Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/564

538 PERIODICALS Cheap publica tions. Statis tics. sailors, and Colburn s United Service Journal (1829) to both services. The Asiatic Journal (1816) dealt with Oriental subjects. From 1815 to 1820 a number of low-priced and unwhole some periodicals flourished. The Mirror (1823-49), a two penny illustrated magazine, begun by John Limbird, 1 and the Mechanics Magazine (1823) were steps in a better direction. The political agitation of 1831 led to a further popular demand, and a supply of cheap and healthy serials for the reading multitude commenced with Chambers s Edinburgh Journal (1832), the Penny Magazine (1832-45) of Charles Knight, issued under the patronage of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and the Saturday Magazine (1832-44), begun by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The first was published at IJd. and the last two at Id. Knight secured the best authors and artists of the day to write for and illustrate his magazine, which, though at first a commercial success, may have had the reason of its subsequent discontinuance in its literary excellence. At the end of 1832 it had reached a sale of 200,000 in weekly numbers and monthly parts. It came to an end in 1845 and was succeeded by Knight s Penny Magazine (1845), which was stopped after six monthly parts. These periodicals were followed by a number of penny weeklies of a lower tone, such as the Family Herald (1843), the London Journal (1845), and Lloyd s Miscellany ; the two former are still thriving. In 1850 the sale of the first of them was placed at 175,000 copies, the second at 170,000, and Lloyd s at 95,000. In 1846 fourteen penny and three halfpenny magazines, twelve social journals, and thirty-seven book-serials were produced every week in London. A further and permanent improvement in cheap weeklies for home reading may be traced from the foundation of HowMs Journal (1847-49), and more especially Household Words (1850), conducted by Charles Dickens, All the Year Round (1859), by the same editor, and afterwards by his son, Once a Week (1859), and the Leisure Hour (1852). The plan of Notes and Queries (1849), for the purpose of intercommunication among those interested in special points of literary and anti quarian character, has led to the adoption of similar depart ments in a great number of newspapers and periodicals, and, besides several imitators in England, there are now parallel journals in Holland, France, and Italy. Recent shilling monthlies began with Macmillan (1859), the Cornhill (1860), and Temple Bar (1860). The Corn- hill, first edited by Thackeray, was known for its specially literary tone down to 1883. St James s Magazine (1861), Belgravia (1866), St Paul s (1867-74), London Society (1862), and Tinsley s (1867) are devoted chiefly to novels and light reading. The sixpenny illustrated magazines commenced with Good Words (1860) and the Quiver (1861), both religious in tendency. In 1882 Eraser changed its name to Longman s Magazine, and was entirely popularized and reduced to sixpence. The Cornhill followed the same example in 1883, reducing its price to sixpence and devot ing its pages to light reading. The English Illustrated Magazine (1883) was brought out in competition with the American Harper and Century. Of the artistic period icals we may signalize the Art Journal (1849), long known for its line engravings, the Portfolio (1870), which has done much to popularize etching, and the Magazine of Art (1878). The following statistics furnish an idea of the marvel lous increase in the number of periodicals issued at different times during the last fifty years. In figures submitted . J John Limbird, to whom even before Chambers or Knight is due the carrying out the idea of a cheap and good periodical for the people, died so recently as 31st October 1883, without having achieved the worldly prosperity of his two followers. to the House of Commons in 1864 Sir Edward Baines estimated the circulation of the monthly magazines in 1831 at no more than 125,000 copies; when he spoke the number had increased to 3,609,350. The weeklies might be reckoned in 1831 at about equal to the monthlies in circulation, and the miscellaneous serials at 120,000, amounting altogether to 420,000 copies. In 1864 the circulation of weeklies and monthlies reached a total of 6,094,950 (Journal of Statist, Soc., 1864, pp. 410-412). Concurrently with this increase in the whole number pub lished there may be observed an equally regular decrease in the average cost of each. In 1831 there were issued in London alone 177 monthlies, costing 17, 12s. 6d., or an average of 2s. apiece. At the end of 1833 there were 236 of the same class, costing <23, 3s. 6d., and the average price had decreased to Is. IHd. Twenty years later, in 1853, there were 362 monthlies, costing 14, 17s. 6d., the average cost of each being now only 9J-d. (Knight s Old Printer and Modern Press, 263). In London itself the increase of the weeklies, monthlies, and quarterlies at different periods has been as follows : Weekly. Monthly. Quarterly. Total. 1833 21 236 25 282 1837 50 186 34 220 1844 60 227 38 325 1853 56 302 50 408 1863 f Included in |_ ( monthlies ) 453 75 528 1874 50 402 84 500 1SS4 110 009 126 905 Extending the inquiry to the whole of the United Kingdom, and including every description of periodical, with the exception of annuals and newspapers, May s British and Irish Press Guide for the years 1874 and 1884 supplies this comparison : 1874. 1884. 1874. 1SS4. 541 771 Daily 1 12 England GO 154 2 15 26 Weekly 53 114 27 61 Twice a month 5 13 11 26 482 699 2 5 9 84 i9 Total 602 1041 Half-yearly 4 16 28 47 Total.... 602 1041 The chief classes into which the same periodicals may be divided are : Religious. Illustrated. Juvenile. Trade-organs. 1863 1874 1884 196 297 350 175 333 59 100 04 137 Among the different periodicals issued in 1884 there were also 73 advocating temperance, 28 devoted to agri culture, 57 family magazines, 31 financial, 15 insurance, 18 medical, 7 secularist, 9 tailoring, and 7 bicycling. Indexes to English Periodicals. Lists of the separate indexes to particular series are given in H. B. Whcatlcy s What is an Index ? 1879, and List of Bibliographies in the Heading Room of the British Museum, 1881. The valuable and elaborate work of W. F. Poole, Index to Periodical Lit., Boston (Massachusetts), 1882, supplies an exhaustive alphabetical index to the titles of articles in 6205 volumes of English and American serials of the present century. Monthly supplements appear in the Library Journal. Authorities. "Periodicals," in the British Mnsenm catalogue; Lowndes, 9 ; Andrews, Hist, of Brit. Journalism, 1859 ; Cucheval Clarigny, Hist, de la sse en Angleterrc etaux Ktats Unis, 1857 ; Madden, Hint, of Irish Period. Lit., "Account of Periodical Literary Journals from 1081 to 1749," by S. Farkes, in Quart. Journ. ofSc., Lit., etc., xiii. 36, 289; "Last Century Magazines," in Fraser s