Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dundee Courier, 16 November 1922 | 20180606 | 20181026 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. The Dundee Courier of 16th November 1922, the morning after the General Election that saw Winston Churchill displaced by the UK's only ever Prohibitionist MP Edwin Scrimgeour, and the classified ads announce a victory rally. Also, the Colonial Department is recruiting clerks and engineers for Ceylon, Nigeria and South Africa, and the city's fashion shops are competing for the custom of the wives and children of the jute mill owners. Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure. James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses. The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets 'trending' as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments. Produced by John Forsyth A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. The Dundee Courier of 16th November 1922, the morning after the General Election that saw Winston Churchill displaced by the UK's only ever Prohibitionist MP Edwin Scrimgeour, and the classified ads announce a victory rally. Also, the Colonial Department is recruiting clerks and engineers for Ceylon, Nigeria and South Africa, and the city's fashion shops are competing for the custom of the wives and children of the jute mill owners. Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure. James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses. The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets 'trending' as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments. Produced by John Forsyth A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 01 | Hereford Journal, 1 January 1800 | 20180530 | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. The classified ads in the Hereford Journal of Sunday 1st January 1800 reveal the stresses of a country at war - from "English wines nearly as good as foreign" to the list of the dead and injured from the Battle of Camperdown. The list reveals the breadth of races and countries of origin from Malaya to New York in the crews of Britain's triumphant fleet.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | ||
| 01 | Hereford Journal, 1 January 1800 | 20180530 | 20181025 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. The classified ads in the Hereford Journal of Sunday 1st January 1800 reveal the stresses of a country at war - from "English wines nearly as good as foreign" to the list of the dead and injured from the Battle of Camperdown. The list reveals the breadth of races and countries of origin from Malaya to New York in the crews of Britain's triumphant fleet.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 01 | Manchester Mercury, 17 August 1819 | 20180516 | James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in the front page small ads of old UK newspapers.
The classified ads of the Manchester Mercury on 17 August 1819, the day after the Peterloo Massacre, give their own insight into the post Napoleonic war social stress. Rewards are offered for information on "those who have absconded from their families" with their names and descriptions. Special constables have been recruited in Bowden "to enforce obedience of the laws" and auctions are announced for everything from a house to a horse, and from a clementi piano to the "Scotch edition of Shakespeare".
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | ||
| 01 | Manchester Mercury, 17 August 1819 | 20180516 | 20181023 (R4) | James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in the front page small ads of old UK newspapers.
The classified ads of the Manchester Mercury on 17 August 1819, the day after the Peterloo Massacre, give their own insight into the post Napoleonic war social stress. Rewards are offered for information on "those who have absconded from their families" with their names and descriptions. Special constables have been recruited in Bowden "to enforce obedience of the laws" and auctions are announced for everything from a house to a horse, and from a clementi piano to the "Scotch edition of Shakespeare".
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 01 | Newcastle Courant, 14 October 1842 | 20180509 | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
The classified ads of the Newcastle Courant of 14th October 1842 reveal how new policing was overtaking the hue and cry, and ads for the arrival of a new dentist in town tell the story of the redistribution of teeth from the poor in town to the gentry in the county.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | ||
| 01 | Newcastle Courant, 14 October 1842 | 20180509 | 20181022 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
The classified ads of the Newcastle Courant of 14th October 1842 reveal how new policing was overtaking the hue and cry, and ads for the arrival of a new dentist in town tell the story of the redistribution of teeth from the poor in town to the gentry in the county.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 01 | South London Press, 19 June 1897 | 20180523 | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. The South London Press of 19 June 1897, a few days ahead of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, carries ads for an overnight sea trip to witness the review of the fleet at Spithead (food included, bar bill excepted), as well as columns of "buy to let" opportunities as the housing boom spread south of the river.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | ||
| 01 | South London Press, 19 June 1897 | 20180523 | 20181024 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. The South London Press of 19 June 1897, a few days ahead of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, carries ads for an overnight sea trip to witness the review of the fleet at Spithead (food included, bar bill excepted), as well as columns of "buy to let" opportunities as the housing boom spread south of the river.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 02 | 01 | Edinburgh Evening Courant 14 April 1827 | 20190806 | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
The classified ads of the Edinburgh Evening Courant of April the 14th 1827 reveal the importance of the port of Leith - with direct passenger routes to Elsinore and St Petersburg, a public lecture intended to debunk Phrenology - the idea that an individual's character can be determined from the shape of their skull, and Walter Scott, Europe's most prolific author, hoping to stay out of the new Bridewell debtor's prison.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 02 | 01 | Edinburgh Evening Courant 14 April 1827 | 20190806 | 20191216 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
The classified ads of the Edinburgh Evening Courant of April the 14th 1827 reveal the importance of the port of Leith - with direct passenger routes to Elsinore and St Petersburg, a public lecture intended to debunk Phrenology - the idea that an individual's character can be determined from the shape of their skull, and Walter Scott, Europe's most prolific author, hoping to stay out of the new Bridewell debtor's prison.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. |
| 02 | 02 | Hampshire Advertiser, 9 August 1856 | 20190813 | James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in the front page small ads of old UK newspapers.
The classified ads of the Hampshire Advertiser, Saturday August 9th 1856. Trustees are advertising for survivors and dependents of those who died when the troopship, HMS Birkenhead, went down and introduced "women and children first" into the culture. Steam is replacing sail at sea, there's back breaking labour in the fields and an ad for corsets reveals unexpected aspects of lacing.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 02 | 02 | Hampshire Advertiser, 9 August 1856 | 20190813 | 20191217 (R4) | James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in the front page small ads of old UK newspapers.
The classified ads of the Hampshire Advertiser, Saturday August 9th 1856. Trustees are advertising for survivors and dependents of those who died when the troopship, HMS Birkenhead, went down and introduced "women and children first" into the culture. Steam is replacing sail at sea, there's back breaking labour in the fields and an ad for corsets reveals unexpected aspects of lacing.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. |
| 02 | 03 | Irish Times, Dublin Daily Express, The Freeman's Journal, April 1886 | 20190820 | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
One the eve of Gladstone's first Home Rule Bill, three Irish newspapers appeal to their respective readerships for support for the Protestant poor of Dublin or the destitute inhabitants of the west of Ireland. The Dublin Ladies Sanitary Association is tackling poverty in Dublin while the million and a half residents of Glasnevin cemetery tell their own stories.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 02 | 03 | Irish Times, Dublin Daily Express, The Freeman's Journal, April 1886 | 20190820 | 20191218 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
One the eve of Gladstone's first Home Rule Bill, three Irish newspapers appeal to their respective readerships for support for the Protestant poor of Dublin or the destitute inhabitants of the west of Ireland. The Dublin Ladies Sanitary Association is tackling poverty in Dublin while the million and a half residents of Glasnevin cemetery tell their own stories.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. |
| 02 | 04 | Oxford Times, 7 May 1926 | 20190827 | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
The classified ads in the Oxford Times of May 7th 1926, the midpoint of the General Strike, spell out the state of emergency and announce a rally at which Labour MP, Oliver Baldwin, son of the Conservative Prime Minister, will speak in support of the strike. The Morris car plant has displaced the University as the city's biggest employer and the Jane Austin Agency is recruiting battalions of domestic staff.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 02 | 04 | Oxford Times, 7 May 1926 | 20190827 | 20191219 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
The classified ads in the Oxford Times of May 7th 1926, the midpoint of the General Strike, spell out the state of emergency and announce a rally at which Labour MP, Oliver Baldwin, son of the Conservative Prime Minister, will speak in support of the strike. The Morris car plant has displaced the University as the city's biggest employer and the Jane Austin Agency is recruiting battalions of domestic staff.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. |
| 02 | 05 | Ripley and Heanor News, 2 July 1948 | 20190903 | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
The Ripley and Heanor News - serving the towns of the Amber Valley, north of Derby - reveals the austerity of post war recovery in its columns, the home made entertainment in the days before television's domination and a meeting with one of the best known mediums in the Midlands.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. | |
| 02 | 05 | Ripley and Heanor News, 2 July 1948 | 20190903 | 20191220 (R4) | James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads.
The Ripley and Heanor News - serving the towns of the Amber Valley, north of Derby - reveals the austerity of post war recovery in its columns, the home made entertainment in the days before television's domination and a meeting with one of the best known mediums in the Midlands.
Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.
James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.
The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.
Produced by John Forsyth.
James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in small ads of old UK newspapers. |