John Bull [Issue Nov 7th, 1954]

It was a popular periodical that was reportedly being published since 1899. Horatio Bottomley, an MP for the Liberal Party, became the publisher of the magazine in 1906. It continued production during the First World War. Howard Cox estimates its sales by August 1914 at in excess of three quarters of a million copies a week. By the end of October 1914 the cover of John Bull was '"boasting that the magazines circulation was the largest of any weekly journal in the world".

In 1920, the company was merged into Odhams Press. In 1923, the magazine was said to be 'ultra patriotic'.  The magazine was published by Odhams from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Similar in style to the iconic American magazine, The Saturday Evening Post. The John Bull covers encapsulated post-war Britain and employed some of Britain's finest illustrators. They also included short stories by major British authors such as H. E. Bates, Agatha Christie, Nicholas Monsarrat, N. J. Crisp, Gerald Kersh, J. B. Priestley and C. S. Forester. During its run it incorporated other magazines such as The Illustrated, Passing Show, News Review and Everybody's Weekly.