Our project to digitise the Palace Journals, 1887 to 1893, the weekly newspaper of the People’s Palace, has now been completed and the Journals are available to view online.
The People’s Palace was an educational and recreational institution for the people of East London. The Journals include features about the People’s Palace, such as: news of clubs and societies, including the Debating Society, the Cycling Club and the Ramblers; and programmes for events, such as concerts, dog shows, flower shows, and lectures.
The Journals also include other articles on many different topics. A few examples are ‘The Blunders of Elementary Education’, ‘Sensational Thrillers’, and ‘Strange Pets’. Many issues feature serialised stories by authors including Walter Besant and Edgar Allan Poe.
In addition, the Journals include advertisements, for products including Harness’ Electropathic Belts. These electric belts were claimed to ‘promote the circulation, assist digestion, and promptly renew exhausted nerve force’ whilst ‘the mind is maintained in a buoyant, cheerful state, and every faculty is stimulated to the highest condition of intellectual strength’!
To find out more about the People’s Palace collection, see the archives catalogue or email archives@qmul.ac.uk