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As posters, brochures, and catalogues increasingly gained the upper
hand over newspaper advertising from the mid-century, billposting
firms grew formidable in size. They specialized not only in posting
and painting murals but in research, copywriting, the gathering of
addresses, and the printing and distribution of brochures and other
advertising material. Targeting specific groups according to
gender, class and profession became commonplace through press ads,
catalogues and bill posting in specific areas. Agencies possessed
censuses breaking down the population by rent and profession. This
enabled their clients to select the exact streets on which they
wanted to display their posters or the addresses to which they
wanted to send their advertisements through the mail, signaling the
emergence of "niche advertising" already at mid-century. By 1851 "an
infinite number" of entertainment posters with "extravagant" content
competed for attention, attesting to the presence of the large
number of entertainment venues, although the colorful, large
illustrated poster didn't become commonplace until the 1870s.
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At mid-century billposting as a modern profession was barely known;
by the turn of the century it would grow into a powerful industry.
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