The Bystander was a British weekly tabloid magazine that featured reviews, topical drawings, cartoons and short stories. Published from Fleet Street, it was established in 1903 by George Holt Thomas.[1] Its first editor, William Comyns Beaumont, later edited the magazine again from 1928 to 1932.

Bystander
EditorWilliam Comyns Beaumont
FrequencyWeekly
PublisherH. R. Baines & Co.
FounderGeorge Holt Thomas
Founded1903; 121 years ago (1903)
Final issue1940
CountryUnited Kingdom

It was notably popular[citation needed] during World War I for its publication of the "Old Bill" cartoons by Bruce Bairnsfather. The magazine also employed many notable artists including H. M. Bateman, W. Heath Robinson, Howard Elcock, Helen McKie, Arthur Watts, Will Owen, Edmund Blampied and L. R. Brightwell.

It also published some of the earliest stories of Daphne du Maurier (Beaumont's niece), as well as short stories by Saki, including "Filboid Studge, the Story of a Mouse that Helped".[2]

The magazine ran until 1940, when it merged with The Tatler (titled Tatler & Bystander until 1968).[3]

References edit

  1. ^ Vincent Orange, "Thomas, George Holt (1870–1929)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
  2. ^ The Bystander, 7 December 1910.
  3. ^ Bystander, Galactic Central Magazine Data File

Notes edit

  • Mr. Comyns Beaumont, Obituaries, The Times, January 2, 1956
  • Mr. Comyns Beaumont, Mr. Richard Viner, The Times, January 13, 1956