Handmade travelling salesman's stock book, ca. 1915-1925

MLMSS 9910

fonds

1915-1925

1006321

1 volume - manuscript and printed - 24 x 20 cm

This stock book was hand-made, by an unknown travelling hawker. The images in the book have been cut from a variety of printed catalogues or magazines, pasted in and annotated by hand. The products depicted suggest the book was constructed between 1915 and 1925. The donor, whose grandfather was a hawker, said the owner of this kind of book was colloquially referred to as a ‘Canvas Jimmy’. The term 'book canvasser' has also been used to describe travelling salesmen who serviced remote communities where they would take orders for their customer on behalf of their employer and send the goods at a later time.
Reference:
Compiled from the collection

This book was purchased from a second hand dealer north of Moree, N.S.W. over the Queensland border, and donated to the State Library of NSW in 2017. The donor was unable to give any further details as to the previous owner.

Modified ledger with metal spine and screws, and linen covering. Includes product images cut from printed sales catalogues and advertisements, accompanying descriptive hand-written script. Products are listed A-Z under subject headings and consists of 490 hand numbered pages which are indexed in the first pages of the book.

Copyright status:: In copyright
Copyright holder:: State Library of New South Wales
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales