The Queen’s Park Literary Magazine (aka The Queen’s Park Magazine)

The Queen’s Park Literary Magazine, January 1874, [title page] (Glasgow City Archives, CH3/1471/42)

Overview

A summary of the history of the Queen’s Park, St. George’s United Presbyterian, UK Church Literary Institute is available on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds (see ‘Additional Notes’ below).

There are three extant volumes of this society’s magazine. The first two are in manuscript and the later one was put into print (see details below). The first volume, produced in January 1874, is currently in need of conservation, and the pages suffer from water damage. The information that we can extract from the few pages that are viewable is limited. Nonetheless, from the list of readers, we know that there were at least 33 readers of the magazine (it is not possible to view all the names on the list due to the state of the magazine). It was not unusual, however, for these magazines to be passed among family and friends outwith the ‘official’ list of readers. There are 150 pages in this volume, which includes a combination of poetry and prose, along with possibly a photograph and original artwork. It is not possible to determine the number of contributions.

The second volume has 179 pages with 14 contributions that include essays, articles, poems on a variety of subjects and some original artwork. Contributors either chose not to sign their names, or used a pen-name, a symbol (↑), or an initial or initials at the end of their pieces.

The 1877-78 volume of this society’s magazine is published, and contains the numbers for January, April, July, and October 1877, as well as January, April, July, and October 1878. From the front endpaper, we know that the magazine was part of the Queen’s Park East United Free Church Congregational Library. It is possible that the previous volumes were also part of the library’s collection. The preface informs us that this volume was put into print as manuscript copies were found to be ‘unsuited to the rapidly increasing membership’. In appearing in print, the Editor hoped that the medium would place the periodical alongside other (more established) ‘instructive and entertaining’ magazines.

The entire volume is 288 pages, with each issue running between 25 and 30 pages each. There is a table of contents at the front for the entire volume, which contains a collection of articles, essays, poems, and original poetry as well as extracts from published poems by Chaucer, Spenser, and Tennyson (to name a few) in articles that discuss these authors and their works.

Name of Club, Society or Group That Produced the Magazine

Queen’s Park U.P. Church Literary Institute (Glasgow)

Date of Existence

1872-1927?

Date of Magazine

Vol. 1 (January 1874); Vol. 2 (January 1875); January 1877-78

Number of Issues

10 (extant) (see above ‘Overview’)

Manuscript/Published Magazine

Manuscript, later print (The Queen’s Park Magazine: Conducted by Members of the Queen’s Park Literary Institute, Crosshill, Glasgow. 1877-1878 (Glasgow: John Mackie, [1878])

Contents and Contributions

Art/Illustrations (original); Article (non-fiction); Essay; Extracts of published works; Fiction/Narrative Fiction/Narrative; Frontispiece; Poem (original); Preface; Table of Contents; Title page

Repository

Glasgow City Archives

Reference

CH3/1471/42-44

Additional Notes

See also entry for Queen’s Park, St. George’s UP, UK Church Literary Institute on our sister website, Glasgow’s Literary Bonds.