Penny Magazine
Encyclopedia
The Penny Magazine, published every Saturday from 31 March 1832 to 31 October 1845, was an illustrated British magazine aimed at the working class
. Charles Knight
created it for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
in response to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal
, which started two months earlier. Sold for only a penny and illustrated with woodcuts, it was an expensive enterprise that could only be supported by very large circulation. Though initially very successful—with a circulation of 200,000 in the first year—it proved too dry and too Whiggish
to appeal to the working class
audience it needed to be financially viable. Its competitor—which included a weekly short story—grew more slowly, but lasted much longer.
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
. Charles Knight
Charles Knight
Charles Knight is the name of:*Charles Knight , English author and publisher*Charles Knight , British civil servant*Charles Knight , New Zealand filmmaker, actor and stuntman...
created it for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge , founded in 1826, and wound up in 1848, was a Whiggish London organisation that published inexpensive texts intended to adapt scientific and similarly high-minded material for the rapidly expanding reading public...
in response to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers in 1832. The first edition was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at one penny. Topics included history, religion, language, and science...
, which started two months earlier. Sold for only a penny and illustrated with woodcuts, it was an expensive enterprise that could only be supported by very large circulation. Though initially very successful—with a circulation of 200,000 in the first year—it proved too dry and too Whiggish
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
to appeal to the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
audience it needed to be financially viable. Its competitor—which included a weekly short story—grew more slowly, but lasted much longer.
External links
- Penny Magazine Online
- Commercial history of the Penny Magazine
- Penny Magazine. 1832; 1834; 1835; 1836; 1841; 1845