Foot measures, 1775 - 1800
Inv V09476

Napoleon introduced the metric system into the Netherlands. Since then we have used the metre, the kilogram and the litre. Until that time each region had its own measures, which of course was not very convenient for market traders, who travelled all over the Netherlands. Consequently they always had their own scales and weights with them. As a customer you simply had to hope that you weren't being rooked.The textile merchant had the same problem. He sold his cloths not by the metre, but by the foot. However, the Rheinland foot (the measure used in Leiden) was not the same length as the Amsterdam foot. You can see from the photograph that there is quite a difference between the different feet, so that it was important to choose the correct one. For this purpose the textile merchant had a ring or rope hanging from his belt. On this hung the various foot measures. In this way he could measure off the correct foot in every town.