Advertisements

Marketing material can take many forms, from playbills, to newspaper adverts and flyers. It has not always been seen as having research value often considered ephemera and encountered incidentally.  but is found throughout material culture, and is found across a wide variety of collections & printed books.

Collections of marketing material might be found in the archives of the organisation commissioning advertising, or in the records of printers, where they exist. During the 20th century, advertising companies have become more, and their records may be kept in specialist archives, such as the History of Advertising Trust.

Marketing material can support and inspire research. When researchers consider how something was advertised, and the audience it was addressed to, they can see the wider context, and perceived value of the thing at a moment in time.

Image credit Leeds University Library