Small trades
Over the centuries, small trades have flourished both in the city and in the countryside. They are proof of the ability of those from even the most humble of backgrounds to attempt to escape a world on the fringes of society.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the chanson of Clément Janequin, "Voulez ouyr les cris de Paris" (The Cries of Paris) immortalized the famous exclamations of the hawkers in the streets of Paris.
Through cinema, photography and literature, these hawkers belong to our collective memory and fill us with nostalgia for bygone days.
"Pedlars:"Almanac, almanac! Who doesn't have his beautiful almanac?"
Ragmen collecting paper and cloth: "Oyez ladies, oyez! Old papers, old rags, I'll give you a good price!"
