Follow
A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions (in the United Kingdom) or a men's outfitter (American English). A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.
The word appears in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Haberdashers were initially peddlers, sellers of small items such as needles and buttons. The word is thought to have no connection with an Old Norse word akin to the Icelandic haprtask, which means peddlers' wares or the sack in which the peddler carried them. If that had been the case, a haberdasher (in its hypothetical Scandinavian meaning) would be very close to a mercer (French). Since the word has no recorded use in Scandinavia, it is most likely derived from the Anglo-Norman hapertas, meaning small ware. 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".
Saint Louis IX, King of France 1226–70, is the patron saint of French haberdashers. In Belgium and elsewhere in Continental Europe, Saint Nicholas remains their patron saint, while Saint Catherine was adopted by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in the City of London.
Notable Haberdashers
- John Gruant, founder of the science of demography
Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
Until about 1800, an adult male practising a trade or craft in or around the City of London would almost certainly have been a member (freeman) of one of the City of London livery companies. He would probably have served an apprenticeship and been a member of a company corresponding with his occupation, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of..." their relevant trade, craft or profession.
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers is one of the 12 senior Livery Companies of the City of London. The company received its Royal Charter in 1448 and has records dating back to 1371.
The company was originally responsible for the regulation of silk and velvet merchants.
➜ Please add apprentices and those who worked as haberdashers to this project.