First Impressions: Newspaper Advertisements and Early Modern English Body Imaging, 1651-1750

Abstract

The article discusses early modern newspaper advertisements from publications of London, England dated from 1651-1750, focusing on how they represent popular notions of body images. The ideas of the four humors of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile representing personal characteristics is considered. A database of wanteds, or advertisements searching for people, is divided into groups including criminals, missing domestics, and military deserters. The author considers who was responsible for giving physical descriptions placed in advertisements and their social status. Show more