By the late 19th century, consumers--even in Antigonish--were
tempted by an ever-growing cornucopia of products. As you look
at the following advertisements, keep these questions in mind.
What do these ads reveal about marketing, retailing, popular
tastes and consumer culture in 19th-century Antigonish? When do
you see the most pronounced shift to factory-made mass-
manufactured items? At what point does the sheer variety and
amount of goods increase? Do you see a shift to gender
advertising, national-brand advertising or mail-order
merchandising? During what decade did salesmanship become more
aggressive and when did visual images begin to compete with
print for the consumer's attention? "The old-fashioned home-made
cloth has given way to the fine broadcloth coat: the linsey-
woolsey dresses of females have disappeared, and English and
French silks [have been] substituted; the nice clean-scoured
floors of the farmers' houses have been covered by Brussels
carpets; the spinning wheel and loom have been supersede