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]

The Lone Hand
Cover of the July 1907 edition
Cover of the July 1907 edition
Former editors
CategoriesLiterature and poetry
FrequencyMonthly
Founder
Founded1907
First issueMay 1907 (1907-05)
Final issueFebruary 1928 (1928-02)
CountryAustralia
Based inSydney

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 typos) 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

Cover design by David Henry Souter of the September 1909 edition

Major contributors included:

Editors

Editors were:[1]

Notes

  1. "The Lone Hand". Austlit. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  2. 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
  3. Lawson, Sylvia, "Archibald, Jules François (1856–1919)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 28 August 2023
  4. "Tracing the Origins of Australian Fashion Photography". La Trobe Journal. Spring 2005. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  5. "photo-web". photo-web. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  6. "Works in The Lone Hand by C.J. Dennis (1876-1938)". Middle Miss. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  7. 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.
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