A Collection of Victorian Era Advertisements

The distinctive Victorian style of layout for advertisements showcased extreme variations of type size and weight, all crammed within the page format, was an invention of expedience, allowing the printer to utilize every inch of precious space. Another distinction easily recognized is the use of extravagant embellishments commonly applied to architecture, furniture, clothing, and carried over to appear in elaborate borders and lettering in graphic design. A taste for ornamentation and ostentation was becoming a dominant style. Enjoy these examples. Which ad do you think is the strangest? Which one makes you want to purchase the product featured?

victorian-advertisement

toilet

cure

matches

pills

6 comments to A Collection of Victorian Era Advertisements

  • Michelle

    Nervous pills LOL

  • An Anxious Skinny Gent

    Nervous pills? If I was in that time with the knowledge I have I’d probably be bloody nervous too.

  • Peggy Failla

    Is there someone I can ask about a wooden box used during Victorian era in England….my requests bring up same info each time❣️
    I am trying to find history behind Mallard and Faversham wooden box, picture of city/business on inside….
    Several people post them, with no history or knowledge of what they advertised?
    Thank you❣️

    • ctrentadmin

      Hi Peggy, your comment piqued my interest enough that I went out to the Internet to search, too. You’re right, there’s almost no information out there. Sounds to me like a job for the Antiques Roadshow people! Maybe they will come to your area one day(?). http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/

      Does anyone else out there know anything about Mallard and Faversham?

      Christine