''The Sketch'' was a British illustrated weekly journal. It ran for 2,989 issues between 1 February 1893 and 17 June 1959. It was published by the Illustrated London News Company and was primarily a society magazine with regular features on

royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

and

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

, as well as

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

and

the arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

. It had a high photographic content with many studies of society ladies and their children as well as regular layouts of point to point racing meetings and similar events.

Clement Shorter Clement King Shorter (19 July 1857 – 19 November 1926) was a British journalist and literary critic. After editing the '' Illustrated London News'', Shorter founded and edited ''Sketch'', ''The Sphere'', and ''Tatler''. Biography Clement S ...

and William Ingram started ''The Sketch'' in 1893. Shorter was the first editor, from 1893 to 1900, succeeded by John Latey (until his death in 1902) and then Keble Howard.Philip Waller, ''Writers, Readers, and Reputations: Literary Life in Britain 1870–1918'', pp. 351–2

Bruce Ingram Sir Bruce Stirling Ingram MC D.Litt. (5 May 1877 – 8 January 1963) was a publishing entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was the editor of ''The English Illustrated Magazine'' (September 1899 – September 1901), ''The Sketch'', and ''The Illust ...

was editor from 1905 to 1946. The magazine is remembered for first publishing the illustrations of Bonzo the dog by George E. Studdy (from 1921). It featured series of short stories within its pages, one per issue, with authors such as

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...

and

Algernon Blackwood Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cri ...

. Under the editorship of Bruce Ingram, it was also the first magazine to publish short stories by

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 ...

, starting with " The Affair at the Victory Ball" in issue 1571 on 7 March 1923. Altogether, Christie wrote 49 stories for ''The Sketch'' between 1923 and 1924 (just under a third of her total output of short stories) which were later collected into some or all of the contents of the volumes ''

Poirot Investigates ''Poirot Investigates'' is a short story collection written by English author Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in March 1924.''The English Catalogue of Books''. Vol XI (A-L: January 1921 – December 1925). Kraus ...

'' (1924), '' The Big Four'' (1927), '' Partners in Crime'' (1929), ''

Poirot's Early Cases ''Poirot's Early Cases'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in September 1974.''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions'' Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie ...

'' (1974), and ''

While the Light Lasts and Other Stories ''While the Light Lasts and Other Stories'' is a short story collection by Agatha Christie first published in the UK on 4 August 1997 by HarperCollins. It contains nine short stories. Contents In addition to detailed notes by Christie schola ...

'' (1997). Christie dedicated the 1953 novel ''

A Pocket Full of Rye A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' to Ingram. ''The Sketch'' printed photographs by

Howard Coster Howard Sydney Musgrave Coster (27 April 1885 – 17 November 1959) was a British photographer, opening a London studio in 1926. He was a self-styled 'Photographer of Men'. Collections After a childhood in the Isle of Wight, he was introduced t ...

, and illustrations by

H. M. Bateman Henry Mayo Bateman (15 February 1887 – 11 February 1970, Mgarr, Malta) was a British humorous artist and cartoonist. H. M. Bateman was noted for his "The Man Who..." series of cartoons, featuring comically exaggerated reactions to minor and u ...

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the drama critic for the '' Saturday ...

Edmund Blampied Edmund Blampied (30 March 1886 – 26 August 1966) was one of the most eminent artists to come from the Channel Islands, yet he received no formal training in art until he was 15 years old. He was noted mostly for his etchings and drypoin ...

Percy Venner Bradshaw Percy Venner Bradshaw (27 November 1877 – 13 October 1965), who often signed PVB, was a British illustrator who also created the Press Art School, a correspondence course for drawing. Biography Percy Bradshaw was born in Hackney, part of Lo ...

(1877–1965), Thomas Arthur Browne,

Hilda Cowham Hilda Gertrude Cowham (1873–1964) was an English illustrator, famous for her work on children's books and ceramic nurseryware. Biography Hilda Cowham was born in 1873. She was a student at Wimbledon School of Art, Lambeth School of Art, and ...

Annie Fish Annie Fish (27 March 1890 – 10 October 1964) was a British cartoonist and illustrator. Her illustration of "Eve" in ''The Tatler'' spawned films, theatre and books. Life Fish was born in Horfield in Bristol in 1890 before her family moved to ...

John Hargrave John Gordon Hargrave (6 June 1894 – 21 November 1982), (woodcraft name 'White Fox'), was a prominent youth leader in Britain during the 1920s and 1930s, Head Man of the Kibbo Kift, described in his obituary as an 'author, cartoonist, inve ...

, John Hassall, Phil May,

Bernard Partridge Sir John Bernard Partridge (11 October 1861– 9 August 1945) was an English illustrator. Born in London, he was the son of Professor Richard Partridge, F.R.S., president of the Royal College of Surgeons, and nephew of John Partridge, portrait ...

Melton Prior Melton Prior (12 September 1845 – 2 November 1910), was an English artist and war correspondent for ''The Illustrated London News'' from the early 1870s until 1904. Prior was one of the leading illustrators of late Victorian Britain, noted f ...

, W. Heath Robinson,

Josep Segrelles Josep is a Catalan masculine given name equivalent to Joseph (Spanish ''José''). People named Josep include: * Josep Bargalló (born 1958), Catalan philologist and former politician * Josep Bartolí (1910-1995), Catalan painter, cartoonist and w ...

Sidney Sime Sidney Herbert Sime (;1865 – 22 May 1941) — he usually signed his works as S. H. Sime — was an early 20th century English artist, mostly remembered for his fantastic and satirical artwork, especially his story illustrations for Irish f ...

Olive Snell Olive Constance Snell (3 April 1888''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 23 May 1962)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995'' was an English artist, known for her portraiture. Snell was ...

, Bert Thomas, and Thomas Downey. Writers included Carleton Allen, Lucie Armstrong,

Nora Hopper Nora Chesson (2 January 1871 – 14 April 1906) was an English journalist and poet. She won for herself a distinct celebrity as a contributor to most of the English periodicals and newspapers of her time. Biography Eleanor Jane Hopper was born ...

William Robertson Nicoll Sir William Robertson Nicoll (10 October 18514 May 1923) was a Scottish Free Church minister, journalist, editor, and man of letters. Biography Nicoll was born in Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, the son of Rev. Harry Nicoll (1812–1891), a Free Chu ...

and John Courtenay Trewin. Keble Howard, editor until 1905, continued to contribute a column titled ''Motley Notes'' until two-weeks prior to his death, his final piece appearing on 14 March 1928. The

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 British ...

holds a complete run of ''The Sketch''.

References

External links

Online Archives of ''The Sketch''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sketch 1893 establishments in the United Kingdom 1959 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1893 Magazines disestablished in 1959