Sites of Consumption in Early Modern Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID23636717
AuthorsEvelyn Welch (0000-0001-7320-2680, Renaissance Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, corresponding author)
Year2012
Pages228-250
Publication date2012-09-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Oxford Handbook Of The History Of Consumption (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199561216.013.0012
OpenAlexW2174683013
ISBN9780199561216
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited2

In 1535, the Venetian patrician Francesco Priuli began a new account book for his household's daily expenditure. Despite his elevated standing, he kept it in his own hand, noting with precision how his money was spent, where, when, and on what. There are a number of things to note about this patrician family's behaviour. One is that a major mercantile city such as Venice already offered a wide range of shopping spaces and opportunities in the early sixteenth century (and had for many years). Also, forms of payment varied and could take place long after the goods had been transferred. Moreover, Priuli's purchases (and his occasional sales) make it clear that Venice's large second-hand markets provided economic security. This article focuses on sites of consumption in early modern Europe, first considering the moral aspects of the division of labour and then discussing the spectacles of consumption. It also examines credit, the sites of bargaining and exchange of material goods, and activities such as lotteries, second-hand dealers, pawnbrokers, and auctions.

Advertising · Business · Commerce · Common value auction · Consumption (sociology) · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Luxury goods · Microeconomics · Negotiable instrument · Payment · Social science · Sociology · Finance · Historical Economic and Social Studies

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