WHSmith Opens a Railway Bookstall at Euston
Poets involved
What happened
In 1848, WHSmith opened a railway bookstall at Euston station, marking a significant development in the connection between rail travel and the sale of reading materials. This initiative catered to the growing number of railway passengers, providing easy access to newspapers, magazines, and books. The success of railway bookstalls contributed to the popularization of reading and the expansion of the publishing industry in the 19th century.
Literary impact
Railway bookstalls changed reading habits by making cheap print available to travellers, supporting sensation fiction, periodicals, popular poetry, and portable reading. This accessibility inspired poets like Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning to reach wider audiences, democratizing literary culture.
Source: Wikipedia
