Cost of living in German towns

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 866449027

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-93831

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Cost of living in German towns

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stat. Off.

Year of publication:: 1908

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (LXI, 548 Seiten)

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

HAMBURG. 269 two-thirds of which contain two living and bed rooms and a kitchen, and the remainder three rooms and a kitchen. The rents of the three-room dwelling's range from 4s. 3d. to 4s. 6ú?. per week, and those of the four-room dwellings from 5s. 7e?. to 6s. '2d. One group of dwellings at Bahrenfeld has been built in villa style, with gardens. Retail Prices. Groceries and other Commodities. There are no large market halls in Hamburg, but in various parts of the town open markets are held for the sale mainly of farm and country produce, though household requisites and hardware are also retailed there. The town has an abundance of special shops for the sale of butter, cheese, and milk, but the first two of these articles are also to be had in most grocers’ shops. There are several strong co-operative societies, the principal being the " Production ” society, which is essentially a working-class society, with 46 shops (including 2 butcher’s shops and 2 baker’s shops) and a membership of 22,995, and the “ New Society of 1856 for the Distribution of Necessities of Life,” having 40 shops (three being for boots and shoes). The “Production” stores had a turnover in 1906 of £195,400, but it would appear that nearly half the members bought no goods ; the “ 1856 ” stores had a turnover of £294,369. Many kinds of bread are consumed in Hamburg, some coming from a distance, but the working classes almost exclusively eat “ Feinbrod ” or " fine bread,” so called because to the rye flour of which it is chiefly made a portion of wheat flour is added, and coarse “ black ” bread, consisting wholly of rye, roughly ground. Wheaten rolls (Rundstücke) are also eaten, but as a rule only at " first breakfast ” with coffee. Bread is not sold by weight but at different prices, and the amount obtained for each price depends upon the ruling price of flour. The loaves most commonly baked cost la., Gd., and M., and the greatest demand is for the Gd. size. Thus in the year 1906 the “Production” Co-operative Society baked 2,250 loaves at la., 527,099 at 6c?., 263,260 at 4c?., and 182,544 at 3c?. In the same year the “ 1856 ” Co-operative Society sold 1,840,826 lb. of "fine” bread and 2,758,082 lb. of ordinary rye bread. The predominant price of “ fine ” rye bread in October, 1905, was 5cl. to 5¿c?. for 4 lb. and of “ black ” bread 4c?. to 4\d. Since then the sizes of the several loaves have been reduced owing to the higher price of corn, and in 1907 the 4 lb. loaf of “ fine ” rye bread cost 5Jc?. to Gd. and the same of “ black ” bread cost 5c?. In its report for 1906 the “ Production” Co-operative Society, which baked bread in that year to the value of £26,779, states : “ The new duties which came into force on March 1st fell most perceptibly on all. kinds of bread corn, the result being an increase in the price of flour, in spite of the extraordinarily good harvest. The duties per 100 kilog. (220 lb.) were increased as follows :—On rye from 3s. Gd. to 5a., on wheat from 3g. Gd. to 5s. 6c/., and on flour from 7s. 3'Gd. to 10s. 2'4c?. While the good harvest would without doubt have led to a fall in prices (but for the higher duties), flour rose immediately, at times to the full extent of the duty and even beyond Though we gave way to the pressure of higher prices but slowly, it was necessary to reduce the weight to a small extent. ’ There is in Hamburg a large co-operative bakery, formed by journeymen bakers and assistants, and it had in 1906 a turnover of £46,409. No bread-baking is done at home, and the flour bought is used for cakes and puddings. Wheat flour cost in October, 1905, from lO^c?. to Is. 0^c?. per 7 lb. according to quality, and rye flour from 7|d. to 9\d. for the same quantity. Coffee is usually bought in qualities costing in 1905 from 9\d. and 1 Id. per lb., but the latter is the quality in most demand at the co-operative stores. There is, however, a large trade in substitutes. Thus the “ Production ” Co-operative Society sold in 1906 134,620 lb. of “ surrogates ” of various kinds, against 202,619 lb. of pure coffee, and the “ 1856 ” Co-operative Society sold 339,053 lb. of “ surrogates ” against 408,142 lb. of pure coffee. Coffee is usually bought in quantities of half a pound, and it is invariably ground at home. The price of sugar in 1905 was 2\d. for loaf, which is always used with •coffee, and 2\d. for white granulated sugar, used for cooking purposes. Fresh

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Cost of living in German towns

Monograph

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation