''The Kaleidoscope; or, Literary and Scientific Mirror'' was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

weekly published between 1818 and 1831 by the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

publisher

Egerton Smith Egerton Smith (19 June 1774 – 18 November 1841)Picton, James Allanson. (1875)''Memorials of Liverpool: Historical and Topographical, including a History of the Dock Estate'' London: Longmans, Green. p. 130 was a Liverpool publisher, founder of t ...

(1774–1841), who had established the ''

Liverpool Mercury The ''Liverpool Mercury'' was an English newspaper that originated in Liverpool, England. As well as focusing on local news, the paper also reported on both national and international news allowing it to circulate in Lancashire, Wales, Isle of Man ...

'' in 1811. The magazine's name was taken from

David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics ...

's recent invention. The first number appeared on 28 July 1818 in

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

form; two years later the publication became an eight-page

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

. The price was kept at threepence-halfpenny throughout the magazine's history. An anonymous writer for the ''

British Quarterly Review The ''British Quarterly Review'' was a periodical published between 1845 and 1886. It was founded by Robert Vaughan, out of dissatisfaction with the editorial line of the '' Eclectic Review'' under Edward Miall. Editors *Robert Vaughan for its f ...

'' suggested that the ''Kaleidoscope'' was Britain's first cheap weekly miscellany: "It consisted of slight original and selected articles in literature, science and art, and aimed at that happy combination of instruction and amusement which has since been more elaborately developed in still cheaper serials." Contributors included

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and

Mary Howitt Mary Howitt (12 March 1799-30 January 1888) was an English poet, the author of the famous poem '' The Spider and the Fly''. She translated several tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Some of her works were written in conjunction with her husband, ...

, and the magazine also inserted the American

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

's ''Sketch Book''. The last number bore the date 6 September 1831. The magazine was being discontinued, Egerton Smith informed his readers, since the new railways had disrupted road distribution by stage-coach.

References

Bibliography

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External links

*Republished as part of

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British Periodicals Collection I
(subscription only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaleidoscope Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1818 Magazines disestablished in 1831 Mass media in Liverpool Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom