A Cultural History of Shopping was a Library Journal Best in Reference selection for 2022.
Shopping emerged as a special pleasure and problem during the period between the revolutionary upheavals of the late 18th century and the opening salvoes of the Great War.
New shops, new products, new class and gender ideologies, new standards of comfort and hygiene, and rising living standards for some meant that people, especially women, spent more time shopping and engaging in consumer-oriented activities beyond the walls of the shop. At the same time, social commentators, local and national authorities, economists, and many husbands became concerned about the ‘dangers’ of shopping, believing that the department store was emancipating women and destroying society in the process.
This volume explores shopping in the 19th century as a varied and embedded social, political, economic, and cultural activity.
It draws out the continuities with earlier periods as well as examining how the department store came to be seen as both symbol and generator of profound economic, social, and cultural change.
A Cultural History of Shopping in the Age of Revolution and Empire presents an overview
of the period with themes addressing practices and processes; spaces and
places; shoppers and identities; luxury and everyday; home and family;
visual and literary representations; reputation, trust and credit; and
governance, regulation and the state.
List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Series Preface, Jon Stobart Introduction, Erika Rappaport 1. Practices and Processes, Jessica P. Clark 2. Spaces and Places, Anneleen Arnout 3. Shoppers and Identities, Jan Hein Furnée 4. Luxury and Everyday, Manuel Charpy 5. Home and Family, Enrica Asquer 6. Visual and Literary Representations, Tamara S. Wagner 7. Reputation, Trust and Credit, Erika Vause 8. Governance, Regulation and the State, Nicole de Silva Bibliography Index
Erika Rappaport is Professor in the Department of History, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
