University of Mississippi

Youth’s Companion 

Although 

Youth Companion’s

 began life in Boson in 1827 as a clip and paste outgrowth 

of a religious weekly with the intent to “warn against the ways of transgression, error and ruin, 

and allure to those of virtue and piety” it became one of the most popular kids journals 

emphasizing action adventure, humor, and reader contributions until 1929.  

Accomplished writers and illustrators contributed their talents. “The great juvenile of the 

period,” 

The Youth’s Companion

, launched in Boston in 1827, offered its half million subscribers 

outdoor adventure and historical tales from Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Jack London, Louisa May 

Alcott, Washington Irving, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather and Oliver Wendell Holmes.

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 A typical 

issue contained an account of a grizzly bear hunt by Theodore Roosevelt, a short story by 

Winston S. Churchill about a young Afrikaner caught in the cross fire of the Boer War, and a 

poem by Alfred Tennyson. 

Youth’s Companion

 influenced generations for 102 years and became 

part of the national memory until 1929 when it was sold to its chief competitor 

American Boy

.

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Youth’s Companion 

circulation methods were even more impressive than its content. It 

was the first magazine to effectively use the device of giving premiums for annual subscriptions, 

a practice it began in the late 1860s. For 50 years, October issues contained pictures and 

descriptions of the treasures recruiting subscribers. By the 1880s the 36-page prize list included 

rewards of everything from dolls to magic lanterns.