, see, e.g. KIVA 9/9b: M 691:2, 698:3, 724:4–5. See also Nevalainen, Kulkukauppiaista kauppaneuvoksiin, 119–20.
83 Aura 20.4.1888, 10.
84 Jakobstads Tidning 15.1.1938; KIVA 9/9b M 746:1, 757:1, 2058:1.
85 KIVA 9/9b: M 699:1, 709:2, 2076, 2140, FM 916:2.
86 KIVA 9/9b: M 722:3, 734:2, 737:1, FM 844:4: See also, Nm 48: E.U. 3991.
87 Rosander, Gårdfarihandel i Norden, 84; Häkkinen, “Kiertäminen, kulkeminen,” 250.
88 KIVA 9/9b: M 2143:3.
89 KIVA 9/9b: M 2128, 2140:3, 2143:3.
90 Naakka-Korhonen, Halpa hinta, pitkä mitta, 135.
91 KIVA 9/9b: 2075:1.
92 See, e.g. Interview with V.J. Arhippainen, 25–6; Interview with J. Arhippainen; Karjalan Kävijä 8/1908, 8, 11; KIVA 9/9b: FM 870:2, 890:2, 916:3, 924:2, 998:3.
93 Wassholm, “Tatar Pedlars in the Grand Duchy of Finland,” 13–14.
94 Lundqvist, Marknad på väg, 185; Sundelin and Wassholm, “Hospitality and Rejection,” 343.
95 KIVA 9/9b: M 897, 922, 935, 951:1.
96 Naakka-Korhonen, Halpa hinta, pitkä mitta, 207–10.
97 Tarlo, Entanglement, 45; Lehto and Pehkonen, “Kaipuun kiharat,” 228.
98 Norrbottenskuriren 11.11.1869, 3.
99 From Malmö: Aftonbladet 14.3.1871, 3; Norrlandsposten 15.3.1871, 3. From Hanko: Nya Pressen 12.3.1890, 4; Tammerfors Aftonblad 14.3.1890, 2; Åbo Tidning 18.4.1891, 3.
100 Pamilo, “Karjalaisten kauppatiet,” 153–4.
101 Wassholm, “Tatar Pedlars in the Grand Duchy of Finland,” 13–14. On the Great Russian Fair, see Lincoln Fitzpatrick, The Great Russian Fair.
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Notes on contributors
Anna Sundelin
PhD Anna Sundelin is a researcher at Åbo Akademi University. She has published articles on peddlers from Russian Karelia in the Grand Duchy of Finland and the reception of their goods. Together with Wassholm, she has edited a special issue on petty trade in Historisk Tidskrift för Finland (2018).
Johanna Wassholm
PhD Johanna Wassholm is a specialist in Finnish-Russian relations in the 19th and early 20th centuries. She has published extensively on topics dealing with national and linguistic identification, the political uses of history, and cultural encounters in ethnified mobile trade.