The ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' was a British weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the ''Sport and Country'', and in 1957 to the ''Farm and Country'', before closing in 1970.

History

The ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' was founded in 1874. The paper covered, as its title indicates, both sporting and theatrical events, including news and criticism. It also contained original pieces of fiction in serials and a story or two in each issue. There were numerous similar publications in Britain at the time, including the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication ...

'', which shared its address and some illustrators with the magazine.Victorian Illustrated Newspapers and Journals: Select list
at

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

web site, accessed 5 December 2008 In 1883, the paper published a cartoon showing

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

convict dress A prison uniform is the standardized clothes worn by prisoners. It usually includes visually distinct clothes worn to indicate the wearer is a prisoner, in clear distinction from civil clothing. A prison uniform serves the purpose to make prison ...

, which was considered at the time to be a very serious slur. Twelve years later, Wilde was convicted of "

gross indecency Gross indecency is a crime in some parts of the English-speaking world, originally used to criminalize sexual activity between men that fell short of sodomy, which required penetration. The term was first used in British law in a statute of the Br ...

" and sentenced to two years penal labour. The paper is a good source of illustrations from sporting and theatre events, such as images of horse racing. Notable illustrators included Louis Wain,

Frank R. Grey Frank R. Grey was an England, English illustrator, best remembered for his illustration of Jane Turpin stories by Evadne Price. He was with the publishing house of Robert Hale, Ltd. and illustrated all ten collections of Jane stories published b ...

, D. H. Friston, Alfred Concanen and Alfred Bryan. In 1920, its address was 172, Strand, London WC 2. Notable editors included James Wentworth Day, who served in the post between 1935 and 1937. The magazine's published fiction included W. S. Gilbert's short piece, ''Actors, Authors and Audiences'' in 1880's ''Holly Leaves'', its annual

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

special,

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busin ...

's ''The Squaw'' (1893) and ''Crooken Sands'' (1894),

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's story ''The Unbreakable Alibi'' in ''Holly Leaves'' of 1928, and her ''Sing a Song of Sixpence'' in the following year's ''Holly Leaves''. The Irish

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

grand master George Alcock MacDonnell wrote a regular chess column under the name of ''Mars''. According to a ''Catalogue of Printed Books in the Library of the British Museum'', the

holds copies of the paper from 28 February 1874. The

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

has all but three of the first twenty-five volumes in its English and Irish Periodicals collection.English and Irish Periodicals Published 1800-1914
at library.wisc.edu, accessed 5 December 2008

Titles and issues

*''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'': 28 February 1874 to 22 January 1943, Nos. 1 to 3576 *''Sport and Country'': 5 February 1943 to 16 October 1957, Nos. 3577 to 3958 *''Farm and Country'': 30 October 1957 to December 1970, Nos. 3959 to 4200 *''Holly Leaves'': the Christmas edition of the titles, issued 1880 to 1969

References

External links

{{Italic title Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1874 Magazines disestablished in 1970 Magazines published in London

History

Titles and issues

See also

References

External links