Single installment of a privately produced magazine, in manuscript, with numerous illustrations in various media. Textual contributions have been copied in pen and ink in a single hand, perhaps that of Frederick W. Binstead. The illustrations include work by F.W. Binstead, Arthur M. Binstead, Arthur St. John Adcock, and W.A. Macdonald. The roles of the editors may be elucidated by a note at the end: "All literary cons. should be sent to Mr. W. Croysdill ... artistic cons. to Mr. F.W. Binstead ...". The work is collected in a lined stationer's notebook, from Mercy & Mansford (London). An illustrated title page is followed by instructions for lending (postage 2 1/2) and a table of contents. Texts and illustrations are interspersed. At the end of the volume is a section of editor's notes, a transmission list with the names and addresses of 19 intended recipients, and [49] unnumbered pages of "criticisms", which are signed and dated by the various readers. The texts consist of: "The Dead Child", a poem by P.T. McCall; "Absent Friends", a poem by Wm. Saunders; "Corner-posts and their Companions", a satire prose piece with particular focus on the "broken down gentlemen" found leaning on corner posts; "Which is Best?", a poem by Marion Taylor; "Tennyson Tupper, or The Adventures of a Poet in Search of Fame", a portion of a novel, by F.W. Binstead; "Ensnared", a poem by R.E. Bays; "Courage", an essay by William Croysdill; "Homeward Bound", a poem by Henry Croysdill; "Misapplied Philanthropy", a comic story by A. Binstead; "Once Again", a poem by W. Saunders; "The Clouds Between", the second chapter of a larger work, by W.T. Beeson; and "A Loveless Creed", a poem by F.W. Binstead, which is perhaps the most controversial submission, as it discusses the hypocrisy of a Christian church that categorically condemns a philanthropic atheist. The criticisms section of the magazine includes comments by readers expressing shock and support for the poem. The illustrations include full-page topical sketches by F.W. Binstead; comic sketches and caricatures by Arthur M. Binstead and F.W. Binstead, predominantly in pen and ink; ornate (sometimes calligraphic) multi-colored titles and initials, many incorporating small illustrations, by F.W. Binstead and Arthur St. John Adcock; and a marine watercolor by W.A. Macdonald (i.e. William Alister Macdonald?). All of the illustrations have been executed on separate pieces of paper and pasted on to the pages of the notebook.
