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Writer's pictureFreddie Masterson

A brief history of pamphlets

Pamphlets allows information to be passed to a large target audience as it doesn't rely on technology. Pamphlets are used to pass round information, this information can be o anything, religion, politics or kitchens.


A long time ago before pamphlets, a Town Crier would be used to pass information round the town and make announcements. The Town Crier would shout news and announcements to the members of the town and the word would be passed on. The information would change as it was passed on around the town and would become unreliable.


Originally only the rich had the ability to write information out and spread it freely. When the printing press was invented, everyone had the chance to write down and spread their own thoughts.


Pamphlets weren't always factual or political. They used to be filled with gossip and stories that would make peoples lives feel exciting. For example they used to tell stories of vampires on the moon and everyone believed it to be true. It is the same as modern day click bait, they produce a title that makes everyone want to read it and profit off of the mass amount of copies sold.


Nowadays they can contain information on anything, this could be on kitchens, medical studies or religion. The production of pamphlets are very cheap and that's why they are used by most companies as it is cheap marketing tactics. Many pamphlets are posted through your letterbox to get you attention, this tactic was very popular during the Brexit campaign as the parties were doing everything they could to get you to vote their way.


Pamphlets have had a large impact on our history. Pamphlets were used during WW1 and WW2 to spread propaganda and during the Woman's rights movement to spread awareness and display their anger of their oppression united. They were also used during the World Wars and dropped from planes over home and enemy territory. They would be spread back at home to keep moral up and dropped onto the enemy to try and convince them to give up.

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