Straatverkoper met kammen en naalden 1789 - 1859

Pieter de Goeje made this drawing of a street vendor with pen in gray on paper. Though undated, the image can be placed in the first half of the 19th century, in the Netherlands, based on the artist's lifespan. Here, we see a man with his wares strung around his neck in a box. The image can tell us about the Dutch economy at the time. We can see the items he sells are small and useful. His business model is also of note. The industrial revolution had not yet come to the Netherlands in full force, so people still made their livings walking from place to place. There was no large-scale system of retail yet. To understand this work more fully, we might research street vendors in the Netherlands. Through trade records, we could find out what his profit margin may have been. We can use city records to locate where he may have set up shop on a regular basis. Art such as this is a cultural record.