''The Wide World Magazine'' was a British monthly illustrated publication which ran from April 1898 to December 1965.
(collectingbooksandmagazines.com).

History

The magazine was founded by well-known publisher

George Newnes Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newne ...

, also famous for ''

Tit-Bits ''Tit-Bits from all the interesting Books and Newspapers of the World'', more commonly known as ''Tit-Bits'' and later as ''Titbits'', was a British weekly magazine founded by George Newnes, a founding figure in popular journalism, on 22 Octo ...

'', ''

The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...

'', '' Country Life'' and others. It described itself as "an illustrated magazine of true narrative" and each month purported to feature "true-life" adventure and travel stories gathered from around the world. Its motto was "Truth is stranger than fiction". In August 1898, it published the first in a number of installments of "The Adventures of

Louis de Rougemont Louis De Rougemont (12 November 1847 – 9 June 1921) was a Swiss List of explorers, explorer who claimed to have had adventures in Australasia. Personal history "De Rougemont" was born Henri Louis Grin in 1847 in Gressy, Vaud, Switzerland. He l ...

", billed as "the most amazing story a man ever lived to tell", and claiming to be an account of a man who had spent thirty years in the outback of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The story caused a sensation, but was exposed as a hoax by the ''

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'', to the embarrassment of the publisher. Some famous names occasionally wrote for the magazine (such as

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

Douglas Reeman Douglas Edward Reeman (15 October 1924 – 23 January 2017), who also used the pseudonym Alexander Kent, was a British author who wrote many historical novels about the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars. He w ...

etc.), and it was copiously illustrated with photographs, as well as black and white drawings by such artists as

Terence Cuneo Terence Tenison Cuneo RGI FGRA (1 November 1907 – 3 January 1996) was a prolific English painter noted for his scenes of railways, horses and military actions. He was also the official artist for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 195 ...

, Cecil Stuart Tresilian, Alfred Pearse, Chas Sheldon, Paul Hardy,

William Barnes Wollen William Barnes Wollen (6 October 1857 – 28 March 1936) was an English Painting, painter mostly known for his paintings of battle and historical scenes and sporting events. Career Born in Leipzig on 6 October 1857, he was educated at Univer ...

, John L. Wimbush, Charles J. Staniland, Joseph Finnemore, John Charlton,

Warwick Goble Warwick Goble (22 November 1862 – 22 January 1943) was a British illustrator. He was educated and trained at the City of London School and the Westminster School of Art. He specialized in fairy tales and exotic scenes from Japan, India and ...

, Tom Browne,

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 ...

Gordon Browne Gordon Frederick Browne (15 April 1858 – 27 May 1932) was an English artist and a prolific illustrator of children's books in the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was a meticulous craftsman and went to a great deal of effort to e ...

, Edward S. Hodgson, Norman H. Hardy,

Inglis Sheldon Williams Inglis may refer to: Companies and organizations * A & J Inglis, a shipbuilding company * John Inglis & Company, a Canadian company now a subdivision of Whirlpool Corporation * William Inglis & Son, bloodstock auctioneers Places Australia * Ingl ...

, and

Harry Rountree Harry Rountree (26 January 1878''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 26 September 1950) was a prolific illustrator working in England around the turn of the 20th century. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, he moved to London in 1901, when he was 2 ...

. The May 1913 issue contained the first reports of the death of notorious outlaw

Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train robbery, train and bank robbery, bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, ...

in Bolivia.

Ben Macintyre Benedict Richard Pierce Macintyre (born 25 December 1963) is a British author, reviewer and columnist for ''The Times'' newspaper. His columns range from current affairs to historical controversies. He has written some 15 books, and received n ...

, writing in 2004, humorously described the magazine as being about "brave chaps with large moustaches on stiff upper lips, who did stupid and dangerous things".

Editions online

''Wide World Magazine'', index
at

HathiTrust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...

Selected stories

*

(story from ''The Wide World Magazine'', May 1907 – "Welcome to Brightlingsea")

References

External links

*

' – large format reproduction of several issues (Vol. 22, No. 127, Oct. 1908 to Mar. 1909) *
The Wide World Magazine
' – covers and tables of contents of selected issues *
The Wide World Magazine
' – covers and tables of contents of selected issues {{DEFAULTSORT:Wide World Magazine Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Fiction magazines Geographic magazines Magazines established in 1898 Magazines disestablished in 1965 Defunct tourism magazines George Newnes Ltd magazines