Junior Mirror, 1954–56
We are thrilled to receive a full set of Junior Mirror. This was a spin-off from the Mirror newspapers, intended for children. It started as a twopenny weekly on 1 September 1954 and its final issue, number 75, was on 29 February 1956. As you might expect, it has a newspaper format and is printed on newsprint, so we have to very careful as, like all old newsprint, it goes brittle. A giveaway is, like newspapers of the time, Junior Mirror is not stapled. Our set, though, is complete and in very good order. Almost all imagery is by black-and-white photograph, so some of the images can be rather grainy.
The content gives us a wonderful snapshot of 50s’ childhood. There are articles on animals, clubs, film stars and contemporary action heroes. There are stories about children with interesting hobbies, detective challenges, plus technical tips (build your own radio, for example). There is a cartoon page (it starts with ‘Space Caption Jim Stalwart’), crosswords and competitions. A regular feature – and probably quite a coup to secure - was the serialisation of a W.E. Johns’ Biggles story.
The advertising is wonderful. The very first issue features adverts mostly for sweets, including ‘Navy Mints’, ‘Palm’ toffee bars, Rowntree’s ‘Fruit Gums’ (‘Are you a Gumster?’) and ‘Penguin’ bars. The issue also carried an advert by Freeman Hardy and Willis for their football boots (and sensible school shoes). By the final issue there are adverts for correspondence courses to pass your grammar-school entrance exams, plus book clubs, stamp collecting, Mars bars, radios, cycles, snooker tables, Bassett’s ‘Liquorice Allsorts’ and more. This gives us a good idea of what advertisers thought would appeal to children of the time, and apart from the sweets, most tend to be of the ‘improving’ variety.
When the Junior Mirror started, there was only one television channel, and that broadcast for limited hours each day (our copies of Radio Times for the 1950s tell us the schedules). And of course, very few people had a television, so the survey in the Junior Mirror, asking what children want (and don’t want) to see on television is moot. But, like with the articles on future space travel, the children could dream.
This set will be catalogued very soon and available for any member of the public to consult. Just contact us on contactus@richardrobertsarchive.org.uk.
