''Knowledge'' was a British weekly educational magazine for children which was assembled in blue binders into an encyclopedia.

History and profile

The magazine was launched by

Purnell and Sons Purnell and Sons started out as a small family printers based in Somerset which merged with other printers over the next 100 years to become one the largest print groups in the UK and at one time a major publisher. History The company was found ...

on 9 January 1961, as "Knowledge: the new colour magazine which grows into an encyclopædia" (subsequently "the colour magazine which grows into an encyclopædia") at a price of two shillings per issue (the pre-decimal equivalent of 10p; a later re-issued run was priced as 2/6 or 12½p). Sixteen volumes of twelve issues each were initially planned, but two additional volumes brought the total to eighteen. There was also a four-volume alphabetical topic guide in slightly smaller yellow binders, also assembled from parts inserted into the main magazine. The majority of the covers of the first 192 issues (volumes 1-16) were the work of illustrator Alessandro Fedini, but the covers of the additional issues 193-216 (volumes 17 and 18) depicted twentieth-century events and news headlines. ''Knowledge'' was a British version of the Italian magazine ''Conoscere'' published by Fratelli Fabbri Editori of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

. The concept of a British edition had first been pitched to Fleetway Publications Ltd who turned it down, fearing it would damage sales of their own ''

The Children's Encyclopædia ''The Children's Encyclopædia'' was an encyclopaedia originated by Arthur Mee, and published by the Educational Book Company, a subsidiary of Northcliffe's Amalgamated Press, London. It was published from 1908 to 1964. Walter M. Jackson's c ...

'' and ''

The Children's Newspaper ''The Children's Newspaper'' was a long-running newspaper published by the Amalgamated Press (later Fleetway Publications) aimed at pre-teenage children founded by Arthur Mee in 1919. It ran for 2,397 weekly issues before being merged with ''Lo ...

''. Following the success of ''Knowledge'', Fleetway brought out ''

Look and Learn ''Look and Learn'' was a British weekly educational magazine for children published by Fleetway Publications Ltd from 1962 until 1982. It contained educational text articles that covered a wide variety of topics from volcanoes to the Loch Ness ...

'' in 1962. ''Knowledge'' sold 400,000 copies and was edited by John Paget Chancellor (1927–2014), son of Sir

Christopher Chancellor Sir Christopher John Howard Chancellor (29 March 1904 – 9 September 1989) was a British journalist and administrator who was general manager of the news agency Reuters from 1944 to 1959. ''The Daily Telegraph'' credited him for keeping the compa ...

, father of actress

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

and financial historian

Edward Chancellor John "Edward" Horner Chancellor (born December 1962), is a British financial historian, finance journalist, and former investment strategist. In 2016, the ''Financial Analysts Journal'' called him "one of the great financial writers of our era", a ...

, and brother of journalist

Alexander Chancellor Alexander Surtees Chancellor, CBE (4 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was a British journalist. Chancellor was educated at Eton College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was the editor of the conservative '' Spectator'' magazine from 1975 ...

. The advisory editorial board of ''Knowledge'' was

Christopher N. L. Brooke Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke (23 June 1927 – 27 December 2015) was a British medieval historian. From 1974 to 1994 he was Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge. Early life and education Born on 2 ...

M.A.,

Violet Bonham Carter Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury, (15 April 1887 – 19 February 1969), known until her marriage as Violet Asquith, was a British politician and diarist. She was the daughter of H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister from 1908 t ...

D.B.E, Norman Fisher M.A., Walter Hamilton M.A., John Sparrow M.A., L.

Dudley Stamp Sir (Laurence) Dudley Stamp, CBE, DSc, D. Litt, LLD, Ekon D, DSc Nat ( – ), was professor of geography at Rangoon and London, and one of the internationally best known British geographers of the 20th century. Educated at King's College Lond ...

C.B.E. D.Sc., and

George Thomson George Thomson may refer to: Government and politics * George Thomson (MP for Southwark) (c. 1607–1691), English merchant and Parliamentarian soldier, official and politician * George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1921–2008), Scottish p ...

F.R.S. D.Sc. In later editions John Chancellor became

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

with William Armstrong B.A. as editor and Christopher Falkus B.A. (son of

Hugh Falkus Hugh Falkus (15 May 1917 – 30 March 1996) was a British writer, filmmaker and presenter, World War II pilot and angler. In an extremely varied career, he is perhaps best known for his seminal books on angling, particularly salmon and sea trout ...

) as assistant editor. The magazine ceased publication in 1966. It was also printed and published as a set of 18 hardcover books, ''Knowledge: the new colour encyclopaedia'' (Volumes IXVIII), that came with an index of all 18 volumes in a separate booklet.''Knowledge: the new colour encyclopaedia'', Volumes IXVIII, 19601964, Fratelli Fabbri Editori, Milan, and Purnell & Sons Ltd

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowledge encyclopaedia Children's magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1961 Magazines disestablished in 1966 Education magazines Partworks British encyclopedias Children's encyclopedias