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Publisher: Amalgamated Press
Years in Operation: 1890 - 1959
Disclose Detail
Country: Flag United Kingdom Web Site: Brands: 1 Indicia Publishers: 2 Series: 123 Printings: 42619 (41613 Issues) Disclose Notes: In 1888, Alfred Charles William Harmsworth launched his first magazine, Answers to Correspondants. Two years later, he launched his first comic called Comic Cuts, which was followed by titles like Illustrated Chips, The Wonder, Funny Wonder, Puck, Merry and Bright, and Firefly. In 1901 Harmsworth gathered all of his publishing ventures under the name The Amalgamated Press (AP), located at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London.

AP was sold to The Mirror Group in 1959 and formed the core of the IPC Magazines line of comics.
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Series Name Years in Print Issues (Printings)
Billy the Kid Book of Picture Stories {Hardcovers} 1957 - 1958 2
Bo-Peep and Little Boy Blue {Comic Books} 1929 - 1934 245
Bubbles {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Some issues were not numbered? Merged with The Children's Fairy at some point to be determined.
1921 - 1941 1024
Buck Jones Annual {Comic Books} 1957 - 1958 2
Butterfly {Comic Books} 1904 - 1917 656
Butterfly {Comic Books} 1925 - 1940 760
Butterfly and Firefly {Comic Books} 1917 - 1925 446
Butterfly Annual {Comic Books} 1939 - ? 1
Captain Condor Space-Man of the Unknown Moon {Comic Books} 1950 - ? 1
The Champion {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Story paper that included some comics near the end of its run. Merged into Tiger.
1922 - 1955 1
Charlie Chaplin Fun Book {Comic Books} 1915 - 1
Chicks' Own {Comic Books} 1920 - 1957 1605
Chicks' Own Annual {Comic Books} 1924 - 1957 33
Children's Fairy {Comic Books} 1919 - 1921 76
Children's Sunday Fairy {Comic Books} 1919 - 3
Chuckles {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: 517 issues, mostly unnumbered.
1914 - 1923 6
Comet {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Title on cover varies: Comet - #74, 193-422, 561-580 Comet the All Star Comic - #85-91 Comet a Happy Family Comic - #92-127, 156, 167-171 Comet Comic - #128-145, 182-192 The Comet Adventure Weekly - #423-518 The Comet Weekly - #519-560 Most early issues (until at least 145) are noted as "New Series" between issue number and date.
1949 - 1959 510
Comic Cuts {Comic Books} 1890 - 1953 3305
Comic Home Journal {Comic Books} 1895 - 1904 488
Comic Life {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Unnumbered. Many more issues remain to be documented.
1920 - 1928 5
Confessions Library {Comic Books} 1959 - 1960 44
Cowboy Comics {Comic Books} 1950 - 1957 204 (206)
Cowboy Picture Library {Comic Books} 1957 - 1962 264 (274)
Crackers {Comic Books} 1929 - 1941 615
Famous Romance Library {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: More issues may exist.
1956 - 1961 171
The Favorite Comic {Comic Books} 1911 - 1917 324
Film Fun {Comic Books} 1920 - 1962 2222
Film Fun Annual {Comic Books} 1938 - 1961 24
Film Picture Stories {Comic Books} 1934 - 1935 30
Firefly {Comic Books} 1914 - 1915 51
Firefly {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Second series.
1915 - 1917 111
Fun and Fiction {Comic Books} 1911 - 1914 124
The Funny Wonder {Comic Books} 1893 - 1899 325
The Funny Wonder {Comic Books} 1899 - 1901 109
The Funny Wonder {Comic Books} 1914 - 1942 1404
The Funny Wonder Annual {Comic Books} 1935 - 1941 5
Girls' Crystal {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Numbering continues from Girls' Crystal (Amalgamated Press ?, 1935 series), a story paper.
1953 - 1963 529
Girls' Crystal Annual {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Comics content increases over the years from very little in the earliest issues to almost entirely comics by the 1970s.
1939 - 1978 39
Golden {Comic Books} 1937 - 1940 135
The Golden Book of Comics {Comic Books} 1950 - ? 1
Halfpenny Wonder {Comic Books} 1914 - 39
Happy Days {Comic Books} 1938 - 1939 45
Illustrated Chips {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Renamed simply "Chips" sometime after February 1952 (issue #2933) and before June 1953 (issue #2983).
1890 - 1952 2997
Illustrated Chips {Comic Books} 1890 - 6
Jack and Jill {Comic Books} 1909 - 3
Jester {Comic Books} 1912 - 1920 465
Jester {Comic Books} 1924 - 1940 847
Jester and Wonder {Comic Books} 1902 - 1912 506
Jingles {Comic Books} 1934 - 1954 741
John Wesley {Comic Books} 1953 - 1
The Joker {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Later issues may have been published by Fleetway.
1927 - 1940 655
Jolly Comic {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: First issue dated 19th January 1935.
1935 - 1939 250
Jolly Jester {Comic Books} 1920 - 1924 165
Jolly Times {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Supplement to London Magazine.
1920 - 5
Jungle Jinks {Comic Books} 1923 - 1925 62
Kinema Comic {Comic Books} 1920 - 1932 651
Kit Carson's Cowboy Annual {Comic Books} 1954 - 1960 7
Knockout {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Merged with Magnet in 1941, became Knockout and Magnet until 1945, then just Knockout again. Merged with Valiant. Cover title changed to Knockout and Comic Cuts starting with #760. First 1054 issues were numbered but after that only dated.
1939 - 1963 1240
Knockout Annual {Hardcovers} 1957 - 1962 6
Knockout Fun Book {Comic Books} 1941 - 1956 16
Larks {Comic Books} 1927 - 1940 656
Lion {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Only the first 378 issues are numbered; the rest are listed by date only. 213-217 is a single comic. Because of a strike in the summer of 1959, there were only two undated issues published between 20 June 1959 and 29 August 1959.
1952 - 1959 389
Little Sparks {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Second series.
1920 - 1922 124
Little Sparks {Comic Books} 1920 - 4
Lot-O'-Fun {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Numbering continued from Lot-O'-Fun (Henderson, 1906 series). Many more issues remain to be documented.
1920 - 1929 4
Love Romance {Comic Books} 1950 - 2
Marilyn {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Issues until around 1959 included issue numbers (possibly at the time Amalgamated Pess was sold to the Mirror Group/Fleetway Publications). After that time, only dates were used to identify the issues. In the Complete Catalogue of British Comics, Denis Gifford reports 547 issues from 19 March 1955 to 18 September 1965. There are 549 weeks between those two dates, suggesting two weekly issues were not published or Gifford miscounted.
1955 - 1965 549
Merry and Bright {Comic Books} 1910 - 1917 337
Merry and Bright the Favorite Comic {Comic Books} 1917 - 1935 928
Mighty Midget Comic {Comic Books} 1958 - 4
Monthly Playbox {Comic Books} 1904 - 1905 6
My Favourite {Comic Books} 1928 - 1934 351
Only My Fun {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Part of the Wonder Box #4.
1908 - 1
The Penny Wonder {Comic Books} 1912 - 47
Playbox {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: More issues remain to be documented.
1898 - ? 2
Playbox {Comic Books} 1905 - 1910 61
Playbox {Comic Books} 1910 - 1913 44
Playbox {Comic Books} 1925 - 1955 1279
Playbox Annual {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Some issues the title page splash image says, "A Picture and Story Book for Children." Issues can blend text stories and full page or partial page illustrations. Includes panel sequences.
1909 - 1956 48
Playhour {Comic Books} 1910 - 3
Playhour Pictures {Comic Books} 1954 - 1955 31
Playtime {Comic Books} 1919 - 1923 243
Playtime {Comic Books} 1923 - 1929 307
Puck {Comic Books} 1904 - 1940 1867
Radio Fun {Comic Books} 1938 - 1959 1018
Radio Fun Annual {Comic Books} 1940 - 1960 21
The Rainbow {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Indicia from #824: "Printed and Published every Monday by the Proprietors, The Amalgamated Press, Ltd, The Fleetway House, Farrington Street, London, E.C.4. Registered for transmission by Canadian Magazine Post. Entered as Second Class Matter March 15, 1929 at the Post Office, Boston, Mass. Subscription rates: Inland and Abroad, 11s per annum, 5s 6d for six months. Sole agents for South Africa: The Central News Agency, Ltd. Sole agents for Australia and New Zealand, Messrs. Gordon and Gotch, Ltd. - Saturday, November 30, 1929. NN" On page 3, "The Editor's Chat", they welcome story submissions for prizes. Editorial address is RAINBOW, 5, Carmelite Street, London, E.C.4 (Comp.)
1914 - 1956 1898
Rainbow Annual {Comic Books} 1924 - 1957 10
Round the Nursery Fire {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Supplement to Family Journal.
1915 - 5
Roxy {Comic Books} 1958 - 1963 288
School Friend {Comic Books} 1950 - 1965 766
School Friend Picture Library {Comic Books} 1962 - 1965 38
Sparkler {Comic Books} 1931 - 1939 251
Sports Fun {Comic Books} 1922 - 13
Sun {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Merged with Lion in 1959, when Amalgamated Press became Fleetway Publications. This title was called Lion and Sun (IPC Magazines Ltd, 1959 series).
1952 - 1959 395
Sun Comic {Comic Books} 1949 - 1952 122
Sunbeam {Comic Books} 1922 - 1926 173
Sunbeam {Comic Books} 1926 - 1940 747
Sunday Fairy {Comic Books} 1919 - 22
Super Detective Library {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Investigate where the title and publisher changed from Super Detective Library (Amalgamated, 1953 series) to Super Detective Picture Library (Fleetway, 1959 series). Check #153-155.
1953 - 1959 154 (157)

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