Miscellanies

Miscellanies are an early kind of magazine which emerged from a periodical. They offered up a variety of reading material such as jokes, articles, news, entertainment, and letters. These prints were considered safe for all members of the family to read. Weekly miscellanies and magazines became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century when literacy rates increased especially in the domestic households.

What is it?

Miscellanies are a smaller kind of magazine used earlier in the publishing industry. They are smaller than magazines and similar to zines in format. In other formats, miscellanies were collections of shorter pieces that appeared at surface level to be random and unrelated. These pieces come together to form a miscellany. This format is how miscellanies are created in the modern day.

An image of miscellany poems, a clear example of what this format of publishing used to look like.

The name "Miscellany"

Miscellanies come from the word "miscellaneous." This word is well known to mean random or consisting of different, varying parts or groups. This relates directly to the more modern form of miscellanies where it is a random collection of pieces put together to form a larger work. This random and varied nature creates a miscellaneous tendency to the book. It is from these similarities in definitions that gives those works the name miscellany.

Why is it significant?

Miscellanies helped propel the publishing world early on through the expansion of formats like zines. It is a natural transition between the smaller format of zines and the larger format of magazines, especially when the content is scattered or seemingly random. This format drew readers in because it allowed reading at a larger and smaller scale. It is similar to a magazine style where it contains a breadth of work, but its lack of continuity and theme leaves it less acknowledged. However, this format is also what makes the style unique and important to understand.

In terms of the modern day significance, it falls into line with zines and magazines. In the Age of online reading and content, these other forms have somewhat fallen to the wayside. However, it is still important to understand the older forms of writing and publishing. It falls into a similar category as zines and magazines, offering a similar but unique style of publishing. This older style has been studied for many years by historians, and it continues to be studied in the current day. While it is not used as much anymore, its historical context and the growth of the publishing market through formats like the miscellanies is vital to the publishing market today.