Sugar and Spice : Grocers and Groceries in Provincial England, 1650-1830

## Abstract Consumers in eighteenth-century England were firmly embedded in an expanding world of goods, one that incorporated a range of novel foods (tobacco, chocolate, coffee and tea) and new supplies of more established commodities, including sugar, spices and dried fruits. Much has been written about the attraction of these goods, which went from being novelties or expensive luxuries in the mid seventeenth century to central elements of the British diet a century or so later. They have been linked to the rise of Britain as a commercial and imperial power, whilst their consumption is seen as transforming many aspects of British society and culture, from mealtimes to gender identity. Despite this huge significance to ideas of consumer change, we know remarkably little about the everyday processes through which groceries were sold, bought and consumed. In tracing the lines of supply that carried groceries from merchants to consumers, this book reveals how changes in retailing and shopping were central to the broader transformation of consumption and consumer practices, but also questions established ideas about the motivations underpinning consumer choices. It demonstrates the dynamic nature of eighteenth-century retailing; the importance of advertisements in promoting sales and shaping consumer perceptions, and the role of groceries in making shopping an everyday activity. At the same time, it shows how both retailers and their customers were influenced by the practicalities and pleasures of consumption. They were active agents in consumer change, shaping their own practices rather than caught up in a single socially-inclusive cultural project such as politeness or respectability. Consumers in eighteenth-century England were firmly embedded in an expanding world of goods, one that incorporated a range of novel foods (tobacco, chocolate, coffee, and tea) and new supplies of more established commodities, including sugar, spices, and dried fruits. Much has been written about the attraction of these goods, which went from being novelties or expensive luxuries in the mid-seventeenth century to central elements of the British diet a century or so later. They have been linked to the rise of Britain as a commercial and imperial power, whilst their consumption is seen as transforming many aspects of British society and culture, from mealtimes to gender identity. Despite this huge significance to ideas of consumer change, we know remarkably little about the everyday processes through which groceries were sold, bought, and consumed. In tracing the lines of supply that carried groceries from merchants to consumers, Sugar and Spice reveals how changes in retailing and shopping were central to the broader transformation of consumption and consumer practices, but also questions established ideas about the motivations underpinning consumer choices. It demonstrates the dynamic nature of eighteenth-century retailing; the importance of advertisements in promoting sales and shaping consumer perceptions, and the role of groceries in making shopping an everyday activity. At the same time, it shows how both retailers and their customers were influenced by the practicalities and pleasures of consumption. They were active agents in consumer change, shaping their own practices rather than caught up in a single socially-inclusive cultural project such as politeness or respectability. Cover Contents List of Tables List of Figures Abbreviations Introduction 1. Ancient and Modern: The Grocery Trade in Early Modern England 2. A New World of Goods: Groceries in the Long Eighteenth Century 3. From Colony to Counter: Networks of Supply 4. Geographies of Selling: The Grocery Trades in Provincial Towns 5. Selling Spaces: Display and Storage of Groceries 6. Selling Groceries: Service, Credit, and Price 7. Exotic, Empire, or Everyday? Advertising Groceries 8. Baskets of Goods: Customers and Shopping Practices 9. Tea and Cakes: Consuming Groceries 10. Cups, Caddies, and Castors: Groceries and Domestic Material Culture Conclusion Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z Reveals how changes in retailing and shopping were central to the broader transformation of consumption and consumer practices, and questions established ideas about the motivations underpinning consumer choices. Offers new perspectives on the link between supply and demand and the motivations underpinning consumer choices.