The poster as we know it dates from the Industrial Revolution, although one form of outdoor advertising has existed for many centuries. Industrialisation meant that producer became separated from consumer while production for mass consumption rapidly increased, so that a development was necessary in the methods employed in bringing to public notice the merits and very existence of many goods. Billsticking began, a business rife with skulduggery, and in the second half of the nineteenth century an enterprising billposter took the step that changed outdoor advertising forever: he rented a...

The poster as we know it dates from the Industrial Revolution, although one form of outdoor advertising has existed for many centuries. Industrialisation meant that producer became separated from consumer while production for mass consumption rapidly increased, so that a development was necessary in the methods employed in bringing to public notice the merits and very existence of many goods. Billsticking began, a business rife with skulduggery, and in the second half of the nineteenth century an enterprising billposter took the step that changed outdoor advertising forever: he rented a...