Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Street Vendors

Artist/Maker Mortimer Borne United States(b. Poland), 1902-1987

Date1937

CultureAmerican

Mediumetching

DimensionsSight: 4 7/8 x 6 3/8 in. (12.4 x 16.2 cm)
Sheet: 8 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. (21.3 x 24.4 cm)

ClassificationsVisual Works

Credit LineGift of Dr. David Klein

Terms

Object number61.181.000

On View

Not on view

Collections

Art of North America

DescriptionAs a Jewish-Polish immigrant to New York's Lower East Side, Borne would have known first-hand the importance of street vendors to Manhattan's economy. Thanks to vendors, goods changed hands for money and produce did not rot in fields or homes. Most importantly, vending was a way for people to make a living. In the era before large grocery and department stores, street vendors sold food products, house wares, and even household services, like knife sharpening. Early in the century, Jewish vendors were Manhattan's chief providers of dry goods, sold from pushcarts. Their Sunday dry goods market drew huge crowds from other neighborhoods, as shops elsewhere in the city were usually closed.