By land and sea: the nodes and links of the lucrative french school supplies Market (19th-20th century)

Abstract:

The objective of this work is to approach, from the perspective of the archaeological theory of networks by Carl Knappett (2011), the nodes and links of the performance of two French companies in the commercialization of materials for the teaching of natural sciences, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The french companies created a set of commercial strategies whose study allows a better understanding of the material conditions of expansion, or not, of the teaching of natural sciences. To this end, this investigation made use of sources such as bills of lading, purchase notes, newspaper advertisements, company catalogs, letters and correspondence, among others. As a result, the research contributes to the writing of an economic and cultural history of the school and the teaching of natural sciences.

Keywords:
material culture; economic history; history of science education; archaeological networks