Expenditures, Conspicuous Consumption and Living Standard of a Nineteenth- Century Habsburg Family

Abstract

This paper analyses the expenditures and living standard of a nineteenth-century Habsburg family, the Bossi Fedrigotti. Drawing upon the household budgets and the documents of their private archives, this study investigates the type, composition, and variation in expenditures during two benchmark decades, 1835-1844 and 1855-1864. The relatively small share of expenses for food as compared to leisure, cultural activities, charity and conspicuous consumption reflects the household’s quest for social status and reputation befitting the noble title obtained in the previous century. The Fedrigotti also represented a pillar in the economic system of Rovereto where they lived, which they actively supported through a variety of economic and non-economic actions, helping the city to prosper and advance.