Looking back at SLC ads and classified ads over the past 165 years

Looking back at SLC ads and classified ads over the past 165 years

(Deseret News Archives)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Classified advertisements have come a long way through the years.

Once a staple for newspapers, there are now several websites that provide consumers with what the classifieds have always brought. The internet has served as a community market that classified ads were, where people could turn to find deals, jobs, cars and anything else imaginable.

While the idea of classified ads have not changed one bit in Salt Lake City, the content offered through the years shows how much life has changed over the decades.

The Deseret News began printing on June 21, 1850. In first editions of the paper, advertisements centered around dentistry and blacksmithing. According to an early edition of the paper, it advertisements cost $1 for a half square, $1.50 per square and succeeding insertions cost $0.50 each.

As for classified ads, livestock were an early and common theme of the era. Some were for trades, selling or buying. However, notices to be placed of horses, cows or other animals that had strayed or were possibly stolen were among the most common classified ads in Salt Lake during the 1800s.

A classified ad for a stray colt in the June 22, 1850 edition of the Deseret News.
A classified ad for a stray colt in the June 22, 1850 edition of the Deseret News.
A classified ad from the Sept. 21, 1850 edition of the Deseret News.
A classified ad from the Sept. 21, 1850 edition of the Deseret News.
An advertisement for sheep in the Oct. 5, 1850 edition of the Deseret News.
An advertisement for sheep in the Oct. 5, 1850 edition of the Deseret News.
Classified ads in the July 11, 1860 edition of the Deseret News.
Classified ads in the July 11, 1860 edition of the Deseret News.
A classified ad placed in the March 2, 1864 edition of the Deseret News.
A classified ad placed in the March 2, 1864 edition of the Deseret News.
A classified ad from the March 2, 1864 edition of the Deseret News.
A classified ad from the March 2, 1864 edition of the Deseret News.

Aside from ads, newspapers would run train schedules in the later 1800s as railroads were built and could carry people across the state.

An ad looking for charcoal that ran in the June 20, 1866 edition of the Deseret News. In addition to livestock, many ads and classified ads from the 1800s focused on things like fuel, shoe making and blacksmithing.
An ad looking for charcoal that ran in the June 20, 1866 edition of the Deseret News. In addition to livestock, many ads and classified ads from the 1800s focused on things like fuel, shoe making and blacksmithing.

However, as technology changed, so did advertising — not that livestock was completely wiped from classifieds.

When automobiles became more prevalent at the turn of the 20th century, ads began focusing on the growing car sector of the community. Ads featured all sorts of auto service specialists in the 1910s.

An ad that ran in the May 2, 1919 edition of the Deseret News.
An ad that ran in the May 2, 1919 edition of the Deseret News.

By the 1920s, 30s and 40s, classified ads caught up as the popularity of owning automobiles grew and individuals began to buy and sell cars from each other.

A series of classified ads that ran in the Jan. 1, 1942 edition of the Deseret News.
A series of classified ads that ran in the Jan. 1, 1942 edition of the Deseret News.

As the years went on, the size of the paper grew and the amount of advertisements rose with it. By the late 1940s, 50s and 60s, multiple full pages were dedicated to classified ads only — whereas the first editions of the entire paper were just four or five pages long. By then, a good chunk of ads involved housing as people began moving to suburbs.

A cluster of classified ads for housing in the Oct. 6, 1961 edition of the Deseret News.
A cluster of classified ads for housing in the Oct. 6, 1961 edition of the Deseret News.

Ads focused on the growing popularity of television sets and other appliances around the 1950s.

An ad that ran in an early 1950s edition of the Deseret News.
An ad that ran in an early 1950s edition of the Deseret News.
An ad that ran in a 1956 edition of the Deseret News.
An ad that ran in a 1956 edition of the Deseret News.

By the 1980s and 1990s, ads focused on computers and cell phones.

An ad that ran int the Feb. 1, 1995 edition of the Deseret News.
An ad that ran int the Feb. 1, 1995 edition of the Deseret News.

Of course, nowadays everything can be found online with just one click of a button. Online classified advertisements tailor to all sorts of products.

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