This set of five aggregated dot (or proportionate circles) maps aimed to map the distribution of advertisements in Shanghai foreign settlements over the period 1905-1943. On these maps, the size of dots is proportionate the number of advertisements in a given location, with the view to emphasize advertising centers.

I have divided the general timeframe into four subperiods, each one referring to significant political, social or cultural events that profoundly impacted the history of advertising in modern Shanghai: 1919 marked the birth of professional agencies after WWI; the introduction of neon lights in 1929 and the subsequent development of night life in Shanghai in the 1930s, as well as the “takeoff” of Chinese advertising under the Nationalist government during the Nanjing decade (1927-1937); the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war and the restitution of foreign settlements in 1943. Each subperiod is represented by a different color on the maps (before 1919: yellow, 1919-1929: green, 1930-1937: blue; 1938-1943: purple). The first map provides a synthetic picture of the distribution of advertisements over the entire period 1905-1943, while the four successive maps follow a chronological order. 

Original data are drawn primarily from the Shanghai Municipal Archives (Shanghai Municipal Council, French Municipal Council). Drawing on these archival materials, I first built a large geodatabase containing more than 3200 artifacts erected in foreign settlements between 1905-1943 . Available data basically include their precise location in Shanghai (original street name and number, or street corner), the type of medium (mostly billboards and neon lights, which were the easiest to tax and record), their date of erection and removal, and less often their dimensions and materials, their owners’ name and the taxes due to municipal authorities. Whenever available, I added qualitative information pertaining to urban planning, traffic obstruction, public health concerns, landscape preservation or the protection of residents’ physical and moral safety. Building this geodatabase was only the first step. Then I used QGIS to determine the exact location of advertisements by geocoding every single artifact, and to finally produce the maps made available here.

I admit that there are several biases in the geodatabase and the maps derived from archival sources. They do not reflect the actual geography of urban advertising, but only the artifacts recorded by municipal authorities. The quantity and quality of data considerably vary across space and time (graph), and according to the type of medium as well (Graph). In addition, collected data depended on survey methods. Due to restricted access to the French Municipal Archives, the International Settlement is by far better covered than the French Concession (Graph, map). Billboards proved the easiest medias to track, while shop signs and posters largely escaped from municipal surveys. I obviously did not include mobile advertisements since they did not refer to any fixed location. As a result, the first and last years are the best documented as the SMC conducted two large-scale censuses in 1914 and 1943. Yet they focused strictly on billboards in the International Settlement. The over representation of the Hongkew (Hongkou) district before 1919 (up to 45 advertisements within a radius of 400 meters) reflects the fact that most of the data came from the lists furnished by the Oriental Advertising Agency, who placed the majority of its billboards in this district. The scattered geography in the 1920s is due to the absence of systematic census during those years. From 1929, the introduction of neon lights and their systematic registration before municipal authorities accounts for the spectacular growth of illuminated advertisements in the 1930s. The distorted picture in favor of the French Concession more particularly results from the lists furnished by Claude Neon Light to the French authorities, which constitute our main sources for that period. However biased they may be, these maps nevertheless reveal spatial patterns that would otherwise remain hidden. They lay the ground for a spatial history of advertising that radically departs from mainstream cultural studies focused on commercial discourses. 

The maps reveal a continuing pattern of concentration in the main districts (especially the Central district in the IS, which was Shanghai’s business center and therefore, the busiest area in the city) and along the main streets - especially Nanjing Road (a major commercial street in the IS that hosted more than 25 artifacts within a radius of 400m in the 1920-1930s), Avenue Joffre (known as the “jewel” of the French Concession, hosting high-quality specialty shops and entertainment facilities, such as theaters, restaurants and cafes, this street was particularly attractive for neon signs, which attracted more than 25 advertisements in the 1930s), and Edward VII Avenue (a major street that served as a boundary line between the two foreign settlements, and an important transportation axis with multiple tramway and bus lines, attracting more than 20 artifacts within the same radius). Moreover, the successive maps reveal a general pattern of expansion following the process of urbanization toward the western part of the city. The early pattern of concentration did not radically change over time. Following urban expansion, news centers emerged in the 1920-1930s, particularly around the Race Course and Bubbling Well Road (more than 50 ads after 1938), which formed a major residential and recreational area.