The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-02
THEATRICAL ADVERTISEMENTS.
some Of the Ways Of Managers One HIM
drsd Years Ago.

/
It Is clear that originally there was a Gues-
| ton of the managers paying the newspaper
proprietors for the insertion Of theatrical an
| nouncements. These were viewed as items OF
news there was a struggle for priority in OBJ
| tanning them, and persons bringing them to
the publishing Office were duly paid for their
services and were accounted among the valued
| contributors to the journals In question Ex-
tracts from the ledger of Henry Woodfall the
publisher Of the Public Advertiser, quoted In
Andrews "History OF British Journalism, !"
demonstrate that in the last century the thea
tres were a considerable expense to the news
papers. Among the Items OF payment are
"Play-houses, Goo; Drury Lane ADVERTISE
ments, EG4 Is Cd; Convent Garden ditto, GG6
lis 3D." 1t appears that the papers paid Goo
year to each theatre for the accounts of new
plays, and were in the habit of rewarding
with shilling or half-a-crown the messenger
who brought the first copy OF a pIay-blI.
Shop keepers also paid at this time for the
privilege Of exhibiting play-bils In their win
dows or upon their counters.
In 1921 the following announcement ap-
peared in the Daily Post: THE managers of
Drury Lane think it proper togive notice that
the advertisements OF their plays by their au-
thority Is published only in this paper and
the Ddiiy COrdnt, and that the publishers of
all papers who presume to insert ADVERTISE
mentS Of the same plays can do 1t only by
some surrrptti3us intelligence or hearsay
which frequently leads them To commit gross
errors, As mentioning one play for another
falsely representing the parts, etc, to the
misinformation of the town ard the great
detriment Of the said theatre" The Pubic Ad-
UertiSer OF January |, 1865, put forth this
notice: 80 prevent any mistake In future In
advertising the plays and entertainments Of
Drury Lane Theatre, the managers think it
proper to declare that the play-bilIs are In
serted by their direction in this paper only"
The manager OF Covent Garden Theatre also
publishes a like notice.
In the eighteenth century news was scarce
and valuable com modify, and some difficulty
existed IN finding matter sufficient to fill the
columns OF the Journals their dlminutiye size
Notwithstanding. Little foreign Intelligence
was obtainable; there were no correspond
ents on the continent no leading articles. and
the publication OF parliamentary debates was
prohibited. The press was subject to rigor-
Gus laws, editors, publishers and journals
were liable upon slight provocatlon to the Sc
vereSt punishment; they worked, as it were
under the immediate shadow of the piIlory
The stage had thus the advantage OF being a
sale subject, while the transactions OF the
theatre were generally interesting both on
their own account and because of the absence
OF the forclble suppression of other topics
Mtear sat heavily upon the journals of hun
nred years ago; 1t was necessary to allude to
the prime minister as the Pc m-r; the
secretary of the treasury figured as the
s-y Of the t-y, while the bankrupts of
the time were enumerated in list delicately
headed pts. There must have been
something Of comfort In the frank mention
of Mr.. Garrick's name, and in open references
to proceedings at Drury Lane and Covent
Garden.
AS late as 1852 the editor OF the Leicester
joundt-printed in London, for printing
presses were rare In the provinces in those
days-found news so difficult to obtain that
he was induced to fill his columns with re-
print OF the Bible in weekly portions. And,
certainly, the ant and the economy of adver-
Using We're little understood In the last CEN
fury. Not merely were the managers paid
for their announcements, but during the gen
eral election of l774 some of the papers de-
clined printing the separate addresses of the
candidates. less injustice should be done to
their readers by undue entertainments upon
the space usually devoted to news. Charges
for publication, a revenue arising from adver-
tisements, engagements and double supple
ments We're things that as yet stood not
within the process of beiief-were indeed.
altogether undreamed Of.