- The Graphic
"The Graphic" was a British illustrated
newspaper , first published on4 December 1869 byIllustrated Newspapers, Ltd. It continued to be published weekly under this title until23 April 1932 and then changed title to "The National Graphic" between28 April and14 July 1932 ; it then ceased publication after 3,266 issues.Background
"The Graphic" was founded by
William Luson Thomas , a wood engraver and social reformer. The first editor wasHenry Sutherland Edwards , and Thomas also recruited a number of gifted artists includingLuke Fildes ,Hubert von Herkomer ,Frank Holl , and John Millais. "The Graphic" was published on a Saturday and its original cover price was sixpence. In its first year, it described itself to advertisers as "a superior illustrated weekly newspaper, containing twenty-four pages imperial folio, printed on fine toned paper of beautiful quality, made expressley for the purpose and admirably adapted for the display ofengravings ".When it started out, the newspaper was printed in a rented house. However it was a rapid success, and by 1882 the company owned three buildings, twenty printing machines and employed over 1,000 people.
It had subscribers all around the
British Empire and inNorth America .Artists employed on "The Graphic" and "The Daily Graphic" at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century included
Alexander Boyd ,Frank Brangwyn ,James H. Dowd ,Harry Furniss ,Phil May ,Ernest Prater ,Leonard Raven-Hill ,Edmund Sullivan ,George Stampa ,Sidney Sime ,Bert Thomas andF. H. Townsend . [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jgraphic.htm]Writers for the paper included
George Eliot ,Thomas Hardy ,H. Rider Haggard andAnthony Trollope . [http://www.library.yale.edu/~mpowell/victorianper.html#graph]Malcolm Charles Salaman was employed there from1890 to1899 .Innovations
"The Graphic" was designed to compete with the famous "
Illustrated London News " (established in1842 ), and became its most successful rival. Earlier rivals such as the "Illustrated Times " and the "Pictorial Times " had either failed to compete or been merged with the ILN. It appealed to the samemiddle-class readership, but "The Graphic", as its name suggests, was intended to use images in a more vivid and striking way than the rather staid ILN. To this end it employed some of the most important artists of the day, making an immediate splash in 1869 with "Houseless and Hungry", Luke Fildes' dramatic image of the shivering London poor seeking shelter in a workhouse.The paper covered home news and news from around the British Empire, devoted much attention to literature, arts, sciences, the fashionable world, sport, music and opera. Royal occasions and national celebrations and ceremonials were also given prominent coverage.
In
1889 , Thomas's company H.R. Baines and Co. commenced publication of the first daily illustrated newspaper in England, which was called "The Daily Graphic." This is not to be confused with its American precursor, the "Daily Graphic ", which was the first American daily illustrated newspaper, founded in 1873.Weekly topics
* Topics of the Week: 12 paragraphs of
news coverage.
* Amusements: A roundup of activities for the week, for the middle-class reader.
* Our illustrations: a summary of all the illustrations in the edition.
* Home: a summary of the news in Britain.
* Church news
* Legal: Trials and Cases of interest to the target reader.
* A weekly serial written by popular authors of the time, such asWilliam Black (although this seemed to appear in the 1880s).
* Book reviews
* A summary of the new developments in science.
*Rural notes: information about theseason and tips about crops, and other news concerning the rampant unrest of the farm labourers.
* New Music: Reviews of the latest music and musicals.
* Obituaries: of Church leaders, factory owners, European Royalty, musicians and noteworthy Victorians.
* Sport: coverage of football and cricket (withW.G. Grace )There were at least three pages dedicated to advertising and it is interesting to see the obsession with
hygiene , with countless adverts for toothpaste and soap products (and 'miracle-cure' pills).Demise
On August 15, 1932
Time Magazine reported the name change to "The National Graphic" and editorWilliam Comyns Beaumont ofThe Bystander took over, replacingAlan John Bott . [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744210,00.html Time Magazine: "Eight Less One"] , August 15, 1925]References
*"Mitchell's Newspaper Press Directory", 1870
*"The Reference Specialist British Library Newspapers"Further reading
*"Waterloo Directory of English Newspapers and Periodicals 1800-1900" (Canada: North Waterloo Academic Press, 2003)
*"The Newspaper Press in Britain: an annotated bibliography" (London:Mansell Publishing, 1987).External links
* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jgraphic.htm A history of "The Graphic" newspaper & staff, with image of the paper's engraving room in 1882.]
* [http://www.bl.uk/collections/victoria.html Publication dates] (British Library website)
* [http://www.bl.uk/collections/britnews.html Example of an engraving from an 1869 edition of "The Graphic"]
* [http://www.library.yale.edu/~mpowell/victorianper.html#graph Images and text from "The Graphic"] (of1st February 1873 )
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.