Pedlars and the popular press : : itinerant distribution networks in England and the Netherlands 1600-1850 / / by Jeroen Salman.

• Superior document: Library of the written word : the handpress world ; volume 21
• Author: Salman, Jeroen.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : Brill,, [2013]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Library of the written word ; 29.; Library of the written word. Handpress world ; 21.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (303 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Itinerant salesmen, also called pedlars, street hawkers, hucksters and ballad singers are considered to be the most important distributors of popular printed matter in Europe between 1600 and 1850. A general assumption is that the pedlar travelling from town to countryside was strongly distinct from the role of the established booksellers in the towns, selling books to the educated and affluent buyer. The commercial position of the urban pedlars, however, is very often underestimated. In this book, therefore, the itinerant book trade is studied in an English and Dutch, urban context, leading to a new perspective on the role of the pedlars as an intermediary between the established booksellers and an extensive, socially diverse reading public.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Reputation and Representation -- The Pedlar in the English Distribution Network -- The Pedlar in the Dutch Distribution Network -- Conclusion: A Comparative Perspective on Itinerant Networks -- Bibliography -- Index of Names, Places and Major Topics.