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| “For the week ending October 22, 1887”
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The journal
Comrades, The Boy’s Jubilee Journal of Amusement, Fun, and Instruction, began with Volume I, no. 1, April 16, 1887, and lasted two volumes. It was published during the Jubilee year of 1887 and ended on June 9, 1888, when it became incorporated in
The Young Briton’s Journal. The publisher, editor, and author was
‘Guy Rayner,’ a pseudonym used by
S. Dacre Clarke.
The first serial was
‘The Mysterious Mask; A Story of Old London’ by the author of
‘Merry Mat,’ ‘The Queen’s Shilling,’ ‘On the Warpath,’ ‘Guy Raynor,’ ‘A Born Fool,’ &c. Here Rayner copied the style of Edwin Brett’s historical stories of
‘Old London’ in Boys of England
.
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| “For the week ending January 21, 1888” |
Also in the first issue was
‘The Pride of the Force; or, The Adventures of a London Detective, Being a series of Stories told by himself and compiled by the Editor.’ These featured John Moss of Scotland Yard and were continued. Also
‘The Treasure Cave; Or, Nobody’s Fortune,’ and
‘The Rule O’Three; A School Story,’ by
A.W. Jordan. The last was a humorous page
‘Tom Teasle; The Universal Genius’ by Guy Rayner. Each issue this feature’s text would be accompanied by four central panels similar to a comic strip showing the ridiculous action of the narrative.
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| “For the week ending May 21, 1887” |
‘Guy Rayner at Oxford,’ in Volume I, No. 5, began
“Thank goodness, we are soon to be quit of that horrid Guy Rayner
again,” Mrs. Maloney, the baker’s wife, was saying to her neighbour the
butcher. “I thought he was bad enough when he was a youngster of
fifteen, but now he’s grown into a tall youth of seventeen, he's a sight
worse than he ever was. Some natures can never settle down; but it all
comes of that mesmerizing business.”
This wasn’t the only time Rayner used a boy mesmerist as a hero, but Guy Rayner is a refreshingly bad boy; rich, hanging out with swells, and accompanied by a man-servant, Bob Blunt. Later tales would take our hero all over the world.
Serials in Vol. I No. 11 were
‘Vanoc; or, the Gladiators of Old Rome’ by
J.N. Pentelow, Vol. 2, No. 28,
‘The Goldsmith's Apprentice, or, Whitefriars in the Days of Charles I’ by
John Johnston. The Xmas number, No. 34, was titled
‘For Jack’s Sake,’ followed by
‘The Ocean Terror,’ in no. 35. Volume II, No. 41, was
‘The Prince of Rogues; or, The Thieves of London,’ by Guy Rayner, which was also the cover tale for No. 42. There was also a 32-page Special Pantomime Number.
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| “For the week ending January 21, 1888” |
The stories and art were exceptional and the
Boy’s Jubilee Journal lasted longer than most Rayner publications. On November 26, 1887, he was to begin
The Boys of the United Kingdom with a magnificent opening serial
‘In a Pirate City; or, The White Slave of Tripoli’ by
Edwin S. Hope, a swashbuckler with vivid melodramatic illustrations by a magnificent master of his craft, probably the author himself.
Publications of S. Dacre Clark aka Guy Rayner
• The Bonnie Boys of Britain, No. 1, Oct 18, 1884, No. 26, Apr 11, 1885
• The Boys’ Champion Paper, No. 1, Sep 26, 1885 - (2 vols)
• Boys and Girls, Jul 30, 1887 - Nov 18, 1887 (17 nrs) incorporated with
• The Boys of the United Kingdom, “For the week ending Nov 26, 1887” - Apr 21, 1888 (22 nrs)
• The Boys’ Jubilee Journal, Jubilee year of 1887 - Jun 9, 1888 (2 vols) incorporated with
• The Young Briton’s Journal, Jun 16, 1888 - Mar 2, 1899 (38 nrs)
• The British Boys’ Paper, Mar 3, 1888 - Feb 23, 1889
• The Boys’ Popular Weekly, Apr 21, 1888 - Jan 19, 1889, title change to
• The Boys of the Isles, (Jan 22, 1889 - Sept 28, 1889) title change to The Bad Boys’ Paper (1889-1890?)
•The Boys’ Graphic, Mar 8, 1890 - Feb 28, 1891
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Great images and article...thanks John.
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