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Magazine Contents Lists: Page 3032

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    The Strand Magazine “Colonial Edition”   (about)
    A number of issues of The Strand Magazine have been seen which are identical to the UK issues except that they are dated one month later. These are believed to be an “Colonial Edition” prepared for the Australian and New Zealand market dated to allow for the delay caused by shipping the issues. Many other issues probably exist.

    The Strand Magazine (US)   (about)
    For all the issues of volumes 1 through 9 the contents of each US issue were absolutely identical to the corresponding UK issue; not only in their articles, stories, and illustrations, but also in the Table of Contents—including the date on it, so that the Table of Contents for (for example) v2 #11 = Dec. 1891 (US) = Nov. 1891 (UK) reads “Contents for November 1891” and not “Contents for December 1891”. The advertising pages (present in all issues) contained British advertising, not US advertising.

    The only differences were on the cover (including spine) of each issue. The cover illustration was the always the same for both versions. The differences were in the price (the round “sixpence” price notation at the top replaced by the US price), the date (where applicable), and the copyright/publisher notation on the bottom of the cover. For vols. 1-9, this read “Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1890, by the International News Company, in the office of the Library of Congress at Washington.” In a few (but not many) issues, above this was the line “George Newnes, Ltd., Southampton Street and Exeter Street, Strand, London, W.C.”

    Beginning with volume 10, the publication becomes slightly more American. Beginning with US v10 #55 (July-Aug. 1895), the cover now says “New York: The International News Company, 83 and 85, Duane Street.” In the first couple of issues of v10 there is still some British advertising, but the amount is limited. The Tables of Contents start mentioning the correct month of the US issue, and start mentioning International News Company in the Table of Contents as well as on the cover. By v10 #57 (Oct. 1895), the inside front cover content becomes a house ad for books published by International News Company. By v10 #58 (Nov. 1895) there is an advertising section containing local US advertising, clearly placed in New York rather than in London.

    However, throughout volume 10, the substantive contents of each US issue are identical to those of the corresponding US issue. Beginning with volume 11 (v11 #61, US Feb. 1896 = UK Jan. 1896), there are some differences. The first impetus for variations in the content is that in volumes 11 and 12, the UK Strand serializes Rodney Stone by Arthur Conan Doyle, to which the US Strand did not have the rights (the US serialization was in the McClure Syndicate newspapers such as The New York Sun). The gaps are at first filled in by a couple of reprints, but the US edition soon starts running a series of articles by James Walter Smith of special interest to American readers.

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