2026note: This entry referred to the blog as it was in 2011, but, in the interests of a complete restoration...

Sorry I haven't made any decent updates lately. I have a few ideas in the pipeline, including some more reviews of serial stories (I have, in fact, taken the necessary pictures for a review of a 1930's Girls' Crystal serial, and had them sitting around for ages!) and more looks at classic science fiction.

Anyway, for now here is an inspirational poem from The Juvenile Magazine for July 1886. Which also gives me an excuse to start an 1880's category!

No mention of Jesus, unlike almost everything else this comic printed.

Well the gap between 1870's and 1890's was annoying (2026note: in the old blog's category sidebar). The 1890's is the start of my "normal" collecting era, so I won’t feature much from before then (well from before 1892 when Chums started, really). The broad type of comics I collect started in the 1860's but I don't own anything from that decade yet!

Today I got this, though. An issue of my favourite comic from my favourite decade, with appropriate patriotism. As long as you aren't Scottish, as they got the Saltaire wrong! You had one job...

"New Series" no. 56, June 14th 1902.

(The "Old Series" ran from 1895 to 1901, the "New Series" from 1901 to around 1926. I don't have the info to hand!

This is a special number to celebrate the coronation of Edward VII. It is also twice the size of a normal issue (and twice the price). Most issues of this era had black and white covers with part of a story on them, too.

This issue sees the launch of two new serial stories – both with extra-long opening installments of several pages (tabloid sized pages with tiny print, the serials in The Boys’ Friend were truly "book length"). It also has the usual installments of already-running serials, articles about the King, coronation ceremony and Britain in general. There is also an advert for issue 2 of The Boys' Realm – which was a very similar story paper launched that year. In 1903 these two would be joined by The Boys Herald making a "big three" of tabloid-sized story papers.