Author Description

This book is part of an activity-based series which is designed to promote an investigative approach to history and to encourage children to explore the past through what they can see or find out from their surroundings. Each title covers a particular subject from an historical perspective and includes advice about gathering information and suggested activities or projects. It is intended to provide background reading for GCSE studies and Standard Grade in Scotland. In this illustrated volume, the author examines the historical development of shops and trading, with an emphasis on investigating local shops and finding out how trade developed in the reader's local area. Lines assesses shopping today, discussing the different zones of a city and the types of shops in each. He covers the growth of modern shopping complexes and hypermarkets and the trend towards ordering goods by mail. The book examines shops and trading in the past including the limited shopping available during the two wars and shopping in Victorian times with the development of covered markets, arcades and the first multiple shops and department stores. Evidence is given of trade in Roman and Egyptian times, medieval times with the pedlars, craftsmen and travelling fairs and the 18th century with a description of the importance of shop signs. The book concludes with possible trends for shopping in the future and advice to readers on how to explore the history of shopping in their own area.