ABSTRACT
One of the most visible signs of economic change in the nineteenth century was the expansion of shopping. Less obvious to the naked eye were simultaneous changes elsewhere in the distributive chain and the growing distance between producer and consumer as the intimacy of the small artisanal workshop gave way to the anonymity of the shopping street. Shops were already common in London by the 1800s and sold a wide variety of goods. Half of them probably sold food and drink;1 others were pure retailers in areas such as haberdashery (dress accessories and sewing items), drapery (textile fabrics) and a variety of luxury goods; yet more were the front selling areas attached to small or large workshops. What changed over the century was the length of the distributional chain and the roles and organisation of shops. London was not especially innovative, with much change imitated from new practices elsewhere. Yet the shift was a profound one for the urban economy and it altered the city’s street life and micro-geography.
