Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first study of the cultural meanings of advertising in the Irish Revival period. John Strachan and Claire Nally shed new light on advanced nationalism in Ireland before and immediately after the Easter Rising of 1916, while also addressing how the wider politics of Ireland, from the Irish Parliamentary Party to anti-Home Rule unionism, resonated through contemporary advertising copy. The book examines the manner in which some of the key authors of the Revival, notably Oscar Wilde and W. B. Yeats, reacted to advertising and to the consumer culture around them. Illustrated with over 60 fascinating contemporary advertising images, this book addresses a diverse and intriguing range of Irish advertising: the pages of An Claidheamh Soluis under Patrick Pearse''s editorship, the selling of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the advertising columns of The Lady of the House, the marketing of the sports of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the use of Irish Party politicians in First World Wa
Trade Review“Scholars from a number of disciplines will find this volume … filled with stimulating discussions regarding the emergence and development of Irish commodity and consumer culture(s). … this study is a very welcome and timely contribution to critical enquiries concerning Ireland’s commercial, consumer and popular culture(s). … As such this collection will be of interest to researchers and students of consumer and commercial culture(s). Irish art, history and literature; it is a worthy beginning to an emerging field of research.” (Robert Finnigan, Nordic Irish Studies, Vol. 13 (2), 2015)
'This adventurous study of literary-mercantile relations in pre-independence Ireland makes a fresh and distinctive contribution to our understanding of Revival-era culture. The authors' skilful explication of the structural mechanics, cultural meanings and political resonances of advertising invites us to reconsider the interrelations between history, literature and consumer culture from a street-level perspective. Thoroughly researched and splendidly documented, this book will be a valuable resource for students, teachers and researchers alike.' - Liam Harte, University of Manchester, UK
'A must read. The book offers an authoritative account of the ways in which commercial information came to resonate with cultural meanings in the context of the Literary Revival, and will inspire Irish Studies scholars to think more fully about the connections between literary artefacts, print culture, visuality and economics. Fresh and compelling.'
- Claire Connolly, University College Cork, Ireland
"Anyone interested in the history or culture of Ireland in this period will find much to engage them in this thought-provoking volume." - CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections newsletter
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: ADVERTISING IN IRELAND 1850 - 1914 Prologue - The Irish Advertising Scene from the 1850s to the 1880s Advertising and the Nation in the Irish Revival PART II: PRINT CULTURE The Shan Van Vocht (1896-1899) and The Leader (1900-1936): National Identity in Advertising The Sinn Féin Depot and the Selling of Irish Sport The Lady of the House (1890-1921): Gender, Fashion and Domesticity Unionism, Advertising and the Third Home Rule Bill PART III: 'HIGH' CULTURE Oscar Wilde as Editor and Writer: Aesthetic Interventions in Fashion and Material Culture Consumerism and Anti-Commercialism: The Yeatses, Print Culture, and Home Industry PART IV: ADVERTISING IN IRELAND 1914 -1922 Advertising, Ireland and the Great War Coda - From the Armistice to the Saorstát Bibliography Index
