General stores are essential to the image of a colonial village. Many historians, however, still base their stories of settlement on the notion of rural self-sufficiency, begging the question: if general stores were so common, who were their customers? To answer this, Consumers in the Bush draws on the account books of country stores, rich evidence that has rarely been used. Douglas McCalla considers more than 30,000 transactions on the accounts of 750 families at seven Upper Canadian stores between 1808 and 1861. These customers were typical of rural society - farmers, artisans, labourers, and often women. At village stores they found a wide variety of Products, most imported from Britain, a few from the United States, and a surprising number that were produced locally. Three chapters focus on the major Product categories of dry goods, groceries, and hardware; a fourth considers local Products, and a fifth addresses a variety of items - from household goods to footwear to school books. In telling us about the goods colonists bought, this book explores what they were used for and the stories they allow us to tell about rural lives and experience. By seeing rural Upper Canadians as consumers, Consumers in the Bush reveals them as full participants in the rapidly changing nineteenth-century global world of goods.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-286) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 381/.10971309034
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn-on
- ISBN
- 9780773597099
- LCCN
- HF5429.6.C22
- LCCN Item number
- O66 2015eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xv, 296 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00930658 (OCoLC)913977563 (CaOOCEL)449566
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Title proper/short title
- Shopping in rural Upper Canada
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- CONTENTS 8
- ILLUSTRATIONS 10
- TABLES 12
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 14
- PREAMBLE: CONSUMERS IN THE BUSH 20
- 1 CRUSOE IN UPPER CANADA? STORIES OF RURAL CONSUMPTION 25
- 2 PLACES, STORES, AND PEOPLE: VILLAGE STORES AND THEIR CUSTOMERS 40
- 3 FASHION IN THE COUNTRYSIDE? TEXTILE AND CLOTHING PURCHASES 54
- 4 A WORLD WITHOUT CHOCOLATE: PURCHASES OF GROCERIES AND MEDICATIONS 84
- 5 IRON IN A “WOODEN AGE”: HARDWARE AND RELATED PURCHASES 106
- 6 LOCAL GOODS: IMPORTERS AND THE MARKET FOR LOCAL PRODUCTS 131
- 7 HOUSEHOLD GOODS, FOOTWEAR, AND OTHER PURCHASES 146
- CONCLUSION: “ESSENTIALS” AND EVERYDAY LIFE 165
- TABLES 172
- APPENDICES 218
- NOTES 242
- BIBLIOGRAPHY 286
- INDEX 304
- A 304
- B 304
- C 305
- D 306
- E 306
- F 307
- G 307
- H 308
- I 308
- J 308
- K 308
- L 309
- M 309
- N 310
- O 310
- P 310
- R 310
- S 311
- T 312
- U 312
- W 313
- Y 313
