The Sphere, 1900-1964

Established in 1900 and in circulation until 1964, The Sphere remained under the ownership of The Illustrated London News (ILN) for most of its existence. Clement Shorter – a former editor of the ILN – founded the publication. From its first issue, it adopted a consciously international outlook, aiming to "hold pictures and thoughts from all lands". Upon its release it was praised as "a striking advance in illustrated journalism" due to the beauty and artistry of its presentation. It soon became popular. This collection includes nearly 160,000 images and almost 4,000 issues from The Sphere, published between January 1900 and June 1964.

The Sphere reflected a patriotic and staunchly pro-establishment position, expressing support for the British monarchy and for the Empire. The publication reported extensively on world events, such as the rise of communism, the First and Second World Wars, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. It printed articles discussing a wide range of prominent personalities from the arts, sciences, and politics – from John Ruskin to Albert Einstein; from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Golda Meir. It also featured contributions from well-known literary figures such as acclaimed children’s author A. A. Milne and prolific journalist Charles Graves. This collection contains vital material for researchers and students of British society, military history, and the legacies of colonialism.

Popular newspapers have played a central role in shaping public understandings of the nation

Adrian Bingham and Martin Conboy, Tabloid century: the popular press in Britain, 1896 to the present (2015).

Insights

Clement Shorter established The Sphere in 1900 after relinquishing his editorship at the ILN. In response, the ILN set up a rival publication called The Spear, choosing a similar title in the hope of poaching Shorter’s new readership. Despite this, The Sphere proved popular and Shorter went on to establish several of the ILN’s "sister" publications, including The Tatler and The Sketch.

The Sphere maintained a conservative and deeply patriotic worldview. For example, in its first issue, published in January 1900, the editors declared that "The Sphere stands for England, the Mother of Parliaments, the Giver of Free Institutions to half the World…" In the 1920s the paper began to refer to itself explicitly as "The Empire’s Illustrated Weekly".

The Sphere often adopted a hostile attitude towards working-class movements. In the process, it (perhaps inadvertently) reflected the profound inequalities prevalent in contemporary Britain. In its coverage of the National Hunger March in November 1932, for example, the paper claimed that mounted police were "invaluable, as instruments both of control and attack". Notably, the same piece reported on Prince Arthur of Connaught’s attendance at a recent "oyster feast".

With the outbreak of the Second World War The Sphere dedicated much of its attention to the evolution and deployment of military technology. Articles about weaponry, including planes, submarines, and warships, began to appear regularly. In addition, the paper published detailed updates from the European, Pacific, and African fronts of the Second World War, thus keeping its readers informed about the latest developments in the Allied campaigns.

Covering nearly seven decades, from the turn of the twentieth century until the "Swinging Sixties", The Sphere offers a wide selection of material with great potential to be highly useful material for those studying the development of British manufacturing and consumerism during this period, with adverts for a range of familiar brands, such as Rolls-Royce, Rowntree’s, and McVitie’s.

Highlights

Document

‘The Home Life of the Empire’

Document

‘A Varied Week at Home’

Document

‘The Pre-Invasion Bombing of Europe’

Document

‘How the Arabs View the Palestine Problem’

British Print Media, 1860s–1960s

Guide to British Illustrated Periodicals, 1869–1970

Editorial Board

Adrian Bingham Professor of Modern British History Adrian's main research interests are in the political, social and cultural history of twentieth-century Britain. He has worked extensively on the national popular press in the decades after 1918, examining the ways in which newspapers both reflected and shaped British society and culture.

Martin Conboy Emeritus Professor of Journalism History Martin Conboy FRHistS is Emeritus Professor of Journalism History and co-director (with Professor Adrian Bingham) of the Centre for the Study of Journalism and History based in Sheffield. He has produced fifteen books on the language and history of journalism and is widely published in scholarly journals. With Professor David Finkelstein, he is the series editor for the three-volume Edinburgh History of the British and Irish Press: 1640-2017. His most recent publications are Global Tabloid: Culture and Technology (2021) co-edited with Dr Scott A. Eldridge II (Groningen), Cato Street Conspiracy: Plotting, counter-intelligence and the revolutionary tradition in Britain and Ireland (2019) co-edited with Dr Jason McElligott, with Professor Bingham volume three of the Edinburgh History of the British and Irish Press:1900-2017 (2022) and the monograph Journalism, Technology and Cultural Practice: A History (2023) He is active on the editorial boards of twelve journals including Journalism Studies: Media History, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism and Memory Studies. His research has been funded by the AHRC, Marsh’s Library in Dublin and the Dutch NWO.