Its most skilled players were to be found among the various beggars of the preindustrial city. Masters of the appearential order, these ingenious individuals "practiced to deceive" in any way that seemed likely to increase their take. And the ways that seemed most likely primarily involved some manipulation of identity. Many of the beggars of the preindustrial city were, of course, exactly what they appeared. But the "others" were something else again. There were those, for example, who stood around crying a good deal, pretending to be "helpless orphans." There were those who "passed themselves off as merchants ruined by war, by fire or by having been robbed on the highway."

XREF: Connects to Erving Goffman's work on the presentation of self and impression management in everyday life.

Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order a…, loc. 950