An Early History of Newspaper Agents

Newspaper agents have often been relegated to a minor role in the pre-history of advertising firms in the United States—individuals working at promotions long before the more recognizable modern advertising agents emerged in the twentieth century. This study reexamines the history of newspaper agents in the nineteenth century to determine who these agents were and what their duties included. The study used primary sources to examine an array of references to newspaper agents and to craft profiles on agents from thirteen newspapers in the first half of the century. The results show a much broader array of duties and identities than existing histories generally acknowledge.