The Pioneers
The Pioneers |
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Page 16 of 35  Cover, Illustrated Chips (Amalgamated Press. 1913). Art/script: 'Weary Willie and Tired Tim' by Tom Browne. Today Tom Browne is recognized as one of the all-time great artists. These two titles, both dating to 1890. established the 'halfpenny revolution' in comics, and shifted the balance of power in publishing firmly into the hands of the Amalgamated Press, owned by Alfred Harmsworth, later Lord Horthcliffe. The real flood did not come until 1890, heralded by the so-called 'halfpenny revolution'. One publisher, the twenty-five-year-old Alfred Harms worth, proprietor of the Amalgamated Press, decided to launch a line of comics predicated on the idea that success was possible if the price could be cut by half. This was a huge gamble at the time, and depended on the twin imperatives of keeping costs down and circulations up (indeed, many newsagents responded hostilely to the prospect, because they could not envisage making a profit with prices so low). Harmsworth also had a personal dislike of the penny dreadfuls, and intended his new comics to be 'wholesome entertainment', in order to attract readers away from them (a campaign he would later consolidate by publishing a series of story papers). |