The evidence for the Jedburgh Mutual Improvement Association and its magazine comes solely from an article in a local newspaper, The Jedburgh Gazette. A further investigation of the local press and archives may provide further information on this group.

According to the article, in January 1883, the Jedburgh Mutual Improvement Association held its first annual social meeting, which was apparently a big success, having such a large attendance that extra tables had to be assembled to accommodate all the guests. The newspaper report provides a list of important personages who attended, which included local politicians and prominent local business leaders. A deputation from the Crailing Literary Association was also present. (Crailing is a small community located approximately four miles to the north of Jedburgh; although small, community members in the late nineteenth century apparently wished to have its own literary association.)

Following tea, the Chairman — the President of the association, Mr James Cree — gave a speech, and discussed the formation of the mutual improvement association. The group had been running for ‘one year and a few months’. He said that the group’s name was the most eloquent way of giving the association’s object and purpose. He goes on to elucidate their goals:

‘What we seek is to cultivate habits of research and study; the ability to justify and the courage to maintain in a rational way the opinions we form; the expression of thoughts in language that is clear and precise; and the respectful toleration of the honest convictions of others. This, you will see, is largely a work of self-improvement. It is not, however, a selfish work […] the improvement of the individual is to the advantage of the community […]’ (‘Jedburgh Mutual Improvement Association. Social Meeting’, The Jedburgh Gazette, 20 January 1883, p. 3).

According to Cree, at the weekly meetings, members engaged in debates, gave speeches, readings, and produced a manuscript magazine. Membership was apparently growing steadily, and was open to men of all ages. To extend their ‘usefulness’, lectures were opened to the public with an admission charge. No other details regarding the group’s magazine are given.

Name of Club, Society or Group That Produced the Magazine

Jedburgh Mutual Improvement Association

Date of Existence

1882-?

Date of Magazine

(1882-1883?)

Number of Issues

(currently unknown)

Manuscript/Published Magazine

Manuscript

Contents and Contributions

(currently unknown)

Repository

Heritage Hub, Hawick (The Jedburgh Gazette)

Reference

Name of Club, Society or Group That Produced the Magazine

Wesley Proprietary Grammar School/Wesley College Mutual Improvement Society (Sheffield)

Date of Existence

1875?-?

Date of Magazine

1875

Number of Issues

1

Manuscript/Published Magazine

(Manuscript?)

Contents and Contributions

Repository

Sheffield Archives

Reference

X552/1

Name of Club, Society or Group That Produced the Magazine

Longsight Wesleyan Mutual Improvement Society (Manchester)

Date of Existence

1880-1904

Date of Magazine

1892-1893?

Number of Issues

(at least 1; no longer extant)

Manuscript/Published Magazine

(Manuscript?)

Contents and Contributions

Repository

Manchester Archives and Local Studies

Reference

(Magazines are mentioned in Minutes of this society: GB127.M114/6/4/1 (2 Vols.))

A summary of the history of the Western Scientific Association is available on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds (see ‘Additional Notes’ below).

The members of this all-male group wrote down the papers that they gave at the meetings into a society year book. Thomas Lugton (the attributed author of the 1907 newspaper article from which this information comes) seems to have a copy of the group’s 1894 volume to hand, as he gives details on the contributors, a bit of their respective histories subsequent to their membership in the association, and critiques each contribution. (For more information about Thomas Lugton, see ‘Additional Notes’ below.)

According to the article, there are 78 articles in the 1849 volume. Most of these seem to be essays, fiction and non-fiction, but there are also a few poems. The volume also includes artwork, of which there is at least one illustration and one etching.

Lugton tells us there are 63 signed and 15 unsigned articles, and in the case of some of the latter pieces, he is able to work out who the author was, and it seems this group had some remarkable members. The contributors to the society year book went on to become notable figures in Glasgow and beyond. To give a couple of examples, the first essay, described by Lugton as ‘[a] short and lively tale with a long title’ called ‘The House on the Hill, or The Fratricide, a Tale of the 17^th Century,” was written by one John Trayner, who was later to become Lord Trayner LLD (1834–1929). (For more information on Trayner see ‘John Trayner, Lord Trayner‘ on Wikipedia, the entry for ‘John Trayner‘ on The University of Glasgow Story website, and a painting entitled ‘John Trayner (1834–1929), Lord Trayner‘, which was painted by George Reid (1841–1913) on the ArtUK website.)

The author of another article entitled, ‘History’, who had his own tripartite classificatory system of ‘the fabulous’, ‘the doubtful’, and ‘the authentic’, signed himself ‘M.G.’. Lugton identifies this as Matthew Gass. Gass (1830-?) was a Georgeite reform agitator. Influenced by Chartism in his youth, in his adult life, he was renowned for his influential speeches on Glasgow Green and the many pamphlets he published calling for labour and land reforms. (For more information on Gass, see ‘Testimonial to a Veteran Reformer’, The Single Tax, Vol. VI, No. 69, February 1900, pp. 130-1. See ‘Additional Information on The Single Tax.)

Name of Club, Society or Group That Produced the Magazine

Western Scientific Association (Glasgow)

Date of Existence

1843-?

Date of Magazine

1849

Number of Issues

1 (unknown if still extant)

Manuscript/Published Magazine

Manuscript

Contents and Contributions

Art/illustrations (original); Articles (non-fiction); Essays; Fiction/Narrative; Poems (original)

Repository

(Currently unknown if any copies extant)

Reference

–

Additional Notes

See also entry for Western Scientific Association on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds.

Thomas Lugton was a member of the Old Glasgow Club in the early twentieth century. This group first met in 1900, and is still running. Members still meet twice a month to read papers and discuss the history of Glasgow. Some of these papers (including Lugton’s) have been published. See the club’s new website here: Old Glasgow Club. As a member of this club, Lugton himself would have been a scholar of the history of the city. You can see examples of the papers he gave in a list of the Transactions of the club between 1903 and 1908 on the club’s old website here: ‘Transactions Volume 1 – Numbers 1 to 5 (1903 to 1908)’, Old Glasgow Club.

For more information about The Single Tax, see ‘The Single Tax‘ on Wikipedia. This newspaper has not yet been digitised by the British Newspaper Archive. Copies are available at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow and the British Library, London.

A summary of the history of the Original Union Club is available on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds (see ‘Additional Notes’ below).

According to a newspaper clipping, this group was more of a social drinking club whose members met in a local pub to raise toasts and read their original poems. If the poems were thought to be particularly good, they were recorded in the club’s scrapbook kept for the purpose. To date, no evidence has been found for the scrapbook in the local archives.

This club was one of many groups in Scotland and England (and beyond) during the long nineteenth century where we know that a scrapbook or magazine was produced from evidence provided by the society’s records (or other documentation), but it does not appear to have survived.

It is debatable whether or not these societies should be included in this study. However, we would argue that it is still important to include them in a study of associational periodical production as, at the very least, they add to the quantitative evidence for this type of practice.

More broadly, it is hoped that by at least recording the evidence for a magazine’s production, future work and/or further discoveries might bring to light these missing issues amongst private holdings and (more) public archives.

Name of Club, Society or Group That Produced the Magazine

Original Union Club (Glasgow)

Date of Existence

1831?-?

Date of Magazine

circa 1831-32

Number of Issues

1 (unknown if scrapbook extant)

Manuscript/Published Magazine

Manuscript

Contents and Contributions

Poems (original)

Repository

(See newspaper clipping in Young’s Scrapbooks, housed in Mitchell Library Special Collections)

Reference

(Young’s Scrapbooks, Vol. 21, p. 54)

Additional Notes

See also entry for Original Union Club on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds.

A summary of the history of the Kelvinside Literary Association is available on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds (see ‘Additional Notes’ below).

In 1873, at the annual social meeting of this association, the President of the society mentioned that a proposal was put forward to start a magazine for the group, which was received with ‘great applause’. The topic was discussed at two subsequent meetings, when a decision was made to postpone looking into it further until later in the session. Up until the 1883-1884 session (the last session that is covered by the extant minute book), there is no further evidence that the issue was raised again. It appears that the proposal to start a society magazine never got off the ground.

This society was one of many groups in Scotland and England (and beyond) during the long nineteenth century that held discussions during their meetings about founding a group scrapbook, magazine or newspaper for their respective societies, but chose in the end not to start one.

It is debatable whether or not these societies should be included in this study. However, we would argue that the discussions and/or stated intentions of these groups to found a magazine for their societies demonstrates that the issue was important enough to be considered as part of their associational activities, indeed, to be part of their efforts for ‘improvement’ (this was variously defined as intellectual, religious and/or moral improvement) whether they ultimately decided to found one or not. The fact that they did at least discuss it should be recorded.

Name of Club, Society or Group That Produced the Magazine

Kelvinside Literary Association (later became The Young People’s At Home) (Glasgow)

Date of Existence

1865-(at least 1909)

Date of Magazine

(Currently unknown if ever produced)

Number of Issues

(Currently unknown)

Manuscript/Published Magazine

(Unknown)

Contents and Contributions

(unknown)

Repository

(Glasgow City Archives, see ‘Reference’ below)

Reference

(See minute book of this literary association for details on the meetings in which discussions took place about starting a society magazine: Glasgow, Kelvinside, Free Church, U.F., Literary association minutes, 1871-84, CH3/1012/11)

Additional Notes

This was a Free Church society and should not be confused with the Kelvinside Parish Church Literary Society, which was a Church of Scotland society. For more information about this group see entry for Kelvinside Parish Church Literary Society on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds.

See also entry for Kelvinside Literary Association on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds.