Sharpe's London Magazine: A Journal Of Entertainment And Instruction For General Reading.
With Elegant Wood Engravings
May 1847 to October 1847
Published by T.B. Sharpe: London 1847
Scarce In Fine Leather & Gilt Bindings
"Sharpe's London Magazine: A Journal of Entertainment and Instruction for General Reading (May-October 1847), published by T. B. Sharpe in London, represents a quintessential example of the mid-Victorian periodical — blending literary refinement, moral education, and accessible amusement for an expanding middle-class readership. Lavishly illustrated with finely executed wood engravings, the magazine offered a diverse range of content including serialized fiction, poetry, travel sketches, moral essays, and historical anecdotes. Its contributors aimed to both instruct and entertain, reflecting the era's appetite for improving literature that balanced intellectual curiosity with genteel leisure. The periodical's polished prose and elegant illustrations made it a refined alternative to the cheaper, more sensational publications emerging in the same decade.
As a cultural artifact, Sharpe's London Magazine captures the sensibilities of 1840s Britain — a society in transition, shaped by industrial progress, colonial expansion, and moral earnestness. The journal's focus on taste, virtue, and education reveals the Victorian desire to reconcile progress with propriety, while its wood engravings exemplify the high standard of visual craftsmanship that characterized early illustrated magazines. Spanning just six months of publication in 1847, the volume offers a fascinating window into the literary and artistic culture of the time, serving as both a record of contemporary values and a showcase of the growing sophistication of illustrated periodical publishing in London's vibrant print scene."
