Victorian walls were plastered with posters advertising plays, debates, and politics. Street children studied them, sometimes ripping, drawing on, or mimicking them for games. Posters taught literacy, social awareness, and humor. Rival gangs used them for signaling or jokes. Children’s interactions transformed passive media into playful, performative culture. Posters became a medium for both learning and mischief. Adults occasionally scolded for defacing material, but it fueled storytelling, satire, and urban imagination.
Street posters acted as informal literacy and social tools for children.
It illustrates how urban media shaped youthful engagement and humor.
Did you know some children created elaborate games tracking poster updates, predicting new arrivals, or copying their illustrations?
[British Library, britishlibrary.uk]