New-York tribune., 1905-11-26
THE LONDON COSTER.
Characteristic Street Type Rapidly
Disappearing.

The coster, that picturesque and UNIQUE prod
uct of old London life whom Albert Chevalier
has made familiar to American audiences is re-
ported to be rapidly disappearing The coster is
a man who sells things from a barrow and a
barrow only He is a street trader, but belongs
to a breed by himself, which shows in the cut of
his clothes and the of big pearl buttons on
his trousers and Jacket He generally lives in
the East End. In his more prosperous days he
would occupy small house with a yard, where
he put his barrow at night. and in the morning
he would go to his regular pitch" and return
again at dusk. The London fruit sellers Italian
ice cream men, flower girls and the like who
have multiplied Of late years. are termed costers
too, but it is a misnomer
The genus coster is said to have f1ourished for
two centuries. His decadence is chiefly due to
numerous small stores and street traders with
horse and wagon, which the daily needs of large
areas Of London have brought forth Formerly
children born to costers either took up their
fathers work or intermarried with others of the
calling, thus evolving a distinct class
Even at the present time it is estimated there
are about ten thousand Of his race in the British
metropolis. In 1901 there were 10 street mar
kets under the jurisdiction of the London
County Council. The number Of stalls in these
markets were 1855. Famous old Petticoat Lane
could boast of 575 stalls
A visit paid recently to the neighborhood of
st. Luke's. in the East End of London, where
the genuine "pearIy' is mostly in evidence
elected this naive definition of his calling:
"a coster is a covey wot works VERY ard for
very pore living"
One who claims to have worked in St Luke's
as Coster for sixty years, and whose people
for generations were costers before him. Ia
mented the decay Of his tribe.
"They costers!" the old man said when the
street traders were referred to; mot rnuchi
Any bloke could call fsself coster wot sells
matches in the street, but q aint. I've known
good many in me time. but they're dyin' awf
a bit. nah. See me, I've chucked the barrer
bisness nah although 1t m'ide me- seen wot
was comm and bought this little fish shop as
yer see- Nah, never put none o. my little ones
at the gime; too much competishun, melad I
was born coster an I'll die one; but there afnt
many costers bein' born nah-a days"
Along with the costers. all the old City apple
women and stallholders gradually going It
looks as If every stall In the great business
quarter of London would disappear in time for
no new permtssions are granted and the keepers
of these stands are dying out or getting notices
to move. Some of the old timers who still ling
er are said to have been daily at their stands
for thirty to forty years.
One Of the most interesting OF the City pave
ment traders is Walker, an erudite hawker, who
sells shoelaces, combs. studs and matches etc
at the corner of the Bank of England at Moor
gate-st. Walker has two hobbies. One Is look
ing after others in the same business older and
poorer than himself the other is Iearninr He
spends his evenings at night school and re-
Gently added diploma In commercial law IN
the many that decorate the walls of his simple
home. Walker claims that many City men when
in doubt on some abstruse point of business law
refer ii to him, and he also acts as their aIn1on
er, distributing their hospital tickets and other
contributions. out Of which he has a hobby for
forming inf1nitesimal pensions for some who can
no longer work.