Living Posters: An Unusual Advertising Attempt from a Women’s Organisation in 1903
Târgu Mureș, Marisia. Archaeologia-Historia-Patrimonium 7, 2025, p. 191–200.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63509/MrsAHP.2025.7.12

Abstract:

In this study, I analyse three photographs from the Mureș County Museum’s collection, the origins and
dates of which were previously unknown. By a stroke of luck, I discovered a fourth image in a local early
20th-century periodical, which facilitated their identification: the photographs in the museum’s collection
capture three scenes from a performance titled ‘Living Advertisements’, staged at a 1903 soirée hosted by the Israelite Women’s Benevolent Society. By uncovering this context, I aim to demonstrate the diverse research avenues that photographs can initiate. In this instance, their creation was tied to a community event that offers valuable insight into the public roles and opportunities for urban women at the turn of the century.