In the Ottoman Empire the word "esnaf" (craftsman tradesman) covered a wide category of people referring to artists as well as artisans. In fact anyone who produced or sold something or provided a service in short anyone who worked for a living was included in the category.
The master artisans who produced prayer beads were considered as esnaf as were the watermen who roamed the streets bare-foot crying "abates loves fire" as they freely distributed curative water. Members of the old fire squads entered the esnaf category as did porters.
Peddlers formed another part of the esnaf mosaic. These poor people who carried their heavy load walking the streets of istanbul often bare foot and dressed in rags originated from the provinces.
This book is not a historical research on the esnaf. It is a series of portraits gathered from the cinders of Ottoman social history.