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'Said To Be A Very Honest Jew': The R.G. Dunn Credit Reports and Jewish Business Activity in Mid-19th Century Montreal
| Type of resource | |
|---|---|
| Author/collaborator |
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| Title |
'Said To Be A Very Honest Jew': The R.G. Dunn Credit Reports and Jewish Business Activity in Mid-19th Century Montreal
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| Abstract |
An examination of the role of Montreal's Jewish community in the city's economic development between the 1840s and the 1870s. Based on credit reports, this study reveals that Jewish businesses were concentrated mainly in the retailing of jewellery and fancy goods, tobacco and drygoods, and in clothing manufacturing. The author notes that most were petty traders; they were often transitory figures who succumbed to the vagaries of business fluctuations, or were incompetent, poorly financed or dishonest. The author further notes that although his Jewishness was always taken note of, a businessman's creditworthiness was apparently assessed as objectively as that of a non-Jew: there is no evidence that antisemitism - of which there is plenty in these reports - by itself adversely affected Jewish business mobility or success to any significant extent. The author concludes that in this period Jewish businessmen tended to keep to trades or businesses with which they were familiar before immigrating; they often brought inventory with them, relied on family credit, and kept largely to themselves. Most achieved a modest living while a few successful tobacco and clothing manufactures emerged.
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| Publication |
Urban History Review/Revue d'histoire urbaine
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| Volume |
Vol. 18
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| Issue |
no. 3
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| Pages |
200-209
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| Date |
February 1990
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| Language |
en
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| URL | |
| Citation |
Tulchinsky, Gerald. “‘Said To Be A Very Honest Jew’: The R.G. Dunn Credit Reports and Jewish Business Activity in Mid-19th Century Montreal.” Urban History Review/Revue d’histoire urbaine Vol. 18, no. 3 (February 1990): 200–209. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/uhr/1990-v18-n3-uhr0765/1017716ar.pdf.
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