Twee krantenverkopers

Thomas Rowlandson created this print called “Two Newspaper Vendors” in England sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. It depicts two men rushing down a London street, one blowing a horn to attract attention, and the other shouting to advertise their newspapers. Rowlandson’s image gives us a window into the culture of early print media and the methods of circulating news in Georgian England. The boisterous scene reflects the growing importance of public opinion and the increasing availability of news to a broader audience. This was also a time when the press was subject to censorship and government control, so the distribution of newspapers often had political undertones. To understand this print better, we can look at the history of printmaking, the development of the newspaper industry, and the social and political context of the time. It's only by researching its historical context that we begin to unlock the social life of this seemingly simple image.