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Back in the 1900s, when people used to get their news printed out on pieces of paper, people could pay the company a small amount to run a small advertisement, that were all lumped in together in back, called classified ads or “the classifieds”.
ARE YOU A COWARD?
This isnotfor you.
We badly need a brave man.
He must be 23to25 years old,
in perfect health, at least six
feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds,
fluent English withsome French,
proficient withall weapons,
some knowledge of engineering
and mathematics essential,
willing to travel, no family or
emotional ties, indomitably
courageous and handsome of
face and figure.
Permanent employment,
very high pay, glorious adventure,
great danger. Must apply in person
“Well, Martha, at least the damn whippersnapper didn’t ask what a newspaper is…”
I kid. Back in the day, newspapers made most of their money off of advertising. Full page ads for things like supermarkets, furniture stores, cars, and luxury items. Smaller ads for movies, specialty shops, etc. In fact, you’ll see some older newspapers whose name was The Advertiser. The classified ads were ‘classified’ by the type of ad. There’d be five or six full lenght columns with short ads. Help Wanted and Apartments to rent would have the most spots, but there were plenty of ads for Yard Sales, Handymen, Pets for sale or adoption.
If you read the book, the hero explains why he enjoys reading them. It’s a great novel; the author takes most of the tropes and punches them in the crotch.
Ah I see. It’s true that I’ve never read a full newspaper, but I know these mini ad boxes exist. English is not my native language, perhaps that is why I didn’t know the term. I though classified as in secret.
‘Classified’ as in specific they would run the ads in specific sections. All the ‘Help Wanted’ ads under one heading, all the ‘Rooms For Rent’ under another.
Can you explain a bit more? Also, what is a classified ad?
Back in the 1900s, when people used to get their news printed out on pieces of paper, people could pay the company a small amount to run a small advertisement, that were all lumped in together in back, called classified ads or “the classifieds”.
ARE YOU A COWARD? This is not for you. We badly need a brave man. He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English with some French, proficient with all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. Must apply in personI’m in my 30s and this makes me feel old…
Which thing?
The ad from the story, or the fact that there are humans who have never held a newspaper?
“Well, Martha, at least the damn whippersnapper didn’t ask what a newspaper is…”
I kid. Back in the day, newspapers made most of their money off of advertising. Full page ads for things like supermarkets, furniture stores, cars, and luxury items. Smaller ads for movies, specialty shops, etc. In fact, you’ll see some older newspapers whose name was The Advertiser. The classified ads were ‘classified’ by the type of ad. There’d be five or six full lenght columns with short ads. Help Wanted and Apartments to rent would have the most spots, but there were plenty of ads for Yard Sales, Handymen, Pets for sale or adoption.
If you read the book, the hero explains why he enjoys reading them. It’s a great novel; the author takes most of the tropes and punches them in the crotch.
https://www.warwickadvertiser.com/
Just found this site with a quick search, and it helps because it actually has a classified ads section in the back.
Ah I see. It’s true that I’ve never read a full newspaper, but I know these mini ad boxes exist. English is not my native language, perhaps that is why I didn’t know the term. I though classified as in secret.
‘Classified’ as in specific they would run the ads in specific sections. All the ‘Help Wanted’ ads under one heading, all the ‘Rooms For Rent’ under another.
Think of them as what people did before Craigslist (or I guess Facebook Marketplace these days).