Costermonger, or simply Coster, is a street seller of fruit (apples, etc.) and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention. Their cart might be stationary at a market stall, or mobile (horse-drawn or wheelbarrow).
Costers met a need for rapid food distribution from the central markets (e.g., Spitalfields for fruit and vegetables, Billingsgate for fish). Their membership as a coster was signalled by their large neckerchief, known as a kingsman, tied round their necks. Their hostility towards the police was legendary.[1]
The term, now often used to describe street vendors in general,[2] is derived from the words costard (a type of large ribbed apple) and monger; i.e., seller.
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Costermongers have existed in London since at least the 16th century, when they were mentioned by Shakespeare and Marlowe. They probably were most numerous during the Victorian era, when there were said to be over 30,000 in 1860. They gained a fairly unsavoury reputation for their "low habits, general improvidence, love of gambling, total want of education, disregard for lawful marriage ceremonies, and their use of a peculiar slang language" (John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary, 1859). Costers were notoriously competitive: respected "elder statespeople" in the costermonger community were elected as pearly kings and queens to keep the peace between rival costermongers.[3]
However, crimes such as theft were actually rare among costermongers themselves, especially in an open market where they tended to look out for one another. Even common thieves preferred to prey on shop owners rather than costers, who were inclined to dispense street justice. The costers' animosity towards the police was extreme:
With the navvies a state of permanent warfare with civil authority was common, but not inevitable; with the London costermongers it was axiomatic.—Chesney, [4]
The activities and lifestyles of 19th century costermongers are comprehensively documented in London Labour and the London Poor, a four volume collection of erudite and well-researched articles by Henry Mayhew. Mayhew describes a Saturday night in the New Cut, a street in Lambeth, south of the river:
Lit by a host of lights… the Cut was packed from wall to wall… The hubbub was deafening, the traders all crying their wares with the full force of their lungs against the background din of a horde of street musicians.—Mayhew, [5]
Such was London in the 1840s; but by the end of the 19th century, the costermongers were in gradual decline. They did not disappear as mobile street-sellers until about 1960, when the few that remained took pitches in local markets. They were portrayed in the music halls by vocal comedians such as Albert Chevalier (1861–1923) and Gus Elen (1862–1940). In The Forsyte Saga, Swithin Forsyte is driving Irene Forsyte in his carriage through the streets of London in 1886 and a costermonger (the "ruffian") and his girlfriend are riding alongside in their donkey cart, which is overturned in traffic. The antihero star of Look Back in Anger (1956) by playwright John Osborne is a coster who sells candies from his cart. The play and a filmed version depicts aspects of the formal and informal politics of street markets (as seen from a left wing perspective): racial prejudice, irate customers, abusive regulatory officials.
In 2008, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City announced plans to license 1000 street vendors (the name costermonger is not used in America) Green Carts to sell fresh fruits and vegetables. The announcement spurred hopes for a revival of costermongering.[6]
The costermonger's trade in London is subject to regulation by law, under the administration of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. If the pitch is stationary, by-laws of local councils also apply. Legislation exists under clause six of the Metropolitan Streets Act 1867, which deals with obstruction by goods to pavements (sidewalks) and streets. There are various modern amendments.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Coster-monger". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Coster-monger.