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haberdasher
A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1989: "A dealer in small articles appertaining to dress, as thread, tape, ribbons, etc. In U.S. English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter.Collins Dictionary of the English Language (1979) A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.
Origin and use
The word appears in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Haberdashers were initially peddlers, sellers of small wares such as needles, buttons, etc. The word could derive from the Icelandic haprtask "peddlers' wares" or the sack in which the peddler carried them. In this sense, a haberdasher (Scandinavian name) would be very close to a mercer (French name). A haberdasher would retail small wares, the goods of the peddler, while a mercer would specialize in "linens, silks, fustian, worsted piece-goods and bedding".Sutton, Anne F. (2005). The Mercery of London: Trade, Goods and People, 1130-1578, p.118. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0754653315Notable haberdashers
- William Adams - a 17th century London Haberdasher born in Newport, Shropshire, who founded Adams' Grammar School in 1656
- Robert Aske - a philanthropist
- Johnny Carson - of The Tonight Show
- Captain James Cook, (R.N., FRS) - 18th century British navigator and explorer, apprenticed to this job in his youth
- Daniel Defoe- the famous writer of Robinson Crusoe
- John Graunt - one of the first demographers
- Christopher Lloyd - actor, e.g. "Dr. Emmett Brown" in the Back to the Future trilogy
- Wayne Knight - actor, e.g. "Newman" from Seinfeld
- Joseph Merrick, "the Elephant Man", worked as a haberdasher's assistant before being a freak show act
- George Newnes - founder of the Tit-Bits newspaper (1881) and the popular The Strand Magazine, of Sherlock Holmes fame
- Paavo Nurmi - legendary Finnish distance runner
- Charles Taze Russell - the founder of the Bible Student Movement which, after his death, ultimately led to the formation of Jehovah's Witnesses
- Harry S. Truman - President of the United States from 1945-1953[http://edit-www.ket.org/tvschedules/episode.php?nola=AMEX++001001 NOVA #1001]
See also
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