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The Lady's Magazine

August 24, 2023

For the similarly named publication printed in Boston, Massachusetts, see Ladies' Magazine.

The Lady's Magazine; or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement, was an early British women's magazine published monthly from 1770 until 1847. Priced at sixpence per copy, it began publication in August 1770 by the London bookseller John Coote and the publisher John Wheble. It featured articles on fiction, poetry, fashion, music, and social gossip and was, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum, "the first woman's magazine to enjoy lasting success."[1]

The Lady's Magazine – August 1770
London fashionable walking dresses, July 1812, including a spencer

The magazine claimed a readership of 16,000, a figure that has been considered high when contemporary literacy levels and underdeveloped printing technologies are taken into account. The Lady's Magazine dominated the market for most of its run, and led to imitations like the Lady's Monthly Museum and the New Lady's Magazine.

History

Prior to the emergence of magazines in the early eighteenth century, information and news in Great Britain were primarily distributed through pamphlets, newspapers, and broadsides. The concept of a magazine slowly developed in reaction to new laws which sought to control political propaganda; in 1712 the government passed a Stamp Tax on each single- or half-sheet publication, nearly doubling the price of newspapers and some periodicals.[2] Publishers seeking to avoid or pay a lower tax did so by expanding their single-sheet writings into lengthier publications, classifying them as pamphlets or journals. Many also switched their publication schedules by producing works weekly or monthly, rather than daily or semi-weekly.

In addition to the desire to avoid government regulations and taxes, magazines were established as a new medium in which to convey information to a larger group of readers, which could be reached through Britain's growing transportation network.[3][4] The Gentleman's Magazine, a publication established in 1731, avoided this tax by producing a monthly publication that claimed to feature the reprinting of news (rather than the transmission of news, which the tax targeted).[5] The Lady's Magazine was not the first women's magazine.[6] It was conceived by the London bookseller John Coote and the publisher John Wheble, and first appeared in print in August 1770.[7] John Huddlestone Wynne, an early editor of the magazine, also edited several other contemporary publications.[8] In early 1771, John Coote sold his interest in the magazine to its new publisher George Robinson.[9]

The Lady's Magazine dominated the market from its founding to 1830.[10] It claimed a readership of 16,000, a sum the 18th-century scholar Ros Ballaster considered a success when analysing the country's contemporary literacy levels and underdeveloped printing technologies. Its success led to imitations like the Lady's Monthly Museum and the New Lady's Magazine.[11]

The magazine was cheaply priced at sixpence per copy,[12][13] and continued to be published until 1847. Up to 1830, it was titled Lady's Magazine; or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement. After 1830, the publication was renamed to Lady's Magazine or Mirror of the Belles Lettres, Fine Arts, Music, Drama, Fashions, etc., and in 1832 it merged with the Lady's Monthly Museum to become known as the Lady's Magazine and Museum of the Belles Lettres, Fine Arts, Music, Drama, Fashions, etc. It ceased publication in 1847.[14] (See La Belle Assemblée.)

Content

Most who wrote for the publication were professional or semi-professional writers, and it could claim the author and dramatist Mary Russell Mitford among its contributors.[14] The Lady's Magazine featured many of the same stories that appeared in contemporary men's magazines like The Gentleman's Magazine, such as articles on poetry and the London stage; society news was another common topic.[3] Unlike many men's publications, however, the Lady's Magazine largely stayed out of the political sphere and did not report on political events; for instance, in the lead-up to the French Revolutionary Wars, Lady's Magazine readers are reassured that France is no match for British naval power, while readers of The Gentleman's Magazine are warned that Europe is "at the present moment [in a state of] alarm and danger".[15] Mary Poovey, a professor of English, posits that The Lady's Magazine's projection of national strength was intended to avoid alarming its female readers and thus causing anxiety in the domestic sphere; conversely, men's magazines sought to arouse anger over an emerging enemy and thus encourage male readers to be ready to undertake an active military role.[16]

While not classified as a fashion magazine, it did feature the subject in detail.[17] It was lavishly illustrated and including needlework patterns for embroidery women's, men's and children's clothing and household objects.[18][19] In addition to fashion and dress, other featured subjects included fiction, music, and biographies. The scholar Margaret Beetham argues that by featuring these topics, Lady's Magazine "came to define 'the woman's magazine' for the next century".[14] The Lady's Magazine, with its diverse range of subjects, helped normalise such magazines among upper-class readers.[3][14] In the magazine's first issue, it promised that in its content, "the housewife as well as the peeress shall meet with something suitable to their different walks of life".[11] The magazine is also notable as being the first to print extracts of upcoming books.[13]

The Lady's Magazine sought to take a moral stance and display decorum in its writings. It printed a popular column on medical advice; frequently written by a male doctor, the column gave readers information on topics such as breast-feeding and menstrual pains. This Dr Cook also occasionally included mentions of sexuality, often with a sense of tawdry humour; one June 1775 article, for instance, spoke of fertility and hair colour, concluding that redheads have "the finest skins... and generally become the best breeders of the nation".[20] Ballister considers the mention of these subjects to be "progressive" for the era, and speculates that the magazine was able to print them due to the doctor's "elderly eccentricity", gender, and professional status.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Fashionable Dresses in the Rooms in Weymouth 1774", Victoria and Albert Museum Collections. Accessed 20 Sept. 2022.
  2. ^ Ballaster 1992, p. 51.
  3. ^ a b c Miller 1993, p. 157.
  4. ^ Ballaster 1992, p. 52.
  5. ^ Ballaster 1992, pp. 51–2.
  6. ^ Batchelor, Jennie and Manushag N. Powell (2018). Women's Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1690-1820s. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474419659.
  7. ^ Ballaster 1992, p. 65.
  8. ^ Hughes 2015, p. 463.
  9. ^ Notice headed “LADY'S MAGAZINE“ in London Chronicle, Vol. 33 (1773), p. 523
  10. ^ Poovey 1985, p. 16.
  11. ^ a b Ballaster 1992, p. 66.
  12. ^ Ballaster 1992, p. 67.
  13. ^ a b Kloester 2005.
  14. ^ a b c d Beetham 2008, p. 342.
  15. ^ Poovey 1985, p. 17.
  16. ^ Poovey 1985, pp. 17–18.
  17. ^ Beetham & Agnew 2008, p. 215.
  18. ^ Ballaster 1992, pp. 66–67.
  19. ^ Batchelor, Jennie (2021). "The Lady's Magazine (1770-1819): Patterns of Perfection".
  20. ^ a b Ballaster 1992, p. 70.

Works cited

  • Ballaster, Ros (1992). Women's Worlds: Ideology, Femininity, and the Woman's Magazine. New York University Press. ISBN 978-0333492369.
  • Batchelor, Jennie (2021). The Lady's Magazine (1770-1819): Patterns of Perfection.
  • Batchelor, Jennie and Manushag N. Powell (2018), Women's Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1690s-1820s. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-1-4744-1965-9
  • Beetham, Margaret (2008). "Lady's Magazine [1770–1847]". In Brake, Laurel; Demoor, Marysa; Beetham, Margaret (eds.). Dictionary of Nineteenth-century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland. Academia Scientific. p. 342. ISBN 978-9038213408.
  • Beetham, Margaret; Agnew, Robin (2008). "Fashion Journals". In Brake, Laurel; Demoor, Marysa; Beetham, Margaret (eds.). Dictionary of Nineteenth-century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland. Academia Scientific. p. 215. ISBN 978-9038213408.
  • Hughes, Gillian (2015). "Fiction in the Magazines". In Garside, Peter; O'Brien, Karen (eds.). The Oxford History of the Novel in English: English and British Fiction 1750–1820. Oxford University Press. pp. 461–528. ISBN 978-0199574803.
  • Kloester, Jennifer (2005). Georgette Heyer's Regency World. Heinemann. ISBN 0-434-01329-3.
  • Miller, Bonny H. (1993). "Ladies' Companion, Ladies' Canon? Women Composers in American Magazines from Godey's to the Ladies' Home Journal". In Cook, Susan C.; Tsou, Judy S. (eds.). Cecilia Reclaimed: Feminist Perspectives on Gender and Music. University of Illinois Press. pp. 156–182. ISBN 978-0252063411.
  • Poovey, Mary (1985). The Proper Lady and the Woman Writer: Ideology as Style in the Works of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, and Jane Austen. University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226675282.

Further reading

  • Batchelor, Jennie (2022). The Lady's Magazine (1770-1832) and the Making of Literary History. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-1-4744-8764-1
  • Batchelor, Jennie, Koenraad Claes and Jenny DiPlacidi (2016). The Lady's Magazine (1770-1818): Understanding the Emergence of a Genre.
  • Batchelor, Jennie (2020). Jane Austen Embroidery: Authentic Patterns for Modern Stitchers. Pavilion. ISBN 978-1-911624-40-0
  • Pearson, Jacqueline (1999). Women's Reading in Britain, 1750–1835: A Dangerous Recreation. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521584395.

External links

  Media related to The Lady's Magazine at Wikimedia Commons

  • The Lady's Magazine archive at HathiTrust

August 24, 2023
lady, magazine, similarly, named, publication, printed, boston, massachusetts, ladies, magazine, entertaining, companion, fair, appropriated, solely, their, amusement, early, british, women, magazine, published, monthly, from, 1770, until, 1847, priced, sixpen. For the similarly named publication printed in Boston Massachusetts see Ladies Magazine The Lady s Magazine or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement was an early British women s magazine published monthly from 1770 until 1847 Priced at sixpence per copy it began publication in August 1770 by the London bookseller John Coote and the publisher John Wheble It featured articles on fiction poetry fashion music and social gossip and was according to the Victoria and Albert Museum the first woman s magazine to enjoy lasting success 1 The Lady s Magazine August 1770London fashionable walking dresses July 1812 including a spencerThe magazine claimed a readership of 16 000 a figure that has been considered high when contemporary literacy levels and underdeveloped printing technologies are taken into account The Lady s Magazine dominated the market for most of its run and led to imitations like the Lady s Monthly Museum and the New Lady s Magazine Contents 1 History 2 Content 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksHistory EditPrior to the emergence of magazines in the early eighteenth century information and news in Great Britain were primarily distributed through pamphlets newspapers and broadsides The concept of a magazine slowly developed in reaction to new laws which sought to control political propaganda in 1712 the government passed a Stamp Tax on each single or half sheet publication nearly doubling the price of newspapers and some periodicals 2 Publishers seeking to avoid or pay a lower tax did so by expanding their single sheet writings into lengthier publications classifying them as pamphlets or journals Many also switched their publication schedules by producing works weekly or monthly rather than daily or semi weekly In addition to the desire to avoid government regulations and taxes magazines were established as a new medium in which to convey information to a larger group of readers which could be reached through Britain s growing transportation network 3 4 The Gentleman s Magazine a publication established in 1731 avoided this tax by producing a monthly publication that claimed to feature the reprinting of news rather than the transmission of news which the tax targeted 5 The Lady s Magazine was not the first women s magazine 6 It was conceived by the London bookseller John Coote and the publisher John Wheble and first appeared in print in August 1770 7 John Huddlestone Wynne an early editor of the magazine also edited several other contemporary publications 8 In early 1771 John Coote sold his interest in the magazine to its new publisher George Robinson 9 The Lady s Magazine dominated the market from its founding to 1830 10 It claimed a readership of 16 000 a sum the 18th century scholar Ros Ballaster considered a success when analysing the country s contemporary literacy levels and underdeveloped printing technologies Its success led to imitations like the Lady s Monthly Museum and the New Lady s Magazine 11 The magazine was cheaply priced at sixpence per copy 12 13 and continued to be published until 1847 Up to 1830 it was titled Lady s Magazine or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement After 1830 the publication was renamed to Lady s Magazine or Mirror of the Belles Lettres Fine Arts Music Drama Fashions etc and in 1832 it merged with the Lady s Monthly Museum to become known as the Lady s Magazine and Museum of the Belles Lettres Fine Arts Music Drama Fashions etc It ceased publication in 1847 14 See La Belle Assemblee Content EditMost who wrote for the publication were professional or semi professional writers and it could claim the author and dramatist Mary Russell Mitford among its contributors 14 The Lady s Magazine featured many of the same stories that appeared in contemporary men s magazines like The Gentleman s Magazine such as articles on poetry and the London stage society news was another common topic 3 Unlike many men s publications however the Lady s Magazine largely stayed out of the political sphere and did not report on political events for instance in the lead up to the French Revolutionary Wars Lady s Magazine readers are reassured that France is no match for British naval power while readers of The Gentleman s Magazine are warned that Europe is at the present moment in a state of alarm and danger 15 Mary Poovey a professor of English posits that The Lady s Magazine s projection of national strength was intended to avoid alarming its female readers and thus causing anxiety in the domestic sphere conversely men s magazines sought to arouse anger over an emerging enemy and thus encourage male readers to be ready to undertake an active military role 16 While not classified as a fashion magazine it did feature the subject in detail 17 It was lavishly illustrated and including needlework patterns for embroidery women s men s and children s clothing and household objects 18 19 In addition to fashion and dress other featured subjects included fiction music and biographies The scholar Margaret Beetham argues that by featuring these topics Lady s Magazine came to define the woman s magazine for the next century 14 The Lady s Magazine with its diverse range of subjects helped normalise such magazines among upper class readers 3 14 In the magazine s first issue it promised that in its content the housewife as well as the peeress shall meet with something suitable to their different walks of life 11 The magazine is also notable as being the first to print extracts of upcoming books 13 The Lady s Magazine sought to take a moral stance and display decorum in its writings It printed a popular column on medical advice frequently written by a male doctor the column gave readers information on topics such as breast feeding and menstrual pains This Dr Cook also occasionally included mentions of sexuality often with a sense of tawdry humour one June 1775 article for instance spoke of fertility and hair colour concluding that redheads have the finest skins and generally become the best breeders of the nation 20 Ballister considers the mention of these subjects to be progressive for the era and speculates that the magazine was able to print them due to the doctor s elderly eccentricity gender and professional status 20 See also EditList of 18th century British periodicals List of 18th century British periodicals for women List of women s magazines Gallery of Fashion Raymond a Fragment a short story originating in The Lady s MagazineReferences Edit Fashionable Dresses in the Rooms in Weymouth 1774 Victoria and Albert Museum Collections Accessed 20 Sept 2022 Ballaster 1992 p 51 a b c Miller 1993 p 157 Ballaster 1992 p 52 Ballaster 1992 pp 51 2 Batchelor Jennie and Manushag N Powell 2018 Women s Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain 1690 1820s Edinburgh University Press ISBN 9781474419659 Ballaster 1992 p 65 Hughes 2015 p 463 Notice headed LADY S MAGAZINE in London Chronicle Vol 33 1773 p 523 Poovey 1985 p 16 a b Ballaster 1992 p 66 Ballaster 1992 p 67 a b Kloester 2005 a b c d Beetham 2008 p 342 Poovey 1985 p 17 Poovey 1985 pp 17 18 Beetham amp Agnew 2008 p 215 Ballaster 1992 pp 66 67 Batchelor Jennie 2021 The Lady s Magazine 1770 1819 Patterns of Perfection a b Ballaster 1992 p 70 Works cited Ballaster Ros 1992 Women s Worlds Ideology Femininity and the Woman s Magazine New York University Press ISBN 978 0333492369 Batchelor Jennie 2021 The Lady s Magazine 1770 1819 Patterns of Perfection Batchelor Jennie and Manushag N Powell 2018 Women s Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain 1690s 1820s Edinburgh University Press ISBN 978 1 4744 1965 9 Beetham Margaret 2008 Lady s Magazine 1770 1847 In Brake Laurel Demoor Marysa Beetham Margaret eds Dictionary of Nineteenth century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland Academia Scientific p 342 ISBN 978 9038213408 Beetham Margaret Agnew Robin 2008 Fashion Journals In Brake Laurel Demoor Marysa Beetham Margaret eds Dictionary of Nineteenth century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland Academia Scientific p 215 ISBN 978 9038213408 Hughes Gillian 2015 Fiction in the Magazines In Garside Peter O Brien Karen eds The Oxford History of the Novel in English English and British Fiction 1750 1820 Oxford University Press pp 461 528 ISBN 978 0199574803 Kloester Jennifer 2005 Georgette Heyer s Regency World Heinemann ISBN 0 434 01329 3 Miller Bonny H 1993 Ladies Companion Ladies Canon Women Composers in American Magazines from Godey s to the Ladies Home Journal In Cook Susan C Tsou Judy S eds Cecilia Reclaimed Feminist Perspectives on Gender and Music University of Illinois Press pp 156 182 ISBN 978 0252063411 Poovey Mary 1985 The Proper Lady and the Woman Writer Ideology as Style in the Works of Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Shelley and Jane Austen University Of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0226675282 Further reading EditBatchelor Jennie 2022 The Lady s Magazine 1770 1832 and the Making of Literary History Edinburgh University Press ISBN 978 1 4744 8764 1 Batchelor Jennie Koenraad Claes and Jenny DiPlacidi 2016 The Lady s Magazine 1770 1818 Understanding the Emergence of a Genre Batchelor Jennie 2020 Jane Austen Embroidery Authentic Patterns for Modern Stitchers Pavilion ISBN 978 1 911624 40 0 Pearson Jacqueline 1999 Women s Reading in Britain 1750 1835 A Dangerous Recreation Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521584395 External links Edit Media related to The Lady s Magazine at Wikimedia Commons The Lady s Magazine archive at HathiTrust Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Lady 27s Magazine amp oldid 1157706620, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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