''The Sphere: An Illustrated Newspaper for the Home'' and, later, ''The Sphere: The Empire's Illustrated Weekly'', was a British newspaper, published by London Illustrated Newspapers weekly from 27 January 1900 until the closure of the paper on 27 June 1964.

Background

The first issue came out at the height of the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

and was a product of that conflict and the public appetite for images. At the time, it was in direct competition with ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company, Illustrated Newspapers Ltd with Thomas's brother, Lewis Samuel Thomas, as a co-founder. The Graphic was set up as ...

'' and ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

'', and evidence of this rivalry can be seen in the latter's publication shortly after of a new illustrated paper entitled ''The Spear'' in an attempt to confuse readers. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the weekly issues were called 'war numbers' and over two hundred appeared between 1914 and 1919. In all, it totalled 3,343 issues, plus a special supplement issued in January 1965, entitled ''Winston Churchill: A Memorial Tribute''. ''The Sphere'' was founded by

Clement Shorter Clement King Shorter (19 July 1857 – 19 November 1926) was a British journalist and literary critic. After editing the '' Illustrated London News'', Shorter founded and edited ''Sketch'', '' The Sphere'', and '' Tatler''. Biography Cleme ...

(1857–1926), who also founded ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

'' in the following year. It covered general news stories from the UK and around the world; much of the overseas news features were reported in detail as the title was targeted at British citizens living in the

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

. It was similar to the ''

'', another paper containing many graphic illustrations. Those featured in ''The Sphere'' were by renowned artists including W. G. Whitaker and

Montague Dawson Montague Dawson RSMA, FRSA (1890–1973) was a British painter who was renowned as a maritime artist. His most famous paintings depict sailing ships, usually clippers or warships of the 18th and 19th centuries. Life Montague Dawson was the s ...

. Other illustrators included

Sidney Paget Sidney Edward Paget (; 4 October 1860 – 28 January 1908) was a British artist of the Victorian era, best known for his illustrations that accompanied Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in ''The Strand Magazine''. Life Sidney ...

, Henry Matthew Brock, Fortunino Matania,

Ernest Prater Ernest Prater (1864–1950) was a noted English artist and book illustrator, notable also for his work as a war correspondent and reportage artist during the Anglo-Boer War. Life and works Prater was born in Islington in London, of Cornish des ...

Edmund Blampied Edmund Blampied (30 March 1886 – 26 August 1966) was one of the most eminent artists to come from the Channel Islands, yet he received no formal training in art until he was 15 years old. He was noted mostly for his etchings and drypoin ...

, Victor Coverley-Price and Claude Grahame Muncaster (1903–1974); photographers included Christina Broom (1862–1939); and writers included

Bryher Bryher () is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, with a population of 84 in 2011, spread across . Bryher exhibits a procession of prominent hills connected by low-lying necks and sandy bars. Landmarks include Hell Bay, ...

Eleanour Sinclair Rohde Eleanour Sophie Sinclair Rohde (1881–1950) was a British gardener, garden designer, and horticultural writer. She authored thirty books on gardening between 1913 and 1948, and is best known for her book, ''The Scented Garden'', published in 19 ...

, and Michael Wolff, and Balkans war heroine Dr Caroline Matthews.

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

's short story ''A Changed Man'' was first published in ''The Sphere'', in two instalments in the 21 and 28 April 1900 editions. During World War I the newspaper was bought by the shipping magnate John Ellerman.W. D. Rubinstein
‘Ellerman, Sir John Reeves, first baronet (1862–1933)’
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006, accessed 1 Jan 2008 ''The Sphere'' was very popular during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

and the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

hold copies of the entire publication run of this newspaper. ''The Sphere'' is searchable on the

British Newspaper Archive The British Newspaper Archive website provides access to searchable digitized archives of British and Irish newspapers. It was launched in November 2011. History The British Library's Newspapers section was based in Colindale in north London ...

In popular culture

In the film '' Three Faces East'' (1930), set in England during

WWI World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

, Frances Hawtree (

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 193 ...

) peruses a copy of ''The Sphere''.

References

Sources

''Illustrated London News'' Picture Library website

Information on the ''Illustrated London News'' Group

External links

Illustration of trench system from the Sphere magazine

Scran Scran is a Scottish online resource for educational use by the public, schools, further education and higher education. It presents nearly 490,000 (still and moving) images and sounds contributed by museums, galleries, archives and the media. It ...

ID: 000-000-475-242-C,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sphere Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Defunct weekly newspapers Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers established in 1900 Publications disestablished in 1964 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 1964 disestablishments in the United Kingdom