A flyer is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in a public place, handed out to individuals or sent through the mail. Today, flyers range from inexpensively photocopied leaflets to expensive, glossy, full-color circulars. Flyers in a digital format can be shared on the internet.
Leaflets being handed out in New York City (1973)
Hundreds of flyers litter the streets in South Beach, Miami. Scenes like these are not uncommon in cities known for their nightlife
Distribution of leaflets over Afghanistan by the U.S. military in 2010
Flyers pasted to a wall in Haikou, Hainan Province, China
A pamphlet is an unbound book. Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a leaflet or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book.
An 18th-century painting of a girl with a basket of pamphlets
Due to their low cost and ease of production, pamphlets have often been used to popularize political or religious ideas.
A 1918 Finnish propaganda pamphlet signed by General Mannerheim circulated by the Whites urging the Reds to surrender during the Finnish Civil War. English: To the residents and troops of Tampere! Resistance is hopeless. Raise the white flag and surrender. The blood of the citizen has been shed enough. We will not kill like the Reds kill their prisoners. Send your representative with a white flag.
