Oil painting of a shabbily dressed clothes peddler

Oil on canvas painting depicting an old clothes peddler walking in a city street in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Peddlers were itinerant vendors who sold goods to the public. They usually traveled alone and carried their goods with them as they went. For example, clothes peddlers dealt specifically in garments. They bought used clothes, cleaned and repaired them, and then sold them for a profit. Peddling was a common occupation for young Jewish men during the 18th and 19th centuries. Most peddlers hoped their hard work would serve as a springboard to more lucrative and comfortable occupations. However, old prejudices formed an antisemitic stereotype of the Jewish peddler. The stereotype originated from the economic and professional restrictions placed on early European Jews. They were barred from owning land, farming, joining trade guilds, and military service. These restrictions limited Jews to the occupations of retail peddling, hawking, and moneylending. Additionally, medieval religious belief held that charging interest (known as usury) was sinful, and the Jews who occupied these professions were looked down upon, predominantly by European Christians. They were perceived as morally deficient and willing to engage in unethical business practices. The inability of Jews to legally hold other occupations, combined with Christians’ disdain for the professions Jews were allowed to practice, helped form the canard of the greedy Jew who exploited Gentiles. This canard was often visually depicted as a Jewish peddler, an untrustworthy figure that sold cut rate items at inflated prices. The painting is one of more than 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic artifacts and visual materials.