Peddling and the makeshift economy

This chapter explores the ambiguous, but important, place of pedlars in the commercial and cultural life of early modern Europe before turning to look more closely at the role of ambulant vending in the lives of the poor. The ways in which pedlars could occupy both marginal and central positions in early modern life can be illustrated further by taking a closer look at a series of case studies emerging from my own and others' research on early modern Italy. The significant cultural and economic role not to mention the extensive, even global connections of seemingly lowly, peripheral pedlars is demonstrated further by focusing on a prominent branch of early modern peddling: the selling of print. In various ways, the entire community of the valley was touched by these itinerant commercial operations; as in the case of the Florentine vendors, peddling was part of broader family economies in which women also played an integral part.