Early Modern Rambler

The early entries in this weblog are all about a Ph.D thesis I completed at Durham University (UK) in 2005. I put the material up to raise awareness of my findings and enable free access to the newspaper advertisements I collected during my research.

The advertisements are available on this page.

Posts about portrait print advertising under Charles II.

Posts about portrait print advertising under James II.

Posts about portrait print advertising under William and Mary.

Posts about adverts for portraits of non-British sitters.

Posts about the ideas behind the term topical advertising.

All posts related to print trade advertising. (Includes entries about adverts for products other than portrait prints.)

If you wish to consult the Ph.D directly you can order it on interlibrary loan with the following details:

Title: Topical Portrait Print Advertising in London Newspapers and The Term Catalogues: 1660-1714

Author: C.H.L. George

University and Date: Durham University (UK) 2005

Naturally I think everybody ought to be interested in my thesis, but to be more specific, its contents are likely to be of interest to people studying the following areas:

• Newspaper advertising in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• The trade in pictorial prints (engravings, mezzotints, woodcuts) in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Newspapers in early modern Britain.
• The book trade in early modern Britain.
• The map trade in early modern Britain.
• Print culture in early modern Britain.
• Consumption in early modern Britain.
• Fame in early modern Britain.
• The public sphere in early modern Britain.
• The circulation of news in early modern Britain.
• Portrait prints, portrait engravings, portrait mezzotints.

The Ph.D thesis touches on quite a few issues, but in my opinion the most important general findings are as follows:

• From the late 1680s to 1714, portrait print sellers consistently advertised portrait prints in newspapers at times when the sitters were topical. The majority of portrait print advertisements discovered during my research were placed because the sitters were topical.
• Portrait print sellers were not unusual in their activities. Maps, medals, and to some extent books, were also advertised at times when the subjects they depicted or discussed were topical.

The most important part of my thesis involved investigating each advertisement to find out whether or not the sitter was topical at the time that it was placed. In other words I put the advertisements in the context of contemporary current affairs.

It’s a couple of years now since I wrote the thesis. Some of my ideas have changed with the advantage of hindsight and time. I’m not likely to pursue this area of research again, but if you’re interested and you’d like to talk about it, please don’t hesitate to contact me.