Peddler

A peddler (American English) or pedlar (British English) is a door-to-door and/or traveling vendor of goods. In 19th-century United States 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 travelers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages. 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 traveling salesmen for larger manufacturers and so were the precursor to the modern traveling 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 idealized romantic visions of peddlers at work.