Little Folks (British magazine)

This article is about the British magazine. For the American magazine, see Little Folks.

Little Folks
May 1912 cover
FrequencyMonthly
First issue1871 (1871)
Final issue1933 (1933)
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inLondon
LanguageEnglish

Little Folks was a British children's magazine published monthly by Cassell & Company from 1871 until 1933.[1] The magazine published stories by well-known authors including Sarah Pitt,[2] Bernard Heldmann,[3] and Bella Sidney Woolf. Illustrators included Edward S. Hodgson, Kate Greenaway[4] and Harry Rountree.[5]

Sam Hield Hamer was editor for a twelve year period[6] between 1895-1907. Herbert Williams was editor for an unknown period, including from 1920[7] to 1927.[8]

Content

The well-illustrated magazine contained serial stories, short stories about history and adventure, poetry, puzzle games, and letters from readers.[9]

In 1872 the magazine published biographies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and John Bunyan. There was a column entitled Music Made Easy for Little Folks, plus Bible lessons, and stories on children from other lands.[10]

In 1915 regular columns included Pages for Hobbies, Little Folks Library Club, Little Folks Science Club – conducted by "Sparks", and Little Folks Nature Club – by "Kingfisher".[11] (In 1919 "Squirrel" conducted the nature column.) The later column held competitions for drawings and prose on nature subjects.[12]

The November 1926 issue contained the opening installment of a new school serial by Dorothy Moore, plus a boys’ adventure story entitled “Pirate Gold” by Peter Martin. Prizes were offered for readers’ submissions in the Competition Corner section.[13]

Readers' charitable giving

On different occasions readers were asked to send in donations for those in need. In the June 1875 issue prizes were offered for dolls with the best sets of clothes, with the understanding that that the dolls and clothing would be given to sick children in London hospitals. Over 500 clothed dolls were donated.[14]

In 1898 the Queen Victoria Drinking Fountain was erected in Glasgow, Scotland by the readers of Little Folks to provide drinking water for working class families.[15]

In 1908 Bella Sidney Woolf appealed to Little Folks readers for funds to buy additional beds or cots for the Queen's Hospital for Children. The response was great enough to pay for a new ward for the hospital.[16] In 1914 Woolf once again appealed to Little Folks readers to give money for the Prince Of Wales' National Relief Fund, to help families of soldiers who had gone to war.[17]

Little Folks' readers

Gretchen R. Galbraith has researched the magazine's[18] readers' participation in contests and letter-writing, and stated "Girls outnumbered boys in every category of participation, and they tended to read the magazine for more years." Galbraith concluded that "Correspondents' postal addresses and descriptions of their travels, nannies, and nurseries indicate a middle- and upper-class readership." She hypothesized that "The magazine appears to have been especially popular in clergymen's families."[19]

Other Little Folks publications

From at least 1879 to 1894 editions of The Little Folks Painting Book were published, containing black and white illustrations for children to colour.[20] [21] In 1880 it was reported that the editor of Little Folks donated 4,000 copies of the Little Folks Painting Book to children's hospitals throughout the country.[22]

Yearly editions of the Little Folks Annual were published from at least 1879 to 1915, promoted as to be given as Christmas gifts.[23] [24]

Other Little Folks periodicals

  • Little Folks was a monthly United States children's magazine for young readers that was published by Samuel E. Cassino from 1897 to 1926.[25]
  • Edward Eggleston published an eight-page Sunday School paper entitled Little Folks, which was distributed monthly within the United States, and was published from 1869 to 1877.[26]

References

  1. ^ Stanford Libraries
  2. ^ Pitt, Sarah, Whistling For It, Little Folks,  November 1884, pages 272-273
  3. ^ Vuohelainen. Minna, Bernard, Heldmann and the Union Jack, 1880-83; The Making of a Professional Author,  Victorian Periodicals Review, Spring 2014, page 110
  4. ^ Illustration History
  5. ^ Chris Beetles Gallery
  6. ^ Boston Gossip of Latest Books, The New York Times, September 11, 1909, page 29
  7. ^ Christmas Gift-Books for Children, The Illustrated London News, December 25, 1920, page 32
  8. ^ Little Folks, bound volume of 1927 issues
  9. ^ Little Folks Magazine advertisement, Harrow Gazette, May 27, 1876, page 1
  10. ^ January - December 1871 issues
  11. ^ January - December 1915 issues
  12. ^ Little Folks Nature Club, Little Folks, December 1919, page 106
  13. ^ Little Folks, Chelsea News, November 12, 1926, page 2
  14. ^ Literary Notices, The Essex County Standard, 5 November, 1875, page 9
  15. ^ Queen Victoria Drinking Fountain
  16. ^ Howard, Trevor R.,"Little Folks" Convalescent Home at Woking, 1940-45, 2002
  17. ^ Woolf, Bella Sidney, A Children's League, Walsall Observer, August 22, 1914, page 7
  18. ^ Lundin, Anne (1999). "Review of Reading Lives: Reconstructing Childhood, Books, and Schools in Britain, 1870-1920, by G. R. Galbraith". Libraries & Culture. 34 (2): 190–91. JSTOR 25548725. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  19. ^ Galbraith, Gretchen R (1997). Reading Lives: Reconstructing Childhood, Books, and Schools in Britain, 1870-1920. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0312121433.
  20. ^ Little Folks Painting Book advertisement, The Times, November 27, 1879, page 12
  21. ^ Messrs. Cassell and Co.'s Publications, The Lancaster Gazette, January 6, 1894, page 7
  22. ^ The Committee of the Devon and Exeter Hospital, The Western Times, February 7, 1880, page 3
  23. ^ Publications, Telegraph and Argus, November 25, 1879, page 2
  24. ^ Gift Books For Boys & Girls, The Daily Telegraph, November 15, 1915, page 13
  25. ^ Kelly, R. Gordon, Children's Periodicals of the United States, pages 282 - 285, Greenwood Press, 1984
  26. ^ Pflieer, Pat, American Children's Periodicals, 1789-1872 (Kindle Edition), location 9745 to 9763, Merrycoz Books, 2016
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