… the information on playbills. Some early nineteenth-century examples include the Theatrical Observer (1821-30) and The Tatler (1830-32). They offered purchasers a playbill with an adjoined review of the performance on the back. The … of bill and theatrical criticism allowed purchasers to publicly exhibit their expertise to fellow theatregoers. The Tatler explained their decision thusly: ‘If a play-goer has a party with him, especially ladies, the purchase of a bill … both positive and negative sociability within the eighteenth-century playhouse. 10 . Leigh Hunt, ‘The Play-Bills’, The Tatler, (n° 12, 17 September 1830), p. 45. 11 . Maria Edgeworth, The Absentee, ed. W. J. McCormack and Kim Walker …