ADVERTISEMENT AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE ON THE HISTORY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP: BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF SAMARA NEWSPAPERS AND REFERENCE PUBLICATIONS OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE XIX – EARLY XX century

The relevance of studying advertisement as a historical source on the history of entrepreneurship is due to the interest of researchers in the economic history of pre-revolutionary Russia, expansion of the research field and the source base on the topic under study. The purpose of this article is to identify historical information on the history of business development in Samara governorate in the second half of the XIX – early XX century, contained in advertisements. Materials and methods. The materials used in writing this article were advertisements published in periodicals and reference publications of Samara governorate. The research is based on the principles of historicism, multifactority and objectivity. During the research, the methods of comparative analysis and systematization were used. The scientific novelty is determined by the fact that in regional historiography, it is the first time that the analysis of advertisement as a historical source on the problem of local business functioning is given. Research results. The article analyzes advertising in periodicals and reference publications of Samara governorate in the 1850s and 1910s as a historical source on the history of regional entrepreneurship. The interrelation between the formation of the advertising business and commercial and industrial entrepreneurship is revealed. It is proved that three stages should be distinguished in advertising evolution: the 1850s–1870s; the 1880s–1890s; the 1890s–1910s. The changes in the pricing policy of newspaper editorial offices and its impact on the number of published ads are traced; the directions and forms of entrepreneurial practices presented in advertising are reflected; facts about the growing interest of nonresident entrepreneurs in Samara market are presented, the uniqueness of advertisements published in the reference edition «List of Populated Places» is established. Conclusions. The analysis of advertisements for the period from 1850s to 1910s contributed to identifying valuable historical information on the formation and development of entrepreneurial practices in Samara governorate in the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries: information was obtained on geographical location of commercial and industrial facilities, the social composition of entrepreneurs, changes in market conditions and reflection of the process of the economic and socio-cultural space formation of the region.