A new wonder cure….the latest fashion…a revolutionary gadget….few can resist the siren song of advertising, and our colonial ancestors were as susceptible as we are. Perhaps that electric hair brush really could help to cure baldness, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if those strange new cannabis cigarettes did relieve asthma?
Advertisements appeared in the first issue of Australia’s first newspaper in 1803, as unscrupulous manufacturers and retailers vied with each other in making more and more outrageous claims. Emporium explores the highways and byways of this neglected aspect of nineteenth-century life in a book that takes readers on a fascinating journey into the hearts and homes of colonial Australians. Advertisements for condoms? It was just a matter of knowing what to look for.
Humorous – quirky – fascinating – you will find this book compulsive!
