Broadsheet newspapers developed after the British in 1712 placed a tax on newspapers based on the number of their pages. However, larger formats had long been signs of status in printed objects and still are in many places. Outside of Britain the broadsheet developed for other reasons unrelated to the British tax structure including style and authority. 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. In this period, newspapers all over Europe began to print their issues on broadsheets. However, in the United Kingdom, the main competition for the broadside was the gradual reduction of the newspaper tax, beginning in the 1830s, and eventually its dismissal in 1855.