TheAmalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneurAlfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner.^[1] At one point the largest publishing company in the world,^[2] AP employed writers such asArthur Mee,John Alexander Hammerton,Edwy Searles Brooks, andCharles Hamilton. Its subsidiary, the Educational Book Company, publishedThe Harmsworth Self-Educator,The Children's Encyclopædia, andHarmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia. The company's newspapers included theDaily Mail, theDaily Mirror,The Evening News,The Observer, andThe Times. At its height, AP published over 70 magazines and operated three largeprinting works andpaper mills inSouth London.^[3]

In 1888 Alfred Harmsworth and his younger brotherHarold (1868–1940) startedHarmsworth Brothers, with Alfred acting as publisher and Harold handling the finances.^[3] The first thing they did was found a paper calledAnswers to Correspondents, which was modeled after another popular paper calledTit-Bits (published byGeorge Newnes). Harmsworth entered thecomic magazine market in 1890 withComic Cuts andIllustrated Chips;^[1] The comicWonder, launched in 1892, was part of a long string of connected titles which stretched from 1892 to 1953, known by a variety of additional names, includingFunny Wonder andJester.

Also in 1890, Harmsworth began publishing periodicals to challenge and compete with thepenny dreadfuls popular among British youth. Priced at onehalf-penny, Harmsworth'sstory papers were cheaper and, at least initially, were more respectable than the competition. Harmsworth claimed to be motivated by a wish to challenge the pernicious influence of penny dreadfuls. AP'sHalfpenny Marvel, launched in 1893, was soon followed by a number of other Harmsworth half-penny periodicals, such asThe Union Jack (1894–1933) andPluck (also started in 1894), and the serialized boys'story papersThe Boys' Friend (1895). At first the stories were high-minded moral tales, reportedly based on true experiences, but it was not long before these papers started using the same kind of material as the publications they competed against.^[4]

Beginning in 1894, the Harmsworth brothers dove into the newspaper business, first acquiringThe Evening News and theEdinburgh Daily Record. Harmsworth founded theDaily Mail in 1896, which was a success, having the world record for daily circulation until Harmsworth's death.

Harmsworth founded the woman's magazineHome Chat (1895–1959) to compete withC. Arthur Pearson'sHome Notes.

In 1896, Harmsworth Brothers Ltd was incorporated as alimited company.^[3] By this time, combined weekly sales of the company's publications exceeded one million copies, more than any other magazine publisher in the world.^[3]

In 1901, Harmsworth gathered his many publishing ventures together under the banner ofAmalgamated Press.^[3]

In 1902, the company opened offices inManchester, also setting up a system of codes and telegraphs that streamlined the layout and printing process.^[3]

Expanding his newspaper empire, Harmsworth initiated theDaily Mirror during 1903, and rescued the financially desperateThe Observer andThe Times during 1905 and 1908, respectively.^[5] During 1908, he also acquiredThe Sunday Times.

The quality of the AP story papers began to improve throughout the early 20th century. They also proliferated, with AP launching new boys' papers likeThe Gem (1907–1939) andThe Magnet (1908–1940). By the time of theFirst World War, papers such asUnion Jack dominated the market in the UK.^[a] Post-World War I story papers launched by AP includedThe Champion (1922–1955) andThe Thriller (1929–1937).

Recognizing the popularity of the story papers with girls, AP editorReg Eves launched a girl's line, the most notable beingSchool Friend (1919–1929),Schoolgirls' Own (1921–1936), andThe Schoolgirl (1922–1923; 1929–1940).

AP'sMy Magazine was published from 1908 to 1933 with different names; it had articles on science, technology, geography, and current events.

From 1912 Amalgamated Press was based at Fleetway House inFarringdon Street, London.^[6]

Amalgamated Press acquired the assets ofJames Henderson & Sons Ltd in 1920.^[7]

AP story papers faced tougher competition in the 1930s with the rise ofDC Thomson's line, includingThe Hotspur (launched in 1933).^[8]

Comic Cuts andIllustrated Chips continued strongly into the 20th century; other notable pre-War humorous comics titles published by AP includedFilm Fun (launched in 1920),Radio Fun (1938), andKnockout (1939).

Alfred Harmsworth died in 1922, and in 1926 Amalgamated Press was bought byWilliam andGomer Berry ofAllied Newspapers.^[3][9] Shortly after this sale, in 1927, AP acquired and continued publishing a number ofCassell & Co.'s periodicals, includingCassell's Magazine,The Story-Teller, andChums.

The Berry brothers dissolved their partnership in 1937, with William Berry (Lord Camrose) retaining Amalgamated Press.^[3]

EditorLeonard Matthews (1914–1997), who joined AP in 1939, was a leading figure in the company's comics titles for 20 years, eventually becoming Manager Editor.

The onset ofWorld War II, in the years 1940–1942, brought the merger and cancellation of a number of long-running AP comics titles, includingButterfly andPuck (both launched in 1904),Jester (launched in 1912),Tiger Tim's Weekly (1919),Sunbeam(1922),The Joker (1927),Larks (1927),Bubbles (1921),Chicks' Own (1929), andFunny Wonder series 3 (dating back to 1914).

Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose, the eldest son of William Berry, was Vice Chairman of Amalgamated Press from 1942 until the company's sale in 1959.

In May 1949, AP acquired the publisherJ. B. Allen, including their comics titlesThe Comet^[10] andSun, which they continued under the same names. AP launched a number of notable comics in the 1950s, includingSchool Friend (launched in 1950; considered the firstgirls' comic),Lion (1952),Tiger (1954), and the young children's comicsJack and Jill andPlayhour (both 1954).

Another round of mergers and cancellations of long-running AP comics titles occurred in the years 1952–1957, includingIllustrated Chips andComic Cuts (both launched in 1890),Jingles (launched in 1934),Tip Top (launched in 1934),Playbox (launched in 1925),The Rainbow (launched in 1914), andTiny Tots (launched in 1920).

In 1959, Amalgamated Press was bought by theMirror Group and renamedFleetway Publications (after the name of AP's headquarters, Fleetway House).^[11] AP titles that were continued by IPC/Fleetway included:

With the transition to Fleetway, the AP titlesThe Comet,Sun, andTiny Tots were all merged into other AP titles:Tiger,Lion, andPlayhour, respectively.Radio Fun was continued by Fleetway for a short time and then merged intoBuster in 1960. Similarly,TV Fun was renamedTV Fan, continued for a short time, and then was merged intoValentine.

In 1961, the Mirror Group also acquiredOdhams Press (which by that point ownedLongacre Press andNewnes/Pearson). The group was renamed theInternational Publishing Corporation in 1963,^[12] although the component companies continued to use their own names until 1968 when they were reorganised into the unitaryIPC Magazines. The "Fleetway" banner continued to be used for some publications until IPC'scomics line was sold under the name Fleetway Publications toRobert Maxwell in 1987.^[1]

Of the comics titles IPC acquired from Amalgamated Press, only five survived into the 1970s:Jack and Jill,Lion,Playhour,Tiger, andValentine; of those five,Jack and Jill,Playhour, andTiger survived until the mid-1980s.

Rebellion Developments currently owns all comics characters and titles created by IPC's subsidiaries after 1 January 1970, together with 26 specified characters which appeared inBuster;^[13][14] while IPC currently retains its other comics characters and titles, includingSexton Blake,The Steel Claw, andBattler Britton.^[15]

• Daily Mail (founded 1896; acquired byHarold Harmsworth in 1922)
• Daily Mirror (founded 1903; sold to Harold Harmsworth in 1913)
• The Evening News (acquired in 1894; sold to Harold Harmsworth in 1922)
• EdinburghDaily Record (founded 1894)
• The Observer (acquired in 1903; sold in 1911)
• The Sunday Times (acquired in 1908; sold in 1915)
• The Times (acquired in 1908; sold in 1922)

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2012)

• The Boy's Book of Everyday Science (1937), edited byCharles Ray
• The Concise Household Encyclopedia (1932–1939) edited by J A Hammerton.
• Everybody's Enquire Within, edited byCharles Ray, published in 55 weekly instalments from 1937 to 1938.
• The Great War: The Standard History of the All-Europe Conflict (1914-1919), edited by Wilson and Hammerton
• Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia (1921/1922)
• "Wonders" — all edited byClarence Winchester, and published by Amalgamated Press as weekly instalments, with a book binding service available to keep as two volumes for each series.^[16][17]
  • Railway Wonders of the World, 50 installments (1935–36)^[18]
  • Shipping Wonders of the World, 55 installments (1936–37)^[19]
  • Wonders of World Engineering, 53 installments (1937–38)^[20]
  • Wonders of World Aviation, 40 installments (1938)^[21]
• The World of Wonder: 10,000 Things Every Child Should Know (1933), edited byCharles Ray. Published in two volumes: Vol. One, pages 1 to 732; Vol. Two, pages 733 to 1460. An illustrated compendium of mainly science and technology, with some historical subjects.

• Cassell's Magazine (1927–1932) — acquired fromCassell & Co., where it originated in 1897; merged intoStoryteller
• The Children's Encyclopædia (1908–1964)
• The Children's Newspaper (1919–1965)
• Everybody's Weekly (1950–1959) — acquired from Everybody's Publications Ltd., where it originated in 1913; merged intoOdhams'John Bull
• The Green Magazine (1922–1923)^[22]
• The Harmsworth Red Magazine (1908–1939)^[23]
• The Harmsworth Self-Educator (1905–1907)
• Home Chat (1895–1959)
• London Magazine (1898–1933)
• The Modern Boy (1928–1939)
• My Magazine (1908–1933)
• Picture Show (1919–1960)
• Storyteller (1927–1937) — acquired fromCassell & Co., where it originated in 1907
• Woman & Home (from 1926)
• Woman's Weekly (from 1911)
• The World (1905-1920), a weeklysociety paper originated in 1874 — acquired from the widow ofEdmund Hodgson Yates in 1905
• The Yellow Magazine (1921–1926)^[22]

• Complete List of Harmsworth/Fleetway/IPC comic titlesArchived 14 September 2019 at theWayback Machine
• Amalgamated Press at the Grand Comics Database
• Documents and clippings about Amalgamated Press in the20th Century Press Archives of theZBW

• 1901 establishments in England
• British companies established in 1901
• Comic book publishing companies of the United Kingdom
• Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom
• Publishing companies established in 1901
• Publishers of Sexton Blake
• Fleetway and IPC Comics

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