Social History In Advertisements.

Mount Ida Chronicle, 22 June 1900, Page 5

Social History In Advertisements.

No little insight iiiito the social life of •tlie eighteenth century may be gained ■by a study of contemporary advertisements. Inhere are a n nou nc em ents of boxing matches and other athletic contests between women, an offer of 10s. reward .for the return of a South Sea dividend worth £630, a noti-ce of a sale of silks, including "brocades, tissues, tabbies, du capes, raschmores, &c.," and numerous advertisements of negro boys, which last throw a curious light upon the manner in .which ouv coloured brethren were regarded little more than a century ago. The following, which .appeared in 17G9 and 1779 respectively, are typical specimens of the later class of advertisement —" For sale a chestnut gelding, a trim-whisky, and a well-made, good-itempered blacikboy"; "To be sold b,y auction, a 'iilracK'boy of 14, and a large mountaiin .tiger-cat." T'he introduction, about the middle of the eighteenth century, of a system of numbering the houses and shops gradu-ally-led to the disappearance of the picturesque shop signs, which had attained a great size and a high degree of magnificence. Tilie cost of these very effective trade advertisements varied from one ihundred to five hundred pounds apiece, the most valuable being handed dawn froan father to son as heirlooms. Some of our moist distinguished English artists —110 rlaiul, Hogarth, Cox, and Wi'lson—.have not disdained in early days to lend their -talents to the signpa in-dug art, while the ironwork upon Wiiieli the boards were hung gave scope for muoh gracefulness and originality of design. Still, t'lie system of numbering the houses must liave been a great convenience to all concerned, if we may judge from the clumsy and roundabout directions in such announcements 'as the following : —" To be Lett, Newbury House in S. Jaiues' Park, next door but one to Lady Oxford's, having two bails at the gate, and iron railing before the door." ( In matrimonial notices the fortune possessed by the bride was usually stated, as for example "On 24-tli February, 1734, the Hon. Frances Godolphin of Scotland Y'ard Esq., to the third daughter of the Countess of Portland, a 'beautiful lady of £50,000 fortune." 'The lot c,f. an heiress a hundred years ago was not invariably a happy one, judging from an advertisement which appeared in flu; " Post" in 1775, and whicih seems to contain, between the lines, the nucleus of a romantic novel "A Gentleman of Honour and property, having in his disposal a young Lady of good Famiily, with a Fortune of £OO,OOO on her maraage with his approbation, would be very happy to treat with ama» of Fashion and Family, who may think it worth liis while to give Advertiser a gratuity of £SOOO on the day of Mai*rtoge." The art of advertising advanced slowly but steadily from the end of the eighteenth to the middle of the present century. The reduction of the (ax upon newspaper advertisements in 1532, and the abolition of all duty in 1553, naturally gave a great impetus to this department of the art. There are now upwards of four thousand papers and magazines in the United Kingdom, and ■all of these devote more or less space to the needs of the advertiser.—" Cornhill."