The experiences of shopping in the long eighteenth century
Modehandlerskan (The Miliner), Pehr Hilleström (Photo: Nationalmuseum).
My Hellsing, historian at Stockholm University and Johanna Ilmakunnas, Professor at Åbo Akademi University, explores in a series of workshops and two forthcoming edited volumes the experiences of shopping in the long eighteenth century, accomplished as a collective undertaking by senior and junior scholars from various disciplines and European countries.
The Swedish edited volume will be a state-of-the art of shopping in Stockholmin an international context. The English volume presents a wide range of case studies on shopping across northern Europe, from France to Russia, and from Scandinavia to Switzerland.
Drottninggatan, Stockholm 1808. Elias Martin (reproduction Einar Uggla). Photo: Stockholmskällan.
The novelty of the Swedish project is the lack of similar studies on Stockholm, but previous research on other geographical areas will be useful when integrating the new empirical results into broader European trends. Focus in the international part of the project will be on different conditions and trends of shopping across Northern Europe.
This part dialogues directly with existing international research, challenging the tendency that general theories on the historical development of shopping are articulated merely on the basis of some iconic shopping destinations in Western Europe, e.g. London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
The project is funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.
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