Flea market

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Montsoreau Flea Market, Loire Valley, France Puces de Montsoreau.jpg
Montsoreau Flea Market, Loire Valley, France
The Market NYC, an artists, designers, vintage and an indoor flea market in New York City The Market NYC.jpg
The Market NYC, an artists, designers, vintage and an indoor flea market in New York City

A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (second-hand) goods. [1] [2] This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' and 'casual' markets [3] which divides a fixed-style market (formal) with long-term leases and a seasonal-style market with short-term leases. Consistently, there tends to be an emphasis on sustainable consumption whereby items such as used goods, collectibles, antiques and vintage clothing can be purchased, in an effort to combat climate change and fast fashion. [1] [4]

Contents

Flea market vending is distinguished from street vending in that the market alone, and not any other public attraction, brings in buyers. There are a variety of vendors: some part-time who consider their work at flea markets a hobby due to their possession of an alternative job; full-time vendors who dedicate all their time to their stalls and collection of merchandise and rely solely on the profits made at the market. [3] Vendors require skill in following retro and vintage trends, as well as selecting merchandise which connects with the culture and identity of their customers. [4]

In the United States, the National Association of Flea Markets was established in 1998, which provides various resources for sellers, suppliers and buyers and also provides a means for suppliers and sellers to communicate and form affiliations. [1]

Origin of the term

Trodelladen (junk shop) by Ernst Thoms, 1926 Troedelladen Thoms.jpg
Trödelladen (junk shop) by Ernst Thoms, 1926

While the concept has existed for millennia, the origins of the term flea market are disputed. According to one hypothesis, the Fly Market in 18th-century New York City, located at Maiden Lane near the East River in Manhattan, began the association. [5] [6] The land on which the market took place was originally a salt marsh with a brook, and by the early 1800s the Fly Market was the city's principal market. [7]

A second hypothesis maintains that flea market is a common English calque from the French marché aux puces, which literally translates to "market with fleas", labelled as such because the items sold were previously owned and worn, likely containing fleas. [1] [8] The first reference to this term appeared in two conflicting stories about a location in Paris in the 1860s which was known as the "marché aux puces".

The traditional and most-publicized story is in the article "What Is a Flea Market?" by Albert LaFarge in the 1998 winter edition of Today's Flea Market magazine:

There is a general agreement that the term 'Flea Market' is a literal translation of the French marché aux puces, an outdoor bazaar in Paris, France, named after those pesky little parasites of the order Siphonaptera (or "wingless bloodsucker") that infested the upholstery of old furniture brought out for sale.

The second story appeared in the book Flea Markets, published in Europe by Chartwell Books, reading in its introduction:

In the time of the Emperor Napoleon III, the imperial architect Haussmann made plans for the broad, straight boulevards with rows of square houses in the center of Paris, along which army divisions could march with much pompous noise. The plans forced many dealers in second-hand goods to flee their old dwellings; the alleys and slums were demolished. These dislodged merchants were, however, allowed to continue selling their wares undisturbed right in the north of Paris, just outside the former fort, in front of the gate Porte de Clignancourt. The first stalls were erected in about 1860. The gathering together of all these exiles from the slums of Paris was soon given the name "marché aux puces", meaning "flea market", later translation. [9]

Regional names

In the United States, an outdoor swap meet is the equivalent of a flea market. However, an indoor swap meet is the equivalent of a bazaar, a permanent, indoor shopping center open during normal retail hours, with fixed booths or storefronts for the vendors. [10] [11] [12]

Different English-speaking countries use various names for flea markets. In Australian English, they are also called 'trash and treasure markets'. In Philippine English, the word is tianggê from the word tianguis via Mexican Spanish coming from Nahuatl. Despite common misconception, it is not derived from Hokkien. [13] The word supplants the indigenous term talipapâ. [14] In India, it is known as gurjari or shrukawadi bazaar or even as juna bazaar in Pune.

In the United Kingdom, they are known as car boot sales if the event takes place in a field or car park, as the vendors will sell goods from the boot (or 'trunk' in American English) of their car. If the event is held indoors, such as a school or church hall, then it is usually known as either a jumble sale, or a bring and buy sale. In Quebec and France, they are often called Marché aux puces (literally "flea market"), while in French-speaking areas of Belgium, the name brocante or vide-grenier is normally used.

In German, there are many words in use but the most common word is "Flohmarkt", meaning literally "flea market". The same applies to Dutch "vlooienmarkt", Swedish "loppmarknad" and Finnish "kirpputori". In the predominantly Cuban/Hispanic areas of South Florida, they are called [el] pulguero ("[the] flea store") from pulga, the Spanish word for fleas. In the Southern part of Andalusia, due to the influence of Gibraltar English, they are known as "piojito", which means "little louse". In Chile they can be called persas or mercados persa ("persian market") and ferias libres, if mostly selling fruit and vegetables. In Argentina they are most likely called "feria artesanal" (artisan's or street fair) or "feria americana" (American fair), the latter name is due to have taken the idea from their United States counterpart.

In Moroccan Darija, the term for "flea market" is جوطيةjuṭiyya, which either derives from French jeter or jetable (throwable), [15] or is an older term derived from جوقةjuqa meaning "gathering of people". An ancient village on the bank of Sebou River by the name جوطة "Juta" may have been a big medieval market. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language while translating its components, so as to create a new lexeme in the target language. For instance, the English word "skyscraper" has been calqued in dozens of other languages, combining words for "sky" and "scrape" in each language. Another notable example is the Latin weekday names, which came to be associated by ancient Germanic speakers with their own gods following a practice known as interpretatio germanica: the Latin "Day of Mercury", Mercurii dies, was borrowed into Late Proto-Germanic as the "Day of Wōđanaz" (Wodanesdag), which became Wōdnesdæg in Old English, then "Wednesday" in Modern English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porte de Clignancourt station</span> Metro station in Paris, France

Porte de Clignancourt is a station of the Paris Métro, the northern terminus of line 4, situated in the 18th Arrondissement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine</span> Commune in Île-de-France, France

Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France, located 6.6 kilometres from the centre of Paris. It is part of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, in the Île-de-France region, and of the Métropole du Grand Paris. The commune was called Saint-Ouen until 2018, when it obtained a change of name by ministerial order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bazaar</span> Type of public marketplace

A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and South Asia. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the West, might also designate themselves as bazaars. The ones in the Middle East were traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that had doors on each end and served as a city's central marketplace. Street markets are the European and North American equivalents.

Puce is a brownish purple color. The term comes from the French couleur puce, literally meaning "flea color".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car boot sale</span> Form of market

Car boot sales or boot fairs are a form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. They are popular in the United Kingdom, where they are often referred to simply as 'car boots'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawker (trade)</span> Street Vendor

A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationary or mobile, hawkers often advertise by loud street cries or chants, and conduct banter with customers, to attract attention and enhance sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sowcarpet</span> Neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Sowcarpet is a neighborhood in the northern part of Chennai, India. Sowcarpet is one of the oldest neighborhoods of the city with narrow streets and vintage buildings. It is a bustling commercial area of the city, and a range of wholesale markets are located here. The locality is known as the North Indian hub of Chennai owing to the presence of the North Indian community here. Sowcarpet is home to the largest Marwadi community in South India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jumble sale</span> Sale to raise funds for a good cause

A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale or rummage sale is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, Girlguiding group or church, as a fundraising or charitable effort. A rummage sale by a church is called a church sale or white elephant sale, frequently as part of a church bazaar.

<i>Boutique</i> Type of retail shop

A boutique is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (apothēkē) "storehouse".

<span title="Spanish-language text"><i lang="es">Tianguis</i></span> Central American open-air market

A tianguis is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases essentially unchanged into the present day. The word tianguis comes from tiyānquiztli or tianquiztli in Classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire. In rural areas, many traditional types of merchandise are still sold, such as agriculture supplies and products as well as modern, mass-produced goods. In the cities, mass-produced goods are mostly sold, but the organization of tianguis events is mostly the same. There are also specialty tianguis events for holidays such as Christmas as well as for particular types of items such as cars or art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marketplace</span> Space in which a market operates

A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a souk, bazaar, a fixed mercado (Spanish), or itinerant tianguis (Mexico), or palengke (Philippines). Some markets operate daily and are said to be permanent markets while others are held once a week or on less frequent specified days such as festival days and are said to be periodic markets. The form that a market adopts depends on its locality's population, culture, ambient and geographic conditions. The term market covers many types of trading, as market squares, market halls and food halls, and their different varieties. Thus marketplaces can be both outdoors and indoors, and in the modern world, online marketplaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chor Bazaar, Mumbai</span> Place in Maharashtra, India

Chor Bazaar is one of the largest flea markets in India, located at Mutton street, near Bhendi Bazaar in Grant Road, South Mumbai. The area is one of the tourist attractions of Mumbai. The word "chor" means 'thief' in Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi. According to popular legend, if you lose anything in Mumbai you can buy it back from the "Chor Bazaar".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second-hand shop</span> Shop which sells used goods

A second-hand shop is a shop which sells used goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose Flea Market</span> Shopping mall

The San Jose Flea Market, located in Berryessa district of San Jose, California, was founded by George Bumb Sr. in March 1960. He had the idea to open a flea market while working in the solid waste and landfill business. He witnessed abundant items thrown away every day and realized he could make a profit from these discarded items. After visiting swap meets in Los Angeles and Paris’ Thieves Market for inspiration, George Bumb Sr. established the San Jose Flea Market at 1590 Berryessa Road in San Jose, California. He bought 120 acres (49 ha) of an old meat-processing plant and remodeled it to create a market with an initial 20 vendors and only 100 customers per day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braderie</span>

A braderie or jaarmarkt is a type of grand yearly street fair and street market found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Northern France and north-west Switzerland, mostly held in the summer months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Flea</span>

Brooklyn Flea is a company based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2008 by Jonathan Butler, creator of Brownstoner Magazine, and Eric Demby, the former communications director for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Flea runs several of the largest flea markets on the East Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randolph Street Market</span>

The Randolph Street Market Festival is a hybrid indoor-outdoor market held outdoors the last weekend of each month, May through October, and indoors the third weekend of October, November and December.

Benoît Ramognino

An indoor swap meet in the United States, especially Southern California and Nevada, is a type of bazaar, a permanent, indoor shopping center open during normal retail hours, with fixed booths or storefronts for the vendors.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 LaFarge, A. (2000). "Introduction". U.S. Flea Market Directory, 3rd Edition: A Guide to the Best Flea Markets in All 50 States. US Flea Market Directory. St. Martin's Press. ISBN   978-0-312-26405-5 . Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  2. "flea market | Definition of flea market in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  3. 1 2 L., D. (2006). "Editorial Perspectives: Flea Markets". Science & Society. 70 (3): 301–307. doi:10.1521/siso.70.3.301. ISSN   0036-8237. JSTOR   40404837.
  4. 1 2 Appelgren, Staffan (2015). "Introduction: Circulating Stuff through Second-hand, Vintage and Retro Markets" (PDF). Culture Unbound. 7: 11. doi:10.3384/cu.2000.1525.15713.
  5. "History Blog Insight into History – A Weekly Instrospective Into The Past". Archived from the original on 21 March 2012.
  6. "Flea Markets in Arkansas". Arkansas Arts and Crafts. Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  7. Google Books: The geographical and historical dictionary of America and the West ..., Volume 3, by Antonio de Alcedo and George Alexander Thompson, p. 409, 1812
  8. "What is the origin of the term 'flea ... | Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on April 11, 2017. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  9. Prieto, J. (2007). "Flea Market History". Hollis Flea Market. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  10. "Las Vegas' epic secondhand shops, antique stores and swap meets are a thrifter's paradise - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". 28 February 2019.
  11. "Tensions, Bargains Share Space at Indoor Swap Meets : Bazaars: Businesses that survived riots are prospering. But some say they sell shoddy goods and stir racial strife". Los Angeles Times . 8 July 1992.
  12. "Young businesses thrive in indoor swap meets". 17 August 2014.
  13. Hernández, Paloma Albalá (2007). Americanismos en las Indias del Poniente: Voces de origen indígena Americano en las lenguas del Pacífico. Lingüística Iberoamericana. Vol. IX. Vervuert. p. 171. ISBN   9788495107527.
  14. "Tagalong Lang". Tagaloglang.com. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  15. "Rabat flea market" (in Arabic). 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014.
  16. "Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs, Morocco, Qisariyya and its sister terms" (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 28 November 2016.