Meaning
A dealer in small sewing and dressmaking sundries such as buttons, ribbons, thread and needles.
Description
Haberdashers sold the small items essential to sewing and dressmaking including buttons, hooks, thread, tape, ribbon, pins, needles, elastic and trimmings of all kinds. The haberdasher's counter was a familiar feature of draper's shops and department stores as well as independent specialist shops. In earlier centuries the term had a broader meaning covering a range of small goods. A haberdasher of hats was a distinct trade in the medieval period. The trade required a keen eye for fashion and knowledge of a wide range of small goods.
Also Known As
Smallware Dealer, Notion Dealer
Commonly Found In
- Census Returns
- Trade Directories
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