Promotional information space of Ekaterinodar in the beginning of the 20th century

The purpose of the article is to study the development of outdoor advertisement in Ekaterinodar in the early twentieth century, which makes the subject even more topical taking into account the fact that a modern megalopolis is hard to imagine without advertising at all. Different sources were used while writing this article. The most important and valuable of them were the local newspapers Novaya Zarya [New Dawn], Kubanskiy Kurier [Kuban Courier] that reflected the process of advertisement development. The other group of sources was represented by the records and reports of Ekaterinodar administration. The use of those reports allowed to follow the local authorities' advertisement policy. In European cities poster pillars appeared as early as the mid-1850s. These advertising constructions first came to our country in the early 20th century. Ekaterinodar lost its rural look only by the beginning of the 20th century, as it became a regional center. For the city not to be overloaded with advertising products, poster pillars were introduced and became a compulsory detail of Ekaterinodar landscape of that time. It was strictly prohibited to glue posters, announcements and other sorts of printed products on the houses, fences, telegraph posts. Those persons who needed to place their advertisement were to enter into a contract with the city administration. Unauthorized advertisement was to be eliminated. In the early 20th century there were poster stands that were widely spread in Ekaterinodar and were leased as well. Leaseholders who did not pay regularly to the city budget could not count on the extension of the lease term. In the beginning of the 20th century the sale of advertising space became a revenue item of Ekaterinodar. The city's administration supposed to receive 300 rubles leasing the space on the signboards over the confectioneries, but in fact they earned 477 rubles 83 copecks. In the 1880s there appeared light signs in the largest cities of the Russian Empire. Some of them could be observed in the early 20th century in Ekaterinodar. The screen that showed light ads was set up in the center of the city. Some years later this sort of advertising became quite ordinary. In 1911, the newspaper Kubanskiy Kurier offered all the dwellers of the Kuban region to make use of the light ads service. In the early 20th century advertising became an integral part of the landscape and architecture of Ekaterinodar, generating quite a good revenue for the city budget. While writing the article the author has come to the following conclusions. In the early 20th century advertisement became an indispensable component of Ekaterinodar landscape and architecture. The local authorities undertook various measures aimed at organizing a civilized market of outdoor advertisement at that time, as it was the advertisement that became the component forming the city's environment.

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