ABOUT THIS BOOK
In this study, the appearance and location of shops in Amsterdam during the early modern period is linked to major changes in the urban economy, the size and socio-spatial distribution of its population, and the structure of the urban grid. Not only is there ample attention for the spatial distribution of shops across the urban landscape, but for the first time it is also accurately charted what the exterior and interior of Amsterdam shops looked like and how they changed in the course of the centuries. Partly as a result of this, it has proved possible to give an impression of the ways in which retailers and customers interacted.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Clé Lesger (Amsterdam 1956) is an associate professor of economic and social history at the University of Amsterdam. His recent fields of interest are urban history in general, the retailing industry, and patterns of land-use and residential segregation in early modern and modern cities. Recently he published a history of retailing in Amsterdam (1550-2000) and co-edited with Jan Hein Furnée The Landscape of Consumption. Shopping Streets and Cultures in Western Europe, 1600-1900 (Palgrave 2014).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PrefaceIntroduction1. Shops, markets and the urban landscape in sixteenth-century Amsterdam- Historical background- The location of retail activities: theory- The urban landscape of Amsterdam in the sixteenth century- The location of shops in the urban landscape- Streets, houses and shops2. Changing distribution systems: differentiation and specialization in early modern Amsterdam- Distribution systems in the US and England- Distributive trade and distribution in Amsterdam- Combinations of wholesale and retail3. Shop location patterns in the age of the great urban expansions- A period of dynamism and expansion- Patterns of accessibility in the enlarged city- Shops in the city centre and the new neighbourhoods- The retail landscape of Amsterdam in the seventeenth century4. The retail landscape and the consumer in the seventeenth century- The street- Shopfronts- Shop interiors- Buying and selling5. The location of shops in Amsterdam in the mid-eighteenth century- Sources and location patterns: a first exploration- The retail system in the city centre: the main shopping streets- Shops outside the city centre- Forms of accessibility and the urban grid in Amsterdam6. Stagnation and modernization in Amsterdam's retail sector, ca. 1700-1850- Shops in Britain in the eighteenth century- The number and location of shops in Amsterdam- Urban improvement in Amsterdam- Retail trade practices in AmsterdamConclusionAppendix: sources for the location of shops in Amsterdam and selection of sectorsList of consulted sources and literatureList of tablesTopographical indexImage credits