] ] By this standard, Mr. Gardner in P&P should have been quite acceptable - ch. 25 talks about him living within view of his own warehouses, which implies that he was a wholesaler, not a retailer.

] I believe that it meant to show the snobbery of the Bingley sisters. They ought not to think of him as so very far beneath them as they do, especially when you consider they came from a trade family themselves.

I think the Bingley sisters were examples by JA of people whose fortunes are founded by trade who are then anxious to distance themselves from their origins; by marriage into established gentry and the securing of a landed estate. A 'gentlemanlike man' like Mr Gardiner who is still a tradesman may remind them of their social insecurities (well, their despicable snobbery must've hid something) And Charles is so slow securing a family estate! As a contrast, perhaps JA used Charles Bingley as an example of the middle class man on the rise who remains unaffected by social insecurities. Just out of interest, were the prestigous trades those that provided luxury goods to the gentry and nobility? Like the wine trade,large drapiers (silks and cotton goods), and banking?