chandler

Chandlery Origins

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Historic black-and-white photograph of dock workers unloading sacks and supplies at a timber wharf, illustrating the early origins of the maritime chandlery trade.

A chandler is a merchant who supplies goods and equipment for ships and boats, while a chandlery is the shop or business where these supplies are sold. But the chandlery origins go back much further than the age of sail, and they’re not quite what you might expect. From Candles to Commerce The term chandlery … Read more