The Germ (periodical) facts for kids
The Germ was a special magazine started in 1850 by a group of artists called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They wanted to share their new ideas about art and writing. The full title was The Germ, thoughts towards nature in art and literature.
William Michael Rossetti was the editor of this magazine. For its last two issues, the magazine changed its name to Art and Poetry, being Thoughts towards Nature, conducted principally by Artists.
Sadly, The Germ was not very popular. It only came out four times, from January to April 1850, before it stopped being published.
The magazine featured drawings and pictures made by the artists in the Brotherhood. Each issue started with a unique etching.
- William Holman Hunt drew a picture for a poem called My Beautiful Lady in the first issue.
- James Collinson illustrated his own poem, The Child Jesus, in the second issue.
- Ford Madox Brown created a two-page drawing for the third issue. It showed King Lear and his daughters.
- Walter Deverell drew Viola and Olivia from Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night in the last issue.
The Germ also printed poetry by William Michael Rossetti and his brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Other writers like Thomas Woolner and James Collinson also shared their poems. The magazine also included essays about art and literature by friends of the Brotherhood, such as Ford Madox Brown and Coventry Patmore. Sometimes, it even had book reviews.
Why Was It Called The Germ?
The name The Germ was chosen because the Pre-Raphaelite artists believed in the importance of nature. A germ is like a seed, and they hoped their magazine would be a seed from which new, creative ideas would grow.
The magazine's subtitle, thoughts towards nature in art and literature, showed that the editors believed art and poetry should be closely connected. They wanted to emphasize that both should be inspired by nature.
Later, to try and sell more copies, the magazine changed its name. The new name, Art and Poetry, being Thoughts towards Nature, conducted principally by Artists, was clearer.
About the Editions
The Germ was printed by a company called Messrs. Tupper and Sons in London. This company even invested money in the magazine, hoping it would do well.
However, sales were very low. Out of 700 copies of the first issue, only 70 were sold! Because of this, fewer copies were printed for the later issues, but sales still did not improve. The Tupper family was connected to the Brotherhood, and George Tupper ended up losing a lot of money.
Years later, in 1898, a special limited edition of all four issues of The Germ was published in the USA. Only 450 copies were made.
In 1901, another special edition was released. This one was a copy of the original four volumes, and it included a new introduction by W.M. Rossetti.
