19th century British Press

1. 19th century British Press Newlyinventedsteam-powered printing presses brought about a sea-change in printing methods and boosted the circulation of both local and national papers.

2. The growth of journalism At the beginning of the 19th century, a newspaper circulating two or three thousand copies a day was looked upon as phenomenally successful, by the end of the century, circulations rising to 250,000 or more daily were recorded of the penny newspapers, which had now become the dearer class; and much larger of the halfpenny press. There had also been a multiplication in the number of daily and weekly journals; and, in their supply of news, some of the best of the provincial papers rivalled the majority of those published in London.

3. Increase / decrease • Syn. For increase: go up, flare up, soar up, rocket up, skyrocket, be on the rise, reach a peak, reach an apex. • Syn. For decrease: fall, dwindle, go down, collapse, plummet, reach a through. reduce, curb, cut down, check = réduire A significantincrease / a dramaticincreasein the number of papers. A fallin the prices.

4. Whydidnewspapersmultiplysodramaticallythroughout the 19th century?

5. The extension of British journalism has been the result of: 1 cheapness and of ability to obtain news in increasing quantity, and with greater accuracy always with increasing speed. • a constant growth of revenue from advertisements. • The dramatic development of shipping, manufacturing and finance. • the construction of railways, and even the invention of the motor-car, which have revolutionised the means of placing newspapers in the hands of readers.  • the growing number of religious organizations, of projects for social betterment, the multiplication of universities and of scientific and literary societies. • the spread of concerts and of tours by dramatic companies, each of them advertising and requiring notices of its performances. • An ever increasing freedom of the press. • The technical improvements making illustrations cheaper and easier to print and paper more eye-catching and entertaining.

6. Exprimer la conséquence Avec des mots de liaison: thanks to, owing to, due to + GN (Owing to technicalimprovements, printing illustrations becamecheaper); since, as, because + Proposition (Since the cost of illustrations dwindled, illustratedperiodicalsthrived). Avec des verbes : permit, enable, facilitate, cause, trigger, spark, generate, bring about / forth, breed, lead on to, foster (new means of transportations trigger a dramaticincrease in the number of newspaper articles) Avec des locutions et expression: makeiteasier for someone to do, pave the way for, lay the foundations for (Fewerpress restrictions made iteasier for journalist to tackle a wide range of subjects).

7. Prior to 1814, not more than 750 impressions an hour could be obtained from one machine, and, if more than one machine were operated, for each was required a duplicate set of types. In 1814, John Walter, the second of that name who owned The Times, showed that, with the aid of steam, newspapers could be printed at the rate of 1100 copies per hour. Various improvements were made afterwards, greatly expediting the work. But, half-way in the century, papermakers made long rolls of paper, to run in a press fitted with cylinders on which were fixed, in the first instance, type, and, afterwards, cast metal plates reproducing pages of type; so that, by the end of the century, one cylindrical press could print, at the rate of 25,000 copies per hour, journals twice the size of those issued at the beginning of the century. 

8. The Penny Magazine, published every Saturday, was aimed at the working class. It was part of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge's program for liberal reform. For its reader, however, it was a source of information on subjects of general interest: everyday things like tea and coffee, well-known places in England, a series on animals and birds of Britain, descriptions of present-day manufacturing, even an American almanac and a serial of a personal account of an immigrant's problems. Poetry was published, too, and there are several illustrations in each issue.

10. The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003. By the early 19th century there were 52 London papers and over 100 other titles. As stamp, paper and other duties were progressively reduced from the 1830s onwards (all duties on newspapers were gone by 1855) there was a massive growth in overall circulation as major events and improved communications developed the public's need for information. 

12. George Cruikshank (1792-1878), The Royal Menagerie, on the Road to Ruin Spain, March 12, 1823. Etching with hand-coloring. GA Cruikshank Cohn 1924. Gift of Richard W. Meirs, class of 1888.

14. Old Antique Historical Victorian Prints Maps and Historic Fine Art----------. Engraved Print Reading News Newspaper C1850 Taylor Art Switzerland Antique Prints .

15. Old Antique Historical Victorian Prints Maps and Historic Fine Art ----------. 1888 Street Scene Reading Newpaper Dog Man Stick Print One Page From The Graphic C1850-1899