The Victorian Ironmonger

The Victorian ironmonger's shop was the nineteenth-century equivalent of the modern department store and a vast range of goods could be bought there. If the Victorian housewife needed knife-cleaning powder, candles, a saucepan or wallpaper, she would visit the ironmonger. Other tradesmen relied on the ironmonger for their tools and materials: cheese knives for the grocer, coffin handles for the undertaker, tools for the carpenter and gardener, even builders' supplies. Installing kitchen ranges, gas-fitting and bell-fitting were also within the ironmonger's repertory. This book describes the Victorian ironmonger's varied stock and also explains the purchase of goods, keeping accounts, giving credit and the prompt delivery service.