1st use of Exterior Advertising and Billboards

The very first billboard advertisements – posters over 50-square-feet – were created by Jared Bell in New York to advertise Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1835. Billboards in the early 1800s were labor-intensive to create, as most were drawn or painted by hand.

Transit advertising in the U.S. dates back to 1850 when New York City's Lord & Taylor used panel signs on streetcars. Conductors often contracted ad space as a side business, receiving concessions from streetcar companies. A man named Chase was among the first to organize streetcar advertising, marking the beginning of what would become a widespread practice.