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Hawker and Traveller

Hawkers are street traders, selling their goods in perhaps quite a loud way? calling out, being quite aggresive in their selling technique. We often get Hawkers in Tamworth selling junk usually, anything from Towels, and fancy goods made from bent shaped wire, to Double Glazing. Thats my understanding of the term?
 
a person selling goods by hawking them around the different localities as apposed to selling from premises the name Chapman is derived from being a hawker
 
Barra Boys

Hi Karen :D

As Rod & John H mentioned, modern equivalents something like "Barrow Boys", street market vending, For instance, wheeling Fruit & Veg up from the market then re-selling back of "The Bullring" (& other commodities etc), The older times may have been Coal from the wharfs(Canals), Molly Malone was a "Hawker",, As she wheeled her wheelbarra, through the streets broad & narra, singing, Cockles & Mussells alive , alive Oh
Cheers Chuckie :wink: John
 
Thanks for the information.

The reference to the song makes it even more understandable. This fellow I'm looking at was listed as a "Hawker" when he was in prison according to the 1891 census. Perhaps, he was selling illegal stuff?

Karen
 
I used to have a big sign on my front door saying NO HAWKERS, but it didn't make any difference, my wife would still let her parents in, her maiden name is Hawker........... :)
 
That's a nice story, John K C.
As a kid I remember the cast metal plate people used to stick on their garden gates saying "No hawkers no circulars". I had some idea what a hawker was (quite apart from the fighter aircraft), but I couldn't understand when it was explained to me what a circular was, or why the sign was used.
I have recently been going through some research into the early history of the Jewish community  in brum. It appears that many of the first Jews to settle here were itinerant hawkers who would collect their goods on the Monday morning to sell from door to door. They would carry on through the week, hopefully finishing before dusk on the Friday. This would have been in the 1780s to 1820s, I guess.
Peter
 
Straight from Moriaties  Police Law   :police: :crazy2:

HAWKERS. A  HAWKER , under s.2 of the Hawkers Act 1888 means any person who travels with a horse or other beast bearing or drawing burden, and goes from place to place or to other men's houses, caving to sell or exposing for sale any goods, wares or merchandise, or exposing samples or patterns of any goods, wares or merchandise to be afterwards delivered, and includes every person who travels by any means of locomotion to and place in which he does not usually reside or carry on business, and there sells or exposes for sale any goods, wares or merchandise in or at any house, shop, room, booth, stall or other place whatever, hired or used by him for that purpose. A motor vehicle would not appear to be a " stall ".
Every such hawker must take out a licence from the Counts or County Borough Council (Finance Act, 1949, s. 15) and it lasts one year.
This excise licence is granted, otherwise than on renewal, on production of a certificate of good character signed by a cleric man and two householders of the parish in which the applicant resides or by a justice or superintendent or inspector of police of the district (s. 4). It is a summary offence to forge any certificate for obtaining a hawker's licence or to knowingly make use d any counterfeit certificate or licence (s. 4) or to let to hire or lend, such licence (s. 5).
 
Was a 'circular' not what is now known as a 'flyer'. We get loads of the latter here. There are individual ones and vast wads delivered wth the newspapers. This and the ringing phone that has no one on the other end when you answer seem to be phenomina that can not be stopped. These days I allow 1 second for a reply after saying hello.
I seem to have read somewhere that if you immediately repeatedly press the number button rapidly it removes your number from the offending computer. Anyone know about this?
 
My great great etc grandfather John Flavell is listed on his son's marriage certificate as a "traveller" (1850's)

At first glance I wondered if he was linked to a gypsie family, but I presume this could have meant something else back then? He was living at a fixed address in steelhouse lane and his son's all had jobs as Gun Stockers (1841 census). I also found him listed in the 1841 census return as a Hawker (which I looked up as a street seller linked to gypsie families).

I just wondered if anyone had come across this before, and whether he could be linked to a gypsie family, or if this meant something different then.

Many Thanks
 
He would have been a travelling salesman. not gypsy-oriented but going from town to town selling various goods. A "Hawker" is a seller (Hawking his wares is the technical description for selling his goods)
 
Yes Petal, my 2 x gt.grandfather was also a Hawker at one time an this is what a hawker did:

[1] Street seller who cried his wares in town,
[2] Often applied to country peddlers as a term of abuse,
[3] Itinerant dealer who carried his wares on his back.

Judy
 
Petal said:
My great great etc grandfather John Flavell is listed on his son's marriage certificate as a "traveller" (1850's)

At first glance I wondered if he was linked to a gypsie family, but I presume this could have meant something else back then? He was living at a fixed address in steelhouse lane and his son's all had jobs as Gun Stockers (1841 census). I also found him listed in the 1841 census return as a Hawker (which I looked up as a street seller linked to gypsie families).

I just wondered if anyone had come across this before, and whether he could be linked to a gypsie family, or if this meant something different then.

Many Thanks
Click to expand...

My Gt Grandfather was a hawker and he sold fish from a barrow.
 
When I was growing up many people had a small plaque on their garden gate
that said something like..."No Hawkers or Pedlars should call". I expect that would mean those salesmen who sold goods door to door and perhaps the Fuller Brush Man and Goblin Vacuum Cleaners for instance. I personally liked the Fuller Brush co's goods and we didn't have a no Hawkers, etc. sign at our house.
 
I'm pretty sure a traveller was similar to whats now called a sales rep.

Travelling around from business to businees taking orders for goods etc.
 
There is an interesting paper by Christopher P Hosgood called 'Kings of the Road' If you google it you will find it and it actaully says that Travellers were indeed travelling sales people and certainly towards the end of the 19thc, some were making quiet a reasonable salary and had middle class aspirations.
 
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