ABSTRACT
There was stratification in the second-hand trade. Not only did weaker status, economic position, capital at disposal, and entrepreneurial stance make some rigattieri ‘marginal’ and different from those at the centre, but also their engagement, more or less permanent, in other working activities, and above all, the motivation behind such work, marked a profound difference between rigattieri on the edge and those more financially able. Among the secondary activities carried out by some second-hand dealers, but located within the corporate framework, was the job of appraising. The rigattieri tasked with the role of estimator were part of a restricted but lively community, deeply established in the urban fabric and closely intertwined through bonds of solidarity and competition. Estimators relied mostly on buying and selling clothing and clothing accessories for their livelihood, knew their materials, colours, and shapes, and often aspired to raise their social standing through their interactions with the persons of high social status they often dealt with. By acting as advisors for wealthy and powerful individuals and by establishing relationships with clients coming from diverse social categories, the estimatori mediated between urban social groups in fifteenth-century Florence.
