The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 23, August 11, 1832

"The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" was an illustrated British weekly published from 1832 to 1845. Created by Charles Knight to educate the working class, this pioneering publication sold for just one penny and featured innovative wood-engravings. It initially achieved remarkable success, reaching 200,000 copies in its first year with nearly one million readers. However, the magazine's dry content and expensive illustrations ultimately challenged its survival in a competitive market, revealing the tensions between educational ambition and commercial viability in Victorian Britain.

The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 23, August 11, 1832, from the public domain. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #77007.