Horse Trading in the Age of Cars

Release on 2008-10 | by Steven M. Gelber

When horses were the primary means of personal transportation, men judged other men by every aspect of horse ownership. If a man could not exercise his ownership responsibilities in a masculine way, then maybe he did not really own the ...

Author: Steven M. Gelber
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801889974
Category: Business & Economics
Page: 224
View: 117

The trading, selling, and buying of personal transport has changed little over the past one hundred years. Whether horse trading in the early twentieth century or car buying today, haggling over prices has been the common practice of buyers and sellers alike. Horse Trading in the Age of Cars offers a fascinating study of the process of buying an automobile in a historical and gendered context. Steven M. Gelber convincingly demonstrates that the combative and frequently dishonest culture of the showroom floor is a historical artifact whose origins lie in the history of horse trading. Bartering and bargaining were the norm in this predominantly male transaction, with both buyers and sellers staking their reputations and pride on their ability to negotiate the better deal. Gelber comments on this point-of-sale behavior and what it reveals about American men. Gelber's highly readable and lively prose makes clear how this unique economic ritual survived into the industrial twentieth century, in the process adding a colorful and interesting chapter to the history of the automobile.

Language: en
Pages: 451

The Earliest Norwegian Laws

Authors: Laurence Marcellus Larson

Categories: History

Type: BOOK - Published: 2011-06-01 - Publisher: The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.

Compilation of Early Norwegian Laws. "The oldest Norwegian laws, those of Gula and Frosta, go back to a time when the culture of the Middle Ages was still a somewhat novel experience in Northern Europe. Though the copies that have survived seem to date from the twelfth century and later,