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These Wall Street Journal advertising aprons would have been worn by newspaper boys, who hawked papers on the streets of America for various publications in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Young boys began selling newspapers after the development of the rotary press in the 1840s. Before this, newspapers were expensive and not widely read, but the new technology made it possible for the average American to afford ‘penny papers’. These boys, known as ‘Newsies’, were often very poor or homeless. They had to purchase the papers they sold, so they suffered financially if sales were bad.

 

When new child labor laws were introduced, the iconic image of newspaper boys shouting “Extra! Extra!” on street corners became less common. Instead, these young boys often worked the job before or after school, employed by a particular press—in this case, the Wall Street Journal.

 

These particular aprons could date back to as early as the 1920s. They are adorned with the WSJ’s logo and the phrase “It Brings You Business” and multiple pockets at the front, which we assume were used to collect money and give change.