Big Apple History . New York Living . Salesmen of the Streets


	The Lower East Side

Some dealt in dry goods like needles, ribbons, and rags. Others sold food like eggs, vegetables, and bananas. These so called salesmen of the streets were the 25,000 New Yorkers who, at the turn of the century, made their living as pushcart vendors. Most were Jewish immigrants. Many had been shopkeepers or merchants back in the old country.


Hester Street, New York, 1910

Peddling was a hard life. Vendors pushed heavily loaded carts through the packed streets of Manhattan's Lower East Side. To be heard above the noise, they bellowed out their wares at the top of their lungs. They often had to climb four, five, or six flights of stairs to reach a potential customer, who might buy a few cents' worth ... or nothing at all.

But peddling was also a way up and a way out -- of poverty, sweatshops, and working for someone else. It didn't take much money to get started and peddlers didn't require many skills -- just strong legs and a good head for numbers. If these salesmen saved, slaved, and didn't get sick, the vendors might get off the streets and open shops or stores.

Top illustration: Courtesy of the National Archives.

Illustration at bottom: Courtesy of the National Archives.