Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week

This week, we’re ever closer to understanding the lives of gentlewomen in the early 1910s with the help of one of our three fascinating new titles, The World and His Wife. Not only this, we’ve updated two more of our already existing titles on The Archive, bringing the total pages added for the first week of February to 138,695.

This week’s new titles take us on a journey that starts from within the home, and leads us all the way to Moscow, Russia, following one man’s daring adventures on two wheels. So join us this week as we uncover Robert Louis Jefferson’s record-breaking cycle across the world.

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The World and His Wife

We begin this week by diving into the monthly London publication of all subjects related to royalty, health, fashion, women’s achievements, fiction stories, and even cartoons in the beloved The World and His Wife. This title has been catering to the interest of its female-oriented audience since its establishment in 1904, and its pages seek to teach us a great deal about the behind-the-scenes of women’s lives during the first decade of the 20th century – a century that saw a monumental shift in attitudes towards the role of the woman.

The World and His Wife | 01 November 1904

The magazine was championed by the Daily Telegraph & Courier, with multiple features from various additional newspapers singing its praises. An advertisement from 1st December 1904 states The World and His Wife as, ‘Big, bright, beautiful. Neat. Artistic, of wide interest, appearing generally to the home’ with Mr Clement Shorter describing the publication as, ‘…far and away the most carefully prepared magazine that has yet been seen in this country.’ It’s clear from the these comments that our new title was revered not just by its consumers, but also by its fellow publications.

As the title page suggests, The World and His Wife focuses on all things related to within the home. It avows the word ‘home‘ as beautiful, and that it means ‘Comfort, Happiness and Contentment’. Although at first glace, it would appear as though the monthly title promotes a rose-tinted view of a woman’s role within the home, this is found to be reductive upon further inspection. As well as discussing more traditional topics related to women’s entertainment, the magazine also contains progressive and somewhat radical political opinions on relationship dynamics and women’s treatment, treading new ground surrounding the boundaries of female periodical journalism.

The World and His Wife | 01 November 1904

Here, we can see how The World and His Wife explores conversations that transcend stereotypical perceptions of female complacency in the early 1900s. This title gave women a space to vocalise feelings of neglect and misunderstanding. Costing the low price of sixpence, our first new title explores a range of topics relating to, although crucially not restricted to, within the home.

The Telescope

The second of our three brand new titles for the week is Telescope. Published in London every Sunday, Telescope gave us updates on new books published, latest intelligence, and Britain’s political and military exploits. Each issue was four pages long and cost seven pence.

Telescope | 09 January 1825

Telescope is an excellent documentation of Britain’s international travels, as well as its internal affairs, Giving updates on stock prices and parliamentary undertakings. On Saturday 12th February 1825, Telescope’s office moved to No. 119 Fleet Street, requesting any further correspondence to be directed to their new address.

The Cycle Record

For our final new title of the week, we’re pedalling into the world of cycling with the weekly Saturday publication, Cycle Record. The Coventry-based newspaper provided provincial news and notes from the cycling world, alongside reports and racing returns, to cycling enthusiasts from 1888 to 1893. It cost one penny and in 1891, Its title changed from The Cycle Record, Athletic Review and Diary to the much more succinct Cycle Record. It was available at all Cycling Depots and Railway Bookstalls throughout the United Kingdom, making it an easily accessible introduction into the cycling domain.

Cycle Record | 15 September 1888

The people behind the publication of this new title are equally as absorbing as the content found within its pages. Cycle Record was edited by Robert Louis Jefferson, a valiant and daring cyclist himself, who undertook many courageous journeys across the world on two wheels. Perhaps his most notable adventure occurred in 1895, when he cycled all the way to Moscow and back again on a Rover bicycle in under fifty days. During his journey, he lost more than two stone in weight and never ate more than two full meals. Jefferson had set himself the challenge of reaching Moscow by May 11th, however, he ran into trouble in Mearkleyo when his back wheel was completely smashed. This slowed down his travel by three days, necessitating both long walks and train travel. Somewhat fortunately, had this event not transpired, Jefferson would have reached Brest Litowski on the same night that the town was burnt down, resulting in 137 fatalities. The treacherous nature of his adventure was spoken about by many worldwide. Jefferson’s travel was recorded in several newspapers of the time, one of which being the Cornish Echo and Falmouth & Penryn Times, who reported that the roads cycled by Mr Jefferson will be ‘considerably inferior’ to even the ‘worst English ones’.

St. James’s Budget | 26 July 1895

Cycle Record sought to provide any information thought needed by experienced and beginner cyclists alike, displaying the informal tone of the paper as ‘cycling chit chat’. It advertised newly manufactured bicycles and compared their strengths and weaknesses within the market.

Cycle Record | 06 October 1888

The newspaper also honoured ‘Cycling Celebrities‘, one of whom was Mr. John Icely Warman, a cycle manufacturer. The February 15th 1890 edition of Cycle Record features a long interview with Mr Warman, detailing how he became involved in cycling and the impact the sport has had on his life. In this way, Cycle Record connected the sport from the most basic level, to the most technical.

Cycle Record | 15 February 1890

Read this interview in its entirety while exploring 6,582 new pages of the Cycle Record here. Additionally, delve into The Archive in order to uncover more about the lives of women in the first decade of the 20th century, or to locate more of Robert Louis Jefferson’s international cycling adventures.

New Titles

Updated Titles

This week we have updated two of our existing titles.

You can learn more about each of the titles we add to every week by clicking on their names. On each paper’s title page, you can read a free sample issue, learn more about our current holdings, and our plans for digitisation.

You can keep up to date with all the latest additions by visiting the recently added page.  You can even look ahead to see what we’re going to add tomorrow.