Throughout the winter, craftspeople worked relentlessly to make tools, furniture, containers and fabrics. When the good weather arrived, many of them took to the road to meet their clients in towns and villages. They offered their products and their know-how. On site, the traveling tradespeople could make certain parts, accept special orders, make repairs and provide advice. Each individual’s vocation was generally recognizable from the merchandise they proudly displayed in the streets.

Traveling by foot with a packsack, the tinsmith would hold a long iron spike in his hand, displaying a sample of each of the thinplate objects he had for sale. These included, for example, candle and cake moulds, funnels, teapots, and measuring containers of all sizes. The smallest objects, such as goblets and candlesticks, would be hung around his waist. Such objects had no bottoms.  When the tinsmith would sell one, he would take out the welding tools he carried with him and finish the piece on site. The smoke from this welding work would give him a rather dirty appearance. Towards the end of the 19th century, the tinsmith would use a horse cart, which enabled him to carry larger pieces such as large basins or cream skimmers.

Three or four times a year, the potter would make his tour. Protecting his merchandise carefully in straw, he would display a few samples at the end of long sticks. In order to make themselves standout, some potters would blow in a jug, while others would hit two pots together to make noise. This would demonstrate the solidity of their wares at the same time. Some of these traveling potters merely sold products made by other potters. Yet, some manufactured their own objects from terracotta. In Canada, the First Nations had made pottery for thousands of years whereas the French had only started practicing this trade in the 17^e century. Clay is the primary raw material. It would be cleaned, to remove the stones and other debris, stamped down and cut into balls to be worked.

For their part, the basket weavers carried light woven objects such as hats and baskets. A good number of these tradespeople were women, particularly Amerindian women, who often sold their products along the roads. Basket waving is an ancient skill, practiced since pre-historic times in a great many countries. In North America, the materials used to weave containers were generally straw, which was solid and flexible, osier, bark, the wild dogwood and even fine strips of wood. The Amerindians also worked with reeds, elk hair, corn husks and thongs.

Using threads of wool or flax instead of straw, weavers made fabric. A great many women used cards and spinning wheels to practice the trade of weaving at home. Some of them decided to make a profit from their skill and took to the roads to offer their services.  Rather than carrying her merchandise, the weaver would travel with her spinning wheel. She would offer her assistance with spinning and weaving, as well as with other jobs such as stuffing pillows and mattresses and repairing fishing nets. Occasionally, she would work from home. For payment, she would receive wool, blankets and tow.

Many traveling tradespeople specialized in wood working. Traveling during the summer with a cart filled with chairs, the chair maker knew how to distinguish green wood from dry wood which would be used to make the frame of the chair. He was able to assemble chairs solidly, without glue. For his part, the shingle maker traveled to sell his shingles of oak, pine or cedar. He would carry his tools with him since he also offered to shape the shingles on site and install them. The bushel maker manufactured and sold wooden containers such as pails, basins and churns. The barrel maker took to the roads to deliver his rounded barrels, which he made to order. All of these containers were in great demand at harvest time. And they had to be of good quality to preserve foods such as butter, lard and fish. Large quantities of barrels were also need to ship food.

Although manufacturing objects was very important, knowing how to maintain and repair them was just as essential. Several traveling tradespeople specialized in repairing objects. To learn more about them, we invite you to return on November 25, 2008.

Sources

LESSARD, Michel. La nouvelle encyclopédie des antiquités du Québec. Montréal, Éditions de l'Homme, 2007. 1103 pages.

POMERLEAU, Jeanne. Métiers ambulants d’autrefois. Montréal, Guérin littérature, 1990. 467 pages. 

SENTANCE, Bryan. La vannerie: techniques et traditions à travers le monde. [Paris], Flammarion, 2001. 215 pages.


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