Cover of The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 11, June 2, 1832

The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 11, June 2, 1832

Edited by Charles Knight

Human-made only is on in this browser, so Project Gutenberg's machine summaries are left out. Settings.

"The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" is an illustrated British periodical published from 1832 to 1845. Created for working-class readers and sold for just one penny, this weekly magazine featured wood-engraved illustrations alongside articles of "useful knowledge." It achieved remarkable early success, reaching 200,000 copies sold in its first year with nearly one million readers. However, its educational approach proved too dry for its intended audience, while production costs for illustrations eventually strained its finances, leading to its eventual decline.

AI-generated Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.

Language
English
On Project Gutenberg since
28 August 2025
Read in the last 30 days
433 times at Project Gutenberg

Listen to it

Subjects and shelves