The General Store Etexts

Each of these pieces of writing represents student research into an aspect of General Stores during the era the project explored.
Click on the titles to view each piece in full.

List of Peddlars' Licenses

List of Licenced Peddlers in Prince Edward Island which appeared in the Royal Gazette newspaper, 30 April 1904. The list includes the name, age, and address of the peddler as well as the type of license held ("foot" or "horse and wagon"). Ethnicity of immigrant peddlers is also indicated. A notice appears at the bottom of the page and includes information about the cost of licences, fines for peddling without a licence, and information for individuals who need to report violators of the Peddler's Act.This is a page from the ROYAL GAZETTE. This newspaper was printed in the year 1904 on April 30. It is a special page made to show who had a peddlar's license. How the page is organized is easy to understand. The first thing you see (if you are looking from the right) is when the license expires.

Jewelry

Holman's Spring and Summer Catalog, No. 38, 1926. Image depicts page 21 and includes a selection of women's necklaces, rings, and ribbons.

Jewelry was very popular back in the days of the 1900's. This store was located in Summerside, P.E.I. This jewelry could also be found in a store rather than in a catalogue. These rings are from a typical Holman's catalogue. The price ranges from then and today are quite different. For example, a Gold Filled Ring cost 75 cents.

My Store

Image of Sentner, MacLeod and Co. wholesale and retail store located on Queen Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The image shows the façade of the store, a large, three storey, brick building topped with a sign which reads "My Store". The image is taken from across the street in winter and is dated ca. 1890-1906.

My Store is a wholesale and retail store (Sentner, MacLeod and Co.) that was around in the in the late 1800s and early 1900s on P E I. It was pretty big, around three stories, and it had a huge "My Store" sign. It was a big store and it had lots of windows. Many people would have used it for a post office, meeting place and store. It was not by itself; there were other stores right by it, so it would have had lots of competition. The stores right beside it might have been clothing stores, too. This store would have sold almost everything that the other stores would have had. The store was built of wood with some stone.

Pack Peddlars

Image identified as a peddler's horse and buggy on Main Street in Souris, Prince Edward Island, ca. 1940s. A car can be seen parked behind the horse and buggy.

Peddlars like the one shown in this picture are NOT pack peddlars. Pack peddlars traveled on foot. They were commonly seen in the late 1800's and in the early 1900's. They would normally carry two packs of goods with them, the heavier one on the back and the lighter pack in front.