There's various (usually uncomplimentary) references to Jewish men collecting and selling old clothes and other second-hand goods. The hawkers/pedlars were often suspected of receiving, especially scrap metal traders in rural (and possibly urban) areas. Cartoons from the period also show what the upper/upper-middle class' predominant attitude towards poor Jewish traders was; often prejudiced. Apparently (or so I've read) street traders were frequently persecuted by the police.