Chums (paper) facts for kids

The front page from Chums for 28 August 1895.

A cover from the early 1930s, by Cecil Glossop

Chums was a very popular magazine for boys that started in 1892. It was first published by Cassell & Company. Later, from 1927, Amalgamated Press took over. The magazine came out every week. The publishers also collected these weekly issues into bigger monthly and yearly books.

The monthly versions usually came out on the 25th of each month. Until November 1920, they included everything from the weekly papers. After that, the monthly magazines had all the stories from the weeklies. But they left out the covers. This allowed them to add new short stories, articles, and even longer serial stories. These extra stories were not in the weekly editions. Chums stopped being published in 1941.

Chums was famous for supporting many youth groups. These included the Chums League and the Chums Society of Stamp Collectors. It also supported the Chums Scouts, the British Boy Scouts, and the British Boys Naval Brigade. Today, Chums magazines are highly wanted by collectors. This is because of their unique and colorful red covers.

How Chums Was Published

Chums came out in three main ways: weekly, monthly, and yearly.

Weekly and Monthly Editions

It started as a weekly paper. But a monthly edition was also made. This monthly version collected all the weekly issues together. It also came with a special color cover. Sometimes, certain articles or stories were only in the weekly or monthly versions. For example, the weekly paper often had an eight-page article insert. The monthly version sometimes included a special color print.

Chums and Youth Groups

Chums played a big role in supporting youth organizations. It helped create and promote several groups for boys.

Chums Scouts and British Boy Scouts

In 1907, Chums reported on Robert Baden-Powell's idea for Boy Scouts. He suggested that Boy Scout groups should be formed. Soon after, readers wrote to Chums wanting to start their own "Chum Scout" companies. The magazine even suggested they wear a special 'Chums' League badge.

Chums talked with Baden-Powell about starting a 'Chums' League of Scouts. However, the magazine then became quiet about 'Chum Scouts'. Later, a character in the magazine even made fun of boy scouts. This change might have happened because another paper, "The Scout," was launched. This new paper was the "Official Journal" of Baden-Powell's own Boy Scout organization.

In June 1909, Chums started including stories about boy scouts again. The magazine announced the launch of the British Boy Scouts as a national group. This was in July 1909. A special column about the British Boy Scouts appeared in future issues. It later became a full page. Chums even mentioned that the British Boy Scouts had members in Australia, Africa, and Canada. The magazine also has some of the earliest mentions of "Sea Scouts." The British Boy Scouts column ended in mid-1911.

British Boys Naval Brigade

In March 1909, Chums also supported The British Boys Naval Brigade. This was a uniformed group for boys aged 10 to 17. When it officially launched in May, it changed its name to The National Naval Cadets. The columns about this group in Chums taught boys things. They were not just news updates. Chums also helped boys sign up for the group. By June, articles about the National Naval Cadets called them "Scouts of the Sea." Later, they were called "Sea Scouts of the Empire."

Both the British Boy Scouts and the National Naval Cadets were based in London. Chums often called them "Chums United Service."

Writers for Chums

Many talented writers contributed stories to Chums. Here are some of them:

• L. J. Beeston
• Herbert Eastwick Compton
• Arthur J. Daniels
• George Manville Fenn
• Henry Frith
• G. A. Henty
• Andrew Home
• Ascott R. Hope
• J. R. Hutchinson
• Warren Killingworth
• Robert Leighton
• John K. Leys
• John Mackie
• Standish O'Grady
• Barry Pain
• D. H. Parry
• Max Pemberton
• Arthur Rigby
• Robert Louis Stevenson
• S. Walkey
• Fred Whishaw

Artists for Chums

Many artists created the amazing illustrations for Chums. Here are some of them:

• Stanley Berkeley
• Gordon Browne
• Tom Browne. R. I.
• J. Finnemore
• Paul Hardy
• Charles Harrison
• George Wylie Hutchinson
• Godfrey Merry
• A. Monro
• Harry Payne
• Alfred Pearce
• Charles L. Pott
• Richard Simkin
• C. J. Staniland, R. I.