Publications

Publication of the month for June 2008

This is the first Magnet issue to appear in this slot. Unique in my collection as the only red Magnet which was not reprinted by Howard Baker, and has not appeared online as part of the Magnet facsimiles site.

The original Magnet sadly is somewhat battered, where some previous owner has trimmed the page edges; and the only part of the original cover was the main illustration. For this electronic version I've recreated a cover using a scan of another red Magnet.

This story features the inimitable Horace Coker in full flow, a visit by Alonzo and Peter Todd; and a spurious invitation to tea with a master (a prank that saw later and more effective use at Rookwood in Boy's Friend 815, reprinted in the 1928 Greyfriars Holiday Annual).

Note in particular the illustration of Mr Prout, Fifth Form Master, on page 3. A scrawny man with glasses and excessive whiskers, a far cry from the portly and pompous man of later Magnet stories and illustrations.

Publication of the month for May 2008

The Popular, like last month's Greyfriars Herald, was another AP publication affected by the first world war. The first series of the Penny Popular ran from 1912 to 1918, when it was amalgamated with the Boy's Friend due to the paper shortage (having dropped from 32 to 16 pages across the previous 4 years).

The second series appeared a year later in 1919 and ran until January 1931, when it was renamed the Ranger. During its heyday it followed the same format as the first series: reprinted stories of Greyfriars, St. Jim's and Rookwood; with an occasional serial, possibly a reprint of another school story (Cedar Creek, St. Frank's). Although there were for a time "original" stories of Greyfriars et al, these were written by sub writers and not often of a high standard. The only original stories the Popular ever printed of any merit were those of the Rio Kid, which you  can read here.

The Popular here is from 1922 and includes classic reprints of Greyfriars, St. Jim's, Rookwood and Cedar Creek, as well as a serial by Victor Nelson and an edition of Billy Bunter's Weekly. Enjoy

Publication of the month for April 2008

The Greyfriars Herald first appeared as the subject of stories in the red Magnet around setting up a school paper - in particular M 158-159, 296 and 306. Unlike the light-hearted introduction to Tom Merry's Weekly in the blue Gems, the Herald was eventually a more serious and longer lived affair. Following a readers' poll in the Magnet the Greyfriars Herald was first published as a separate paper on 20th November 1915, and ran for 18 issued before the first World War paper shortages killed it off.

It reappeared on 20th October 1919 and ran for more than a year before folding again. It featured stories of Jack Drake at St. Winifreds (much later reprinted in the blue and yellow Gem of the late 1930's), spoof stories of Herlock Sholmes by Peter Todd (aka Charles Hamilton), as well as a range of stories, poems and articles by the pupils at Greyfriars. Issues 3 and 9 of the New series were reprinted in Howard Baker Magnet Volume 41. Here for your delight is issue 19 from March 1920.

The Herald was revived, initially as a four page centrepiece of the Magnet from issue 673 onwards, before being replaced by Harry Wharton's Cricket & Football Supplements. The Second series ran from Magnet 1169 to M 1268, and was initially tied in to the current Greyfriars storyline. The Third series started up in M 1285 and ran to the end of the Magnet in 1940. Issues 99 onwards featured a short St. Sam's story by "Dicky Nugent" [George Richmond Samways] as well as various Greyfriars news items.

Publication of the month for March 2008

 This month's publication is something different - a new website. What will in time become a repository of all things Hamilton, it already includes scans of a plethora of vintage fiction - from Martin Clifford, Ralph Redway and Frank Richards, as well as Charles Hamilton writing under his own name!

Thanks to the dedication of members of the Yahoo discussion groups it will gradually build up as a complete a picture as possible of the range of Hamilton's fiction. Most documents can be read on-line or downloaded and read at your leisure.

Publication of the month for February 2008

Britain had the Collector's Digest, Canada had the Story Paper Collector, and Australia had the Golden Hours magazine. 7 issues were produced over a 4 year period from 1960 by Syd Smith, of the Sydney Old Boys Book Club.

It's lack of frequency was more than made up for by the quality of the contents - articles by a range of collectors and those who were part of the Amalgamated Press.

This issue includes reminiscences of Hedley P A O'Mant by H. W. Twyman, Fleetway in the Twenties by E. L. McKeag and Frank Richards the down to earth author by Jack Corbett.

A piece of nostalgia. Visit the Collecting Books and Magazines site for more details on Golden Hours and its successor Golden Years.

This is a piece of ephemera. Those of you who collect the Magnet will know that Howard Baker published three Magnet listings in 1971, 1977 and 1986. Each refined the details of its predecessor, and added in the increasing number of facsimile volumes published.

For those with the '77 companion, this later addition was a necessary corrective. Of course those whose collecting bordered on obsession (such as me) had already annotated their original '77 hardback volume.

Anyway, a little something to illustrate how dedicated Bill Howard Baker was in serving his loyal customers.

It sometimes seems that Bunter went from strength to strength over the years following the demise of the Magnet. Star of comic strip and television show, as well as annuals and 38 hard back volumes. However, the quality control was another matter. Stories written by Frank Richards or based on original stories still stand up (though maybe a certain weariness is present in the later Bunter volumes). Stories that were not under Frank Richards control and aimed at a newer and younger audience moved dramatically away from the strengths of the original.

Following on from last month's Knockout, here is a strip from the Comet, drawn by C. H. Chapman and based on an original Magnet series from 1923

Click the image to the left to open a scan of the original story in Adobe Acrobat format (NB. the file is 7.6 MB, so may take some time to download/open if you have a slow connection).

It sometimes seems that Bunter went from strength to strength over the years following the demise of the Magnet. Star of comic strip and television show, as well as annuals and 38 hard back volumes. However, the quality control was another matter. Stories written by Frank Richards or based on original stories still stand up (though maybe a certain weariness is present in the later Bunter volumes). Stories that were not under Frank Richards control and aimed at a newer and younger audience moved dramatically away from the strengths of the original.

The strip in the Knockout (and later in the Valiant) bore little resemblance to Frank Richard's character, with its broad slapstick and pared down cast; but it did find a new audience in this new context, some of whom would seek out the originals. Make up your own mind as to quality with this Knockout from 1953.

Click the image to the left to open a scan of the original story in Adobe Acrobat format (NB. the file is 8.1 MB, so may take some time to download/open if you have a slow connection).

This month's publication is the first ever St. Frank's story, originally published in number 112 of the 1st series of the Nelson Lee Library, way back in 1917. This is not that version sadly, but the reprinted version from the 1st issue of the 4th series of the Nelson Lee Library of 1933.

The Nelson Lee Library, like the Gem, was suffering from a declining circulation; and like the Gem decided to reprint stories from the start of its long saga. Unfortunately, unlike the Gem this ploy was not effective, and 25 weeks later the Nelson Lee Library was no more.

Anyway, find out why the distinguished detective and his talented ward really did end up as House Master and pupil at a public school for all those years.

Click the image to the left to open a scan of the original story in Adobe Acrobat format (NB. the file is 21.8 MB, so may take some time to download/open if you have a slow connection).

This month's publication is the first part of a double bill. To celebrate the pending arrival of the School Friend, Schoolgirl and Schoolgirls' Own listings to the site, here is the long Cliff House story "Mystery Mansion" from the first Schoolgirls' Own Annual of 1923, published in September 1922. Published under the by-line Hilda Richards, it was probably written by R. S. Kirkham, and contains all the ingredients of a typical Cliff House Christmas - mystery, snow, Bessie Bunter - though with a somewhat larger cast than most Christmas stories.

Next month's publication will be the Morcove story "The Girl Who Kept to Herself" from the same annual. Until then, enjoy!

Click the image to the left to open a scan of the original story in Adobe Acrobat format (NB. the file is 8.2 MB, so may take some time to download/open if you have a slow connection).

This is the Mascot Schoolboy Series No. 4 "Sent to Coventry", featuring Bob Hood & Co. of Topham School. It was published by John Matthews (Publishers) Limited at some point in the 1940's, probably in 1946 (possibly before the Sparshott books, which cost 1 shilling each).

Topham, like Sparshott, Felgate, Carcroft and a range of other schools, was created by Charles Hamilton in the 1940's as an alternative to Greyfriars, St. Jim's et al. as the Amalgamated Press held the copyright for those famous schools created for them, and had not given Hamilton permission to write about them. This changed in 1947, when most of these post WW2 experiments were abandoned in favour of new stories about Greyfriars, Rookwood, St. Jim's, Cliff House, the School for Slackers, the Rio Kid and King of the Islands.

So, an interesting curiosity - enjoy!

Click the image to the left to open a scan of the original booklet in Adobe Acrobat format (NB. the file is 12.5 MB, so may take some time to download/open if you have a slow connection).

This is the Picture Post volume 31, number 6, dated 11 May 1946. It contained an article by Sidney Jacobson entitled "Do You Remember Billy Bunter?" This article is reputed to have been the catalyst that prompted Charles Skilton to approach Charles Hamilton to write new Bunter Books. It could also (possibly) have lead to the agreement of Amalgamated Press that Hamilton could write new Greyfriars and St. Jim's stories, as AP owned the copyright on the characters.

Anyhow, whichever way you cut it, the article was a timely reminder of the value of Greyfriars and St. Jim's at a point when Hamilton was experimenting with a range of new schools (Felgate, Carcroft, Topham, etc.) that were never going to get the chance to reach the heights Greyfriars, Rookwood and St. Jim's did in their 1920's and 1930's heyday.

Click the image to the left to open a scan of the original Picture Post article in Adobe Acrobat format (NB. the file is 2.6 MB, so may take some time to download/open if you have a slow connection).