Sylvie MazzellaLaurence Americi, éditions Gaussen, 2023, 160 pages

This illustrated book, published to mark the 350th anniversary of the Mont de piété, which became the Crédit Municipal de Marseille, takes us on a journey through the history of pawnbroking, a practice that is more relevant than ever in a world shaken by economic and financial crises.
The first part highlights Using Crédit Municipal archives and employees' accounts, we trace the gestures of the pawnbroking trade over time: the hand of the appraiser, the hand that welcomes, the hand that counts, the hand on the auctioneer's hammer, the hand that seals the boxes...
The second part, which draws on a variety of sources (archives, press articles, employees' accounts from the 1960s onwards), looks at the objects involved: clothing, jewellery (from Provence or the Comoros, etc.), works of art, etc.
Finally, the third part, based on archive accounts and testimonies from today's users, shows the diversity of uses of pawnbroking for customers, some of whom have been loyal for more than 40 years.

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