Souvenir Sellers

The trade in souvenirs is highly profitable from the individual street/site vendor to the large  emporium and has a long history dating form Ancient Greece. Locally made crafts  have been supplanted by factory made objects. Still, the need to bring ‘something back’ resonates.

At the entrance to Angkor Wat, Cambodia
At the entrance to Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Souvenir sellers row to the tourist boats in Halong Bay, Vietnam
Souvenir sellers row to the tourist boats in Halong Bay, Vietnam
Istanbul street vendor
Istanbul street vendor

 

Deborah Jaffé is an author; cultural and design historian; ceramicist and painter with special interests in the history of souvenirs and memory studies; women and innovation; childhood, play and toys.