How were newspapers sold in London in the 19th century?

April 2, 2013 8:52 PM

I know that NYC had newsboys --aka "newsies," but was it the same in England? Were British papers sold only by shops and subscription or did they have an equivalent to kids/adults hawking them on the street? Primarily interested in the years 1850-1900. Thanks!
posted by np312 to Society & Culture (2 answers total)

Best answer: 1850's a good starting date, because it's more or less when Mr W.H. Smith began selling newspapers at railway stations.

Here's a pretty decent writeup of London's newsboys and the distribution of newspapers in that period: a reminder of what the "agent" bit in "newsagent" originally meant. The best bit: that newspapers were loaned out, with newsboys dropping them off and collecting them after a couple of hours.
posted by holgate at 9:11 PM on April 2, 2013 [3 favorites]

There are still adults selling newspapers in the street today from a dedicated spot, too.
posted by vickyverky at 8:56 AM on April 3, 2013