''John Bull'' is the name of a succession of different periodicals published in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

during the period 1820–1964. In its original form, a Sunday newspaper published from 1820 to 1892, ''John Bull'' was a champion of

traditionalist conservatism Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political philosophy, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain posited natural laws t ...

. From 1906 to 1920, under Member of Parliament

Horatio Bottomley Horatio William Bottomley (23 March 1860 – 26 May 1933) was an English financier, journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, swindler, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his editorship of the popular magazine ''John Bull (maga ...

, ''John Bull'' became a platform for his trenchant

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

views. A 1946 relaunch by

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...

transformed ''John Bull'' magazine into something similar in style to the American magazine ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

''. All versions of the publication intended to cash in on

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

, the

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

of the

in general and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in particular. (In

political cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

s and similar graphic works, John Bull is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man.)

Sunday newspaper

The original ''John Bull'' was a Sunday newspaper established in the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, London EC4, by

Theodore Hook Theodore Edward Hook (22 September 1788 – 24 August 1841) was an English Intellectual, man of letters and composer and briefly a civil servant in Mauritius. He is best known for his practical jokes, particularly the Berners Street hoax in ...

in 1820. Under Hook, ''John Bull'' was a champion of high

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

ism and the virulent detractor of Queen Caroline. Witty criticism and pitiless invective secured it a large circulation, and Hook derived, for the first year at least, an income of £2,000. Hook was arrested, however, on account of his debt to the state, and was confined to a

sponging-house A sponging-house (more formally: a lock-up house) was a place of temporary confinement for debtors in the United Kingdom. If a borrower defaulted on repaying a debt, a creditor could lay a complaint with the sheriff. The sheriff sent his bail ...

from 1823 to 1825. This iteration of ''John Bull'' lasted until July 1892, although subsequent identically named publications were cited in 1899 and 1903.

Magazine

Bottomley period

, an MP for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, relaunched the magazine on 12 May 1906. From its first issue ''John Bull'' adopted a tabloid style that, despite occasional lapses in taste, proved immensely popular. Among its regular features, Bottomley revived his "The World, the Flesh and the Devil" column from ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'', and also adapted that paper's slogan: "If you read it in ''John Bull'', it is so". Bottomley persuaded Julius Elias, managing director of Odhams Limited, to handle the printing, but chaotic financial management meant that Odhams were rarely paid. This situation was resolved when the entire management of the magazine, including the handling of all receipts and payments, was transferred to Elias, leaving Bottomley free to concentrate on editing and journalism. Circulation rose rapidly, and by 1910 had reached half a million copies. After the murder of the Austrian

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fran ...

on 28 June 1914 in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, allegedly with Serbian complicity, ''John Bull'' described Serbia as "a hotbed of cold-blooded conspiracy and subterfuge", and called for it to be wiped from the map of Europe. When Britain declared war on the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

on 4 August, Bottomley quickly reversed his position, and within a fortnight was demanding the elimination of Germany. ''John Bull'' campaigned relentlessly against the "Germhuns", and against British citizens carrying German-sounding surnames—the danger of "the enemy within" was a persistent Bottomley theme. The periodical continued production during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; Howard Cox estimates its sales by August 1914 at in excess of three quarters of a million copies a week. By the end of October 1914 the cover of ''John Bull'' was '"boasting that the magazine’s circulation was the largest of any weekly journal in the world". Charles Frederick Palmer served as ''John Bull''s deputy editor from at least 1918 until his premature death in October 1920. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

in Russia, ''John Bull'' adopted a strong

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

tone in its articles. ''John Bull'' was the subject of a libel case in 1919 concerning a biographical film about

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

. Partly as a result, in 1920 Odhams Press revoked the pre-war partnership agreement and took full control of ''John Bull''. Bottomley was made editor for life, but a year later Odhams terminated this arrangement with a final pay-off of £25,000, which ended Bottomley's connection with the paper. (In 1927, Bottomley tried to resurrect his business career by starting a new magazine, ''John Blunt'', as a rival to ''John Bull'', but the new venture lasted little more than a year before closing, having lost money from the start.)

Odhams period

In 1923, the magazine was said to be "ultra-patriotic." Geoffrey Williamson was editor around this time. Evidence of the magazine being in print are cited in 1931, 1939, and 1944. The "popular" Tom Darlow was editor during at least the period 1936–1938. Elkan Allan, later to become a television producer, worked as the magazine's picture editor in the 1940s. The 1946 relaunch featured covers that encapsulated

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

Britain and employed some of Britain's finest illustrators. During this period, the magazine also included short stories by major British authors such as

H. E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974) was a British writer known for his gritty, realistic short stories (he wrote more than 25 collections) and novels set predominantly in early- to mid-20th century England. His rural u ...

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

Nicholas Monsarrat Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR ( 22 March 19108 August 1979) was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly '' The Cruel Sea'' (1951) and ''Three Corvettes'' (1942–1945), but perhaps known be ...

N. J. Crisp Norman James Crisp (11 December 1923 – 14 June 2005), known as a writer only by his initials and surname, N. J. Crisp, was a British television writer, dramatist and novelist. In the 1960s, after writing single dramas, Crisp moved to writing ...

, Gerald Kersh, J. B. Priestley and

C. S. Forester Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (27 August 1899 – 2 April 1966), known by his pen name Cecil Scott "C. S." Forester, was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare, such as the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series depicting a Royal ...

. During ''John Bull'''s run it incorporated other magazines, such as ''

Illustrated An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

'' (1958), ''Passing Show'', and '' Everybody's Weekly'' (1959).

End of publication

Following a sharp drop in circulation, the magazine was renamed ''Today, The New John Bull'' in 1960. It attempted to appeal to a younger readership with features on aspects of youth culture, such as

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

. In 1964, its circulation was just over 700,000, but advertising revenue did not meet its costs, and it was closed."End of the new 'John Bull'", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 4 July 1964 Officially, it was merged with ''Weekend'' magazine.'' Punch'' vol. 248, p. 86 (1965).

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

The Advertising Archives
is the exclusive copyright owner of this magazine, including all cover and interior artwor
:John Bull Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Bull (magazine) 1820 establishments in the United Kingdom 1964 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1820 Magazines disestablished in 1960 Sunday magazines Odhams Press magazines