THE ORIGIN OF ADVERTISING IN THE RUSSIAN PROVINCE (BY THE EXAMPLE OF MERCHANT’S ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE “VOLOGDA PROVINCIAL GAZETTE” OF THE SECOND THIRD OF THE 19TH CENTURY)

Abstract

In the 19th — early 20th centuries Russian Empire the main advertising load fell precisely on periodicals, which determines the importance of advertisements in the periodicals as a source on the history of regional entrepreneurship and trade. Researchers have repeatedly emphasized the significant role of a provincial gazette as an advertising medium. The article considers advertisements published by merchants in the Vologda Provincial Gazette from the first issue in 1838 to 1860. The dynamics of the number of advertisements demonstrates, first, a gradual increase in the importance of the Gazette as a regional mass media and the understanding of this trend by merchants; second, a general intensification of the role of advertising in the field of entrepreneurship. The geography of advertisements correctly reflects the system of trade relations in the province. The subject matter of the ads was quite diverse (haberdashery, printed materials, raw materials, foodstuffs, household goods) and covered mainly elite groups of goods, although agricultural raw materials accounted for a significant share of the advertising objects. An analysis of the ads genre specificity indicates the predominance of narrative ones; the incentive function largely begins to manifest itself in the texts of the 1850s. Graphic design of advertisements in the period under review can be already encountered, but it is not widespread.