First Issue: 15th February 1908
Last Issue: 1940
Copyright: Amalgamated Press
Before comics, there were story papers. Story papers were long text stories with the occasional illustration. Britain has a rich tradition of story papers and any talk of story papers would have to include one the most famous ones, ‘The Magnet Library’. Magnet was the sister paper to ‘The Gem’ and was edited by Percy Griffiths. Magnet is most famous for it’s story of Greyfriars School and its students, notably Billy Bunter of the lower fourth. The story of Greyfriars was written by the author Charles Hamilton under the pen name Frank Richards. Billy Bunter would eventually go on to become a comic strip star in ‘The Knockout Comic’.
George Orwell wrote an article about story papers including Magnet and Gem, such was the popularity and interest in them. There were 1683 issues of Magnet published before it’s demise in 1940 which was due to a combination of low sales, paper shortages and the emergence of comics.
The Magnet Library
First Issue 15th February 1908
