What do advertisements in directories reveal, or even conceal? Read below to find out more.
Advertisements can be found at the back of many directories, particularly those from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. They provided a valuable additional source of income for the directory publishers. For example, the Sun Insurance Company paid Kelly’s £1,000 a year for the advertising space in their London directories between 1898 and 1900.
On the Historical Directories web site you can view the Fact File associated with an individual directory. The Fact File contains a series of hyperlinks to the main headings, or chapters. There is often a link to the Advertisements section of a directory. Read more about how to browse on this web site.
Early advertisements were modelled on the trade cards and bill headers widely used by businesses during the eighteenth century. Generally, they contained only basic information about the tradesman.
See example advertisements from an early directory:
More elaborate designs began to appear from the 1840s as the power of advertising became recognised more widely. These developments were encouraged by the abolition of the duty on advertisements in 1853, which made advertising more affordable.
See examples of more elaborate, mid-century designs:
Transport improvements also opened up new markets for businesses whose goods and services needed to be promoted. As a result, the space devoted to advertisements in a typical directory increased considerably during the second half of the nineteenth century. This is clearly illustrated by the evolution of Kelly’s provincial directories. Kelly’s Post Office Directory of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, 1855 contains 36 pages of advertisements, whereas the 1891 edition for Derbyshire contains 76.
Advertisements in trade directories provide a unique insight, particularly into the nineteenth-century business community. They remain a relatively under-used resource in historical research, however. This perhaps stems from their fragmentary nature, which can make analysis rather time consuming. Nonetheless, they are valuable to the historian for a number of reasons outlined below:
Information about subscribers
It is worth bearing in mind that many of the people who subscribed to directories may have advertised in them as well.
Whilst there is little direct evidence about who actually owned and used directories, we do know that their circulation was quite widespread, especially within the business community.
Data source
The subject matter of advertisements can be used as a data source for historical research, providing insights into the nature of the local economy and society.
For instance, Carter and Wheatley used directory advertisements to explore the changing importance of different shopping streets in Aberystwyth.
The types of goods advertised in directories provide clear evidence of businesses with a regional specialisation. You will notice, for example, the amount of textile machinery advertised in directories for Lancashire. In publications covering East Anglia, on the other hand, there will be more advertisements for agricultural implements.
Symbols
Much research has also been done into the appearance of advertisements, and historians have been able to decode the symbols concealed within them.
Images of empire, exoticism, respectability and industrious utility have all been identified from the pages of directories. Some advertisers conjured up exotic locations and commodities, thus appealing to the reader’s thirst for novelty and excitement. Others used images of their shop or factory to underline the prosperity of their business.
See how John W. Sharpus advertises his china, glass and earthenware shop:
Elaborate scrolls and scripts in directories were often intended to convey a sense of luxury and exclusivity. Some devices could be relatively subtle, but they all contributed to the persuasiveness of the advertisement. For instance, coats of arms could be used to signify royal or aristocratic patronage, whilst reference to the year a company was founded implied experience and reliability.
John Gray, in his Commercial & General Directory of Croydon, 1851 uses a range of elaborate devices for self-promotion:
Business practises
Advertisements can also tell us much about the business practices of those posting them. Images of shop fronts or interiors give some indications of window display, shop layout and sales techniques. Similarly, depictions of factories or workshops may provide evidence about the scale of a business, and the activities taking place there.
The wording of advertisements can be significant too. Some talk of sale for ready money, or list the variety of goods available, sometimes complete with drawings of the products themselves.
See how wording and a drawing are used in the following Yorkshire publication:
Customer relations
The relationship between tradesman and customer is indicated by the tone of advertisements: some are succinct and business-like, whilst others appear forthright and boastful. The wording of advertisements is, however, usually very polite, often to the point of servility in early examples. To some extent this reflects conventions of the genre, but it also provides useful insight into the changing nature of business relationships during the nineteenth century.
In the following example, a dentist boasts about his "very superior method of fixing artificial Teeth".