Between Public and Market: A Spatial History of Advertising in Modern Shanghai (1905–1949) unveils the silent revolution that advertising brought to Shanghai’s press and urban life during the pre-communist era. While advertising is often regarded as a commercial tool or cultural mirror, this book shifts the focus to its transformative role in reshaping urban landscapes, influencing municipal policies, and fostering new forms of public engagement among urban elites within the transnational context of treaty ports. Drawing on untapped sources— municipal archives, photographs, newspapers—and employing innovative digital methods such as Geographic Information Systems, the author examines how advertising redefined urban spaces, nightlife, traffic management, as well as the physical appearance, content, and business model of Republican-era newspapers. As a sequel to Madmen in Shanghai: A Social History of Advertising in Modern China (De Gruyter, 2024), this book moves beyond the world of advertising professionals to investigate its broader social and spatial impact in early 20th-century China. It will engage students and scholars of modern China, urban and media studies, as well as professionals in advertising and urban management.

This book is scheduled for publication in July 2025.