The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 22, August 4, 1832

"The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" is an illustrated British magazine published weekly from 1832 to 1845. Created for working-class readers and sold for just one penny, it reached a circulation of 200,000 in its first year with nearly one million readers. The magazine pioneered affordable wood-engraved illustrations to educate a largely illiterate population. However, its dry, didactic content and rising production costs ultimately undermined its early success, forcing price increases that alienated its intended audience. (This is an automatically generated summary.)