 Broadsheet newspapers developed after the British in 1712 placed a tax on newspapers based on the number of their pages.Larger formats, however, had long been signs of status in printed objects, and still are in many places, and outside Britain, the broadsheet developed for other reasons, including style and authority, unrelated to the British tax structure.With the early mechanization of the 19th century came an increased production of printed materials including the broadside, as well as the competing penny dreadful.