Category:Father Tuck's Annual

Title: Father Tuck's Annual

Editor: Edric Vredenburg

Publisher: Raphael Tuck and Sons

Father Tuck's Annual was published from 1897 to 1931^[1] by Raphael Tuck and Sons. The publication reached an audience primarily in the British Isles, but copies were also sold abroad in British colonies and the United States. The journal is a compilation of poems, short stories, illustrations, and word games intended for children. Eric Vredenberg, the editor, describes the journal through the analogy of a rolling snowball: "Father Tuck starts with a picture or two, then he adds some verses, then another roll and he has a story, then of course he must get that story illustrated. Then he rolls in a piece of music, and so his snowball of an Annual gets bigger and bigger."^[2] The poems are either of an entertaining or didactic nature, and make up the greatest percentage of the publication. The short stories, too, are morally didactic. Each short story features either a good child that is rewarded for good behavior or a child that learns to appreciate what they have or that bad behavior does not go unpunished. The group of children that Father Tuck targets is likely upper middle class. The periodical would have been rather expensive judging from the fact that nearly every page has an illustration and that there are six colored engravings. Another indication of the periodical's intended audience is that the characters are either of the merchant class or part of the lower rungs of the nobility. Much of the content of the short stories deals with money problems, which suggests that the journal was intended for children in the same situation.

Illustrations accompany each story and poem. One of the most prominent contributors to Father Tuck's Annual is Frances Brundage, a noted illustrator. Each short story is complemented by an ornate color engraving by Brundage. Other contributors include Nora Hopper, Constance Low, M.A. Hoyer, and Grace C. Floyd. The closing remarks of Vredenberg's introduction suggest either the popularity of the annual, or its perceived popularity: "Little people are waiting for it all over the world, little hands are eagerly outstretched to grasp the prize. Father Tuck's Annual is now looked forward to as much as the Christmas stocking."^[3]

Notes

1. ↑ WD.
2. ↑ Edric Vredenburg, “The Great Snowball,” Father Tuck's Annual (1902): 5, Print.
3. ↑ Vredenburg 6.

Submitted by: Adams, Lee: section 1, Winter 2010