Introduction
Merchandising did not begin with pop stars, football clubs, film studios or theme parks. Long before a concert T-shirt, a Disney figurine or a museum-shop tote bag existed, people bought objects that allowed them to carry a memory, a place, a spectacle, a saint, a ruler or a social identity with them. These objects were more than practical goods. They were signs of participation. They said: I was there, I belong to this cult, I saw this spectacle, I honour this figure, I visited this shrine, I took part in this story.
For marketing history, early merchandising is important because it shows that products could function as media long before modern branding. A small Roman glass flask decorated with city views, an oil lamp showing gladiators, a medieval pilgrim badge from Canterbury or Santiago, or an ampulla containing holy water from a shrine all combined material use with symbolic value. They were purchasable things, but also portable memory, identity and social communication.
The term “merchandising” is modern and should not be projected uncritically onto antiquity or the Middle Ages. Ancient Romans and medieval pilgrims did not use the word in today’s commercial sense. Yet if merchandising is understood broadly as the production and sale of objects connected to places, events, personalities, institutions or stories, then many early examples can be identified. The most secure evidence is not one single “first” merchandising product, but a long historical chain: ancient religious tokens, festival objects, spectacle souvenirs, Roman tourist flasks, gladiator-themed lamps and cups, and medieval pilgrim badges and ampullae.
This article therefore treats early merchandising as a historical practice rather than a modern category. It follows the approach of marketing historians such as Eric H. Shaw, who emphasizes that ancient and medieval societies already contained recognizable market practices, and D. G. Brian Jones and Mark Tadajewski, whose Routledge Companion to Marketing History argues for studying marketing practice across long historical periods, including antiquity (Shaw, 2016; Jones and Tadajewski, 2016). The topic also connects to Hartmut Berghoff’s understanding of marketing as a social technique and to Philip Kotler’s broader definition of marketing as value creation, value communication and value delivery (Berghoff, 2007; Kotler and Keller, 2016).
What Counts as Early Merchandising?
Modern merchandising usually means the commercial sale of branded or theme-related products: shirts, mugs, badges, figurines, posters, toys, collectibles or souvenirs connected to a brand, celebrity, event, film, team, museum, attraction or public figure. Historically, the underlying principle is older than the modern word. People have long wanted to transform experience into possession. A journey, pilgrimage, spectacle or encounter becomes more durable when attached to an object.
That is why early merchandising must be distinguished from ordinary trade. A Roman oil lamp was not necessarily merchandising. But an oil lamp decorated with gladiators, sold near an amphitheatre or connected to spectacle culture, moves closer to merchandising because it ties a functional object to an entertainment experience. A medieval lead badge was not merely a piece of metal. When it carried the image of St Thomas Becket’s shrine and was worn on a pilgrim’s hat or cloak, it became proof of pilgrimage, devotional object, souvenir and identity marker.
This logic resembles what later branding scholars call symbolic consumption. Sidney J. Levy argued that people consume goods not only for practical use but also for what they symbolize (Levy, 1959). Russell Belk and later consumer-culture scholars developed related ideas about possession, memory and identity (Belk, 1988). In early merchandising, this symbolic function is particularly visible. The object matters because of what it connects the owner to.
Roman Souvenirs: Empire, Travel and Memory
One of the strongest bodies of evidence for early merchandising comes from the Roman Empire. Maggie L. Popkin’s Souvenirs and the Experience of Empire in Ancient Rome is central here because it treats Roman souvenirs not as marginal curiosities, but as objects that shaped memory, identity and the experience of empire (Popkin, 2022). Cambridge University Press describes the book as a study of how Roman souvenirs helped people remember places, events and experiences within imperial culture.
Roman souvenirs could take different forms: glass flasks showing famous places, oil lamps with spectacle imagery, small figurines, decorated vessels, tokens, medallions or objects associated with religious and civic sites. Their value lay not only in use but in association. They connected their owner to a place such as Baiae, Puteoli, Rome or a sanctuary; to an experience such as travel, bathing, games or pilgrimage-like visitation; or to the wider symbolic world of the Roman Empire.
The so-called Puteoli and Baiae glass flasks are especially important. They show cityscapes and place names and have been found in different contexts, including graves, homes, sanctuaries and bathhouses. Popkin argues that such objects could serve as useful vessels and conversation pieces, but also as emotionally meaningful souvenirs that people offered to gods or took into the afterlife (Popkin, 2022).
From a marketing-historical perspective, this is significant because the object extends the experience. The visit does not end at the place. It continues through the item. The souvenir becomes a material memory device and a social signal. It allows the owner to tell a story, display mobility and attach personal identity to a place.
Spectacle Souvenirs and Gladiator Merchandising
Roman spectacle culture offers another important field for early merchandising. Gladiators, charioteers, amphitheatres and circus events were highly visible forms of mass entertainment. They generated fan culture, reputation, visual imagery and objects. Oil lamps decorated with gladiators or circus scenes, glass vessels with names or imagery of performers, and other spectacle-related objects show how entertainment could move into material culture.
Popkin’s work discusses spectacle souvenirs across the Roman Empire and notes that oil lamps were frequently decorated with circus and arena motifs, including charioteers and gladiators (Popkin, 2022). The Getty Museum’s catalogue of ancient lamps likewise emphasizes that oil lamps reveal more than practical illumination; they show aspects of daily life, imagery and cultural interest in antiquity (Bussière and Lindros Wohl, 2017).
This material comes close to what modern readers would recognize as entertainment merchandising. A gladiator-themed lamp did not merely provide light. It brought the spectacle into the home. It turned public entertainment into domestic imagery. It allowed the owner to participate symbolically in the culture of the arena.
The comparison with modern sports merchandise is useful, though not exact. A modern football scarf or team mug identifies the fan with a club. A Roman lamp with gladiator imagery could identify the owner with spectacle culture, admiration for performers or memories of games. The important continuity is that entertainment created secondary products.
The Commercial Landscape around Amphitheatres
The archaeological environment around Roman amphitheatres also suggests that entertainment sites generated commercial activity. Excavations and geophysical research around Roman arena sites have identified shops, food stands and tavern-like spaces near entertainment venues. Reports on the amphitheatre at Carnuntum, for example, describe shops and food sellers around the arena, with researchers noting the sale of gladiator-decorated oil lamps in the area.
This does not prove every object was sold as “merchandise” in the modern sense, but it shows the commercial ecosystem around spectacle. Where crowds gathered, sellers appeared. Food, drink, small objects, lamps or souvenirs could be offered to spectators. The event created foot traffic; foot traffic created retail opportunity.
Stanley C. Hollander’s retail-history approach is useful here because it reminds us that marketing history includes place, distribution and selling environments, not only advertising texts (Hollander, 1986). Early merchandising was often tied to location. The object became meaningful because it was acquired at or near the experience.
Religious Objects and the Deep Roots of Devotional Merchandising
Religious sites are among the richest sources for early merchandising. Shrines, temples and pilgrimage destinations produced objects that visitors could buy, wear, carry, offer or keep. These objects were not “brand merchandise” in a secular modern sense, but they performed similar functions: they carried the image, authority and memory of a sacred place.
In ancient Mediterranean religion, votive objects, temple tokens and small religious images could connect worshippers to deities and sanctuaries. In later Christian Europe, this developed into a vast economy of pilgrim souvenirs. The medieval pilgrim badge and ampulla are among the clearest early examples of mass-produced, place-linked, symbolic merchandise.
The British Museum describes a lead-alloy pilgrim souvenir from the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury: a hollow-cast ampulla decorated with scenes of Becket and his cult, including the martyrdom of Becket and figures associated with the shrine. Another British Museum object is a ship-shaped ampulla from the same shrine, dated to about 1170–1250. These objects were not generic religious goods. They were tied to a particular shrine, saint and pilgrimage destination.
Pilgrim Badges as Medieval Mass Merchandising
Medieval pilgrim badges are perhaps the strongest candidates for early mass-produced merchandising. They were usually made from inexpensive lead-alloy or tin-alloy metal and sold at pilgrimage sites. Pilgrims pinned them to hats, cloaks or bags, making their journey visible to others. The Becket Story project notes that pilgrims wore ampullae around the neck and pinned or sewed badges to hats or travelling cloaks.
These badges had multiple functions. They were souvenirs, proof of pilgrimage, devotional objects, protective signs and public identity markers. They could show saints, shrine symbols, relic imagery, shells, ampullae, animals, tools or humorous and secular motifs. The Kunera database, a major scholarly resource on late medieval badges and ampullae, provides access to more than 26,000 examples, showing the scale and variety of this material culture.
From a marketing perspective, pilgrim badges are extraordinary because they combine mass production, low price, recognizable iconography, place identity and wearer-based advertising. A pilgrim who returned home wearing a Canterbury badge effectively displayed the shrine’s image in another town. The object travelled with the customer. It advertised the pilgrimage site, confirmed the pilgrim’s status and extended the shrine’s reputation.
This is why pilgrim badges are often described as medieval tourist souvenirs. History Today notes that pilgrim souvenirs were designed to be attractive from a distance and recognizable close up, and that buyers wore them on hats or bags with distinctive icons linked to major shrines. In modern language, the badge functioned like a logo-bearing travel souvenir.
The Scallop Shell of Santiago
One of the most famous pilgrimage symbols is the scallop shell associated with Santiago de Compostela. It functioned as a badge of pilgrimage and later became one of the most recognizable symbols of pilgrimage in Europe. Unlike a lead badge, the shell could be natural, but it also became part of a broader symbolic and commercial culture. Pilgrims acquired or displayed shells to identify their route, status and destination.
The scallop shell is important because it shows how an object can become a powerful destination symbol. It is not just a natural object. Through repeated association with pilgrimage, it became a sign of travel, devotion and identity. In modern branding terms, it became a highly durable place symbol.
Diana Twede’s work on packaging and marking history is useful here because it shows how visual markers help identify goods, origins and meanings (Twede, 2016). The scallop shell did something similar for pilgrimage identity. It identified the pilgrim and linked the body to a sacred destination.
Canterbury and the Merchandising of St Thomas Becket
The cult of St Thomas Becket after his murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 generated one of the most important pilgrimage economies in medieval Europe. Canterbury became a major shrine, and Becket souvenirs were widely produced and circulated. Ampullae could contain holy water or other shrine-associated substances, while badges could show scenes from Becket’s martyrdom, shrine imagery or symbols of his cult.
The British Museum examples are especially valuable because they show how detailed and iconographically specific these objects could be. They were not plain tokens. They carried recognizable narrative scenes and visual references to the saint.
From a marketing-history standpoint, Becket souvenirs show a sophisticated combination of storytelling, place identity and portable devotion. The martyrdom became an image. The shrine became a destination. The object became proof of participation. The pilgrim became a carrier of the shrine’s reputation.
This is merchandising in a deeply religious and medieval form. The object did not merely commemorate a visit; it connected the buyer to sacred power.
Ampullae: Containers, Souvenirs and Sacred Utility
Ampullae are especially interesting because they combine container function with symbolic value. They could hold holy water, oil or other sacred substances associated with a shrine. Their practical function made them more than badges; they carried material contact with the sacred place.
This dual function resembles modern merchandise that is both useful and symbolic. A mug from a museum can hold coffee, but also show affiliation with the institution. An ampulla could hold liquid, but also display shrine imagery and devotional connection.
The British Museum’s Becket ampullae illustrate this duality clearly: they are hollow-cast objects, wearable and decorated with shrine-related imagery. Their power as merchandise came from being portable, visible and meaningful.
Oldest Secure Examples: A Cautious Assessment
The question of the oldest merchandising articles must be answered carefully. If merchandising is defined very broadly as any symbolic object acquired to commemorate or display affiliation, then prehistoric ornaments, ancient votive objects or Egyptian amulets might be included. But if it is defined more narrowly as produced objects linked to a place, event, personality, institution or cultural experience and sold or distributed within a recognizable consumption context, then the strongest early examples are ancient Roman souvenirs and medieval pilgrim badges.
The oldest secure categories include Roman place souvenirs, such as glass flasks showing Puteoli and Baiae, dated to the early imperial period; Roman spectacle-themed objects, such as oil lamps with gladiatorial or circus imagery; and Christian pilgrim souvenirs, especially ampullae and badges from major shrines from the twelfth century onward (Popkin, 2022; Bussière and Lindros Wohl, 2017; British Museum, 2026).
The Roman examples are older than medieval pilgrim badges, but the medieval badges show mass production and destination branding more clearly. The Roman souvenirs show early place and event merchandising; the pilgrim badges show a highly developed medieval souvenir economy.
Merchandising, Branding and the Problem of Anachronism
It would be misleading to say that Romans or medieval pilgrims practised merchandising in the same way as modern entertainment companies. There were no licensing departments, trademark registrations, global brand manuals or retail analytics. Yet the underlying practices are recognizably related: objects were made to carry association, memory, legitimacy and identity.
Ross D. Petty’s work on brand protection and brand marketing history helps explain the long development from marks and identity signs to modern brand systems (Petty, 2016). Early merchandising did not yet depend on modern trademark law, but it did depend on recognizable imagery. A Becket badge had to be recognized as Becket-related. A gladiator lamp had to evoke the arena. A Baiae flask had to evoke the place.
In this sense, early merchandising belongs to the prehistory of branding. It shows how images and objects can carry institutional or cultural meanings before modern brand management exists.
Merchandising as Distribution of Meaning
The most important point is that early merchandise distributed meaning. A shrine could not travel, but its badge could. A gladiatorial spectacle ended, but its lamp could remain in a home. A visit to Baiae passed, but a flask could preserve the memory. An object made experience portable.
This connects merchandising to Arjun Appadurai’s idea that things have social lives and move through regimes of value (Appadurai, 1986). A souvenir is not valuable only because of material. It is valuable because of its biography: where it came from, what it represents, who carried it and what memory it preserves.
Igor Kopytoff’s concept of the cultural biography of things is also useful. A pilgrim badge begins as a mass-produced object, becomes a devotional souvenir, travels with a pilgrim, may later be lost in a river, discovered archaeologically and then preserved in a museum (Kopytoff, 1986). Its meaning changes with each stage.
Museums, Souvenirs and the Modern Continuation
Modern museum shops, heritage sites and tourist attractions continue this long history. A visitor buys a postcard, catalogue, magnet or replica to take part of the institution home. The practice is modern in its retail systems but ancient in its emotional logic. People still want objects that materialize experience.
For marketing.museum, early merchandising is therefore a foundational topic. It connects ancient trade, Roman leisure, medieval pilgrimage, branding, souvenir culture and modern museum retail. It shows that marketing is not only advertising; it is also the material organization of memory.
Conclusion
Early merchandising developed from a deep human desire to make experience portable. Roman souvenirs, gladiator-themed lamps, place flasks, medieval pilgrim badges and ampullae show that people bought objects not only for utility, but for memory, identity, devotion and social display.
The oldest clearly documented merchandising-like objects are difficult to reduce to a single “first.” Roman place souvenirs and spectacle-related objects provide strong evidence from antiquity. Medieval pilgrim badges and ampullae provide even clearer evidence of mass-produced, destination-linked, wearable merchandise. The Canterbury Becket ampullae in the British Museum, the vast corpus of late medieval badges recorded by Kunera, and Roman spectacle souvenirs studied by Popkin all demonstrate that merchandising practices have deep historical roots.
For marketing history, the lesson is clear. Merchandising is not merely a modern retail tactic. It is an ancient form of meaning transfer. It turns places, events, personalities and institutions into objects that people can carry, display, remember and share. Long before branded T-shirts and film merchandise, pilgrims, spectators and travellers were already buying identity in material form.
References
Appadurai, A. (ed.) (1986): The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Belk, R. W. (1988): ‘Possessions and the Extended Self’, Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), pp. 139–168.
Berghoff, H. (ed.) (2007): Marketinggeschichte: Die Genese einer modernen Sozialtechnik. Frankfurt am Main/New York: Campus.
British Museum (2026): Pilgrim badge; souvenir; ampulla. London: British Museum.
Bussière, J. and Lindros Wohl, B. (2017): Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum.
History Today (2017): Tourist Trinkets: The Medieval Pilgrim Badge. London: History Today.
Jones, D. G. B. and Tadajewski, M. (eds.) (2016): The Routledge Companion to Marketing History. London/New York: Routledge.
Kopytoff, I. (1986): ‘The cultural biography of things: commoditization as process’, in Appadurai, A. (ed.): The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 64–91.
Kotler, P. and Keller, K. L. (2016): Marketing Management. 15th edn. Harlow: Pearson.
Kunera (2026): Late Medieval Badges and Ampullae. Nijmegen: Radboud University.
Levy, S. J. (1959): ‘Symbols for Sale’, Harvard Business Review, 37(4), pp. 117–124.
Petty, R. D. (2016): ‘A history of brand identity protection and brand marketing’, in Jones, D. G. B. and Tadajewski, M. (eds.): The Routledge Companion to Marketing History. London/New York: Routledge.
Popkin, M. L. (2022): Souvenirs and the Experience of Empire in Ancient Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shaw, E. H. (2016): ‘Ancient and Medieval Marketing’, in Jones, D. G. B. and Tadajewski, M. (eds.): The Routledge Companion to Marketing History. London/New York: Routledge.
Twede, D. (2016): ‘A history of packaging’, in Jones, D. G. B. and Tadajewski, M. (eds.): The Routledge Companion to Marketing History. London/New York: Routledge.
