The Girl's Own Paper (G.O.P.) was a Britishstory paper catering to girls and young women, published from 1880 until 1956.
The first weekly number ofThe Girl's Own Paper appeared on 3 January 1880. As with its male counterpartThe Boy's Own Paper, the magazine was published by theReligious Tract Society (which subsequently becameLutterworth Press). It was sold at a price of 1penny.[2]
In October 1929, the title becameThe Girl's Own Paper and Woman's Magazine but in 1930 theWoman's Magazine became a separate publication. In December 1947 the name was changed toThe Girl's Own Paper and Heiress. By 1951 it was calledHeiress incorporating the Girl's Own Paper. In 1956Heiress closed down, and the name "Girl's Own Paper" ceased to exist. Facsimile reprints of volume 1 to 4 were published by Eureka Press, Japan, in 2006. Several editions are available online fromProject Gutenberg.
Thestory paper provided a mix of stories and educational and improving articles, with 'Answers to Correspondents' and occasional coloured plates, poetry and music. The paper funded[3] and serialised the exploits of the explorerKate Marsden in the 1890s when she was lauded by the Royal Geographical Society.[4]
For the first 30 years, the weekly and later monthly issues included an unusual amount of music content, including musical scores by women composers. Judith Barger has produced a catalogue and discussed how the material reflected a gradual change in the perception of women's music making, from amateur accomplishment towards more professional roles.[5][6]
From 1908, the weekly magazines were dropped and the paper included more information on serious careers for girls and advice on style and dress. Long serials became less common, being replaced by shorter stories. From the 1930s, a greater proportion of its material was directed at younger readers. There wereschool stories, stories of kidnapped princesses and articles aboutfilm stars, although the contents became more serious duringWorld War II.
Volumes 39 and 40 of 1917–18 were entitledThe Girls Own Paper andWoman's Magazine; presumably the two publications were merged for economy purposes as a result ofWorld War I.
Many contributors are unknown outside theG.O.P. pages, but they includeNoel Streatfeild,Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd,Rosa Nouchette Carey,Sarah Doudney (1841–1926),Angela Brazil,Lucy Maud Montgomery,Richmal Crompton,Fanny Fern,Baroness Orczy, andNorma Lorimer.
Between 1889 and 1901, the leading illustratorHenry William Brewer provided regular articles for the paper, often richly illustrated by his own drawings. Subjects included Interesting Monuments of Distinguished Women (1889),[7] The Castle of Cleve and the 'Magic Swan' (1890),[8] The Largest Churches in Europe (1891),[9] Archeology for Girls (1895),[10] Typical Church Towers of English Counties (1895),[11] Old English Cottage Homes (1899),[12] and Site Base Support and Superstructure – Ancient and Modern Methods of Building (1901).[13]
The writer and novelistJohn Francis Brewer, son ofHenry William Brewer also contributed to the paper. In1887-88 he collaborated with the editor, Charles Peters, describing in articles trips they had taken together in Norway, northern Italy[14] and central Italy.[15][16]
Between 1940 and 1947Captain W. E. Johns contributed sixty stories featuring the female pilotWorrals.[17]
In her history of theG.O.P., E Honor Ward writes: "The G.O.P. was an important and positive influence on generations of girls and women, and a vital outlet for women's writing and ideas, for more than three-quarters of a century".
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