The Lone Hand (magazine)
The Lone Hand was a monthly Australian magazine of literature and poetry published between 1907 and 1928. The magazine was based in Sydney.[1]
 Cover of the July 1907 edition | |
| Former editors | |
|---|---|
| Categories | Literature and poetry |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Founder | |
| Year founded | 1907 |
| First issue | May 1907 |
| Final issue | February 1928 |
| Country | Australia |
| Based in | Sydney |
History
The Lone Hand was founded in 1907 by J. F. Archibald and Frank Fox as a monthly Australian magazine of literature and poetry as a sister magazine to The Bulletin.[1] It was modelled on The London Strand.[2] Originally, Archibald had wanted the name Lone Hand for what became The Bulletin.[2] Once the magazine was established, Archibald had little to do with its running.[3] It tended to echo the themes of The Bulletin; Australian individuality and mateship, and support for the White Australia Policy.
In common with The Bulletin, contributions from the public were solicited and paid for at the 'going rate'. A remarkable innovation was a prize offered to readers who found errors (including typo's) in advertisements and contributions.[1] It also sponsored the first Australian beauty contest in 1908 (after a challenge by the Chicago Tribune), and featured columns by celebrities.[2]
The Lone Hand was an initial success. The first issue in May 1907 sold out its print run of 50,000 copies in three days; the second issue sold out in one.[2] But two years later, faced with falling circulation and advertising revenue - mostly due to competition from overseas magazines, Fox instituted radical changes, adding a women's section and fashion photography.[4] The price of the magazine was also dropped from 1 shilling to 6 pence, and the language used in its editorials was softened to engage a broader audience. In 1914 links with The Bulletin were cut. By 1919 the magazine was being published in a larger format, with more articles on higher quality paper. However, when the price was adjusted again to 9 pence, circulation dropped and continuing the production became unsustainable. February 1928 was the last issue published.[1]
Contributors
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Major contributors included:
- A. H. Adams[2]
- L W Appleby (photographer)[5]
- Randolph Bedford[2]
- Zora Cross (inc. many pseudonyms)[1]
- Victor Daley[1]
- C J Dennis[6]
- Edward Dyson[1]
- Will Dyson (artist)[1]
- Mabel Forrest[2]
- Henry Lawson[1]
- Lionel Lindsay (artist)[1]
- Norman Lindsay (artist)[1]
- Percy Lindsay (artist)[1]
- David Low (artist)[1]
- Hugh McCrae[1]
- Ernest O'Ferrall[2]
- Dowell O'Reilly[1]
- Ambrose Pratt[1]
- Roderic Quinn[1]
- Steele Rudd The Old Homestead (serialised novel)[1]
- David Henry Souter (artist)[1]
- Louis Stone Betty Wayside (serialised novel)[1]
- J. W. Tristram (artist who contributed poetry under the pseudonym of Tris)
- David McKee Wright (inc. many pseudonyms)[1]
- Blamire Young (artist)[7]
Editors
Editors were:[1]
- J. F. Archibald 1907
- (later Sir) Frank Fox 1907 – 1909
- A. H. Adams 1909 – 1911
- Bertram Stevens 1912 – 1919
- Walter Jago 1919 – 1928
Notes
- "The Lone Hand". Austlit. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature William H Wilde, Joy Hooton and Barry Andrews Oxford University Press 2nd ed. 1994 ISBN 0-19-553381-X
- Lawson, Sylvia (10 September 1919). "Biography - Jules François Archibald". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- "Tracing the Origins of Australian Fashion Photography". La Trobe Journal. Spring 2005. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- "photo-web". photo-web. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- "Works in The Lone Hand by C.J. Dennis (1876-1938)". Middle Miss. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- Art search
Further reading
- Kit Taylor (1977). A history with indexes of the Lone hand, the Australian monthly. J.B. Hobbs. ISBN 978-0-9596824-0-3.