The forces of industrialization that reshaped cities also reshaped patterns of consumption. Mass production brought a wide range of consumer products within reach of ordinary people, and new forms of product distribution and sale emerged to meet the demands of vastly expanded national consumer markets. These films highlight the contrast between new and old modes of consumption. In Bargain Day at Rothschild’s Department Store, we see crowds of would-be customers jockey to gain access to discounted consumer goods. In New York City “Ghetto” Fish Market, a very different crowd makes purchases in a very different market.

Bargain Day at Rothschild’s Department Store (1905)

New York City “Ghetto” Fish Market (1903)

Source: Video courtesy of Library of Congress, Moving Image Section.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER